Upgrading your headphones? 5 things I recommend doing with your current pair first

Jada Jones/ZDNET

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Simple habits tin assistance your headphones past overmuch longer.
• Regular attraction keeps headphones performing similar new.
• Small changes tin widen your headphones' lifespan.

Get much ZDNET successful Google: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Search. (Works connected Chrome and Chromium browsers.)

I've spent plentifulness of clip investigating headphones and earbuds, and I've recovered a fistful of small, seemingly evident but mighty tips to support them successful tip-top signifier and performance. If your headphones oregon earbuds aren't moving similar they were successful their heyday, these tiny fixes mightiness help.

Also: 4 headphones I curse by (and however I usage each brace differently)

These tips tin besides assistance you make steadfast attraction habits if you precocious purchased a caller brace of headphones oregon earbuds to regenerate your regular drivers.

1. Replace your earpads (and tips)

Your headphones' earpads and earbuds' eartips are much important than you think. When they're successful their champion shape, they support optimal dependable quality, sound isolation, and comfort. It's mean for them to degrade implicit clip from emblematic deterioration and tear, and erstwhile you announcement tears, rips, oregon excessive signifier distortion, it's clip to regenerate them.

Many fashionable headphone manufacturers, similar Bose, Sony, and Apple, merchantability OEM replacement pads and tips, which are typically the easiest portion of the headphone to self-repair. You tin find cheaper third-party replacements, but you whitethorn get what you wage for. Buying OEM replacements ensures the aforesaid prime and fit, adjacent though they whitethorn beryllium much expensive.

2. Put your headphones successful their lawsuit

Jada Jones/ZDNET

You mightiness support your headphones retired of their lawsuit for convenience, but storing them successful their lawsuit erstwhile not successful usage keeps them harmless from vulnerability to dust, debris, and humidity. Your headphones person plentifulness of tiny openings, peculiarly the holes connected the earcups that location microphones and the charging port.

Also: Why these headphones are inactive the champion from Bose - adjacent though they're a twelvemonth old

Most over-ear headphones haven't been formally tested for particulate oregon h2o ingress, and though they tin grip immoderate exposure, it's champion to support them arsenic protected arsenic possible. Keeping them successful their lawsuit protects them from dust, dirt, moisture, and scrapes, scratches, and bumps, promoting longevity.

3. Your headphones merit due charging hygiene

You whitethorn beryllium acquainted with artillery hygiene regarding your smartphone, and akin rules use to the rechargeable artillery wrong your headphones. The biggest quality is that the artillery wrong your headphones is overmuch smaller and weaker than your smartphone battery, and excessive artillery drain is communal successful older headphones.

Also: 3 charging mistakes that are sidesplitting your tablet - and the elemental hole you need

Your headphones apt person a one-year manufacturer's warranty, and artillery issues thin to hap erstwhile it's expired. Replacing the artillery yourself is possible, but it whitethorn necessitate immoderate soldering. To sphere your headphones' battery, effort to support it betwixt 10% and 80% charged, and don't permission them plugged successful overnight. After 45 minutes to an hr connected the charging cable, your headphones should beryllium bully to go.

4. Clean your headphones

Cleaning your headphones and earbuds is not lone bully for your devices, but for your ears, too. In-ear earbuds tin accumulate earwax, and excessive wax connected the talker tin degrade audio prime and interaction receptor health.

Also: When was the past clip you cleaned your headphones? Here's however and wherefore you should

The pads of your over-ear headphones tin cod oils, sweat, hair, and skincare products, leaving residue and absorbing odors implicit time. Keeping your earpads cleanable tin sphere their information and assistance debar tegument irritation.

5. Updating firmware and bundle

Jada Jones/ZDNET

It's casual to disregard bundle and firmware update requests, but similar immoderate device, they tin importantly amended your headphones' performance. Headphone and earbud firmware updates tin heighten your devices' powerfulness on/off oregon hibernation performance, sound cancellation abilities, wireless transportation reliability, oregon artillery endurance.

Also: Here's however a escaped bundle upgrade made the Sonos Ace worthy their terms tag

Headphones and earbuds don't person bundle and firmware updates arsenic often arsenic tablets, smartphones, oregon laptops, but keeping your audio cogwheel up to day whitethorn amended your acquisition if it's retired of date.