foam earpads?

[Doug Lassiter]

Where in the world does one get replacement foam earpads for the standard iPod earphones? Every store I've been in that sells iPods and accessories doesn't stock these, and the one source I see on the web (googling for iPod earpads) wants $6.71 for shipping a $.99 pair of pads! Um, that probably works out to several hundred dollars/pound ...

You would think these would be widely available. ?????

[fat elvis]

if you cant find the OEM foam covers, I saw some Griffin ear pads at RadioShack. They were $14.99, but they came with a nifty iPod case.

[funkycfunkydo]

The ear pads i believe fat elvis is referring to are the Griffin EarJams (http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/earjams/index.php). I don't have them but they look pretty cool and seem like a good solution to your problem.

[Doug Lassiter]

Well, actually, I know all about Earjams. Nice product, BUT, what I want are the foam pads that allow me to hear background sounds while I listen. Earjams are a bit too effective in getting rid of those background sounds for the situation I'm in, where I need to be aware of voices nearby. So the $14.99 solution to a $0.99 problem is not the one I'm looking for.

But seriously, everyone who gets an iPod runs through a pair of those foam pads in a few months and then buys Earjams?

[nkuvu]

I don't use the foam pads at all. Well actually I don't even use the earbuds, but if I did, the foam pads wouldn't be there.

In fact, I have a pair of the foam pads still in the original silvery-package that came with my iPod. I think there were two pair, but I tried one pair and either lost them or threw them out. But if you PM me your address I'll toss them in an envelope and send them to you. Not a sustainable long term solution by any stretch, but I have no use for them at all.

[saint.duo]

radio shack sells foam pads too

[xlax999999]

I also find the foam ear-pads useless. I have two sealed pairs up for grabs if anyone is interested. The buds fit snugly in my ears by themselves so I never even opened them up. Free! ($100 non-refundable s/h). Kidding, i'll stuff em in an envelope and shell out 37 cents for the well-being of another iPodder.

[CAlvarez]

Go to a dollar store and buy a pair of headphones for $1. Toss the headphones, keep the foam pads they come with.

[Doug Lassiter]

Good ideas. Still a little odd that they aren't considered an iPod consumable. Market research must have shown that no one wants 'em!

[malkin]

Or else, that the ear buds themselves are replaced by better headphones, and so due to no ear buds, no foam pads.

[CAlvarez]

While the stock headphones are crap for music, they work very well for podcasts (voice). I use them at work and places where the ER-6i would block out too much outside sound, but I still want to feed my brain.

I have to wonder...are people losing the foam, or not cleaning their ears enough and getting them too dirty... :D

[Doug Lassiter]

I have to wonder...are people losing the foam, or not cleaning their ears enough and getting them too dirty... :D
Um, yes, earwax and lint (!) are probably part of the problem, but the pads are kinda thin, and when you rip the phones off your ears, they get stretched ... the foam, I mean, not just the ears! And then you stuff the phones in your mini-bag, and they get stretched and pulled again. I need to get up to Radio Shack (which I usually take some pains to avoid), and check it out. Their website has something that looks suspiciously like what I need.

[FireWired]

I'm still on my first set of those iPod earbud foam pads from 2 years ago! Sure, I have to clean off some earwax every now and then too ( :D ), but then again, I don't throw my iPod around rigorously -- I mostly take it on road trips, never to school. (Well, I have a few times, but I had it in a small zippered camera case.)

[funkycfunkydo]

I found these foam pads (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71208/wo/M87MUZuSI9cb2j5ydZr1Tsj4Adn/3.0.0.11.1.0.6.9.9.17.0.1.3.1.1.0.1.0.3) on the apple store. They're over-priced but they're something(free shipping with $40 more of iPod stuff)