Durability Concern with Wicked Cushions for Astro A30 - Early Seam Failure or Sponsored Content Overload?

[SuperQuack]

Dear LTT Community,

I recently purchased Wicked Cushions for my Astro A30 headset, driven by the brand's positive reputation and the promise

of enhanced comfort. However, my experience has been surprisingly disappointing, particularly in terms of product durability.

To provide some context, I wear Gunnar Optics glasses, which are known for their compatibility with headsets. Yet, within just

a day of normal use, which primarily involved adjusting the cushions over my Gunnar glasses, I encountered a concerning issue.

The seam of one of the cushions failed unexpectedly. This rapid deterioration is particularly troubling, considering that the

interaction was gentle and should have been well within the product's capacity.

 

On a lighter note, it seems like investing in products that are heavily promoted for solving specific problems, like discomfort with

headsets, sometimes leads to encountering those very problems. Perhaps a case of "buying into too much sponsored content"?

(not necessarily LTT sponsored content.)Attached are two images for reference: one showing the damaged seam, and the other

as proof of my recent purchase. This evidence highlights the immediacy and seriousness of the quality issue I faced.

I'm sharing this experience to aid fellow community members in making informed decisions about these cushions. I also

look forward to any response or resolution offered by Wicked Cushions.

[Needfuldoer]

They're stitching that close to the edge of the fabric? No wonder their seams are popping apart...

[SuperQuack]

you can clearly see that none of the stitching is even cut or broken 

[Cocococo]

Yeah wicked cushions are not very good earpad makers, i know it sucks but don't trust YT sponsors, way too much sketchy shizz goes on with them. I don't know of any Astro headset pad makers off the top of my head, here are some aftermarket earpads makers i've had previously positive experience with, Dekoni and Yaxi pads, there might be other good makers out there but those are the only aftermarket pad makers i personally trust (through if you ever need new closed headphones Shure's customer service is OUTSTANDING) 

[8tg]

Very recent media hype brand funding lots of sponsored content in the low end headphone and headset space, making sub $40 ear pads.

Not sure what you expected? Everything about that is a bunch of red flags for super cheap products being spam advertised to people who don’t know any better.

exposed wide stitching that close to the contact surface in a low thread count fabric is just asking for it to tear apart 

 

Theres a reason why dekoni pads are expensive, and they’re a low end option meant for cheap but conventionally good headphones.

[Cocococo]

5 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Very recent media hype brand funding lots of sponsored content in the low end headphone and headset space, making sub $40 ear pads.

Not sure what you expected? Everything about that is a bunch of red flags for super cheap products being spam advertised to people who don’t know any better.

exposed wide stitching that close to the contact surface in a low thread count fabric is just asking for it to tear apart 

 

Theres a reason why dekoni pads are expensive, and they’re a low end option meant for cheap but conventionally good headphones.

Honestly until i really got into audio and headphones i would have 100% fallen for this kind of advertisement. Outside of hobby spaces the prices are super hard to judge, i still cannot believe how expensive Focal replacement pads are, or how much more expensive and hard to find Sennheiser HD6x0 chassis pads are than china replica pads the look and feel almost identical to the OEM. Best thing to do is find people who have problems with wicked cushions crappy products and explain why the pads failed and try to help find alternatives

[Bismut]

16 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

i still cannot believe how expensive Focal replacement pads are, or how much more expensive and hard to find Sennheiser HD6x0 chassis pads are than china replica pads the look and feel almost identical to the OEM

I bought cheap replacement pads in the past and it has been a 50/50 for me; I bought a set for my old headphones (the fake leather started tearing off almost immediately; not surprising but disappointing, still used them) and another set for my Sony WH-CH700N and they are holding up really well (even though they are not meant for these headphones, oops). My major problem is the headphones literally breaking at the adjustment part, which is a bummer but the way things go sometimes I guess

[HenrySalayne]

1 hour ago, SuperQuack said:

Dear LTT Community,

I recently purchased Wicked Cushions for my Astro A30 headset, driven by the brand's positive reputation and the promise

of enhanced comfort. However, my experience has been surprisingly disappointing, particularly in terms of product durability.

To provide some context, I wear Gunnar Optics glasses, which are known for their compatibility with headsets. Yet, within just

a day of normal use, which primarily involved adjusting the cushions over my Gunnar glasses, I encountered a concerning issue.

The seam of one of the cushions failed unexpectedly. This rapid deterioration is particularly troubling, considering that the

interaction was gentle and should have been well within the product's capacity.

 

On a lighter note, it seems like investing in products that are heavily promoted for solving specific problems, like discomfort with

headsets, sometimes leads to encountering those very problems. Perhaps a case of "buying into too much sponsored content"?

(not necessarily LTT sponsored content.)Attached are two images for reference: one showing the damaged seam, and the other

as proof of my recent purchase. This evidence highlights the immediacy and seriousness of the quality issue I faced.

I'm sharing this experience to aid fellow community members in making informed decisions about these cushions. I also

look forward to any response or resolution offered by Wicked Cushions.

Have you heard of the bathtub curve? This is well within the infant mortality region. It could be a manufacturing defect (hopefully) or a design issue.

 

You should contact their support with this issue. I would be quite interested in how you would rate their costumer support.

[Needfuldoer]

2 hours ago, SuperQuack said:

you can clearly see that none of the stitching is even cut or broken 

Exactly. It looks like the thread just pulled right out of the cut edge of the fabric, if the seam even came together in the first place.

[SuperQuack]

3 hours ago, Cocococo said:

Yeah wicked cushions are not very good earpad makers, i know it sucks but don't trust YT sponsors, way too much sketchy shizz goes on with them. I don't know of any Astro headset pad makers off the top of my head, here are some aftermarket earpads makers i've had previously positive experience with, Dekoni and Yaxi pads, there might be other good makers out there but those are the only aftermarket pad makers i personally trust (through if you ever need new closed headphones Shure's customer service is OUTSTANDING) 

this was an LTT sponsor though

[Cocococo]

2 minutes ago, SuperQuack said:

this was an LTT sponsor though

And now you know that no matter how credible the channel, shifty sponsors will slip through (look at established titles and every VPN ad before Tom Scott's video on them) 

[Psittac]

I've had two pairs of WC over the years and both has stood up rather well.  Just my anecdotal experience.

[SuperQuack]

15 hours ago, Cocococo said:

And now you know that no matter how credible the channel, shifty sponsors will slip through (look at established titles and every VPN ad before Tom Scott's video on them) 

True but amazon was happy to replace immediately we shall see the quality of the new ones.