Best Replacement Earpads for Comfort & Glasses Wearers

The best replacement earpads are not a universal accessory. They are a model-specific part, closer to a phone case than to a cable: a pad built for a Bose QuietComfort 35 will not fit a QuietComfort 45, a Sony WH-1000XM4 pad will not clip onto an XM5, and an Audio-Technica ATH-M50x pad fits by stretching over a lip that Bose and Sony models do not even have. So this guide is organised the way you should shop — by the headphone you actually own — and every pick below was checked against a live Amazon US listing whose title states the model or models it fits.

Comfort is the second filter, and glasses wearers feel it first. A firm pad seals hard against spectacle stems, which gets sore within the hour and leaks the seal your noise cancelling depends on. Softer foam, velour and cooling-gel pads spread that pressure better — but none is sonically free: pad material and thickness change tuning and ANC performance, so the most comfortable pad is not always the most faithful one.

Best Replacement Earpads: Quick Comparison by Model

Two warnings before the picks. Near-identical model names hide incompatible pads: QC35 pads do not fit the QC45, XM4 pads do not fit the XM5, and AirPods Max cushions are magnetic and model-shaped. If your exact model is not named in a listing title, do not buy on a measurement guess alone; check the mounting section below first.

Best Replacement Earpads for Bose QuietComfort

WC PadZ QC35 by Wicked Cushions — Best for Bose QC35 and QC35 II

The verified listing title is explicit — “WC PadZ QC35 – Wicked Cushions Ear Pads for Bose QuietComfort 35 & 35ii” — and the fuller listing describes softer leather, more luxurious memory foam and added thickness over the stock pads. That extra thickness is the comfort story: it moves the driver housing a little further from the ear and gives spectacle stems a deeper, softer channel to sit in, so clamping pressure spreads instead of pinching at one point.

That listing names the QC35 and QC35 II only — not the QC45, QC SE or 2023 QuietComfort, which use a different pad (see the next pick). Sound-wise, a thicker pad usually reads as a touch more bass and a slightly more distant midrange, because your ear sits further from the driver. Many owners prefer it; it is not the factory tuning.

SOULWIT Cooling-Gel — Best for Bose QC45, QC SE and Glasses in Warm Rooms

For the later Bose family, the verified listing states its fit in full: “SOULWIT Cooling Gel Earpads Replacement for Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45)/QuietComfort SE (QC SE)/Quiet Comfort Wireless Over-Ear Headphones, Ear Pads Cushions with Ice Silk Fabric – White.” That colour note matters — this verified variant is the white one — and so does the model list: QC45 and QC SE owners should buy this listing, not a QC35 pad that looks similar in a thumbnail.

The gel layer sits under an ice silk fabric face rather than a leather one, and for glasses wearers that combination is the point. Fabric grips stems less than smooth protein leather, the gel-backed foam yields around a frame instead of fighting it, and the face stays cooler-feeling at the start of a long session. The honest trade-off is seal: a fabric face and a softer yield can leak a fraction more around a thick stem than a firm leather pad, and on a QC45 that leak is paid for in low-frequency cancellation. Thin metal frames will notice almost nothing; chunky acetate frames may. If your priority is maximum ANC on a flight, a like-for-like leather pad is the safer pick — our Bose QC45 review covers how much of that headphone’s performance depends on its seal.

Best Replacement Earpads for Sony WH-1000X

SOULWIT for WH-1000XM4 — Best Like-for-Like XM4 Refresh

The verified listing reads “SOULWIT Earpads for Sony WH-1000XM4/WH-1000XM4C – Black,” and the fuller listing adds noise-isolation foam, added thickness and a design that works without affecting the XM4’s touch and wearing sensors. That sensor point is a genuine XM4-specific trap: the right cup carries a proximity sensor, and a pad or inner scrim that sits wrong can confuse wear detection, so an XM4-stated listing is worth more than a generic Sony pad of the right diameter.

Expect a refresh rather than a transformation. A new pad restores the seal your compressed old pad had lost — which alone can bring back bass and cancellation you thought the headphone had lost with age — while the added thickness makes the fit roomier for glasses. It will not make an XM4 sound like an XM6; if you are weighing that upgrade, our comparison of the Sony WH-1000XM5 vs WH-1000XM6 and our original Sony WH-1000XM4 review lay out what actually changed between generations.

SOULWIT Cooling-Gel for WH-1000XM5 — Best XM5 Pick for Heat and Glasses

Sony redesigned the cup for the XM5, and the verified listing respects that: “SOULWIT Cooling Earpads for Sony WH-1000XM5 – Black” names the XM5 alone, not a range of Sony models. Do not try to stretch an XM4 pad onto an XM5 or the reverse; the fit complaints that fill review sections for these products are mostly that single mistake.

Material is where this pick earns its place. The XM5’s stock pads are soft but warm, and the gel-and-fabric construction here is the common aftermarket answer — cooler-feeling on contact, less slippery against glasses stems, and kinder over a long workday. Keep the honesty from the Bose gel pick in mind, doubled: the XM5’s cancellation leans heavily on pad seal, so a fabric-faced pad that breathes better can also cancel a fraction less, particularly with glasses breaking the seal at the temple. For desk and home use that is usually a trade worth making. For a long-haul flight, consider keeping a leather, stock-style set for travel and using the gel set day to day.

Best Replacement Earpads for AirPods Max

SOPROM Ear Cushions — Best Magnetic Mesh Refresh for AirPods Max 1 and 2

AirPods Max is the simplest family on this page and the easiest to get wrong by guessing. Its cushions are magnetic, shaped to the cup, and handed — there is a left and a right. The verified listing states “SOPROM Ear Cushions for AirPods Max 1 & 2 Replacement EarPads,” and its listing details give a mesh fabric, foam and silicone construction, which mirrors the breathable mesh character of the original cushions rather than converting the headphone to leather.

That suits glasses well on this model. The Max is heavy with a firm clamp, and a mesh face lets a stem slide into place with less drag than a tacky leather surface. Installation is the magnet swap Apple designed for — pull the old cushion off, seat the new one in the correct orientation. If it sits proud or rocks, it is the wrong orientation or product, not something to force. Because the Max relies on its seal for cancellation, a cushion that does not seat flush will cost you ANC before it costs you comfort.

Best Replacement Earpads for ATH-M50x and Oval-Cup Headphones

The ATH-M50x family plays by older, friendlier rules: its pads stretch over a lip on the cup, and that same oval format is shared — carefully — with a long list of studio and gaming headphones. “Shared” still has to be proven per listing, which is why both picks below carry their compatibility in the title rather than in our say-so.

Brainwavz Sheepskin Oval — Best Premium Feel for M50x, M40x and More

The verified title is a compatibility list in itself: “Brainwavz Sheepskin Ear Pads for ATH M50X, M50XBT, M40X, HyperX, SHURE, Philips, JBL, Fostex Replacement Memory Foam Earpads & Fits Many Headphones (See List), Leather Oval.” Real sheepskin is the material upgrade here — softer to the touch than protein leather, slower to feel clammy, and generally longer-lived before it cracks — over memory foam that is deeper than the famously shallow stock M50x pad.

For glasses wearers, that depth fixes the M50x’s best-known comfort complaint: ears and stems pressed against a hard cup. The sound caveat is real here. The M50x is a closed-back monitor; a deeper pad enlarges the sealed volume in front of the driver, which tends to lift bass and soften the top end. If you mix on an M50x, re-check your low end against a reference after a swap. Our guide to the difference between active cancellation and passive isolation explains why sealed volume matters so much on closed-backs.

Brainwavz Velour Oval — Best for Glasses Wearers, Full Stop

If spectacle comfort outranks everything else, this is our pick of the page. The verified title reads: “Velor Replacement Ear Pads for HyperX Cloud & Alpha, ATH M50X, Steelseries Arctis, Logitech G Pro & More Headphones, Soft Velour, Memory Foam & Long Lasting Earpads by Brainwavz – Black.” Velour is the softest, most breathable face material in this roundup, and it is the one that presses least against a glasses stem — no tacky surface dragging on the frame, no hard seal edge digging in behind the ear.

Now the trade-off, stated plainly because velour marketing rarely states it: velour seals worse than leather. On a closed-back like the M50x or a HyperX Cloud, expect less isolation and a leaner low end than the stock pad gives you, because some bass energy escapes through the breathable face. On open or semi-open use, and for gaming sessions where comfort keeps you playing longer, most glasses wearers accept that happily. What velour will not do is improve noise cancelling on an ANC model — none of the oval picks here is listed for an ANC Sony or Bose, and they should not be adapted onto one.

Will Replacement Earpads Change the Sound?

Yes — sometimes a little, sometimes obviously, and any guide that promises otherwise is selling you something. An earpad is part of the acoustic system: it sets driver-to-ear distance, the sealed volume in front of the driver, and how much air leaks at the face. Thicker pads usually soften treble and can lift perceived bass. Face materials leak differently — leather seals tightest, fabric and velour breathe and leak more.

On noise-cancelling headphones the effect doubles, because the pad is part of the cancellation system. ANC is tuned expecting a particular seal; break it with a softer, thicker or fabric-faced pad — or a glasses stem tunnelling through it — and low-frequency cancellation falls first, which is why a plane cabin is the harshest test of a pad swap. Worn stock pads change the sound too, usually for the worse, and a well-matched replacement restores more than it disturbs. Just give your ears a few days before judging the change.

How to Check Fit and Measure Before You Order

Start with the model name, not a ruler. Read the exact model printed on your headphone — inside the headband, on the cup or in its Bluetooth pairing name — and match it word for word against the listing title. QuietComfort 35, QuietComfort 45 and QuietComfort SE are three different pads. WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 are different pads. AirPods Max 1 and 2 share a cushion design, which is why the SOPROM listing can name both.

Then check the mounting style, because it decides whether a pad can fit at all. Sony and Bose travel models mostly use clip-on or carefully seated pads with a specific inner scrim — the XM4 adds a sensor to respect. AirPods Max uses magnets and handed cushions. ATH-M50x-style ovals stretch over a lip, the only system where a measurement cross-check is meaningful: measure your old pad and cup, and compare them with the listing dimensions. If a listing cannot show you the back of the pad, treat its compatibility claim with suspicion.

When Should You Replace Your Earpads?

Replace them when the surface tells you to: leather flaking onto your ears, seam cracks, or foam that stays flat instead of springing back. Replace them when performance tells you to: weaker cancellation on a familiar route, thinned-out bass, or a headphone that slides because the pads no longer grip. And replace them when comfort tells you to — a pad that now hurts at forty minutes has hardened with age, and no headband adjustment will soften it again. A fresh, correctly matched set is the cheapest way to make a good headphone feel new; for glasses wearers, it is often the first time the headphone has ever truly fitted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are replacement earpads universal?

No. Most modern headphones use model-specific pads — different cup shapes, clips, magnets, scrims and even sensors. A pad should only be bought when its listing names your exact model, as every pick in this guide does. Stretch-over oval pads are the partial exception, and even they need a dimension and model check.

Will thicker earpads improve noise cancelling?

Not reliably. A fresh pad restores a worn seal, which helps, but a thicker or softer aftermarket pad changes the seal the ANC system was tuned for and can reduce low-frequency cancellation. Expect a small change in either direction, and test ANC pads in a noisy place, not a quiet room.

What are the best earpad materials for glasses wearers?

Velour and soft fabric faces press least against spectacle stems, and cooling-gel pads yield around a frame while feeling cooler. Leather and sheepskin seal better but grip stems harder. Thin frames are forgiving with any material; thick frames benefit most from velour or gel.

Do replacement earpads change sound quality?

Yes, to a degree. Pad thickness sets driver distance and sealed volume, and face material sets how much air leaks, so bass weight, treble presence and isolation can all shift. Like-for-like materials stay closest to the original tuning; velour and extra-thick pads change it the most.

How long do replacement earpads last?

With daily use, expect roughly one to two years before foam compression or surface wear becomes noticeable, depending on material, heat and how the headphones are stored. Sheepskin and well-stitched pads tend to outlast basic protein leather; wiping pads down and storing headphones out of direct sun helps any material last longer.

Can I put Sony XM4 earpads on an XM5?

No. Sony changed the earcup and pad design between the WH-1000XM4 and the WH-1000XM5, and the pads are not interchangeable. Buy the listing that names your generation — this guide lists a separate, verified option for each model.

Mark Folksman

I am the founder of Sound Mavericks, where I provide the polite truth about audio equipment. I started this site because consumer electronics reviews are often too technical. Instead of using a silent lab, I test headphones, earbuds, and Bluetooth speakers in the real world – like on a noisy subway or in a busy coffee shop.

To stay independent, I buy my own review units (mostly from the United States) rather than accepting free gifts from brands. Once I finish testing a product, I sell it locally to our community. My goal is to help you understand sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC), and battery life without the marketing hype.