Dekoni

Dekoni Audio began in 2015 out of simple frustration. When professional audio engineer Tal Kocen needed replacement earpads for his Sony MDR-7506 headphones, he discovered nothing on the market matched the quality he expected — so, together with business partner Sam Roney, he decided to make them himself. Operating initially as a subsidiary of Elite Foam, a company with deep expertise in polyurethane and memory foam manufacturing, Dekoni had genuine material science behind it from day one.

What started as a practical fix quickly became a mission: build headphone accessories that don't just replace worn-out stock parts, but genuinely improve on them — enhancing both comfort and sound quality using premium materials like heat-activated slow-rebound memory foam, hand-stitched sheepskin, and breathable velour, in place of the low-cost synthetic pads most headphones ship with. Dekoni takes a scientific approach to the work, measuring how each earpad design affects a headphone's actual frequency response rather than relying on guesswork.

That rigour has earned Dekoni a loyal following among audiophiles and audio professionals, plus direct collaborations with headphone manufacturers themselves — including co-developing the planar magnetic Dekoni Blue with Fostex and the dynamic Cobalt with HiFiMan. A decade on, Dekoni has become the name serious listeners turn to first when their favourite headphones need a genuine upgrade, not just a replacement.