Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
If only the cords used a jack instead of being hard wired.
There are a few websites that offer headphone modification service or DIY parts for that sort of thing - not sure if any of them cover the Sony's though.

Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
I dislike that the ear pads fall apart after a couple years or so.
That happened to my M50's and my HD 380's - just replaced the pads on the 380's actually and they're like new again. I didn't like the stock pads on the M50's that much, so on a recommendation I used a set of Shure pads on them and they feel incredible now and so far have lasted a lot longer. I also may swap the pads on my K7XX's, they're a bit firm for my liking, although they're also easily the most comfortable big headphones I own.

Originally Posted by Mike Halloran
I have an old pair of Grado open air for casual listening but I rarely do that anymore. Because of my limited mobility, I prefer to crank up the speakers nowadays but certain old recordings including anything with Joe Osborne or Chop Douglas on bass just sound like magic on those Grados.
Similarly I prefer speakers, but yeah dang my Grados are magical like you say. I can hear new things in music I've been listening to for decades!

Honestly headphones for me are mostly for fun and for outdoors - I mix through studio monitors whenever possible. For listening at home I've got my original HR824's and my home theatre which consists of a Marantz receiver and a pair of medium size 1970's Technics speakers - both systems sound fantastic.

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