After 4 years of regular use, my cables were looking a little rugged, the plastic cover over the cables that split to each ear were cracking at the Y splitter . I called Grado and they quoted me $45 (includes return shipping)for a new cable plus an additional $15 to upgrade to the newest 8 conductor UHPLC copper connecting cord. The new cable is stout and heavy, with 8 conductors its my guess grado is using varied size cables to better handle the full spectrum with as little loss as possible, similar to Audioquests Spread Spectrum...