Ah, thanks for the suggestion Kramer5150.   I googled how to test continuity and broke out my dmm. All four solder joints showed continuity to both conductors on the 3.5mm plug. The cable does not seem to be the culprit here unless I'm missing something.

Cool, thanks for the advice. I didn't see any visible strain on the cord, but the zip ties they use inside the cups seem suspiciously tight. I'll see if I can replace the cable. You're right the solder joints are big and easily accessible so hopefully it won't be too hard.

A recently acquired a set of Grado SR-60i headphones from a friend. He said that his son jerked the cord one one side one day and after that it progressively started fading over the course of a week. He said as this progressed it also developed a crackle. The other channel still works just fine...

Quote: Thanks for this. I bit on this one and after the bass mod and some break-in time I'm quite happy with these. Especially for the price.