Fixing the pads on my audiotechnicas

[protonchain]

Dear all,
 
        So I have this wonderful pair of AudioTechnica ATH M50s. The sound is excellent, I love the curly cord, keeps everything nice and tight. They still feel snug on my head.
 
However the cups have started becoming a bit flat on the padding and the top padding has started to peel off a bit and leave bits of black plastic/cloth on my head.
 
I was wondering if there was a way to fix this or if I could/need to send them in somewhere to get them repaired. Is there a danger in fixing the cups and whatnot? Can I make the pads on the cups more comfortable for prolonged usage?
 
Thanks!

 

[ranfan]

You can get one of these YAXI pairs
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=yaxi

 

[atarione]

well sure there are all kinds of ear pad options..  new AT pads are about $25~ for authentic ones on amazon
 
I put Shure 840 ear pads on mine... fit a bit looser than is totally ideal but don't fall off that easily and are more comfortable.
 
The ear pads just lift off gently then you just fit the lip of the replacements in the grooves on the ear cups.. not much danger of breaking anything, mostly a danger of tearing the pads if you pull to hard.. but it isn't hard to do this.
 
 
The headband depending on your level of OCD is the bigger challenge...  The obvious cheapest answer is to get a button on headband cover...for like $9~ or so
 
https://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Sennheiser-Audio-Technica-Replacement-Protector/dp/B00OF71WWO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485498213&sr=8-1&keywords=headphone+headband+cover
 
 
I have also seen people use iron fabric on the bottom... if you are surprisingly handy you could dismantle the headphones and get a new piece of leather or vinyl sewn in...    you'd have do desolder the ear cups and get the cover off .. it would be a fair bit of fiddly work.
 
 The Sound Professionals seem to have the replacement headband for $70~  +$30 if you want them to install it and shipping ..  you'd have to do some disassembly and soldering to DIY this...
 
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/ATH-M50-HEADBAND-REP
 
 
now at that point.. you'd be some time (depends on your skills / comfort with the work) it would probably take me 1/2hour or so to do this headband swap job...   and $100~ in with parts headband and pads...
 
you can get certified refurb M50X headphones on amazon for $110~ right now or new for $150 so the math starts getting complicated if you wanted to replace the worn headband ... as it might make more sense to buy a new pair or refurb pair...