[feckn_eejit]

OK, great to hear!

 

[logboy]

i've experienced this same stiffening overnight.

my theory is that it's because i use a case to store my headphones, and the process of winding the cable in causes a form of twisting with that portion of the cable above the Y splitter. it's not so apparent at either end of it, but i suspect that the need to loop that length down and back up (before winding the cable below the splitter into the central space) can cause a twist within the cover that overlaps the cables outwards, filling that space and making the cable go hard; if you hold the cable down before bringing it partially back up, it might last longer, but if the hold isn't done right you might essentially be bending and rolling one half over the other like a folding motion. yes, a hairdryer loosens temporarily, but it returns because it shrinks back around the cables. suspect it might be possible to heat and roll the cable to counter this, but as you can't see exactly what's going on and if you're correcting it accurately, i wouldn't like to say for certain.

i like the sound of the grado headphones, but i've paid out to replace one twist on an older pair (and resent it; i'm in the UK, so i don't get it free like the USA seems to) that essentially makes the price of them double, despite the ongoing design flaws that the company never owns up to or corrects. i will be looking to get a different pair if i need to replace this set.

 

[doblebo]

I just experienced this now on my SR325is that I've had forever.
I picked them up to find what felt like a cut in the wire. Luckily the wires inside were undamaged and this was just the hard/brittle outer vinyl/plastic breaking.
They were fine for many years and have always been in a temp controlled room. Now the wires above the y split are at various stages of stiffness (seemingly randomly along the length).
I just put some GAFF tape where the break happened and retired them until I can find a solution for this.
I have some Gummi Pflege weather seal conditioner I am tempted to use, but I'm going to try using some mineral oil first (at some point).
For now this is an excuse to get some new open backed headphones.

 

[logboy]

I just experienced this now on my SR325is that I've had forever.
I picked them up to find what felt like a cut in the wire. Luckily the wires inside were undamaged and this was just the hard/brittle outer vinyl/plastic breaking.
They were fine for many years and have always been in a temp controlled room. Now the wires above the y split are at various stages of stiffness (seemingly randomly along the length).
I just put some GAFF tape where the break happened and retired them until I can find a solution for this.
I have some Gummi Pflege weather seal conditioner I am tempted to use, but I'm going to try using some mineral oil first (at some point).
For now this is an excuse to get some new open backed headphones.

I’d ask grado for a repair for free.

They did do one for me years back, and I think (iirc) they said the material used had become known as prone to hardening.

My 325 remain largely unused so not checked if they gone, but two pairs of 80s have pretty much gone and will go when audeze mm-100 hopefully proves worthwhile.