[wicker_man]

I have owned my Grado SR80 headphones for almost 4 years and the plastic cable is starting to peel off from use, so I have decided to recable them.However, as I mostly use them with my iPhone, I was wondering if anybody has somehow integrated a microphone and buttons to the recabling so it can be used to receive calls also?
 
It is just something which would be nice to do, otherwise I would be fine to do a regular recable. This is the first time I will be attempting something like this, so any pointers to guides would be handy. I would like to put 2.5mm minijacks into the headphones to have a removable cable, I think I saw a thread a while back where somebody did this but I couldn't find it (I might have to do another more detailed search later).
 
But, as I live in the UK and most suppliers mentioned on here seem to be in the US, does anybody know of any good UK retailers or somebody who can ship to the UK?
 
Many thanks.

 

[weeksy79]

For the UK supplier, I use AudioSpares for all my connectors. And then ebay wires and other parts. One idea that might be worth trying is modding a single entry 3.5mm jack into one side and then using an aftermarket cable with in-line controls. Something like this from V-Moda would be perfect. 

 

[jfunk]

Yep I use audiospares as well - they are great for connectors and normally have some good clearance deals. You could also use a beats cable like http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-iSoniTalk-cable-Dr-Dre-Monster-Beats-Solo-Studio-iPhone-New-/160680433840 to hack apart for the project. They have a bigger control / mic box so may be easier to re-solder
 
You will have to post some picks if it all goes well

 

[wicker_man]

Thanks for the responses, I'll add Audiospares to my bookmarks!
 
That does seem like a good idea, but would the cable quality be good enough for the Grados? If I do go that route, I would probably need to modify the wiring somehow to a single 3.5mm socket on one side. Otherwise the bit which goes into the ear cups will need to be cut and re-wired into separate left and right 2.5mm plugs.
 
Or an alternative could be to get something like a Griffin iTalk, and make a short 3.5mm to 2x 2.5mm cable and use those together.

 

[weeksy79]

Given the low impedance of the Grados, I doubt there would be any issue at all with using these after-market cables. Performing a single entry mod should be fairly straight forward, you simple need to drill an exit hole on the cup with the input so that the cable for the other cup can be routed through the headband.
 
The only problem you may have is fitting an audio jack to the wall of the cup as the two pieces together make it very thick. I'm still pondering over how to do this so I can do the same mod for my SR60s. So if you think of anything, let me know These are the jacks I had planned to use, you might wanna pick up a few.