i have a pair of AKG k240 that work and sound really well. or rather, sounded, some months ago.
actually, one of my cats just loved the rubber cable, and he decided to bit it several times, at several places. i tried to fix it with some tape scotch, i spent like 3-4 hours just to make some perfect connections, without small wires touching other wires, good insulating, etc etc.
after those 4 hours, i tested it, and the sound was changing from stereo to mono, randomly, like it was out of phase. mission: not successful at all. any advices about those micro jacks ?

 

Replacement cable easy to find the last time i had to do that i found a few on ebay (brand new) I'd say that's still the case.


Example But There Are Others As Well



Also Here

 

Does this mean your cat has good taste *yes*

 

they love everything made of rubber. it's good for their teeth. less good for me

 

i guess they made a new line of akg k240.

mine, came with a cable, in one side, there is a classic mini jack 3.5mm, like the ones used on the smartphones, laptops, etc etc.
and the headphones side, on the left, there is some kind of little socket, and the cable has a micro jack--> i think it is 2.5mm.

 

I have the Beyerdynamic DT880-Pro, they are good and not very expensive. The cable is very good and thick, too. Unfortunately except for the crucial point where it connects to the bin. It is not very well fixated there, and with time the tension moves from the insulation to the inner "small wires". I've had it tear off at that specific spot (inside the headphones), so I had to crack them open (which is not terribly hard), resolder the wires and properly fixate the cable. Working good ever since. Perhaps if you make proper fixation before starting to use them, the whole issue won't arise. They are insanely comfortable and don't tend to squeeze or tire my head. Reg. quality, they are good, but not perfect, and perhaps a little darker than most.

As a side note, AFAIK it's either quality sound OR good isolation. Can't have both at the same time. With closed designs, you have the isolation, but then you also have internal reflections. With open designs, the sound is more... well... open. But the isolation suffers. That's why I personally chose half-open design, as a compromise between the two. If you can live without isolation, perhaps entirely open design is even better.

If you want to fix your existing cable, take into account that these "small wires" are covered with some insulating material, so once teared, they won't make proper contact even when pressed. The only solution is soldering. In spite of that, switching between stereo and mono sounds more like having those wires establish in fact unwanted contact, which suggests insulation problem. Maybe the cable is broken in more than one spot, and you didn't get to fix it everywhere. I'd suggest cutting the cable a few inches before the connector that goes into the bin, getting a replacement cable with the other side's connector soldered, and soldering the two into a new single working one. Use Volt/Ohm-meter to check the connections before coating the joint spot (be careful not to run much current through them though. Only do that if you know what ya doing). If you have some XLR or PL or other cables with rigid outer coating which you can cut, take a short segment of that coating and place it over the soldered spot to fixate it (obviously, insulate the "inner wires" prior to doing that), then press it hard with good-quality tape over the whole thing, but not too much as a huge bump will work against it's purpose.

Or just get a replacement cable

 

yes, replacing the cable is the best option.