This must be responsible for 80% of new over-the-ear headphone sales.

Thanks! I did not know this was a thing

I won some beats studio 3's at a Christmas party years ago. I had the same issue about two years ago and for like $11 I got some replacements off of Amazon. No issues since.

Bs, it's not about cheap crap. I got sony wh710's, was unable to find genuine replacements for them and blue was unavailable in aftermarket. Had to get a new pair instead.