[Scott Dorsey]

In article , Jim wrote:
I spent 15 years in radio with my trusty set of Koss Pro 4A headphones.

Then, about 10 years ago, a friend introduced me to Sennheiser 490's and I
never looked back. I've even worn out and replaced one cord and both
earpads.

Now, one side got blown out after a couple of medieval bass spikes, so I
need to replace them.

Well, they stopped making them a few years ago, so I'm stuck....I've
searched around, but I can't find anything that matches them in a good
quality/price combo.

Sennheiser has replacement elements for them in stock. I suggest replacing
both elements if one is blown. Sennheiser service will do the work for you
if you don't want to do it yourself. If you really like them, fix them.

The 490's have "open" earpads, but the earpads are large, nothing like the
small generic mp3 types....great response and extremely comfortable.

I would suggest trying the Grado SR80 if you're looking for large open
earpads, open backs, and clean but not analytic sound. They'll sound
different on your ears than on mine, though, so you need to try them for
a bit.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."