I recently resurrected a vintage pair of Yamaha Orthodynamic HP-2's. These were given to me about 40 years ago by a co-worker Declared them broken and asked if I wanted them. I said yes. It turned out that the cord was shorted where the molded 1/4" jack was attached so I replaced the jack and they were good to go. I hadn't used them much because at the time I wanted a more isolating headphone and had few pairs of Koss Pro 4AA's I had picked up and I preferred the isolation. There was a stretch where I wasn't listening to the stereo and my gear was languishing. Over the past few years I have been getting back into it and the Koss's seemed to have gained about 5lbs! I forgot how heavy they were. I found the Yamahas in a box so I dug them out. The ear cushions were shot and falling apart and the flexible part of the headband had deteriorated severely. The vinyl plastic support for the sueded fabric had become brittle and was in pieces.
The ear cushions were replaced with a pair of Sony cushions that were the same size. Two sided tape holds them in place. The headband was a little more complicated. I wanted to replace it with something that looked and performed the same. I was able to carefully separate the fabric from the vinyl support material and carefully taped the pieces of the brittle support together. I purchased a heavy black vinyl report cover from a stationary store that was the same thickness, stiffness, and texture of the original. I placed the taped together support onto the report cover and traced it. I then carefully cut out a new support in one piece and contact cemented the original sueded fabric to it and then reassembled the newly constructed piece to the metal headphone band.
They now look and perform great and sound terrific! They go very nicely with my Marantz receiver and Benjamin/Elac turntable. I love vintage.
