SAD FART Headphones

cure_liqueur

eskbanker Thanks for clarifying, appreciate the advice.

400ixl

You could ask the manufacturer if they can supply spare parts that you need to repair them. You won't be able to fix the feel you described, but maybe replace the other components to make them usable.

unforeseen

TBH the problem sounds like a case of the headphones not being cleaned correctly after each use.
The degradation is caused by body oils and sweat interacting with the rubber. 
As an example, Dell had the idea to have rubberised wrist pads on some of there laptops. The rubber used to perish after about 5 years because of the body oils affecting the rubber. 

mikb

Then again, some "rubberised textures" applied to surfaces just degrade with age anyway. Nothing to do with body oils and sweat (for example the plastic front of a PVR/DVR unit which you couldn't really blame on that!) -- the soft, matt finish applied to it turned sticky over time and started to disintegrate. Took quite some cleaning to strip it off so that the unit wasn't quite so icky ...

pinkshoes

cure_liqueur said:

Thanks for your help so far everyone.

DullGreyGuy I'm at the start of speaking to customer service via email, and they need me to provide my receipt, which will no doubt put them off any support the moment I share it with them when they see the date. That's the reason I came here, to try and see if there was anything I could do before I share with them. 

Looks like an expensive pair of headphones will more than likely be going into landfill (I don't know if they can be recycled?) which is a shame. 

Unfortunately after so long you don't have any consumer rights, so this will come down to whether they market themselves as a quality brand, or whether you're just paying for a name.

Some companies will happily repair their branded goods even after 20 years as long as the rest of the item is in a relatively good condition. Berghaus do this. Amazing customer service. 

If they're not willing to repair such a known fault, then all you can do is leave factual reviews online to warn others.

outtatune

You can use isopropyl alchohol to de-gooify the rubberised parts. A steel wool dish scourer can speed things up.

cure_liqueur

Great advice everyone thank you all for your input.