As an owner of sailing license (but no yacht) I can attest that there exist no ship where you only replace sails and rope. Ships of any kind even in best shape require stuff to be repaired, replaced or painted ALL the time. Especially if you want to enjoy it for a long time and not deteriorate after couple of years.

Er, that's his point. That unlike your sailing boats, good headphones don't really need replacement of critical parts (drivers), but auxiliary and easily-replaceable stuff like earcups and cables.

-Incidentally, my curiosity got the better of me today and I rang up the AKG distributor to inquire about a spare driver for my 1990s vintage K240 cans.

'Sure can do, but if you're willing to shell out another $11, we'll sell you a pair of drivers, wrapped in a headphone-shaped box - it even comes with a cable, ready to plug in!'

So, I guess AKG are like any other brand - after market is considered 'free money' and an invitation to fleece the customer...

(Though in fairness, for such a cheap-ish pair of headphones as the K240, the logistics of even keeping a spare inventory probably makes AKG lose money on selling me a new driver, even at the $70-ish price point I was quoted for a driver which goes into an $80 pair of headphones.)

I see it in a different way. $11 is a bargain to have support rep pick up the phone and bother to send you and individually prepared package. For phones that have been out of production for years.

Most companies don't bother keeping spare parts these days and if you, for some unknown reason, want to maintain your cheapish vintage cans, you should be AMAZED they still keep them in stock. Because they are definitely not making any money on it.

The price was 70 not 11.