Repaired my old EV n/d mic, it is like brand new again. It’s hard to fit and some lubricant and a little heat be required to push it on. Do not use Vaseline or any oil based lubricant as it might react with the handle material. Use a water based lubricant like KY Jelly or Durex (sorry not meaning to be rude, but these are the most easily available water based lubricants). Water based lubricant dries quickly too and the sleeve will stay tight on the mic. Apply lubricant to the metal body of the mic and slide it on. Warning - Be very careful- Don’t crush or damage the mic head by pushing hard. If you get stuck and cant push it on any further, get a hair dryer and gently warm the sleeve to soften it. Do not make it too hot or you will damage or melt it. Just apply enough heat to get it moving. Note - Pay close attention to the orientation of the XLR latch and look at the key slot location on the bottom of the new sleeve to make sure it lines up BEFORE you slide the sleeve onto the mic. If you get it wrong, just warm the sleeve with the hair drier and rotate gently until the alignment is correct. If you do not align it with the latch on the mic cable XLR, the latch will lift the sleeve each time you connect the cable and eventually cause damage to it. Not sure why the original sleeve perished...either it chemically reacted with the foam in the carrying box as it was stored in there for years, or it was fitted originally using a lubricant which reacted with the sleeve, but i suspect the foam as it degraded caused it to break up. Who knows, but anyway my mic is useable again and looks brand new and I’m not storing it in the original case ever again. I’m happy as I have been trying for many years now to find and buy this part and get this amazing mic back into service again.