Earbud Lifespans and which ones last?

atat23

Just interested in what make of earbuds people go for and how long they're current pair have lasted them. Maybe that way I'll find a pair that will last.


My current ones were mainly chosen for the ipod control, these

My set currently only have one side working and I've only had them around two months.

I know this is a broken connection somewhere in the headphone but mine always seem to break this way, I don't know why, I was extra careful with these ones to try and prevent this very problem The last ones I had also had ipod control, they stopped working fairly quickly as well so I'm done with this kind for the time being, the connections in the remote are too fragile, I guess.

So tell me about the earbuds you use or just recommend ones that won't break so I don't have to spend €50 every two months.

cnocbui

The cables are usually what goes, they get tugged and a conductor snaps internally.

I have a pair of these sport oriented Meelectronic M6P on their way as they look to have a tougher cable than most and have strain reliefs so that is a good sign the manufacturer is on the ball and have addressed the issue:



Klipsche make a new model called the S5i tough that has iPod controls and is intended for sport use. Not sure I am convinced the cables are up to the 'tough' label looking at them but some people talk of the the s4i model having gone through washing machines and survivng so maybe they did improve the cables on the i models.

You could just look at the pics in this thread and look for ones with tough looking cables http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-140-iems-compared-meelectronics-cc51-sp51-added-02-03

atat23

yeah I've heard going with sports ones offers the most durability because they are obviously designed with that in mind.

I don't like ordering them online though as when one pair breaks I want a new pair asap and most of the sport headphones in the shops around Dublin seem to be the over ear ones that clip around your ear. lame!


I looked through that thread and I'm probably the worst kind of person to judge cables going by my history. I have been thinking of trying headphones with a flat cable, maybe that design would be decent........or maybe the shape would increase bending at the jack causing the same problem

I also see there are nylon sheathed ones and twisted cables, might be worth looking into a pair with twisted, that sounds like something that would help with this problem.



edit: after reading the Great Earphones at Great Prices thread the fault seems to lie entirely with me, I honestly don't know how wrapping the cord carefully around the mp3 player is better than just coiling it, or using the provided rotating case to coil it up but I bow down to those with greater knowledge in these things. Apparently I've been expecting more from headphones than any seem to offer

pleasant Co.

atat23 wrote: »

edit: after reading the Great Earphones at Great Prices thread the fault seems to lie entirely with me, I honestly don't know how wrapping the cord carefully around the mp3 player is better than just coiling it, or using the provided rotating case to coil it up but I bow down to those with greater knowledge in these things. Apparently I've been expecting more from headphones than any seem to offer

I think you've got that the wrong way around

Wrapping cables around player = bad
loosely coiling = good

That said, it seems you were wrapping them properly before hand? but there must be another reason for your bad luck.

The Panasonic HJE900 are supposed to be tough as nails, as are the sennheiser IE8, and from my own experience I'll recommend the Westone UM3X - despite some slight de-twisting of the cable.

atat23

my bad, meant to put an extra "any" in there:

I honestly don't know how wrapping the cord carefully around the mp3 player is any better than just coiling it


in truth I do wrap them around my ipod touch, for example, but not overly tightly and am usually careful about it. I do tend to walk about with the ipod in my pocket with the headphones still in and they're usually left hanging out from the collar of my hoody (I feed the cord through the bottom of my hoody through my collar to keep the lead out of the way)

All really bad habbits probably, I'll admit after spending a good portion of today reading up on the subject, a lot of the fault is likely my own and I need to change my habbits for headphone care.


So many choices of recommended headphone now, I started out writing the names on a post-it and have filled it up now. cnocbui is to blame with that awesome thread he linked to

corcaigh07

i find the cx300's to be very hard wearing, my pair are over 2 years old and still going well

Brian

Get a pouch, wrap them around four fingers, keep them in there.

BostonB

It must be the way you are wrapping. Even wrapping them around my player I don't have that problem. Well not often.