Do headphones not last as long these days?

[super chimp]

Just to explain in the last ten years I've gone through umpteen headphones made by a variety of brands be they Sennheiser, Bose, Sony etc at various price points and I find myself thinking I am doing well if they last eighteen months. A lot of the times it seems to be the same issue of the connecting wires coming lose on them. Though I've had a couple of other things go wrong. Yet when I was a teenager I had a pair of relatively cheap Sony Walkman headphones and they lasted over ten years in spite of some pretty heavy usage. It's like headphones just aren't as hardy these days.

 

[xSinghx]

I guess it depends on what you mean by price points. I've used these:

http://www.amazon.com/Technics-RPDJ...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00008VIJ4

The only problem I've had is some of the covering for the ear cushion peeling off. Technics is pretty much a dead brand now, and the link I provided is overpriced by about $50 or so relative to what the list price should be but anything that's generally speaking above $150 from a major brand (not Beats) should take a beating and be relatively good to you.

If I had to buy new today I would probably go with something from Pioneer (or maybe Audio Technica).

http://www.pssl.com/Studio-DJ-Headphones?pos=0&c=C0000AQS&c=C0000AB0&c=C0000AB1&c=C0000AB3

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

I guess it depends on what you're buying. I have some Beyerdynamic DT770s and granted they don't really ever leave my room but they've held up wonderfully.

 

[campyguy]

Ditto the comment by JoelTheSuperior. I own a pair of old Grado SR80 cans - I've replaced the foam L "cushions" that came with them with far more comfy S Cushions. They sound great and they look about the same as they did when I bought them. A couple of months ago, I ponied up for a new pair of SR325e cans - and they're even more sturdy with alu instead of plastic and a thicker cord which I wouldn't want to get hit with, and the SR325e sounds splendid. Both Grados I own are more durable looking than all of the Chinese-made headphones I see at the nearby Best Buy.

I just bought a pair of Beyerdynamic T51i cans for out and about, I'll see how they hold up - I spent under $20 for an expedited replacement plan just in case, which I didn't have to worry about with the new Grados.

 

[ChrisA]

... A lot of the times it seems to be the same issue of the connecting wires coming lose on them....

My AKG K240 have a replaceable cord. Uses a mini-DID jack. I don't seem to have a problem, even with way-cheap $30 headphones.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, they do say that modern capitalist production is partly predicated on the concept of 'inbuilt obsolescence'. Actually, I still remember my shock when my Professor of Political Philosophy explained this concept to me quite a few years ago.

Having said that, some products still last well, but the other old adage applies, namely that - to a certain extent - you get what you pay for.

Personally, I use Bowers&Wilkins headphones and find them superb. I have had my P5s (granted, the drivers and leather was replaced once) since 2011, and absolutely love them.

 

[campyguy]

Well, they do say that modern capitalist production is partly predicated on the concept of 'inbuilt obsolescence'. Actually, I still remember my shock when my Professor of Political Philosophy explained this concept to me quite a few years ago.

Having said that, some products still last well, but the other old adage applies, namely that - to a certain extent - you get what you pay for.

Personally, I use Bowers&Wilkins headphones and find them superb. I have had my P5s (granted, the drivers and leather was replaced once) since 2011, and absolutely love them.

Funny, and true...

I studied civil and industrial engineering, with minors in environmental engineering - and marketing. In that marketing, we were taught several "models" of success, and failure - of which one describes your professor's teachings in this regard, IMHO.

The ideal, perfect model was created years ago by Proctor & Gamble - adding the word "Repeat." to the end of the "Apply. Lather. Rinse." instructions for shampoo, about doubling consumption with the addition of one word to their labeling.

A successful business model is that used by many automotive manufacturers, especially back in the 50s/60s by Ford/GM. Sell a solid product, then upsell and provide accessories and branded consumables (like windshield wipers).

Then, there's the "fatal" implementation of an enterprise resource planning model by Tektronix - I've used their oscilloscopes. They built a bulletproof product, saturated the market - then died when they sold a product that never really needed servicing to everyone in their target market. I'd bet those scopes and meters I used in college 25 years ago still work flawlessly...

I like Grado Labs' approach - build better drivers, tweak the model number (SR125/SR125i/SR125is/SR125e), distribute to tech/music rags so the ad budget is kept low, and make sure everybody sells at the "retail price".

 

[Cromulent]

My pair of Audio Technica headphones are definitely built to last. I'd highly recommend a pair. I have the Audio Technica ATH-M40x headphones which are pretty cheap considering how good the sound quality is. I've had them for over a year now and absolutely love them. They get daily usage. The cord is very well made and sturdy.

I used to by cheapish in-ear headphones and they were all rubbish. Cheap cables and poor sound quality. Once I had invested a bit more in a decent pair of headphones the difference was night and day.