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Why Do Headphones always go.


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Old 21-01-2006, 03:25
Bill Clinton
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I've lost count of the number of pairs of headphones I've had that have eventually gone, first by losing a bit of the sound in one ear, to having to pull the wire or get it in the right place for the sound to come through without breaking up, to complete silence no matter how you pull the wire or fold it. My latest pair are just starting to go now, I'm having to fiddle around with the lead in order to avoid left channel only infuriating mono. Wouldn't a good idea be to have detachable cords to the speakers that you could replace when they started to go.
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Old 21-01-2006, 08:35
kev
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It does get rather annoying doesn't it - I sware it's a conspiracy to make me buy more earphones
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Old 21-01-2006, 09:25
Channel Hopper
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Buy a decent set.
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Old 21-01-2006, 10:16
Inkblot
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I've just had to order a new headband for my Sennheisers. You can buy all the parts individually so if one bit breaks or goes wrong you can replace that piece without buying a whole new set - useful if they're expensive 'phones.
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Old 21-01-2006, 15:31
Brain Donor
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I thought it was because the actual wires inside the plastic coating are really thin, and every time the phones get knotted, wound up, stretched, etc. the wires are slightly weakened, eventually leading to breakage.

But I don't really know what I'm on about. Just seems logical.
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:04
luvsnail
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I bought a pair of these about 3 years ago and they're still going strong. Lovely sound on them too - deep bass and crisp highs. They're aimed at DJs but they're a great pair of listening headphones too, probably the best sounding in their price range.

If you're willing to spend a little more money, these are very nice. They're meant for studio monitoring purposes but they're excellent for general listening too if you're concerned about audio quality.

Last edited by luvsnail : 21-01-2006 at 18:30.
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:04
gemmaovwales03
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my earphones went last night I've had them for about a year and they were great! I think the cost about £4 from argos was going to buy another pair in argos today but it was packed with people trying to get the new catalogue
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:14
Wishkahbanks
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Ive had a few pairs go,the ones i have now were from argos for 6.99 and ive been using them for about 3 years still working fine although the sound isnt brilliant
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:30
koantemplation
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Originally Posted by Bill Clinton
I've lost count of the number of pairs of headphones I've had that have eventually gone, first by losing a bit of the sound in one ear, to having to pull the wire or get it in the right place for the sound to come through without breaking up, to complete silence no matter how you pull the wire or fold it. My latest pair are just starting to go now, I'm having to fiddle around with the lead in order to avoid left channel only infuriating mono. Wouldn't a good idea be to have detachable cords to the speakers that you could replace when they started to go.
Yeah I wished they'd make them so you could repalce the cords, it's always the wire that goes not the head phones.
Why don't they have a female connection on the head phones where you could screw in a male connection and then you'd only have to buy a new lead each time.
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:37
flicker
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I had a great pair of JVC ones with a nice 4 meter lead on them, which I used just to listen to the tv really. I tripped on the lead when I got my hamster out the other night, and they stopped working the in the left ear. I went to Currys to get another pair, and all they had were ones with 1 metre leads which were nowhere long enough. I ended up getting a pair from Argos for £5.99, perfectly good enough. Please explain what a pair costing £65 can do that mine can't? You can hear things in mine, stereo sounds, bass, treble, speech. I would have to be a millionaire to even consider spending that on a pair of headphones.
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Old 21-01-2006, 18:39
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MY adored Philips headphones died a week ago - pity, as they were very good.

May invest in wireless...

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Old 21-01-2006, 18:54
luvsnail
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Originally Posted by flicker
Please explain what a pair costing £65 can do that mine can't? You can hear things in mine, stereo sounds, bass, treble, speech. I would have to be a millionaire to even consider spending that on a pair of headphones.
I really wouldn't consider buying a pair of headphones that cost less than £30 - they sound terrible. Sure, you can "hear things" in them, but there's so much more you can't hear. The most important difference between dirt cheap headphones (~£10) and "budget" headphones (~£30) is the frequency response range. The ~£30 headphones would most likely have a more extended range, producing deeper bass sounds and sharper high frequency sounds (cymbals, etc.). If you extend your budget to mid-range headphones (~£65), the flatness of the frequency response becomes more of a focus. For example, a cheap (~£30) pair may well reproduce frequencies from 20Hz - 20kHz, but the levels will be all over the place - some frequencies being louder than others. A mid-range pair of headphones will be much more neutral in this respect.

Further up the range you get the professional headphones (~£100) that are designed for a near-perfect reproduction of audio. This is mostly useful in studio and professional audio applications where an accurate reproduction is paramount. At the top of the range are the high-end audiophile headphones (~£300), which usually have noise cancellation (external sounds are picked up, inverted and then piped into the ear, meaning that outside noises are cancelled out and you get to listen to your music in silence).

If the sole purpose of your music listening is just to have a noise in your ears, then a £10 pair of earphones may well be all you need (provided you don't mind the cord breaking after a few months of normal use ). If you care at all about the subtle nuances of the music, however, or hearing the music as it was intended to be heard, then £10 earphones simply will not do. If these cheapo earphones are the only ones you've ever used, then you probably don't have any idea how much better music can sound. I think if you tried a decent pair of headphones, you'd be pleasantly surprised.

Originally Posted by kentboy
May invest in wireless...
I spent £50 on a pair of wireless headphones a couple of years ago. On a good day, they sounded like an FM radio on a bad day. On top of that, the build quality was terrible (as is normal for Philips) and constantly changing/charging the batteries was a pain. I'd avoid wireless headphones if possible.
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Old 21-01-2006, 19:14
flicker
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Thanks for the in depth explanation, very interesting. It would be nice to hear something through the expensive ones to compare I think. However, I have hearing impediments (I am supposed to wear a hearing aid, but I shall wait till I'm a lot deafer until I suffer that) I use headphones to hear speech at a decent clear level when watching tv, rarely for music, so they would be wasted on me I fear. It must be a great thing though if you have near-on perfect hearing. I envy you.
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Old 21-01-2006, 19:47
thewilks
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I have got through two pairs of pro DJ headphones that were just not up to the job.

The Sony MDR-V700 mentioned further above the thread (they snapped on the swivel mech) and a pair of Pioneer HDJ-1000 (they too snapped in roughly the same place).
Now, i'm very careful with my headphones so i couldn't work out what had happened. It turns out they're was a design fault with both of them. Sony upgraded the swivel mech 'cause of the breakage rate but Pioneer didn't. I managed to get the pioneers swapped under waranty 10 months after owning them. I've never used them and they are still sealed in their original packaging (they were swapped about this time last year. I think i'll eventually e-bay if i get skint!).

I had the original models that first came out (the Sony's were £130 back then and the Pioneers were £135) and the internet was peppered with similar storys about both of them snapping in the same place.

My post isn't too much to do with the original post, but i'm curious if anyone else has owned either one of these types of 'phones. I'm interested in getting the Sony's again if they don't snap as they are meant to be improved now according to Hard To Find Records.

My place of work said they will pay for 'em as i was using them there when they snapped!

I may go for the Sennheiser HD25's. But i dont know if they will go deep enough for me... Anyone help?
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Old 21-01-2006, 20:06
AshSan
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I've always worried that if I did get a pair of headphones that cost around £30 they'd still go after about a year.
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Old 21-01-2006, 20:42
luvsnail
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Originally Posted by thewilks
I have got through two pairs of pro DJ headphones that were just not up to the job.

The Sony MDR-V700 mentioned further above the thread (they snapped on the swivel mech) and a pair of Pioneer HDJ-1000 (they too snapped in roughly the same place).
Now, i'm very careful with my headphones so i couldn't work out what had happened. It turns out they're was a design fault with both of them. Sony upgraded the swivel mech 'cause of the breakage rate but Pioneer didn't. I managed to get the pioneers swapped under waranty 10 months after owning them. I've never used them and they are still sealed in their original packaging (they were swapped about this time last year. I think i'll eventually e-bay if i get skint!).

I had the original models that first came out (the Sony's were £130 back then and the Pioneers were £135) and the internet was peppered with similar storys about both of them snapping in the same place.

My post isn't too much to do with the original post, but i'm curious if anyone else has owned either one of these types of 'phones. I'm interested in getting the Sony's again if they don't snap as they are meant to be improved now according to Hard To Find Records.
I've had a pair of the Sony MDR-V700s for some time now. I'd heard all the horror stories about them breaking, but mine seem to be pretty sturdy. I've been pretty rough with them over the years, so maybe I have the ones with the improved design.
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Old 21-01-2006, 22:09
Kargo
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about 4 weeks ago i bought a pair of Sony Earphones for £10 in Virgin Megastores and one of the headphones have started to go fuzzy (dont you hate that).

its strange because the earphones which i got with my mp3 player have lasted over a year.
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Old 21-01-2006, 22:39
Mr.Lee
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I spent around £50 on a pair of JVC headphones the other day for my iPod, and so far so good. Saying that, the quality of the iPod 'phones were shocking so it wasn't going to take much to beat them.
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Old 21-01-2006, 23:17
AndyM
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I had some Sennheiser MX500's that recently broke at the in line volume control, so I replaced them with some Shure E2C earphones and the quality is excellent. They take a bit of getting used to because of the noise isolating ear plugs need to be fitted to your ear size.

I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile but I do listen to music all the time so I don't see the problem in spending a lot of money on some headphones. Fingers crossed I dont need the warranty.
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Old 21-01-2006, 23:18
Just Looking
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Mine always break because I chew on the wire! :/

I don't know why! I actually chew quite a lot of things, pens, random bits of plastic etc! I think I just like having something in my mouth! ...Okay, that sounds dirty!
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Old 22-01-2006, 16:59
AshSan
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Originally Posted by lil_bitch
Okay, that sounds dirty!
Especially considering your username
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Old 22-01-2006, 18:40
sparkle~
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Mine always break cos I manage to drop them in the bath!

I wonder if you can get waterproof ones.
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Old 22-01-2006, 20:26
Just Looking
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Originally Posted by AshSan
Especially considering your username
It's a term of affection

Nothing dirty implied at all, it's just your mind, obviously
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