sturdy headphones

[McGyyver]

Hi,
in the last two years I've destroyed quite a few headphones. I made use of my warranty 4 or 5 times and still got three dead soundmagic pl30s laying around. My newly bought Sennheiser CX200 are dying aswell :/.
I use my headphones alot, f.e. for riding with the bicycle to school, running, ... . All of my headphones had problems with loose contacts, be it with the part where the plug is connected with the cable or the part where the cable goes into the headphones themselves.
I was going to order my fourth set of headphones at amazon today, but I had to notice, that amazon doesn't sell the pl30s anymore :/.

Can you recommend me some sturdy options on headphones? Is this a problem some of you have aswell? How do your headphones handle tough use?

BTW: While I really liked the sound of the soundmagic pl30s, the sennheisers sounded kinda dull, hollow to me:/

Thanks for any answers in andvance and forgive me for mistakes with my english

[The DarkSide]

JVC Riptidz,...cheap, good sq, designed for working out (sweat). I don't know how long they'll last you, but they're a great low cost disposable set of iem's.

[IDvsEGO]

Riptidz are great little cheap IEMs but they have kind of a shallow fit that makes them fall out for me when I am active.

Regardless of what you get, usage and care can make any IEM last longer. Wear the IEMs over the ear and use a shirtclip whenever possible. Universal shirt clips and ear guides (if needed, not necessary) are available one bay or from Meelec if your IEMs didnt come with them. both of these distribute any force that occurs while in use. they also reduce microphonics but that is just a bonus in your case. Also run the cable inside of your shirt. I even do it down the back when doing any physical activity.

In my experience from talking to people most of the damage actually happens in storage and transport though. How do you store them when not in use? I highly suggest a metal tin of the largest size you consider portable. larger size so that you can make the coil as loos as possible. I use a "4 finger coil"...meaning I loosely wrap the IEM cable around my 4 fingers and then place it in the tin. You can use an altoids tine but that is slightly smaller than the one I got off of ebay. several sellers have various sizes in plain silver. check survivalist places, as they are often used to store matches, etc for camping.

Follow these and your IEM can last a long while. I handed down my Klipsch S4 with the same instructions to my cousin and they are his road trip IEMs...and he is a commercial pilot. still kicking 2 years later, no cable issues. I guess those arent road trips though...sky trips?

[McGyyver]

Thanks for the fast response.
Im definitly going to take a look at the JVCs, I hope that I can get them for a fair price at a close shop, german amazon doesnt sell them:/

I always wear my IEMs under my tshirt, but I dont use a clip since last year my 2nd one broke:/. I store them mostly loose in my backpack / pockets after making a coil in a form of an 8 (around two fingers) and them tieing them up along the axis.
I still have the small round box (diameter about 8cm, 4cm thick, made of cloth) that came with the E30s laying around, I think its a good idea to try to get used to using them day by day again (I used them alot when I was travelling).
Is there a big difference from what I descriped to a metallic box? I wouldnt like to go any bigger as it would make me use it less:/.

So hes using his IEMs on his "sky trips" while piloting? That doesnt sound healthy to me

[IDvsEGO]

would you rather have the clip break or the IEM? if the clip is breakign it is takign the stress that you are now passing to your IEMs most likely.

loose in your backpack or pocket is not good and neither is binding them tightly byt tying them. if the case is at least semi rigid it would be ok. a mint tin easily fits in your pocket.

He doesnt wear them while flying. There is a lot of downtime for a pilot, depending on his shift. I mean, getting stuck in a Holiday Inn in a podunk town is torture. not every flight goes to a sexy place.

[McGyyver]

So I kept looking around and didnt find the JVCs:/. For storing my cx200 now I use the box I mentioned before.
Im thinking about cutting my old pl30s open and soldering a thick cable into them. I have concerns that they might be unconfortable over the ears due to their thickness, but I think I should give it a try.

[McGyyver]

So I just opened the pl30s and had to find out, that the small wheel, that is advertised as bass-control isnt connected to anything. Nice job soundmagic

[Azfargh]

If it's not too late, I STRONGLY recommend Koss Porta Pro. I'm clumsy, also ride bike, make phisical exercises (which some of them includes martial arts) alone, etc etc...

Porta Pro is really made to last. And even if won't, there is a lifetime warranty "no-questions-ask" type...

So it's very cost-benefit kind of headphones. Excellent sound quality and damn good bass (depending of your media player and/or the eq set).

Sometimes, the basic is the best.

[JK98]

Imo the Portapro is overpriced. For around the same price, the Sennheiser PX100II is so much better.

For IEMs, the JVC Riptidz is a good cheap option. The JVC HA-FX40 or Panasonic RP-HJE355 are each under $20 in the US, and imo both are excellent. The HA-FX40 is very bright, while the RP-HJE355 is warmer. Both have great detail.

My favorite budget headphone is the JVC HA-S160. At $12 it a great value($11.99 in black on Amazon).

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by JK98

Imo the Portapro is overpriced. For around the same price, the Sennheiser PX100II is so much better.

Good to see the PX100II has come down in price...for a long time it was about $25 more than a PortaPro. Both the Portapro and the original PX100 were cursed with flimsy cables that give out within a year of frequent portable use for me.
I'm extraordinarily cautious with my current PX90's in an effort to avoid that once again.

If you really want durable, though, the Philips O'Neill "The Stretch" are all that. You can twist them into shapes that would break any other headphone, and the cable is designed to pop off if strained. They're not the best sounding, though...need some EQ correction, at least for dedicated listening. For use while active, however, it might not be such a big deal.

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

Good to see the PX100II has come down in price...for a long time it was about $25 more than a PortaPro. Both the Portapro and the original PX100 were cursed with flimsy cables that give out within a year of frequent portable use for me.
I'm extraordinarily cautious with my current PX90's in an effort to avoid that once again.

Well with the Porta-Pro you do get a lifetime warranty. Have a co worker that just receives driver replacement kits every time the wires break.

[The DarkSide]

I personally luv the sound of the px100,...I despise the koss portapro. The treble irritated the crap outta me. That's my opinion,...ymmv.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

I personally luv the sound of the px100,...I despise the koss portapro. The treble irritated the crap outta me. That's my opinion,...ymmv.

Treble, from the Portapro? Sure you're not thinking of the KSC75? Those could be pretty shrill....

[The DarkSide]

Both I didn't like,...and the portapro is too open for my tastes.

[skip252]

I've seen the PortaPro vs. Senn PX 100 debated too many times to want to get into that one. I don't own the PX 100 II but I replaced the headphone jack on a set during the summer. I got a chance to listen to it enough to know that I still prefer the PortaPro. That doesn't make one better than the other to everyone, that's just my preference.

Having taken both of them completely apart I think the Senn are better built. Neither is all that durable from what I can see but the Senn are made from better materials and are put together to a higher standard.

Azfargh's may have held up for him with a lot of abuse but my PortaPro have needed to be repaired a few times. It's always been a failure in the cable. I stopped getting them replaced when the cost of shipping was approaching the price of a new set. I replaced the cable with one from a set of Sony MDR V150 I found at a garage sale for $2. I also added a strain relief using some heat shrink tubing and haven't had any more problems.

I'm not sure that someone coming from isolating IEMs would want either of them.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

I personally luv the sound of the px100

I bet you'd like the ATH-WS55 then.....same kind of sound signature but with moar power.(and it is closed-back)

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I bet you'd like the ATH-WS55 then.....same kind of sound signature but with moar power.(and it is closed-back)

You offering?

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

You offering?

Depends on if you had some other ones I was interested in. I don't use them much now, the HA-S500 and HFI-780 get all the head time. But I'm sure you have others I haven't tried.....

[The DarkSide]

Creative Aurvana Live,...we have each others addresses.