Recommend a pair of headphones for me

I'd only buy Grado again if they came up with a better design for the junction where the L and R cables join the main cables. Just stupid.

i had that thing with the Shure cables cracking/fraying. it's a real shame if it's the case with all their headphones because they really do sound great. i was even tempted to buy them again, despite the problem, as most of the comments i've seen online suggest that Shure are quite reasonable with repairing them. after Bill's comments though, i'm tempted to look elsewhere.

I should clarify that during the 2-year warranty period they replaced the three pairs that failed without a quibble. But I'm now outside that and Shure UK's only offer is a replacement pair at 40% off the RRP, but as the RRP is £400 that's still more than I paid for them new. My current argument is that from day one they have known there was a problem with the initial cable compound (and this has been well documented on head-fi.org etc), and my first three pairs were all from this affected batch so the were guaranteed to fail. The latest pair have lasted longer (well over a year), but have still failed in the same way, and as the warranty runs from the initial purchase date then I am out of luck.

I'm hoping that sense will eventually prevail. Otherwise I'm perfectly happy to take it to the UK Trading Standards body and see what they think.

It's good to hear about your experience with these. I still have a pair that work, though I've been reluctant to use them heavily lest they fray like the last pair. It's compounded by the fact that I purchased them while I was working in Korea, and I'm not sure what sorts of hoops I'd need to jump through to have them repaired.

If Shure has known about problem this long, that's fairly damning.

huh

I've had a pair of Shure e4c since the day they came out (early 2005?). no issues.

Under uk consumer law the retailer is responsible to you for seven years, I think, for home electrical goods - I've used this law to include a DSLR camera so I'm sure £400rrp headphones would count too. They're clearly not fit for purpose so you're entitled to replacement. Warranty should also, I'm pretty sure, renew with each replacement product. Google uk consumer law; it's actually very favourably balanced towards the consumer.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3663/3347193842_3de692168d.jpg

I love my Klipsch S4's (with Shure buds). Coupled with my 16gb Sony NWZ walkman > > > > aural perfection.

xpost

From everything I've read (at tedious length it must be said), there were issues with the initial batches of E500/SE530 earphones pretty much from the outset. The cable compound was, at some stage, changed to one less susceptible to this cracking problem, but as I said earlier all this has done in my case is last a bit longer. I've owned Shure e2c and e4g earphones before and neither model was affected by this, so the situation is pretty clear cut, in my mind at least and from the numbers of people who have been affected (there's a poll on head-fi covering this, figures up to about 50% iirc) I'm disappointed that Shure did not carry out a product recall or at least publicise this.

SM, that is very helpful advice - I've never really investigated uk consumer law before but your comments give me some hope that I might be able to get a replacement set, which is all I want. I've seen another headphone maker which sells little clear latex doohickies that can be fitted to the cable where it meets the earpiece and suspect this would at least offer some additional protection in future.

yeah sam500, I hear good things about the Klipsch range. If I cannot get satisfaction from Shure then I'm sorely tempted to go for one of theirs, or possibly Westone 3s or Sennheiser IE8s. For my commute the noise isolation is essential and the Shure buds are really excellent for this.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/TX584ZM/A/Bowers-&-Wilkins-P5-Mobile-Headphones?fnode=MTY1NDA0Ng&mco=MTcwOTA2Njk

At £100, even £150, I might've took a pop on these.

Seems that in the 5 years since I first encountered Apple earbuds, they've stepped up their game considerably. They overcompensated on the bass a bit, but most people like their earphones a bit bassy, so I understand why that happened. These are my work earphones now, though, since my Shures block out a little too much sound for the office. Anyway, yeah... these don't suck.

So what are the best in-ear picks? I have some aging Shure e2c earbuds on which I have somehow screwed up the right channel. Minimal profile and sound quality are the goal here, although the ability to have a shorter cable or iPhone control would be great.

I still am trying to figure out if my right ear is less sensitive now, or I screwed up my right earbud. Likely the latter.

depends on what you want - several big name manufacturers have iphone-compatible inears out, and all are reviewed favorably depending on who you ask. for example, if you like a clean and analytic sound signature, you might consider the etymotic hf2.

Ultimate Ears (UE), Shure, altec lansing all make iphone-compatible in-ears and they all get reviewed highly. depends on what kind of sound you like.

i really want the Dr. Dre headphones but I'm afraid someone will punch me in the back of the head and take them if i wear them outside

...

The Dr Dre headphones are, from what I've heard and read, passable but overpriced. Don't buy products from Monster, Whiney.

anyone here from the uk ever redeemed their koss lifetime warranty, and if so do they recall which retailer did it for them? (the left can has gone in my portapros.) one of those listed is quoting me £10 "handling fee", one hasn't replied to email, and the other one is giving me the runaround wrt getting a order reference # before i can send anything. >:[

heres the list: http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/dist?openform&United%20Kingdom

http://www.ballerstatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-07-gaga1.jpg

^^ secretly what whiney wants

I have been happily using Koss Portapros for gym/home listening for a few years and using the guarantee a couple of times a year to get a new pair when they inevitably crap out but now I'm looking at spending a little more (but not that much more, I'm a broke grad student) to get something sturdier, particularly as I do some amateurish sound recording for my films and need a better pair of monitor cans. So, any up to date suggestions in the $50-$75 range that would be a noticeable improvement on the (quite decent) portapros?

I also need something excellent-sounding and portable and under $50. Can anyone weigh in on:

Sony MDR-EX56LP
Maximo iMetal iM-590
Denon AH-C360

Or should I spring for something else? They're for riding the train/walking around with my Zune.

r/t/c I had my pps serviced by hama PVAC ltd back in sept. 06

don't know if they still do it; the contact e-mail I have for them is jlunn at hama dot co dot uk

Been using my Alessandro M1s as my primary listening, uh, thing, for months now here in Argentina. They sound great (part of this can be chalked up to re-listening to stuff like Talk Talk on headphones instead of speakers and being amazed, but still) and are comfortable as hell... I frequently fall asleep with them on.

I was surprised how big they actually are when I picked up a pair

I bought some Grado SR60's two years ago, in large part because of the praise they received from posters, especially sick mouthy, but I'm thinking of getting something else soon.

Ideally the next pair should be under $100, able to fit inside my laptop bag without my constant fear of them breaking, and preferably canned -- or at least not as open as the Grado's, which tends to put what I'm listening to on a sort of display for people nearby.

Ideas? Recommendations?

I prefer open designs, but the Denon AH-D1001s I picked up last year have held up well. They're light and comfy, though not collapsable. Very little sound leakage. I'm not sure if you can get a pair for less than $100 yet.

I'll look into them. Thanks.

Any recommendations for good-sounding headphones with replaceable parts? It's always the lead that breaks.

Do such things exist?

I think sennheiser hd25s are studio quality headphones with fully replaceable parts

Think all $100+ Sennheisers and possibly some of the cheaper ones have replaceable leads (with varying definitions of "replaceable" - my HD590s have a lead which just plugs in on the outside of the left headphone, but my new 595s require the plastic casing to be taken apart and things to be unscrewed - haven't had to do that yet so I'm hoping it's less complicated than the diagram looks).

The 590s were pretty expensive but after a succession of $30 headphones where the lead broke within a year or two (and in some cases only a few months) they paid for themselves. The leads tend to be a proprietary fitting and cost $20, but I guess I got 4 years out of each lead so far.

It's on the move headphones that I'm most interested in, I guess having them not ruined in my bag is the biggest hurdle.

Bose Quite Comfort 15s have a replaceable leads--they sound good and are super comfy.

(also nice case to protect them in a bag)

Is there such thing as an affordable pair with easily replaceable parts?

Need to replace my lost HD25-Is. List is Sennheiser HD25-IIs, B&W P5 and Beyer Dynamic T50p . Look for good sound but more importantly isolation. Did my first overnight flight without my HD25s last week and it was hell without my cocoon of solitude.

Damn, I think I lost my AKGs.

My Grado SR60's are starting to lose connectivity in their right ear and the warranty has passed. Can anyone recommend some under $20 headphones to pix up at Best Buy or whatever until I can afford to either get these fixed or get something more expensive and good online?

if you have a soldering iron Grados are very easy to fix, sounds like the lead might be coming off at the right driver Cunga. Ed have you considered IEMs? I think you probably can't go wrong with another pair of HD25's.

I had some etymotics for a while and although I liked the sound but I found them uncomfortable. IEMs aren't really for me I think.

Thanks for the advice, dyao. This happened before to them last year and I just sent it back for repair free of charge.

I'd recommend calling Grado's customer service. They repaired the left channel on my SR-60s for $15 (including shipping) even though the SR-60s had been out of warranty for years.

In fact, I've found Grado's customer service to be some of the most accommodating I've ever dealt with. It seems like they take pride in their product.

http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/showfile.php?file=grado_prj.htm

advice for how to open up the cups

if the break is in the wire itself however it may be more complicated.

are grados still made in the US?

I was looking for good cheapo headphones and I found a link to Avlex HD668B Enhanced Bass Headphones (the write up is here) and for $40 you get semi-open phones with pretty great sound quality and a range from 10 to 30,000 Hz.

What's the best set of canalphones I can pick up for around/under $30 that can withstand a beating? These Sennheiser CX300's didn't even last a year (though I stored them wrapped around my Zune in my bag...)

@docfunk: Oh, good. My Dr. Dre headphones are malfunctioning. That was my worst buy of 2009 even before this. #TheySuckEvenWhenTheyWork

are grados still made in the US?

pretty sure they're still made in Brooklyn

@Stevie D: Here's some good cheap canalphones - Creative Creative Labs EP 630 (site recommended + good reviews on amazon + under $30)