A million times, this. Just use common sense. Walking around in your small town, maybe between the public library and the corner store? Why not. Wearing them around Hollywood at night? Don't be stupid.
Don't wear ANYTHING obviously expensive in a neighborhood that doesn't seem nice that you don't know!
For the less experienced/unfamiliar with urban areas, here are some key things to watch for in areas you should NOT be wearing expensive headphones in plain sight (ie if you see this, at least stuff them in your bag/case):
-Bars on windows (this is the big one)
-Houses with really bad paint jobs
-Lots of chain link fence
-Lots of faded signs
-Boarded up windows
-Multiple empty buildings
-Car parts on lawns (lol)
Major areas to avoid wearing expensive headphones:
-Anywhere in NYC
-Anywhere in LA south of the 10 / east of La Brea (spose you'd be OK in a few places like Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, etc)
-South side of Chicago - to err on the side of caution, let's say west of Lawndale/Observatory and south of Little Italy
-Generally speaking, anywhere outside of major commercial areas or middle-class or wealthier neighborhoods in major cities
Be smart and safe!
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Okay my question here is if you're walking at a time or in a place where you could seriously be mugged, why would you consider wearing headphones in the first place?? Might as well just carry a sign that says: "Hey I'm completely oblivious to my surroundings, please steal my stuff!"
I could see the closed EL-8s being good commuter headphones for those who use public transit to get to work. Walking with them though? That'd be pretty heavy on longer walks. That said, I'm not the target customer, the only headphones I bring if I'm leaving the house are my RE-600s, IEMs work perfectly for portable so I've never considered a full-size headphone for on-the-go situations.
