[GustoGaiden]

I have been noticing a trend in my headphones. I have to get a new pair about every two years. Not because the drivers die, but because the cable attachment to the earpieces go bad in one way or another.

I bought a pair of Sennheiser 212's with this in mind (the earcup attachment cables are detachable), and after two years of loyal service, they too have fallen to connection cable failure. The replacement cables are super cheap (about 7 bucks), and I like the 212's, However they could stand to be a little more comfortable. I mainly use headphones for listening to music at work, gaming, and my portable music player on the bus. I've heard great things about the HD595's, both in terms of sound quality and comfort. While I would hesitate to call myself an audiophyle, I do appreciate sound fidelity. However I hesitate to drop 200 dollars on a pair of headphones that will in all probability be defective in 2 years.

So here's are my questions. Am I paying for higher quality cabling as well as sound quality and comfort with higher end headphones? My past 3 pairs have all had the same malfunction, however all of these were priced at about $40 to $60. If not, are there any higher end models (under $250) that have replaceable earcup cables similar to the 212's, or should I start learning electrical engineering? Also, is there a big difference between the 595 and 555 models?

Thanks!
-Gusto

 

[ericj]

Lots of sennheisers have replaceable cables. The prices of the replacement cables varies wildly - the HD600 cable costs more than twice what the HD650 cable does iirc. They want $27 for a replacement HD25sp cable, which seems a bit insane. Other cables probably fit the HD25sp just fine, or fit with minor modification to the earcup connector.

Equation RP21 and RP22x have replaceable cables for sure, dunno about the RP15MC.

Beyer DT250's have replaceable cables, and will even accept an HD650 cable with a little whittling.

Bunch of the newer AKGs have replaceable cables. K240-S (not that great) and K271-S (dunno) for example.

Fostex cans have replaceable cables, but none of the currently manufactured fostexen are worth listening to.

And yeah, you pay a little more to get the replaceable cable, but not a lot more.

Soldering in new cables isn't real hard, though. There are many in the DIY forum who would gladly walk you through it.

The trickiest part is recycling the strain relief from the original cables, if you want to do that. Can be tricky business involving razor blades and contact cement.

 

[feh1325]

goldring dr150, 100, 50
sennheiser hd580, 600, 650
off the top of my head

edit
ultimate ears have detachable cables too
edit 2
and etymotic er4p