Durability of IEMs

[NOLA]

A few years ago I went through a phase of trying out various IEMs, and found some of them to not be very durable, sometimes failing within a few months despite relatively gentle use. Of all of the makes and models I tried, the Sony MH1C seemed to have the longest lifespan, and usually last about 1-2 years before the silicone cabling would begin to deteriorate or the microphone would go out (and out of all of the pairs of MH1Cs I've used over the years, they've never once shorted, amazingly). I'd like to hear from others what your experience has been with durability of IEMs. Are there certain brands that tend to have longer lifespans? What materials, designs, electronics, etc. seem to be associated with IEMs that either last longer or fail sooner? What are the longest lasting makes/models you have owned? I get the impression that IEMs generally don't last as long as over-ears, but there must be some that are built to last longer, particularly the more expensive models that would get less buy-in from consumers if they failed quickly (because who wants to pay $100+ for IEMs that die within a few months?).

 

[vessel]

Mee Pinnacle P1 the nozzles are glued in with a glue that seems to give out after several months. Mee support was great though and replaced them each time but it seems like a serious design flaw.

Orivetti New Primacy one side lost exactly half it's volume after about a year for unknown reasons. Orivetti wanted a receipt before they would help and I didn't have one. They still sound great if the balance is adjusted so it's not like they are unusable but it sure would have been nice to have them fixed and I doubt I would buy anything from Orivetti again.

Moondrop Kanas Pro the screens were loose from the start and the metal shells eventually started looking orange and weird, then the shell started coming apart on one of them. They still work and sound great but they basically need to be glued back together so I don't use them anymore.

 

[boxster233]

Just replying to say “Who dat! Drew dat!” Going to miss him.

 

[artatgray]

The cables are always the first thing to fail. This is why purchasing a unit with detachable ones is strongly advised.

As for an actual IEM itself failing, I've never had that happen in all my years of owning them. The only negative experience I've had with an IEM itself was a wax guard coming loose and being lost as a result. However, they're inexpensive and easy to replace.

 

[CoryGillmore]

My longest owned IEM is my Monster Miles David Trumpet. Which was a warranty replacement for the Miles Davis Tribute that preceded it. The MD Trumpet has been going strong for nearly 10 years now. I don't use it nearly as much as I did 5-6 years ago but I do still pull them out from time to time for a listen, including in the last week.

 

[baskingshark]

Agree with @artatgray that in general, cables are the first area to fail. I'm also not a fan of non detachable cables as such, as I had 2 Westones (midfi costing ones) that died at the cable. One was not detachable, had to do a MMCX mod to salvage it from being a white elephant. Interestingly, I had a Westone UM1 that I bought almost 17 years ago, it is still working fine today.

Drivers in IEM are generally quite hardy, unless u drop the IEM or you sweat a lot/wet it. BAs tend to be more affected by moisture than dynamic driver type IEMs in my experience. Also in general, MMCX connectors are not as durable in the long term as 2 pin connectors, especially if you like to swap cables frequently.