[stet]

Well, this sucks. After much shopping, I was all psyched to get my first pair of decent earphones -- E888s that I picked up from Audiocubes. Broke them in and it was like nothing I had ever heard before. I started listening to stuff I hadn't heard in ages and was hearing new things.

Then this week two crummy things happened. I was looking at the left earbud and it something seemed wrong, so I took off the foam pad and the rubber ring that goes around the bud (earphone? are they synonyms?) itself had come off and the bud wasn't really held together anymore. But I slipped it back on, and it seems kosher, and I'm hoping that I'm only fooling myslef if I think something is amiss withthte sound quality coming out of that side now. (I'm not an audiophile, so I guess I don't really notice anything unless I'm trying to). Anything I should look for or may have overlooked trying to put that back on?

And then the actual bad part happened, like two days later: I'm buying a paper out of a newspaper box on the street. Didn't realize that when I leaned forward to pick up my paper, the cord got caught in the door, and when I stood up and turned it yanked the left bud out of my ear. The rubber detached from that silver part of the housing. It's now flimsily attached by a sliver of rubber.

I called Sony to see if I could do anything through them, and of course it's more cost effective to buy a new set (~$66 to repair, ~$99 for a refurbished replacement). Any suggestions as to going about this myself? Or are there go-to audiophiles who take on repairs (is that even a worthwhile option considering the cost?) Or is my best bet just to go ghetto with some electrical tape until I get a new pair?

sorry for the ramble. I was just getting into these things and now I'm pretty distraught.

suggestions, advice mucho appreciated.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

i've had a pair of these a couple years ago, the most undurable phones i've ever had, by the time i threw them out(used them for a year)

cable from both drivers were ripped, the rubber holding the drivers were ripped...

they were pos

 

[appar111]

If you go for another set of 888's, get them from bluetin.com. When I bought a pair of the gold 888's (the LP version), they were around $47 shipped to the US, if I recall. I think I didn't give them a fair enough shake in the sound department (i.e. not too much burn-in).

 

[evil-zen]

the 888 and 868 are both highly fragile and need to be treated like a wet tissue paper. I used my 868 for 4 years without trouble though until they went mute in one channel.

BTW, you can't burn in the 888 with too loud music. the drivers will just distort when bass comes in.

 

[bong]

i constantly hear horror stories about E888's build quality, but i have a pair that's lasted me five years, and still going on strong. you just treat them with respect, and they can provide years of service. my brother has a pair that's three and a half years and counting. the E888s are one of the most well built earbuds in some time. for example, i went through three E848s in a year.

the rubber ring may come off every now and then, but just fit them back on. simple as that, and it doesn't change anything in the sound spectrum. also, don't use the included phaser case but get a small change pouch or a small drawstring bag to store them when not in use. people complain about their E888 breaking but most don't store them properly. i've even seen people cord them around their portables, of course they will break. that causes tension on the cord connections and makes either or both channels to short.

 

[stet]

thanks for the replies. I have an order going with Bluetin now, which is comes to just under $51 to ship to Philly.

In the meantime, after sifting through comments, I picked up a pair of MX500s Pretty damn good for $19. (heh... I found them at a Market Street shop that had it marked at $40, but I brought printouts of a couple web store listings and the dude came down immediately.) They really do sound great (esp. compared with the various bobo earphones I've been running), and they really, are uncomfortable. But that made me think how much the E888's sounded and felt nice. I never really thought about headphones before (sorry if I'm blaspheming here), and I used to be one of those dudes who'd wrap a cord around my portable device and jam it in my pocket. Now you guys got me thinking about how to care for it and store it...

Which brings me to: neck-chain cord. This is really convenient for me. I walk everywhere in the city, and every couple of blocks I'm running into someone or stopping into a store or something, and it's just easier to pop the earphones out and let them fall in front of me. The MX500s are driving this point home now, as I fumble to put them away. I guess I could lower the volume so I could hear, but I'd rather not out of courtesy. Anyway, the ear-canal phones bug me out because I think in my possession that's just asking for hearing loss, so does anyone have any suggestions for a good everyday earphone with a neck-chain cord? One person on this board reviewed the E931, which sounds good, but I can't find it on online and it seems it's not available in US stores.

Or I guess I could just clip the cord to my shirt, but again with the rigging.