[beamthegreat]

How many hours does it take for a headphone's diaphragm break?

 

[earthpeople]

It all depends on how you treat the headphones; how loud you play your music, what kind of conditions you keep them in, etc.
Also, different drivers may not last the same amount of time even under the same conditions.

There's no clear cut answer.

 

[franatium]

I have a friend who has DT48s that were made in the 50's and they still sound amazing.

 

[Ninkul]

People like to burn in K701's for thousands of hours before use.. lol. Some people claim they have a optimal burn in, somewhere in the thousands.

 

[blahblahblaster]

buy a koss hp with lifetime warranty and don't think about it, so long as the company lasts >_> [yeah go buy koss so they stay in business and therfore are there forever if others buy into it too, so you'll have a supply of the same ones forever for a low replacement fee of 6$ i believe].

 

[Justice Strike]

the lifespan is long enough for you to not worry about it.

 

[odigg]

I suspect most people get bored of the headphones long before they break. I've got a pair of 10+ year old Sony headphones that need nothing more than an earpad replacement. They still work well.

There are also plenty of older (10+ years) headphone in the FS section that have changed hands many times and still work very well.

 

[stigweard]

It has been my experience that most of the other components (padding, headband, wires, etc...) wear out long before the drivers.

 

[John Willett]

My HD 25-1 originals are 20 years old, still going strong, and all I have needed to do is to replace the earpads 4 or 5 times over the years as they wore out.

 

[Navermyr]

Today 03:33 PM
odigg I suspect most people get bored of the headphones long before they break. I've got a pair of 10+ year old Sony headphones that need nothing more than an earpad replacement. They still work well.

There are also plenty of older (10+ years) headphone in the FS section that have changed hands many times and still work very well.


In my opininon, Sony spare part pads are either a) out of stock, or b) prohibitively expensive - at least in Europe. Last time I checked the D333 pads were more expensiev than a new pair of the headphones themselves. There are exceptions, of course, but beware, F1, CD-2000 and CD-3000 owners! AKG, Sennheiser et al are much better in this respect.

 

[krmathis]

Thousand of hours, all depending on how you treat them.
There are people around here with 50+ years old pairs in fully working condition, and I have and have had several 20-35 years old pairs myself.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamthegreat /img/forum/go_quote.gif How many hours does it take for a headphone's diaphragm break?

My NAGRA DT48 from the mid 50's are in fine condition.. Sound fine.. Only a slight tear on one of the pads..

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thousand of hours, all depending on how you treat them. There are people around here with 50+ years old pairs in fully working condition, and I have and have had several 20-35 years old pairs myself.

Chances are, a well built headphone will out last you.. Look at all the popular vintage Stax from the 70's & 80's.. Still a hot commodity on head fi..

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odigg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suspect most people get bored of the headphones long before they break.

I suspect most people get bored of the headphones long before they're broken in..

 

[Ra97oR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suspect most people get bored of the headphones long before they're broken in..

I see what you did there...