[Dregur]

From my own personal experience, build quality has started to affect how I buy headphones, no matter how good the warranty might be. My top three most expensive headphones I've bought myself (IE8, Custom 3, and Super Fi. 5) all have broken on me. The Custom 3 was replaced (but then I realized how much I disliked their sound), the Super Fi 5 had to be replaced twice for the same exact issue (housing from the driver came out when I was changing the cable). When I went to clean my IE8, the ear tip unglued itself from the driver, this time though, Sennheiser has ignored my warranty requests. Each time, I have treated my headphones well, always putting them back in their cases when I'm not using them.

Meanwhile, my Denon C551's, which I've treated like crap, have kept on ticking.

When researching a new pair, build quality was pretty up there with sound quality and fit for importance. I mean, I can't hear how good a pair of IEM's are if they break on me in two months.

How much does build quality matter to you when buying IEM's/headphones?

 

[kshelton]

Build quality is always a big thing I look at, and it can effect what I buy for sure.

 

[nonsupremous]

Build quality isn't a huge deal to me....but the cable is. I baby headphones like they were all made of platinum. Even my cheapest earbud. Just the way I am. But even babying a headphone with a poor cable will not work over the long haul. I find myself treating my Image X10's like they are C4 attached to a nuclear warhead! So far so good though...no explosions! =)

 

[rymd]

It matters, but not that much. As long as it doesn't spontaneously fall apart too fast, I don't care as I don't throw my headphones around or anything.

 

[TheGame21x]

I want my headphones, earbuds and IEMs to last so build quality is important but it's only of any significant importance when I'm paying a high amount of money for them. If I'm paying only $20 or so for a pair of IEMs, I'm not to concerned about the build quality (although I'd certainly like it to be good) so my opinion on the matter varies.

 

[Dregur]

Well, I just find it odd that a lot of higher end iem's don't have higher build quality levels. They're made of plastic and resin's that if you really take a good look at it, you would just think "Well, if this breaks, this is where it's going to break."

 

[carmatic]

the way i see it, if you have sound quality but no build quality, the sound quality isnt going to last... at least if the build quality was good enough, i can expect some use out of them, have time to get used to their sound signatures, trying them with different devices and amps, listening to different songs and genres... and especially trying different tips on them

 

[Napilopez]

For full size it's not such a big deal for me, as I'm less likely to abuse full size phones. For IEMs it's huge. I've gone through so many cheap IEMs, I can't stand the thought of something expensive dying on me. Even with warranty, it sucks waiting for a replacement. Thankfull my pannies are built like a Cubic Zirconium tank. Except for the filters, but that's not a big deal. Replaceable cables are awesome.

 

[Hentai11]

I think it might be variation within each manufacturer. My C551s literallly melted apart in my ear, while my Ety ER6s were tanks--survived getting crushed with an office chair.

 

[dfkt]

Build quality matters a lot to me - that's why I don't like stuff like the RE0, RE252, PFE, etc, as much as I should/could.

I'm still somewhat regretting selling my DT770/80 and keeping my HFI-780. Even if the HFI sounds slightly better, it's just a cheap tacky plastic thing, while the DT770 is SOLID, in all-caps.

 

[carmatic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hentai11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it might be variation within each manufacturer. My C551s literallly melted apart in my ear, while my Ety ER6s were tanks--survived getting crushed with an office chair.

that's nice to hear! my Philips SHE9850's solid outer shell offers no protection against shock to the transducer... they lose bass response if i lose my grip over them and they fall onto my table...

im thinking of a pair of ER6i's to replace them, hopefully they are more survivable on account of being smaller...

 

[theKraken11]

I try to baby my headphones as much as possible, so as long as the build quality is average, I'm happy. I never wind the cable, I don't toss them around, if I carry them in my bag, I put them on top of everything else to keep them from getting crushed, etc.

 

[carmatic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theKraken11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never wind the cable

which is exactly what the case which comes with the IEM's seem to expect you to do, wind the cable up inside their 'spool'... i found out the hard way that its a high risk maneuvre if you have any hard surfaces within hanging length of the cable... solid build quality but wish it came with a pouch instead...

anyway, i look forward to trying an IEM of a different design... the ER6i look like nothing could go wrong with them

 

[StereoIntegrity]

my RE0's take a beating and still keep going haha

 

[JeFFz]

Build quality is the most important factor when I choose my earphones after some bad experience. No matter how good the sound quality is, if it's just gonna break down it's redundant. IMO sound quality and build quality should be parallel to each other