[RADI0HEAD]

Etymotic ER-4. It's not uncommon to read about 10-15 year old units still in use. The cabling feels bomb-proof, can be replaced and Etymotics customer service is one of the best.

 

[Tronz]

Quote:

Etymotic ER-4. It's not uncommon to read about 10-15 year old units still in use. The cabling feels bomb-proof, can be replaced and Etymotics customer service is one of the best.

I think someone can successfully use the cable to pull a car a few feet before it snaps.

 

[aleki]

Quote:

Thanks for all the suggestion, the person telling me to invest over 250 dollars on headphones is crazy. I am going through all the websites and using scientific approaches to test their durability from pictures and reviews. I also think wireless is a good solution but will it fit in my pocket? Let me tell you guys a story, I bought a pair of ear phones 2 months ago from Skull Candy for 40 bucks, my friend told me to get it, because they have life time warranty. One month after then BAM it goes, sounds like someone added high pass and low pass filters all over the mother ******. Then I shipped it one month ago for 5 bucks, got a code today for 30 bucks. The same product on their website is 44 bucks. Does it make any sense. Evil people at work at Skull Candy, no wonder they have that skull as their logo. Anyway, so I got something for my warranty for the first time in my life, pretty excited. Going to wait one month till I buy a pair of headphones. 
 
 

Ehh, SkullCandy IEM's are nutorious for their short life; and I also disagree with an earlier post claiming most manufacturers deliberately design the sub $100 IEM's to break. If that were the case, I shouldnt need to be replacing my Turbine Copper & MDT's so often

Anyway, from my own experience, I notice that vented drivers tend to last longer; heck, I have a pair of metro.fi 220's from last year that I abuse quite regularly, and they're still holding up; for a $20 IEM, you cant go wrong.
 
I know I'm recommending them blindly, but I wager the Brookstone Dual-Drive Clear will be a nice budget FoTM headphone. Some suspect they are an OEM version of the more expensive Radius HP-TWF21. If so, they will be quite the bargain at $60

 

[Mastaan]

Quote:

I know I'm recommending them blindly, but I wager the Brookstone Dual-Drive Clear will be a nice budget FoTM headphone. Some suspect they are an OEM version of the more expensive Radius HP-TWF21. If so, they will be quite the bargain at $60

 


So I looked into it and saw the post from Jant71 ... I like all the jewels it comes with and for $60 its a good grab. I am going to add the 2 year replacement warranty for 9 bucks, but I am from Canada, do they handle Canadian customers? 
 
On the second thought the shure 215 is only $100 2 years warranty plus removable cable and its shure, but single driver. 315 is 100 bucks more . I am looking for sound quality and good build, plus easy warranty replacement. There are plenty of authorized dealers for shure in Toronto.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[aleki]

Quote:

Earsonics SM3 or Klipsch Image X10.
 
Only kidding.  Stop treating your headphones so badly and you'll find they last longer. Have some respect man, you're not a child.

The OP had a pair of SkullCandy IEM's. Those things begin to deteriorate the moment you touch them
 

 

[sowilde]

Quote:

Hey check out these bad boys: http://www.jlabaudio.com/jbuds-j4-rugged-metal-earbuds---highly-durable-with-flat-cable-p-279.html - They are built very solid and come with a 1 year warranty.

Do you have the J4? how do they sound?  I had a few of the previous JLab earbuds and was never too impressed so i stopped buying them... Curious as to if they changed.
 
 
If you are really worried about price, check out the Kicker EB91MGM. I've used these before. Pretty good SQ for the price IMO. Plus they are durable... Solid aluminum housing and a braided cable. in-line mic too.

 

[ilmenaglar]

I also agree with Kunlun
 
"Your problem is that you don't take care of your audio gear. That needs to change, period. Act like a child and your toys will break. Rather than suggest this or that iem, such as the Klipsch S5 (which is build ruggedly and will last longer than some of the expensive iems named in other posts), I am going to suggest that once you learn to take care of your things, you by-pass the notion of a cabled iem entirely and go wireless."
 
This has happened to me too, like 4 times and i was sick of it. I used to put my player in my pocket as well, and when i sat down the cable bent and in a couple of months broke. Or i had them jacked in my cpu and someone pushed me from behind (just to kid around) and leave the jack in the cpu.
 
but its true what kunlun says, you have to be more careful, you cant handle it like a toy if you love your music and things so much. When i spent 150 bucks on my monster vanilla and broke the cable for carrying it in my pocket, i said i wasnt going to do that anymore because i loved my phones, and 150 bucks for me was a lot of work. So now i bought the copper, even more expensive but now im aware that i have to take care of them because i love them, and i had to work very hard for them. Ask me if i put my player in my pocket anymore, i dont, i keep it in my hand all the time and im still looking for a belt case or something so the wire can be free. So i take care of them, because i want them to last, even though it has a lifetime warranty.
 
I dont know if you worked to pay for your phones but when you value something, you care for it. but if you want to fool around and used them like they are indestructable, you'll have to keep on spending more money.
 
Long story short, if you want them to last, take care of them, dont let the cable bend and of course never pull them. be extra careful and they'll last.
 
I dont know many phones that have a thick cable but i think over the ear phones have a much more better case and cable.

 

[Mastaan]

So I was fed up of waiting for the skull candy headphones to arrive that I got from the warranty.... I just got up from work and got the Shure 215 from Bay and bloor radio .... 2 years warranty ... replaceable cables ... and they handle warranty at the store...so if anything happens I just have to give them a visit and pick up a pair of new phones .... Easy breezy beautiful ear phones ... Plus the sound quality is decent ... but for 100 bucks this is something that I have been looking for years .... Just perfect ... If this survives my abuse for 2 years .... I will recommend this to everybody ... But I still need to get used to the earpiece ... it feels like I have something in my ears all the time..... other than that right out of the box they don't sound bad at all... 

 

[alv4426]

I feel sorry for those SE215s

 

[Mastaan]

Oh yeh           

     MUUUU HA HA HAAAAA            HA           HA HA               

 

[sowilde]

Quote:

 
 
I have a pair of J4's and absolutely love them. Very solid earphones and the bass kicks in hard. They are definitely the highest quality products that JLab has put on the market. What JLab earphones did you have ?

It was the Jbuds and the J2... I'll be the first to admit that they were the entry level. Got them because they had really good reviews and a friend recommended them. IMO the entry level skullcandys were nicer and sounded better. Maybe ill look up some more reviews on the J4s and give them a shot.
 
What other IEM would you compare the J4 too? (not to thread jack... but since Mastaan got the 215s, i feel its ok to ask )
 
p.s. Congrats on the 215 purchase! let us know how the durability holds up! 

 

[shureThing]

Metro.Fi 200 will not break unless you sit on them, or intentionally break them.

 

[throzen0303]

my S4 lasted me for over a year already, SE215 are really durable too, I never broke a pair of earphones myself, i use the case with all the earphones i own, and the one that broke my friend was pulling my iem while i was holding it, so he broke it. TREAT THEM NICELY