[sa_ill]

OK, I know that Head-Fi is the ultimate absolute Audiophile community offering as much information as one could possibly imagine. I have been reading around this website for a couple of years now and use it for all my IEM knowledge.
 
This site offers any information one wants when it comes to audiophile gear, but there are some lacking aspects.
 
I'm sure many people want to know about Long-Term Ownership Reviews of gear. See, I know this community is filled with hardcore enthusiasts who own couple of IEMs and DACs and Amplifiers etc and review them precisely. Then a new one comes out and then that product is reviewed massively on the forum, but there are many of us who just want one IEM and use it for a couple of years and then move on to the next one. For people like us, this site may offer initial SQ knowledge but when it comes to the Long Term performance of IEMs, this site is heavily lacking. For us, we spend $400 upwards only once a while and we expect our product to last us a good amount of years.
 
I bought the Shure E3Cs without reading any reviews and I could take a bullet for it. I bought it in 2006 and its still working superbly and I'm always under the illusion that its getting better with age. I read a couple of reviews after buying the E3Cs and noted no one pointed out these Small But Significant things.
 
SQ isnt everything. 
 
Take Head-Direct gear for example. They have glowing reviews all over the WWW but no one really emphasizes on the fact that it difficult for them to even last a couple of months without heading into RMA.
 
This site would appeal to a broader demograph if it has a good database of long term ownership reviews, thats my 2 cents on how to make Head-Fi a more complete community.

 

[MaxwellDemon]

I think the reason why there isn't too many "long term IEM ownership reviews" is because there really isn't much to say about an IEM's build quality. If an IEM is sturdy, there is a reputation of it being sturdy, like ER4's decade old history, the constant mentioning that the Shure E3Cs are finally being upgraded, CK10's apparently 'legendary' build quality, and so on.
 
It also goes the other way with the Head-Direct gears or Monster's terrible build quality.

 

[rymd]

For build quality, I don't really think waiting years just to find out if it holds up is worth withholding a review for a newly released, everyone-wants-to-know-about-it kind of product. If you're skeptic of long term build quality, just wait a while after the review. There's usually casual talk about those products from long-time owners you can find or come across that'll give you a decent idea of long term durability.
And heh - unveiling new toys and new flavours of the month is just too exciting anyways...
There are quite a few major reviews of products long after their initial reviews and impressions, and after long ownership by the reviewer though. There was even that guy who published a review of his Stax O2 four years after he bought it.

 

[ClieOS]

There lies the problem on how each of us treats our IEM. I don't usually consider myself to be particularly careful with my gears but I do take all the proper steps to make sure I am not using them in 'harm's way'. With all the complaints for Head-Direct all over the forum, I would thought mine should have broken a long time ago - yet I am still using the earliest batch of RE0 as one of my reference for almost 3 years and I have not had any problem with it so far. If you asked me, I'll tell you forum is a bad bad place to conduct any statistical study. But that's the nature of the beast and we just have to treat it with upmost attention

 

[Spyro]

Really impossible to gauge due to too many variables.  How much use and handling are they going through?  Are you wrapping the IEM around your player and sticking it in your pocket?  Are your pants tight?  Do you sit down on it?  How long do you listen per day?  During that duration, how many times do you take them in and out?  Do you pull them by the cables or by the housing?  Do you or have you dropped them?  From how high?
 
I'm pretty careful with my stuff and have generally had no problems with any of it....some of which I have owned over 2 years with regular use.

 

[IpodHappy]

I've had one IEM degrade through the eight or so years I've been using IEMs.  This was an early Sony IEM, the one before the EX51/EX71 models.  Sweat got into the drivers causing copper corrosion.  Their high frequency response seemed diminished.  The green stuff oozing out was disgusting.  I picked up the EX51s to replace them.  My usage is roughly an hour a day while walking.

 

[sa_ill]

I bought Sennheiser CX300 in 2005 and they lasted me only about an year.
 
My next IEM was Shure E3C, and when I bought it, I actually couldnt belive I spent some $300 on earphones. I never knew they actually existed until I started reading on this forum
 
The E3Cs, on their 5th years now, and are still going strong. I think their quality has been improving gradually with time. The bass is becoming tighter and the highs roll off has been reducing steadily. I dont know whether this is placebo but hell the E3Cs have made me a Shure loyalist.
 
Upgrading to RE262s now, should receive them in about a weeks time

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Quote:

I bought Sennheiser CX300 in 2005 and they lasted me only about an year.
 
My next IEM was Shure E3C, and when I bought it, I actually couldnt belive I spent some $300 on earphones. I never knew they actually existed until I started reading on this forum
 
The E3Cs, on their 5th years now, and are still going strong. I think their quality has been improving gradually with time. The bass is becoming tighter and the highs roll off has been reducing steadily. I dont know whether this is placebo but hell the E3Cs have made me a Shure loyalist.
 
Upgrading to RE262s now, should receive them in about a weeks time

A difference of time right there. My CX300 was with me for two years. Even then, when I stopped using it, it was because I was upgrading. I have given it away to a friend and the last time I saw it, it is still going good.
 

 

[Nachkebia]

Been using Shure e5(or e500) from 2005-06 and e5c from 2007-8, now I have remolded them with UM and added one extra driver for highs and they sound absolutely magnificent.