[ryokoseigo]

What would be the longest lasting pair of headphones I could buy?
I typically only buy headphones in the "cheap" range due to the fact they usually only last 2 years at best, but I have some money and would like to experience better sound if possible.  I don't actually treat my headphones that badly, but somehow they always break...
 
I currently own HD 681 EVO's, and previously had JVC-HARX900 which broke after I think 2 years- likely the right ear, and a pair of samson s850, also broke after a year or so.  As you can see I prefer semi- open, primarily for reduced sound leakage, so I wouldn't be opposed to closed.  Over ear is all I've ever worn.
 
While I don't hate the EVO, i'm curious if I could do better. I remember not loving them as much as the JVC's when I first got them, but over time it stopped bothering me.
 
I'm curious what would be the best built pair of headphones I could get, say under 300$?  Feel free to give things outside that range, I'm in Canada, so it'll be like 500$ for me at that price anyways >.>

 

[Kerry56]

Both the Sony MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 have reputations of being darn near indestructible.  I don't think I'd want to listen to them for very long, they don't really match my listening preferences, but both are well within your price limits.  These are closed back, over ear.
 
Someone else will chip in with better, more enjoyable choices that are durable, but it won't be me.  Every set I've owned more than a year has broken in one way or another.

 

[obobskivich]

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer: Koss (literally any model). Lifetime warranty and that's that.

More frankly: IME most "high end" headphones that I've owned are built considerably better than "cheap" cans - even headphones that aren't well-loved for being durable/able to withstand a lot of abuse (e.g. Bose) seem and feel better put together than $20-30 stuff that you find in a department store. If you want something that's going to stand up to a lot of handling, studio/professional headphones are going to be probably your best choice, like the Sonys that Kerry56 mentioned, or comparable models (not sonically comparable mind you) from Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, or Beyerdynamic etc.

I don't know any of the headphones you've mentioned, so I'm not sure what kind of signature you're after, but the Sennheiser HD 600 comes to mind given your budget and their general goodness. The headband's "top cover" (its literally just a piece of plastic) can crack if they're handled roughly, but the actual headband under-neath it is spring steel (and there's lots of users who have successfully patched cracks with superglue or similar, or you can order a replacement part from Sennheiser (almost everything on the HD 600 can be replaced)). You might also consider the Audio-Technica ATH-A2000X, which are almost entirely metal (including their titanium ear cups), and feel very solid in-hand and on-head (the A1000X are a similar model but I've not heard them - I'd suspect just in terms of build quality they would be pretty similar though). From Beyerdynamic, the T70 are very robustly built as well, and have many replaceable parts. These are all very different sounding headphones though - two are closed (A2000X and T70) and one is open (HD 600), and represent very different approaches to sound (the Sennheiser are fairly warm/lush/smooth sounding, some say "dark;" the ATs are bright, airy, fast, clean, some say "thin;" and the Beyers are forward, aggressive, bright, some say "piercing").

Some cheaper options:

- Koss PRO4/AA. Warm, somewhat bass light, smooth, kind of a "disco sound" with a narrow soundstage.
- Razer Kraken Forged Edition. Very nicely built metal frame, tons of bass, rolled-off highs; I liked them better for movies/gaming than for music but they did fine, and with the recent price cut (at least stateside) they look very attractive.
- Creative Aurvana Live/Denon AH-D1000/it probably has other names - its a Fostex OEM part that's been used by a number of vendors. They're nicely built, usually not too expensive (I've seen them new under $100), and good sounding (fairly balanced sound, leans towards bass heavy/warm).