[carlosodze]

Hi, yesterday my portable headphones broke again! one side just stop sounding (what seems to be the more common way for heads to stop working), they didnt even fall! I live in Peru, so each time i buy a headphone i have to import it from the US, i have to wait, pay more, sometimes make paperwork etc, so i dont want to do it in a long time, and that's why i am looking for a extra durable portable headphone:
 
-i prefer open headphones but i dont mind close ones (if they are not too congested and have at least decent imaging and soundstage)
-Portable
-Durable (please durable headphones!)
-less than 150 but i might be willing to pay up to 200 IF i hear a good justification for it.
-i am coming from a koss ktxpro, i kinda liked them, but they were a litte uncomfortable.
 
my ideas:

-on the open side i am considering the sennheiser hd239, but i am not sure if it is durable enough (the cable seems al little slim). i can get them for 60 (without shiping)
-on the closed side i am considering a v moda m-80, but i am not sure if they sound good enough (i had read mixed opinions hear) i can get the for 90 (with out shipping)
 
i like that the v moda come with a case, and that they seem durable (i dont like to throw them on my backpack without protection, it makes me unconfortable), how does the two compare (in the aspects that can be compared amog them , treble detail, etc ) i am looked at the v moda xs, but i am not sure if they are worth 110 more than the m80 (and 140 more than the senn).
i hear mostly rock, but also other things, i  would like a detailed and well balanced headphone.
what's your opinion? what other options do i have? ( i have a koss pro dj100, so those can help also to give me a better idea)
 
Please help me! i can't really go to a store and try them out : /
 
thanks a lot

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm going to doubt that spending more will help with durability. Sure, you handle them well, and you never dropped them, but to me it sounds like it's how you handle the cable that's the issue here. You might not toss the headphones around, but one wrong tug on the cable will put enough stress on the copper conductor, then a few more movements and there and before yo know it the copper conductor has been severed on one run of inside the cable. Also, how you loop the cable inevitably can stress the copper - this is more prevalent on portables (including IEMs) because unlike those used exclusively for home/desktop systems, the latter has cables that barely move and are not coiled into a compact loop (and therefore more stress on the conductors) to fit in a bag or whatever.

Simply spending more will not help that. Personally, even if one babies the entire headphone including the headphone, it's always a better idea to just have a headphone with a detachable cable straight out of the factory. Provided you don't end up tugging it suddenly (like getting the cable looped somewhere, then you stand up suddenly without taking them off) nor pull the cable off the wrong way too or too often, you will at least not damage the socket on the headphone cup, and will just need to replace the cable.
 
I'd suggest a single-entry, detachable cable, that way generally any proper size TRS to TRS stereo cable might work.The only one I can think of is the Sony MDR-1R - these might be available through Sony retailers in your area so at the very least check them out first. At a minimum, you could try their demo units. As for the price, I won't be surprised if Amazon even after shipping would still be cheaper, however if it isn't all that much over the Amazon price, not having to ship them to another country for warranty claims should be of some peace of mind.

 
Note that while it uses a TRS cable (I think it's a 2.5mm on the headphone cup), not all plugs can fit. At the very least, order a spare cable with the headphones, but in case you do find something cheap elsewhere, try those too and use them until they break (so you minimize wear on the original cables).

 
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Also, how loud do you listen? Following cable failure, when it comes to portable headphones (owing to their lower isolation vs IEMs) it is possible that you might be listening to them at levels where they're clipping to overcome ambient noise, and yet because of a number of reasons (the ambient noise itself, or you are not aware of what it sounds like), you don't realize that it's clipping.

 

[carlosodze]

  I'm going to doubt that spending more will help with durability. Sure, you handle them well, and you never dropped them, but to me it sounds like it's how you handle the cable that's the issue here. You might not toss the headphones around, but one wrong tug on the cable will put enough stress on the copper conductor, then a few more movements and there and before yo know it the copper conductor has been severed on one run of inside the cable. Also, how you loop the cable inevitably can stress the copper - this is more prevalent on portables (including IEMs) because unlike those used exclusively for home/desktop systems, the latter has cables that barely move and are not coiled into a compact loop (and therefore more stress on the conductors) to fit in a bag or whatever.

Simply spending more will not help that. Personally, even if one babies the entire headphone including the headphone, it's always a better idea to just have a headphone with a detachable cable straight out of the factory. Provided you don't end up tugging it suddenly (like getting the cable looped somewhere, then you stand up suddenly without taking them off) nor pull the cable off the wrong way too or too often, you will at least not damage the socket on the headphone cup, and will just need to replace the cable.
 
I'd suggest a single-entry, detachable cable, that way generally any proper size TRS to TRS stereo cable might work.The only one I can think of is the Sony MDR-1R - these might be available through Sony retailers in your area so at the very least check them out first. At a minimum, you could try their demo units. As for the price, I won't be surprised if Amazon even after shipping would still be cheaper, however if it isn't all that much over the Amazon price, not having to ship them to another country for warranty claims should be of some peace of mind.

 
Note that while it uses a TRS cable (I think it's a 2.5mm on the headphone cup), not all plugs can fit. At the very least, order a spare cable with the headphones, but in case you do find something cheap elsewhere, try those too and use them until they break (so you minimize wear on the original cables).

 
--------------------------------
 
Also, how loud do you listen? Following cable failure, when it comes to portable headphones (owing to their lower isolation vs IEMs) it is possible that you might be listening to them at levels where they're clipping to overcome ambient noise, and yet because of a number of reasons (the ambient noise itself, or you are not aware of what it sounds like), you don't realize that it's clipping.

ye you are probably right about the cable, it was really long on the ktxpro and it used to got stucked on everything, i am moving a lot everyday and the cable tend to be a problem always, i would buy a wireless head if they were better sounding, 
thanks for your advices, i wont spend on a portable headphone, i will just buy a case for my koss dj100 and make them my new portable headphone, while i save a little to buy a new home headphone like i dont know, sound magic hp200 or maby hifiman 400.
thanks for you advice