Is it me, or do headphones last about 6 months. For that period everything is great and about six months later you have to start bending the cable this way or that and soon after it becomes muffled and no matter how you bend the cable the thing is shot? Anyone have this problem or am I just torturing the cables to death??? By the way I’m off to buy a new pair tomorrow.

DJ


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I don't steer the ship, I bail out the water.
DJ
http://www.chipos.com/beachbum/

Hey DJ, I hear your frustration. Headphones are really a necessity when it comes to Studio playing and recording. But they should all last longer than 6 months! I'm not sure how much you want to spend on Headphones but I would suggest if you can, to get some 'cans', ie., "those that fit over the 'entire' ear and those that have a "flat" frequency response. I use a pair of Sennheiser HD280PRo headphones. These headphones fit over the entire ear and block out much of the unwanted noise in the nearby vicinity. They have a very 'flat' frequency response which make them ideal for Recording, Mixing, and even Mastering your recordings. And, I have had them for over a year and not even a hint of a problem with them. The parts are replaceable and the headphones fold up for easy compact storage. You can get them at Guitar Center or over the Internet at Zzounds.com They retail for $199 but Zzounds and Guitar Center sell them for $99. Again, getting the best ones you can afford is my recommendation, especially if you do a lot of Recording, Mixing, and Mastering. Happy shopping!

Best regards.
Mike

Beachbum. Yes I agree with the above. I use a pair of Sennheiser HD270. The main advantage in your case is that the cable plugs into one side of the phones with a 3.5 stereo plug, so its easily replaceable.
Although the HD270 are a little expensive...in your case they would be saving you money.

Graham UK

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 08-15-2003).]

My headphones seem to last. I have two pairs of Sennheiser HD414s and a pair of Beyer phones which are all over 30 years old. My current aviation headphones are 12 years old and still OK. So there's still hope for you.

Bryan

Popped out at lunch and picked up Sennheiser HD280PRo headphones. We'll see tonight how they are...

thanks all

Gave the new headphones a run... The only thing that I don't like is that the phones have no volume control... You can't up the vol your stuck with what you got... You’d think that for $99 you could have volume control… hell $29 headphones give you that option

DJ

Uh, DJ you'd be hard pressed to find ANY Professional Studio Monitoring Headphones that have a separate Volume control. $29 headphones are not professional quality and the ones you find the separate Volume controls on are those usually associated at like a Best Buy, Walmart, or Kmart type of stores and used just for things like portable stereos, TV's, home stereos, etc.

If your getting those buyer's remorse blues Audio Technica makes a very good closed ear Professional headphone that is highly rated by some. The model # is the "ATH-M30". They sell for $59.99 at Guitar Center or online at Musiciansfriend.com Quite a savings plus they're supposed to be great Cans. But they don't have a separate volume control either.

PS: The reason Professional quality Studio headphones don't have a separate volume control is the fact that they are used for Studio "Monitoring". Volume levels in the Studio are allocated to the Mixer, Keyboard, Amp and other Studio gear and the headphones are subjugated exclusively to "monitoring" your Mix, Playing, and Recording. If the headphones had a separate Volume control your Mixes, Recordings, and Masterings would be affected most likely for the worse not the better because you could possibly lose the Audio accuracy and correct Audio levels and nuances within the Mix which would ultimately hinder in the Mixdown and Mastering of a Recording, etc.

Best regards,
Mike

Beachbum... I have a pair of Olson headphones from the 60s that still work great. They're so sound-resistant that I use them when I run the leaf blower outside (trying to save my hearing). Another set I have is from Carvin which sells for bargin $50. They sound great and no problems after 2 years.

Idatrod,
Thanks for the reply... I had Jenson digital audio phones that had volume control. The only reason I need that is that I use cool edit and in monitor mode the sound is cut in half and is not very loud at all and I have a hard time getting a good vocal and music mix. I can't find any of the jenson's anywhere, best buy, cc, gc... I would buy another pair tomorrow and they where only $29 bucks... I keep playing around with the sennheiser and see if I can find a work around... thanks for your time...
DJ


[This message has been edited by beachbum (edited 08-16-2003).]