durable, long-lived sub-$200 headphones, please advise

[Kerne Fahey]

Please recommend to me some sub-$200 headphones with a durable cord and
long-lasting speakers.

Pray help a lowly music gourmand who keeps killing headphones. I'd like
my next pair to last a few years, not a few months.

I listen to music at work. It's six or eight hours of music a day, five
days a week. Under these conditions, sub-$50 headphones die of speaker
buzz in three months. That's if I don't damage the cord first. I've
killed four pairs in a year.

I guess I have to buy real headphones. If so, then I'd prefer they be
semi-open, and have a relatively lightweight design. I'd also like a
1/8" jack.

I can find models that satisfy all my other requirements just fine on
my own. But no manufacturer seems to advertise their headphones as
"Cord resists breakage!" and "Speaker cones last 2500 hours!"

Can you recommend to me durable, long-lived headphones? I'd be most
grateful.


--
Kerne

[Arny Krueger]

"Kerne Fahey" > wrote in message
ups.com

> Can you recommend to me durable, long-lived headphones? I'd be most
> grateful.

I have a pair of Sony MDR 7506s that are myave 5-6 years old, are used
frequently, and still look pretty much like new. I hear that the ear pads
get tattered, but replacements can be obtained from Sony or some pro audio
dealers for not a lot of dough.
http://www.libermansound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=29&language=1

I also have a three-year old pair of Sennheiser HD580s. The nice thing about
580s is that the replacement parts snap in, and are not that expensive and
can be ordered from Sennheiser's web site for quick delivery. So far I
replaced the headband for $40 when a baby stepped on them, and the cord for
about $20 when the old one started losing one channel.

The Senns are made of a plastic that is sorta brittle. I would say that the
7506s have greater intrinisic durability. The same baby could have stepped
on them without incident, I think. They are the third set in this series
that I've had, and far and away the longest lasting.