Wire strength? I have a set of Sony in-ear headphones and after repeated use the wire starts to fray where it inters into the ear bud. This is happening now with my second set of the same Sony phone. What I'd like to know is, before I spend twice as much on these Etymotics phones, will these phones fall apart like the Sonys have? Wire strength? I have a set of Sony in-ear headphones and after repeated use the wire starts to fray where it inters into the ear bud. This is happening now with my second set of the same Sony... » Read More Wire strength? I have a set of Sony in-ear headphones and after repeated use the wire starts to fray where it inters into the ear bud. This is happening now with my second set of the same Sony phone. What I'd like to know is, before I spend twice as much on these Etymotics phones, will these phones fall apart like the Sonys have? « Show Less
84900
My problem has been at the other end ( end that joins the post ). Don't let the wire flop over the post while listening;lay the MP3 player on its side. I am buying a second pair because the wire frayed and i have lost the left side. I love the fidelity. I use these working out in a noisy gym that favors loud lousy music and am ALONE for the hour.
84901
I have the same question! I'm having the same experience with the Sonys and that's why I'm thinking of purchasing these. Did you find out anything?
1684648
That is what it says, I have never had a head set work longer that 6 months before the wires break. But we will see won't we whether they stand behind these buds. I like them and will get a back up pair for when I try to return them for warrenty.
1188714
Yep, mine crapped out after 3 months, hence why i bought this pair because its a lot cheaper to replace a cable than entire headphones! Replacement cost me around $30, i'm just making sure i'm careful with them, this pair comes with a second cable but its quite short too short to put on your ipod and still keep in pocket. To be honest you'd probably be hard pressed to find headphones that don't have cables that crap out after not that long its a common problem that plagues them. For me the cost of replacing the cable is worth it due to the sheer pleasure i get from listening to these great headphones. Yep, mine crapped out after 3 months, hence why i bought this pair because its a lot cheaper to replace a cable than entire headphones! Replacement cost me around $30, i'm just making sure i'm careful with them, this pair comes with a second cable but its quite short too short to put on your ipod and still keep in pocket. To be honest you'd probably be hard pressed to find headphones that don't have cables that crap out after not that long its a common problem that plagues them. For me the cost of replacing the cable is worth it due to the sheer pleasure i get from listening to these great... » Read More Yep, mine crapped out after 3 months, hence why i bought this pair because its a lot cheaper to replace a cable than entire headphones! Replacement cost me around $30, i'm just making sure i'm careful with them, this pair comes with a second cable but its quite short too short to put on your ipod and still keep in pocket. To be honest you'd probably be hard pressed to find headphones that don't have cables that crap out after not that long its a common problem that plagues them. For me the cost of replacing the cable is worth it due to the sheer pleasure i get from listening to these great headphones. « Show Less
1790718
It is hard to find a good one-ear headset. They all seem to be made with a flimsy wire that shorts out over time. That said, this is the best of the ones I have tried. You might order two so you have a backup, because this will eventually short out. To get the best life out of it, be careful to avoid twisting and bending of the wire. While it lasts, the quality of sound is good. Hope this helps.
1534662
no this is not a known problem. However the wires after around 2 years do fail forcing you to buy better higher quality cables. Return them back or just buy new cables. I would be more pissed at Sennheiser about the wires but the cans just sound sooooOOOoo good that I could care less and ponied up the cash for some good wires.
1805540
My husband had the same thing happen. He taped them together, and they work all right. But before he taped, he tried to buy just the part that broke to no avail. He bought another pair, and he has a dual charger; but he still uses the taped-together ear sets a lot, alternating between the new ones and the taped up ones.
2036522
Every set of headphones breaks in differently. The short answer is that at about 125 hrs the phones are probably less than half fully burned in. Mine did not display that characteristic, but others. But at about 350 hrs. all the quirks seem to have been resolved.
166599
I own a mobile DJ company and purchased this same items about three years ago, and the headset had broke recently. Since I had good luck with them, and they seemed to be of good quality, I purchased them again. I did not contact Sony to see if I could replace just the headset, but my guess would be that this would be just about as expensive as buying the entire item again. Don't know if this answered your question or not, but hope this helps.
1835724
In my honest opinion you are paying for the style and brand, not the quality. You can easily find comparable headphones for less than half the price. For the cost, three different pairs have broke for me in one year. Wires inside coming loose. If you choose to buy, purchase with a great extended warranty.
751224
I know, old question, but... the good news is that they sound very good for the price and come with a lifetime warranty that Koss is happy to honor. The bad news is you're going to need the warranty, and it will cost as much in shipping them to Koss and paying Koss' handling fee as buying them new. They consistently fail where the wire enters the headphone. I've owned and replaced several of these. They're a poor value overall. If you like this style and price, look for similar headphones made by Panasonic which are far more durable and a better value.
331182
the wire to the right ear has broken. this is very common with this headset. It will eventually happen. We used to buy multiple headsets expecting this. Unfortunately, Sony did not make the wiring strong enough to prevent this and has stopped making this set. Too bad because it is a great headset for activity. Contact Sony and maybe they will reconsider manufacturing it again with a change.
424298
make sure you are not pulling the ear plugs from the plug too hard. If you have you may have broken them. That is how I knew my last one was no longer viable. I was too rough with them.
656052
I don't use the phones very often so I am not testing their durability in anyway. They did test my durability when I recently used them on a cross-country flight. They became uncomfortable in my ears after a few hours. I had to remove them after about 4 hours.
1962066
Forgive me for being blunt but these are junk I bought 2 sets of these both last only a few days Sony is much better and the cables should reach. Hope this helps :)
1540800
I believe Etymotic provides a warranty on the headphones. Would recommend view Etymotic home page for warranty information. As far as Square Trade or others...wont recommend using them as they are always strings attached. If buying from Amazon, there's always a limited replacement clause. Like if it wires come apart in 2 days.....you attempt to get a replacement. But no guarantees.
2199503
Well, this is hard to say. But here's my experience. About a year ago I was moving my amp with headphones plugged in. I stepped on the headphone cord and it pulled the jack loose. Neither 'phones nor the speaker worked. I took the amp apart: the jack had pulled off a printed circuit board but otherwise was not damaged. I eventually was able to solder it back on. It took a number of tries, for a while I was only getting the left channel through the 'phones and I had to keep taking things apart and redoing. Finally got everything soldered right. However, now something is a bit loose and the speaker isn't working. If I jiggle the jack I sometimes can get it back. Sometime I'll have to open it up again and resolder things, but right now I am just using it for practice with the 'phones. I suspose if I took it to a pro, maybe I could get it done up totally right. However, I am too cheap and sometimes I have found that sometimes pros refuse to work on a something because they either don't deal with the brand, or perhaps in this case, decide the way to go is replace the whole circuit board.
1025696
If they dont break in two weeks. I had two pairs break and its not isolated to me. Look at the 1 star reviews. These head phones break for a lot of people.