For some reason I just can't seem to take care of any of my headphones and I have no idea what I could possibly be doing wrong.

Over the last few years I've gone through probably almost 20 different pairs of headphones. Whenever I buy some, I'll use them daily for a couple months and then for some reason the sound completely drops out of one of the speakers so I'm only getting sound out of one speaker.

I tried all kinds of stuff to preserve my headphones like turning my music down and even wrapping up the chord more carefully but nothing worked. I also bought headphones from a bunch of different brands. Sony, Coby, Phillips, JVC, Maxwell, etc. This went on for about six pairs until I realized it was because I had bended the headphone plug (the end that plugs into the device) to the point where the wire inside would snap, causing all sound to drop out of one speaker.

Eventually when this happened to a nice $50 pair I decided I would try to find some way to fix it and I found out that you could buy a new headphone plug and sauder it back on. But the only person I know who would help me with such a thing refuses to help me for some reason, so now I'm stuck with a broke pair of $50 headphones that I really liked.

What do you guys do to take care of your headphones? Why don't headphone manufacturers warn you about these kinds of things and why don't they try to do more to prevent this kind of thing from happening? It seems to be a really big problem with headphones that at the same time is small enough to be fixed relatively easily but I haven't seen any suggestions at all other than sudering cables back on.

From what I understand (this was demonstrated to me by a more senior audiophile in response to similar questions I had) what causes most of the headphone cable failures (like what you're describing) is when someone holds one end of the cable and winds the cable around their hand. What is happening is that while you are winding it around your hand, you are also adding a twist to the cable, unless you are doing it JUST RIGHT. the twist may not even be very evident, but after time and again, the core of the wire and the shielding or pair wire will eventually reach a point where they want to be in two different places.

A good way to visualize this is with a garden hose. take a garden hose and loop it over your shoulder or arm while holding the end of the hose in one hand. Then have someone pull the hose (while you're still holding onto the end) and you should see a spiral or even coiling as the hose comes off of your arm. The same kind of thing happens naturally when you coil your headphone wires. Most likely you're holding on to one end and coiling the wire around your hand. Depending on what's on the other end of the wire (the actual head phones or a player or whatever) there will be resistance to the coil and you'll introduce twisting.

Now, the 'right way' to do it is to think of it as a fishing reel. Hold the eaviest end of the cable in your hand, and make a 'wrap it up' style motion with the other hand, making sure you're not actually grabbing the cable but letting it slip over your skin and going straight onto the 'spool'. I've also heard that with anything but replace-able cable head phones, you should never ever coil the wire around your hand or anything, but instead gently 'fold' the cable in progressive halves, taking care not to impress the bends and delicate parts of the cable. Similar to making egg noodles, you take the whole cable with an end in each hand, transfer one end to the other hand and with you'r now free hand straighten out the (now half as long) cable, rinse repeat untill you have a typically 4" or 5" folded cable. Now you can either put a twisty tie on it or tuck the cable ends through the loop to secure the bundle (that's what I do).

You've probably noticed the results of this method a hundred times or so on just about every consumer electronics cable when you un-box a new toy.

Some manufacturers of higher-end phones have easily replace-able cables (ultimate-ears for one, comes to mind).

Others (high end) re-enforce the cable's pressure points (where the wires go into the phones and where the wires terminate at the plug etc) internally to resist the twisting.

hope this helps.

I HAVE been using the "fold-up" method to wrap up all my cables. I think I used that with the last pair that broke (which was that $50 pair) but that's what I use with my current pair. But I might have to replace those too.

The wire right at where the chord connects to the actual headphone is exposed. Probably because the wire is so short that when I wear it with my mp3 player in deep pockets and start walking around it actually stretches and stresses the wire. I currently have the exposed part covered up with a bunch of rubber tape or something.

hmm... that sucks. sounds like you might want to get a short extension cable. I think I saw a 12" at radio shack the other day.

I HAVE been using the "fold-up" method to wrap up all my cables. I think I used that with the last pair that broke (which was that $50 pair) but that's what I use with my current pair. But I might have to replace those too.

The wire right at where the chord connects to the actual headphone is exposed. Probably because the wire is so short that when I wear it with my mp3 player in deep pockets and start walking around it actually stretches and stresses the wire. I currently have the exposed part covered up with a bunch of rubber tape or something.

That pair just broke.
So I try to run up to Best Buy to see if I can get another pair with a warranty or something, but they only allow those on the really expensive ones.

I still use the "fold-up" method to wrap all my headphone cables but for some reason they still break all the time.

I have a pair of Sennheiser's and the cable unplugs from each of the earpieces, so if you step on the cord, the cable pulls loose and doesn't break. I've abused these, and they still work perfectly and actually seem to sound like surround sound to me. I know that's silly since it's just two speakers, but it seems sound is directed around me with them almost as good as a true 5.1 surround system.

What kind of headphones are we talking about here (for the OP)?

The "in-ear" kind, wrap-around, or full-sized "recording studio" headphones? Another thing I noticed is the quality of the wire cord itself. Cheapy headphones have the thin flat wire, while I've noticed that my wife's iPod headphones have a round, thicker wire cord.

I like the Sennheiser approach, but those are way expensive, aren't they?

I guess it's a balance between "you get what you paid for", "how portable do you want your headphones", and "what's the sound range that the headphones will output"...

I've gone through a few headphones myself. I've come to expect having to replace them every 4-6 months or so. I use them mainly for listening to news/talkshows/vids to or from work, so I don't expect high-end sound for day-to-day use.

The most common reason for headphone failure is the cord. Buy Sennheisers, then you can just replace the cord! I LOVE my HD435s (and I have MUCH more expensive 'phones!). They sound great...tilted toward the "warm" (full bass) side of neutrality. The headphone cord (a single one, plugs in the left earcup) uses a standard 1/8" stereo phone plug. You could actually replace it with a trip to Radio Shack!

Same problem Here.

I likt to listen so loud that my ears ring afterwards!

The most common reason for headphone failure is the cord. Buy Sennheisers, then you can just replace the cord! I LOVE my HD435s (and I have MUCH more expensive 'phones!). They sound great...tilted toward the "warm" (full bass) side of neutrality. The headphone cord (a single one, plugs in the left earcup) uses a standard 1/8" stereo phone plug. You could actually replace it with a trip to Radio Shack!

Do all the Sennheisers have replaceable cords or just the $100 ones?

My most recent pair just broke (again) and I'm still looking for something portable that I can just use for a mobile source but still be able to store in my pocket or something like that.

I have been using the same set of Sony headphones for over 20 years, and have worn out 4 or 5 disk walkmans in the process. I only wear them for cross country skiing, and may put about 350 hours of audio through them, powering the diskman with rechargeables during each winter season.

Over the years I experienced cord failier in one ear and had to solder the connection. Tie a knot where the cord comes in from the outside of the earpiece to prevent the cord from pulling on the contacts.

On the other end, I had more serious problems with one diskman back in the early 90's. The jack put force on the board inside the unit from cord pulling, and bad solder or design. I had to solder the cracked board a couple of times, before the unit died of old age when the motor driving the disk spindle wore out.

Prevention is the best thing, keep an eye on where the cord is, and make sure it is not pulling or twisting. Todays products are not so easy to repair as the older stuff, nor is as durable, so taking care is good prevention.

Okay, I have to get another pair right now and I think my limit is around the $50 range. The main thing here is that I'm looking for something that can actually handle being used daily.

I might try some Sennheisers since that's the one brand that hasn't failed me yet.