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Alternative headphones to Sennheiser HD202?

E

engine the evaneer

We keep a steady supply of HD202's around our 7 studios for guests and for our talent to use in a pinch. These suckers die left and right (pun intended, see what I did there?) and we keep having to fork out $20 a pop to replace them. We'd like something with better than 6 months of life for that kind of money, any suggestions for a decent replacement in the affordable price range? If we can't find a solid replacement, we're thinking about going back to the $1 cheapies just so we don't have to spend so much every year on these...
 
Keep the guest headphones locked up and make the talent buy their own.

People take better care of their own stuff.
 
Well, we do require the talent to have their own gear, but locking stuff up would be too high maintenance, we have plenty to do without getting bugged every few hours for headphones. We either want something that just works and doesn't look crappy (it's a bad impression on studio guests to have subpar gear).
 
I think you have to budget $20 a pair for the headphones as a cost of doing business.

The $1 ones aren't going to work any better, and they will look like crap.

First time a jock breaks their own headphones or winds up not having them, they will take better care and remember to bring them. I know it sounds harsh, but I've had to do that to hammer the point home.

As for the guests, they're just going to be abused and break. For the money, the ones you are using sound decent. Sony has a cheap model too, but the cord is short and winds up getting yanked out of the ear cups.
 
We use Sennheiser HD201's, which are MUCH better sonically and comfort-wise and only a bit more expensive. But they break too. For a while, I would solder on new cables, using Mogami unbalanced mic cable. But it was too much work and the new cables would fail too quickly, so I gave up on it. I tried a more expensive/durable model, but the comfort and sound were much worse than the HD201's. Headphones are a disposable item, unless you're better at soldering than I am.
 
We got a box of 40 $6 "computer" headphones. Went through them like water.
We too are getting the HD202 in bulk. Don't even try to fix them unless I have absolutly nothing else to do.

In other words we just toss 'em in the trash when they break.
We do keep the 1/4" adaptors!
 
I've been a fan of Sennheiser headphones since I first slipped on a pair of 414s over 30 years ago. The modular construction of the HD414 and HD450 made 'em quick and easy to repair, as long as you didn't mind stocking the replacement parts. However, why have they always insisted upon those 10 foot cords ??? They're constantly getting run over by chairs, tripped over and otherwise destroyed. Its the bane of the HD202 as well. IMHO, a 6 foot cord would be a big improvement.

BTW, those nice metal 3.5mm to 1/4" TRS adapters are part number 549346 and are under $2. ea. They're not always available on the website but they can be ordered by calling the Sennheiser parts department. MUCH better than the plastic ones from the Shack.
 
Shrink wrap the adapters to the cable. Keeps them from walking. Have been doing that for years.
 
Use the heat shrink for direct burial power cable splices.
Thicker than normal heat shrink and it seals it with an adhesive layer.

You can get it at any electrical supply place like Grianger or Home Depot, etc...
 
Shred the people who break headphones.
I've made my Sony MDR-V6s last about 27 years.

I also have several older models still around from the 70s that still work, and some "cans" from the 20s and 30s......
The "WLS" 2000 ohm cans are really neat, and very sensitive. :D
Oh, but you should really hear the Salt Lake City-built Nathanial Baldwin balanced armature cans with the mica diaphragms!

What kind of primates do you have using these headphones?

If they break 'em, don't let them leave until they've fixed them or paid for replacements.
 
I occasionally get tangled up in those cords. I've seen glasses flying along with headphones after someone gets tangled with a chair. Slapstick humor.

Jocks/announcers have been shredding heaphones since they were invented.
 
Apply a thin layer of electrical tape under the shrink wrap.

I've also put lacquer over the shrink to keep it nice too.
 
Wow, I just read your reply again. 200 DJ's!?! If that's the case, they should be on their own. They will only forget them once, and then remember after that. As for the guests, tie wrap the headphones to the furniture so they don't walk.
 
tie wrap the headphones to the furniture so they don't walk.
Click to expand...
Have tried that. They still vanish. We engineers aren't the only ones with tools.
Plus, when getting tangled in the cable they end up with stretched/broken cables.
Pulling out the plug instead is like the break-away hoses at the gas pump.
 
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