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Comment by lmilcin | Hacker News Reader

For the past 19 years I have been using same pair of Beyerdynamic headphones. I use them most days from morning till late evening. When I worked at the office, I would spend most of my time in them, too.

Let's calculate -- about 320 days a year * 14 hours a day * 19 years = 85k hours.

I think this represents about correctly how much time I spent with these.

I change pads, I open it every couple of years to clean dust and hair and I have fixed broken cable twice (by shortening and giving it new plug).

Other than that they still work perfectly.

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I've had a pair of HD650s since college. In that time, I've replaced the ear cups, the head cushion, and even the cable a few times. All the parts are available where the headphones are sold, and they pop right in without any effort (or even the need for instructions).

They say things aren't designed to last or to be repaired anymore, but some things are, and they're great!

...so, if Theseus wanted a pair of headphones, chances are he'd spring for HD650s?

In addition to Sennheisers, I've had good experience with AKG spare parts availability, too.

Also had a pair of headphones for 10 years, Sony MDR 7506. I've replaced the pads several times. I think a lot of good corded headphones will last forever as long as you don't crush them in a backpack.

MDR-V6 here, 20+ years, several pad replacements and several (mostly more expensive) headphones later, still my daily driver.

To be fair, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro (not Max), which I only use on-the-go and for (mostly work-related) phone calls.

I've used these for over a decade as well, still my favorite headphones.

If I was Theseus I would buy something that does not require separate amp (need to preserve batteries on yacht) and fares better in damp, salty conditions (I have delrin flute for that purpose, though everybody begs me to leave it at home).

Nah, that's like a ship where you only replace the sails and rope.

As an owner of sailing license (but no yacht) I can attest that there exist no ship where you only replace sails and rope. Ships of any kind even in best shape require stuff to be repaired, replaced or painted ALL the time. Especially if you want to enjoy it for a long time and not deteriorate after couple of years.

Er, that's his point. That unlike your sailing boats, good headphones don't really need replacement of critical parts (drivers), but auxiliary and easily-replaceable stuff like earcups and cables.

-Incidentally, my curiosity got the better of me today and I rang up the AKG distributor to inquire about a spare driver for my 1990s vintage K240 cans.

'Sure can do, but if you're willing to shell out another $11, we'll sell you a pair of drivers, wrapped in a headphone-shaped box - it even comes with a cable, ready to plug in!'

So, I guess AKG are like any other brand - after market is considered 'free money' and an invitation to fleece the customer...

(Though in fairness, for such a cheap-ish pair of headphones as the K240, the logistics of even keeping a spare inventory probably makes AKG lose money on selling me a new driver, even at the $70-ish price point I was quoted for a driver which goes into an $80 pair of headphones.)

I see it in a different way. $11 is a bargain to have support rep pick up the phone and bother to send you and individually prepared package. For phones that have been out of production for years.

Most companies don't bother keeping spare parts these days and if you, for some unknown reason, want to maintain your cheapish vintage cans, you should be AMAZED they still keep them in stock. Because they are definitely not making any money on it.

The price was 70 not 11.

The best spare part for AKGs are the pads from Bayerdynamics, which fit K240 just fine and make them much more comfortable.

Beyerdynamic headphones are not actually that good, so I'd hope he bought something new instead.

Beyer is the kind of thing nascent audiophiles liked about 15 years ago because they sounded very detailed, but people are better at measuring now, there are newer competitors like planar magnetics (eg Hifiman), and if you compare them now it's obvious that the detail is fake. It's an artifact called sibilance that just happens to sound good, like vacuum tube distortion.

My 19-year old Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO are currently powered with Topping D50 DAC and JDS Labs Atom for headphone amp.

I had some friends come in with newer headphones to compare (one with Audeze) and their amps and I was not impressed. It may be that I am just so used to my phones.

Now, I also own other phones. I currently own four pairs of Bose headphones. One (SoundSport) for running, and three QuietComfort which I bought as new generations were produced. These I used when I travel because DT 990s are 250 Ohm and require a bit of stationary hardware to work.

I also have one pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO which I bought more recently and use when I need to isolate from environment for some reason.

None of these other headphones are as good as DT 990s IMO.

For reference I have a pair of DT-880 (sold as 250ohm but turned out to be 600) and Hifiman Sundara, both about the same price. DT-880 is certainly light and comfortable but it's kind of bright and I've heard the other models are less neutral than that.

It also sounds quite detailed in the treble range, but if you listen to something like Sundara you realize the detail doesn't actually exist and it's more like a sharpening filter. Sundara also has replaceable audio cables and of course it's easier to drive.

> None of these other headphones are as good as DT 990s IMO.

Not really surprised about this, I have never been particularly impressed by Bose except for their noise canceling.

Thats, like, your opinion, man.

My dt880's sound great - I bought them after auditioning a lot of different modern headphones.

I have some closed planars as well, but I don't enjoy the closed-in feeling that much.

I've had a pair of Sennheiser HD800 headphones for about a decade. It was about AUD 1300 when I got them.

The padding has failed, and been replaced, twice. That cost me just under AUD 100 each time.

The cable has failed, and been replaced, also twice. That cost me an eye-watering AUD 270 each time.

All up, these headphones have cost me approximately $240 on an annualised basis. In my opinion, the sound quality is more than worth this ongoing expense. I spend 10x more on coffee!

I got the AirPod 2 when it was released, almost exactly two years ago. They cost me about AUD 250. Annually this is AUD 125, which is half what the Sennheiser costs. I use the AirPods at work, often up to 8 hours a day.

For comparison, the wired Apple headphones have these "soft" cables that crack in well under a year, and cost $50 to replace. They're e-waste too!

People seem to have this knee-jerk reaction about Apple and e-waste, which to me is just nonsense. Especially Airpods, which are a fantastically well engineered product in my opinion.

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