headphones acting up

[coraa]

My shiny new fancy sound-cancelling headphones have started acting up. The sound comes in fine in one ear, but it's spotty in the other ear -- cuts in and out throughout the song. Jiggling the cable/holding my head at a funny angle can correct the problem, but only temporarily. And trying to listen to something when it's playing steadily in one ear but cutting in and out of the other gives me a raging headache.

This is maddening, because I spent a bit more on these headphones than I normally would because I wanted to get a good-quality pair that would last, and they have so far had a shelf life much shorter than the cheapass Target headphones I usually buy.

So, for those of you out there in LJ-land, two questions. One: How do you keep your headphones in good working order? Because maybe I'm just abusing them grotesquely and that's why they lasted maybe six weeks. And Two: What kind of headphones do you use, how long do they last, and do you like them? (I can't wear earbuds -- my ears are the wrong shape or something, they either fall out or I have to jam them in so hard I get a headache -- but I'm not picky otherwise, except that if they leak sound it'll drive jmpava crazy as he sits in the office with me all day. Which is why I shelled out for these in the first place. Argh!)

Comments

[maggiedacatt.livejournal.com]

My favorite headphones are a pair of Jensen collapsible headphones that I have had for at least five years (which surely means they don't sell these exact headphones anymore) and have carried with me in countless headphone-abusing situations (travel, commuting on trains/buses, when holding my infant niece who likes to pull on things that look interesting and/or string-like...). I think the fact that they fold up is partially why they haven't gotten broken yet--the multiplicity of places in which the headset swivels means any tugging on the wires is not met with much resistance. I think I paid about $35 for them five years ago. They're better sound quality (much!!) and more compact than the $70 noise-canceling headphones I have on right now, but there's construction going on outside my door so I'm actually using the noise-cancellation.

Good god, what am I doing giving headphone recommendations when I should be finishing my final?! Damn you, Livejournal!

[maggiedacatt.livejournal.com]

I feel weird that I seem to be the only person here who does shell out for headphones, and so I'm compelled to justify the fact that the headphones that I've mentioned here alone cost over $100 (when they're by far not my only headphones) with the fact that I used to do video editing.

That said, these are the headphones I have and love.