Hey everyone. I know how much we all hate these threads, but I need some help. My cousin needs a closed full sized can for under $100. She already destroyed 2 pairs of K81DJs so something strong is a must. She uses them obviously unamped out of her Zune. Can you recommend something decent?

Thanks

It'll take $200 for me to make a recommendation for you. Sorry.

Stretch the budget a little and get teh ES7.

Its soo purty she won't have the heart to destroy them.

V6/7506? I mean they are pretty sturdyish studio cans and they don't sound half bad. And it's kind of hard to recommend anything else under $100. I think.

FFS, head-fi is this way --> www.head-fi.org

It's hard to recommend stuff under $100, most of it sucks. I like the SR-60, but that's not closed. I have to agree, if you want sturdy, 7506 is the way to go.

A500 is also not bad. I don't know about ultra sturdy, I'm guessing those swivel joints could crack and the headband attachment could be more secure. I gave a pair to a friend who's probably the sloppiest person with electronics I've ever met, and his pair survived for about 3 years, until he - briefly - roomed with one crazy son of a bitch that tore the cable apart for reasons we'll never know. So, I'd say it's pretty sturdy. The sound is not bad for $100, and the only downside is the size. This headphone is seriously huge (but very light).

How exactly is she destroying the K81s?

How exactly is she destroying the K81s?

the cable goes out. i guess it might be a problem w/ K81s in general...

You/she could try having them recabled. I'm thinking something slightly below the APS level of cable might suffice and be cheaper than replacing them.

You/she could try having them recabled. I'm thinking something slightly below the APS level of cable might suffice and be cheaper than replacing them.

Does NAG offer any cheap solutions?

@MrSlacker, why don't you just resolder it for her? Its a 10 minute job at most. Saves lotsa time and money. If the cable is the one that is giving the problem, I doubt any new headphone is gonna survive the abuse. This kinda cable problem normally happens when the owner abuses their headphones. I personally know of such people. They toss their headphones around and when the cable decides to give up on them, they come running back to me and ask me to fix it for them.

If you're new to DIY, read the other forum's DIY section; the sticky on how to make DIY cables. Then you can fix both her malfunctioning headphones.

Does NAG offer any cheap solutions?

Sure, send me both pairs and I'll return one w/ a new cable on it (assuming the cable is the problem). Price = nothing. If the cable isn't the problem I'll send them both back.

I will go along with the v6 recommendations others have made, if the recable doesn't help.

I don't think it's helpful to dismiss requests like this when they come from people not being schmucks about it. There are good headphones under $100 and as long as it's not a shill answering the question, there's no harm in responding.

And short of getting the DJ's repaired for the money I think the Senn HD201s are pretty hard to beat. At this point I can't remember if I thought the 205s were much of an upgrade for 2x the price.

And short of getting the DJ's repaired for the money I think the Senn HD201s are pretty hard to beat. At this point I can't remember if I thought the 205s were much of an upgrade for 2x the price.

oh crap thanks for reminding me about the 201s!

I got AKG to replace the 1st pair, but 2nd one is already way out of warranty. I'll see if she wants to give recabling a try or just get 201s.

This is kind of off-the-wall, but how about cordless earbuds/headphones? I don't know if they sell for under $100, but since she has a habit of destroying cables...

This is kind of off-the-wall, but how about cordless earbuds/headphones? I don't know if they sell for under $100, but since she has a habit of destroying cables...

cordless with a NAG recable would be sweet.

cordless with a NAG recable would be sweet.

For best transparency of course.

we are looking at D1000 and ES7 right now... will depend if my uncle is gonna pony up the cash lol

Please tell her not to destroy the ES7, they are too beautiful to be manhandled...

I wouldn't count on any of the Denons to withstand abuse.

Heard the beyer dt770s were tough. don't know the price range though.

I think the dt770 are about $170 or so IIRC.

the v6 has two cables coming off the cups going into the headband

it's not exactly a safe bet if one has the habit of pulling cables off their sockets

how 'bout the senn px sem-closed ones?

The v6s are pretty bullet proof. I had mine travelling with me in a road case for years. They experienced nearly every kind of abuse for years. I ended up recabling them because I chewed a short in the cable, but the connection at the cup was rock solid.