Headphone: Attempt repair, or toss in trash

[Kasey Chang]

One of my earliest self-indulgence earphones (over-ear), Superlux HD661, bought back in 2017 for $34, has developed a cable fault that the right side only has intermittent audio, and while I could Sugru / Gluegun it its functionality may or may not be restored properly. I can see the cable break, I'm not handy enough to actually repair the wires themselves. And I don't need this headphone. Though I did buy replacement ear cushions for them back in 2023. So there is a little bit of sunk cost fallacy there.

At the moment I'm thinking just take the ear cushions off and dump into trash. Thoughts?

[Daehawk]

Do you know anyone that could fix them since it seems kinda easy? If not and you cant fix them yourself why keep them?

I looked online...I found it funny those on Ebay want $80 for them but Amazon sells them new for $47.

[hitbyambulance]

I can see the cable break, I'm not handy enough to actually repair the wires themselves.

soldiering that would not be very difficult - you could totally do this. you could even 'proof' it first with electrical tape to verify. https://www.headphonesty.com/2020/12/fi ... one-wires/

i have a pair of old Pioneer Studio Monitor 10R headphones where the plastic housing has become brittle with age and can no longer be epoxied + zip-tied together (like the previous repairs). too bad, as the headphone speakers and cable connections themselves are just fine. would be be cool to just put those into a new headphone housing.

[gilraen]

You just said you don't need it. And it's broken. And you got 6 years use out of a $34 pair of headphones. I'd say they lived a good life. Throw them out

[Daehawk]

before throwing them away tear them apart and get the magnets out of them

[Kasey Chang]

Turns out I can use the ear cushions I salvaged on a DIFFERENT headphone (which had its old pleather crap cushions flaked off) so it's better than expected outcome.

AND that's a BT headset so that sorta satisfies my original intent to get a proper wearable wireless headset. It's a brand no longer found on Amazon, as it's clone of a clone, but it's actually big enough for my head, and with the ear cushion upgrade, even more comfy than ever.

I've complained before that I can't find headsets that I can wear comfortably, and actually that HD661 I dumped (the subject) has a super heavy metal frame that's NOT comfy to wear. This item, which is no longer on Amazon, I can't even find the price on as it was ordered back in 2020 and item no longer exists. Hahaha. It is almost a copy of the Avantree Audition except with a volume roller. I stopped wearing it because the pleather cushion started flaking off and it was just hanging. I then decided to see how was the cushion attached. Turns out, the cushions were attached via two simple plastic "ring" snapped into place in 4 places each, and they detach easily with a little prying. And I can fit the ear cushions around the ring no problem, so they can be used. And this BT headset still holds a charge usable for DAYS at a time.

I'm pretty sure I didn't pay more than $40 for this BT headset even back in 2020, so I certainly got my money out of these items.

[hitbyambulance]

for under $40, i'd just get the Koss Porta Pros - decent sound and much more durable construction than most anything else at that price point.

[Kasey Chang]

I know, but I already have the KC25 I bought earlier.

[Punisher]

I looked online...I found it funny those on Ebay want $80 for them but Amazon sells them new for $47.

This is apparently more normal than expected.
My friends sells stuff on ebay and facebook.
Many times he has sold it for more than on Amazon.
Apparently nobody bothers to price check things online which I find super weird as price check a lot online.
At a convention? Confirm its not actually available for cheaper on Amazon. If it's close I'll probably buy it at the show but a lot of things have been for $40 or more less.
At a local store? I'll fo the same thing, especially for expensive medicine but other things as well.
The other reason he's seen is people not trusting Amazon which is really odd as it's definitely safer than buying from some rando on the interwebs.

[Isgrimnur]

The randos on the interwebs have infiltrated Amazon.

[Blackhawk]

At a convention? Confirm its not actually available for cheaper on Amazon. If it's close I'll probably buy it at the show but a lot of things have been for $40 or more less.

Whenever I go to a convention, I go in with a list of items I'm interested in combined with prices: MSRP, what it sells for on Amazon, and what it sells for used.