Well, you had to pay more for better headphones with better cables. But wireless headphones are expensive anyway. (And have non-replaceable batteries which will also permanently die after a couple years.)

The best cables still break when they're moving a lot. The important thing is for the headphones to have replaceable cables. But only the high-end headphones and earbuds have that feature.

I can only speak from my own experience, but I've been using the same set of wired KZ ZSN in-ear-monitors for the past few years. They're nothing ground-breaking, but they cost under $25.

The wires loop back behind my ears so they don't get pulled out easily, the wires have yet to short out, and they are replaceable in case I ever want or need to replace them. I almost always use them with my phone, so the USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle that came with my phone is typically attached to the end.

I don't mean to shill for this or any other brand in particular, but I'm pretty sure there are several affordable, decent quality earbuds/IEMs out there with replaceable cables.

Replaceable cables are a game changer in this space. The buds will last for years and years, and make up the bulk of the cost of a set. The cable could get ruined by one unlucky event... but if you have a couple of backup cables like me, it doesn't really matter. You can buy replacement cables off of Aliexpress for <$10.

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I've never had a headphone cable fail. Including a cheap pair of airport earbuds that were used weekly for air travel (tightly wrapped, basically a worst case scenario for cable strain) for multiple years, and the detachable cable that sees daily use on my 598Cs.

And I can buy a lot of $17 wired earbuds for the price of one set of AirPods. At my rate of failure, literally a lifetime supply.

What were you doing with your headphone cables? I've been using the same one with my current pair since I bought them three years ago. Prior to switching to cans, I used the same set of cheap wired earbuds for five years - and they're still working

I've had cables go bad in multiple sets of headphones that I barely even used, let alone subjected to the expected rigors of travel or heavy use. As far as I can tell, a lot of cheap 3.5mm plugs have strain relief that's basically just ornamental, and even a modest amount of flexing or vibration will quickly break one of the wires.

>What were you doing with your headphone cables?

Getting them caught on door handles, mostly.

I'm smiling at this while enjoying music on my 20 years unmodified Senheiser HD25.