Also a runner. My choice for headphones are commodity (<$10) Philips with over-the-ear loops to hold them in place. Because I sweat a lot, they rarely last more than a few months, so cheap matters. (I have nicer Bose headphones for non-running.) Bluetooth phones that cost 5x as much? out of the question.
Edit: In previous version I accidentally said Samsung Headphones.
Personally, I could never run with corded headphones again. I've used Motorola S8/S9 forever. Get last gen for $30-40, and they've held up to years of sweat.
I agree, I used to go through a few pairs of cheap headphones a month when marathon training, but once I stopped buying the $10 variety (wired and bluetooth, you can get OK ones on Amazon for $20) and got closer to the $100 range, I've had those for more than a year. Definitely a self-fulfilling prophecy. You get what you pay for.
I've probably spent a hundred bucks on fifteen pairs of Philips over the years. And they're cheap enough that I can keep a pair in my bag, a pair in my house, and a pair in my car. Most of my listening is podcasts. They sound fine for that.
In contrast, I only have one pair of noise canceling Bose headphones which cost 3x as much as all the Philips put together. They sound great and are wonderful for the train to work, but they were also very expensive and I don't run with them.
They meant that you said your headphones don't last long and it could be because they were so cheap in the first place (not saying I agree or disagree without knowing which model you mean)
Likewise, I've spent ~$100 on three sets of the Motorola Bluetooth headphones I mentioned, and still haven't taken the last one out of the shrinkwrap. The other two are going strong after years of use.
Headphones are a very personal product, from fit to use case, which explains why many people are having strong reactions here. All we each have are anecdotes. Meanwhile, design and tech march on.
Based on overwhelming sales of some high end active-wear Bluetooth headphones eg Beoplay H5 it's clear that not everyone aligns with your experiences/choices.
> Because I sweat a lot, they rarely last more than a few months
I find it's the wire that goes first, probably from all the twisting and tangling that happens day to day. At 5x the cost I could see wireless ones being cheaper, long term.
I still wouldn't want to muck about with batteries, etc though.
It's a really good idea to invest in headphones that have a detachable cable, if you are rough with them at all(basically any travel or commute situation). Then the point of failure becomes the internal connection, which mostly rests on build quality and how much you drop it.
Have you ever seen any earphones (IEMs) with detachable cables? I could see them being produced with short cables to the Y split and then plugging in another cable to the phone.
This would be perfect for me - headphone cables and wheelchair wheels do not mix.
I've had wires go on me as well, but for me it's more typically the housing for the earbuds themselves - they come apart - or the electronics inside - they just stop working.
Also a runner. When you are saying headphones you are refering to earphones which always fall of for me aswell, actual headphones have never been an issue for me though. Loving my $25 cheap chinese bluetooth headphones. And no I don't need to have great sound quality when i run due to heavy breathing anyway.
I vastly prefer bluetooth for working out, but I am incredibly sceptic about the sound quality from that lightning adapter.
Yea, Sound quality likewise isn't an issue for me when running, but I do sweat much more than the average runner. The loop headphones really work well for me.
I use over-the-head earphones, which can be tightly placed under a hat. No issues of slipping out whatsoever. TBH, they sound tinny and low-quality but like you it's not an issue since the wind and body movement affect the sound anyway, and I know they'll be trashed rather quickly.
On Amazon. But I also wasn't looking very hard, because for music I have proper headphones, and during my commute I prefer not to block both ears in any case. Discovering the existence of wireless stereo earbuds, and whatever sense I have of their price range, was really just a side effect of looking for something I could stick in one ear and play podcasts through.
Edit: In previous version I accidentally said Samsung Headphones.