Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j8ofni/headphones_that_last_forever/
I wanted to highlight one of my favorites: Repeat Audio (formerly Gerrard Street). They’ve been pioneers in modular, fully circular headphones—100% Dutch design (TU Delft), one of my friends who studied there put me onto this.
Since 2014, they’ve been recycling broken parts and offering free repairs for life with a no-questions-asked policy. I’ve been a customer since 2016, swapped a few parts over the years, and even got a free upgrade when they rebranded. Had a great chat with one of the founders back then, which only made me more of a fan.
They were doing modular headphones long before some bigger names jumped on the concept. Repeat is now getting some pretty big national artists jumping in to support their mission, so I’m hoping they’ll do cool collabs and swap-outs in the future.
Does anyone have experience with them?
Damn, why not use AA batteries??
I have a pair of PSB M4U headphones that I’ve been using for years, and they take AA (or maybe AAA) recharable batteries.
I feel way better not having to worry about the one component that guarantees planned obsolescence: built-in batteries.
It’s get that Repeat will replace the battery under their warranty but it’s not terribly green to have to ship stuff like that back and fourth.
Still, I love the rest of what they offer!
Realistically energy density and convenience. AA batteries aren’t really that dense and it would be a pain in the butt to have to constantly replace them.
Imagine being in a full train and having to swap batteries. Rechargeable LiPo batteries can just be recharged with the usb-c charger you already have.
To clarify, my headphones use rechargeable AA/AAA batteries (haven’t needed to swap them in a very long time), so they work the same as headphones with built-in batteries. But I have the option to replace them in a matter of seconds if the battery capacity takes a hit after X number of charge cycles.
And if the company chose to use AA/AAA lithium batteries (which I use in some gadgets at home), then it’s even better.
To each their own.
I’ve rented one via Commown (a Fr-De cooperative for renting electronics). The sound is great, the microphone is nice and I like the design. It’s also quite funny to have to assemble it yourself when you receive it. However, I find them quite uncomfortable when worn over a long session, but since I wear glasses, I have this problem with every headset.
Hopefully I won’t get shot for recommending a Japanese brand but if you get a chance to try the Sony WH-1000XM5s I find they work well over my glasses.
Those aren’t bad but the skinny headband hurts my head after a while. For me their older models were more comfortable. I don’t wear glasses though
Thank you for chiming in!
I’m not in the market for headphones, but these seem good on paper. Wonder how the noise cancellation compares to alternatives.
This week my one-year-old Sony XM5 headphone broke. Sony will not repair it. I will fix it myself by buying a replacement part. I do not know how long my headphone will last, but I know that next time I buy technology, I will try to be from an European company.
just in case you didn’t know, your comment is currently set to be in Spanish. Which means any users who haven’t set their profile to say they speak Spanish will not see it. (I only saw it because I turned on Spanish on my profile so I’d see any replies to a Spanish-language video I shared a little while ago.) You probably want to make sure it says “English”, or “Undetermined”.
Thank you, I’m still learning how lemmy works
No problem, I’m happy to help.
Are you using an app, or the website in a browser? I ask because many apps seem to make it hard to select your language, unfortunately.
I use voyager but I didn’t see any option to change language, then I tried on browser and I set it to undetermined, English and Spanish.
No experience with them but I do see some names on their website that I recognize (for example Joshua from Chef’sspecial. Doesn’t have to mean its good but it is a positive sign
Those look great! The pricing is pretty complete too compared to comparable models from bigger competitors (with worse repairability).
I have a bunch of nice Dutch stuff already - time to add one more I guess?
Any other Dutch stuff you’d recommend?
Off the top of my head, my Secrid wallet is big one! It’s a little gimmicky but the best wallet I’ve had for a very long time and the build quality is amazing. I went for one I could which would accept notes as well after seeing some German colleagues with them.
But otherwise it’s mostly bicycle stuff to be honest which isn’t as exciting or fancy!
stroopwaffles?
Fairphone
Not Dutch, but Flemish. Loop earplugs switch model is pretty dope. 3 levels of earplug dampening with no electronics, just some acoustic engineering.
