Let me start by saying that I have enjoyed the sound quality in both pairs headphones that I have bought. I had to buy a second pair because the first pair (was destroyed by my cats when I was away on business). However I now feel they would have suffered the same fate. I workout several times a week and you would think that these headphones would hold up under moderate activity. However, from simply taking them in and out of my gym bag the rubber on the wires has begun to seperate and expose the inner wiring. I'm very careful and take great care of my things and this just seemed unavoidable. I have had to tape them in multiple places and this just looks so cheap. My Bose headphones have a much thicker coating around the wires and I am going to use them even though they are a little more bulky.