Hey folks,
having done a few IEM recabling projects over the years, two of which ive posted here on headfi:
etymotics HF-2
q-jays
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/541030/q-jays-recabling
I thought it might be useful to find a better and easier solution to folks who dont want to waste too much time and money on a similar project.
the easiest way is to cut the cables and resolder the headpieces onto the new cable.
problem: weak point is the connection that even with the best soldering and use of shrink tube will be quite brittle. Also you will need soldering tools and experience to solder those tiny wires in a very confined area.
After some research I've stumbled uopn ready-made soldering shrink tubes, that benefits for anyone who doesnt want to go through much of trial and failure.
there are shrink tubes out there that have a integrated soldering segment which enables you to make you to solder and use your cables without any soldering tools or experience.
here's an example (sorry its in german but you'll get the idea):
pic:
the smallest one is suitable for wires around 0.1mm to 0.5mm diameter, which is more than enough to solder headphone cables. Since it can be soldered at around 180 C°, you dont necessarily need a soldering iron nor a heat gun, you coud use a simple lighter instead.
another advantage is that it offers some degree of strain relief, since you can put your cable with insulation and kevlar thread into the tube and the tubing itself offers more strain relief that ordinary soldering with shrink tubes could.
if you put another tubing of the same colour over it, it should also optically appeasing enough, considering that opening the case itself has some drawbacks as well. for around 2$, you can resolder your cables as you like, without anything else.
what do you say folks, regarding the q-jays mod, i think its the fastest and cheapest way to repair or recable IEMs.
question is, where to make the cut?
since the tube segment will be rather unflexible and put a little extra weight to the cable, i think if you're not using a microphone, the best place would be near the Y-Crossing of your headphones. If you'd like to use a mic, like the original iphone headphones, i think it'd be best to place it next below the earpiece itself.
I'm gonna try this for another pair of q-jays and i'd be delighted of your thoughts.
thanks and good night
FF
