sennheiser hd595 mic modification - gaming

Hi

I am a new member here from the UK. 

I am hoping to get some advise based on the forum members expertise in studio equipment, accessories, brand awareness, DIY self builds and good old common sense. 

This forum looks very active, so please forgive me if my questions seem noobish 

I own a pair of sennheiser hd595s which I use only for gaming on my xbox 360. The soundstage on these are great for providing spatial awareness and they just sound so **** good.

To drive these I use the Astro 2010 Mix Amp which processes dolby virtual surround sound so I get that 5.1 feeling. 

I would like to modify these to include a microphone so I can chat to my friends whilst gaming online. This is more a labour of love so I would like
this modification to be professional and sleek as possible.

This modification has been done before, but for weeks I have been getting no replies from my questions (wiring procedures and stuff needed to do the modification) by the chap who does them. I'm guessing that is because Tommyboy is now doing this as a side business, so what was once a hobby to help the community has turned into a business venture so it's understandable that he does not want to provide a wiring diagram and a method on how to paint/replace the Sennhesier headband which on the HD595's is a leather type material. Here is his picture album of his work. Looks Great!

Questions to follow:

1. What cables would I need? (Canare, Mogami, Van Damme, Belden, Redco)
2. What mic would I need? (This seems to be one for gaming applications)
3. What Jack and connectors do I need? (In the picture album it looks like Lemo pushpull connectors, Netruik 4 3.5mm 4 Jack Poles)
4. How do I go about the wiring?

In the UK the main retailer to buy accessories are:
http://www.canford.co.uk/
http://cpc.farnell.com/

Thanks

I've managed to find the re-wiring procedures in this thread 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/512499/re-wire-sennheiser-hd-555-headphones-and-3-5mm-plug#post_6928179

Now my question regarding wiring is:

1. What cables would I need? (Canare, Mogami, Van Damme, Belden, Redco). Should I be using Shielded cable or will this dramatically effect the voice quality? 

DIY Cables

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/71148/diy-cable-gallery/7230

Another thread I found:

TRRS 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/566037/trrs-plug-recable-help

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone/2115

Thank You very much. This site is awesome. I've been drooling over some of those DIY cables lol

However the members in that section use 24AWG not 26AWG cables which is the preffered choice?

Which solder should I buy to attach the wire to the drivers and plugs? Will something like your bog standard silver solder do?

Also the headband in the pics seem to be painted but on the HD595's the headband is leather, is there a replacement plastic part which he used that I can buy from somewhere?

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN 

Hi there and welcome to head-fi!

 

It is really a very straightforward job. The only thing you need to do is 1) install a 3.5mm jack in one of the cups so you can plug that mic in (which seems like a good choice) and 2) make a new cable.

 

That new cable will need two 3.5mm plugs, one for the mic and one for the 595s. You will need three wires for the 595s (left, right, ground) and two for the mic (signal, ground). As for what kind of wire try to be the practical man. Use decent quality wire but more importantly use wire that is not too thick and is nice and flexible. 26awg would probably work great.

 

If I were you I would simply twist 5x26awg and sleeve it nylon (which can be had cheaply from ebay-seller furryletters). With 4x24awg 3/16 nylon works great and my guess is that it should work for 5x26awg also. To be safe you can order 1/4.

Ok so that is wiring sorted.

a) Any ideas how in the picture album the leather headband was changed or painted as I assume all the 595's had a leather strap across the top?

b) Are there any better boom microphones? I am going to re-wire these also and use a 2 Pin Lemo Push Pull connector.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by majnu 

Ok so that is wiring sorted.

 

a) Any ideas how in the picture album the leather headband was changed or painted as I assume all the 595's had a leather strap across the top?

b) Are there any better boom microphones? I am going to re-wire these also and use a 2 Pin Lemo Push Pull connector.

 

Thanks

 

Good Morning Bump :)
 

Evening Bump

Is the member Fragility still around?

With the Astro Mix Amp when I play on my xbox I have both game and voice chat come through my Sennhesier's (Through the xbox preferrential settings on the xbox guide menu)

With the mod will I still be able to balance voice and game chat using the Mix amp If I wire the mic and speakers all to one 3.5mm 4 Pole Jack connector connected to the mix amp headset port?

Or will I need to make one 3.5mm pole jack connector(which will connect to the headset port on the mix amp) and one separate 2.5mm pole jack connector (which will connect to the controller socket on the mix amp) to be able to balance the game and voice chat? See pic below.

Also what is the purpose of this cable?

http://www.astrogaming.co.uk/accessories/xbox-live-controller-cable

Thanks 

I asked Atro gaming and here is the reply I got.

However, doesn't that Y adapter esentially do the same as if I was too wire it into one 4 jack pole? Also I am still unsure what that chat cable I posted a link to does?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebel975 

Yes, the Y Splitter does the same thing a 4 pole jack would.

 

Also, that cable is to link your controller to the mixamp. It's the chat cable. It goes into the part marked "controller" in your picture of the mixamp. Just experiment with it in or out, and you'll understand its purpose. In- you can chat like normal. Out- everyone sounds like they're talking across a large room and you can't talk back to them.

a) When I connected the Labtec Mic and Headphones using the Y cable into the Headset port on the mix amp I could hear my own voice through the headphones, hear other people chatting but could not chat to people on xbox live

In conjunction with a) When I connected the chatlead to the controller and the controller port on the mix amp I could also chat to people on xbox live but also could hear my own voice. 

1. So how to I eliminate hearing my own voice through the headphones? 

2. My mix amp sits near the console as the optical lead is only short (2 metres) but if I am to use the chat lead so I can talk to people the chat lead itself is only really short, do they not make a longer one?

thanks