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Complete rookie trying to fix some Grado SR60

post #1 of 3
2/10/12 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 

The cables in my left 'phone tore off, the right cable is bent suspiciously, the plug is starting something too and the store I bought them at decided to be useless and expensive about all of this. So I'm thinking about rewiring them myself, or failing that, asking a family member with fewer left hands.

Thing is, I know next to nothing about any of this, plus the selection in Slovenia is not that hot. So I'm turning to you guys.

[/intro]

 

Will the Neutrik NYS231 plug work? It's 3.5mm and I've heard good things about the company. Is there any specification I'm missing? And among the cables, will any of the following do? If not, what kind of cable do I need? It'd be nice if it was flexible and didn't ruin the sound, but I'd also like to order it from a local store that has the plug.

Cordial CMK 222
The SSSnake SPK225
Cordial CLS 225
Cordial CLS 240 (looks pretty thick, so I'm guessing this one's out?)

 

So here's how I imagine it would work, then:

-I buy 3 meters or so of cable and split it in half

-I heat up the cups in a shallow hot water bath to open them up

-I solder the two wires in each half of the cable to the thingy inside each cup, then put them back together

-I open (unscrew?) the plug and solder all four wires to it

-I get some heatshrink tube and cover most of the two cords, then heat it up with a blowdrier

 

How far off am I? Hopefully not too far. Now, for the parts I'm entirely lost on:

Does the order I solder the wires to the thingy in the cup matter somehow or do I just need to match it when I solder them to the plug? The colors are just for convenience, right? So it doesn't matter if they're the same for each cup?

Can I fix the cables in place somehow? I can spin them around and push them into the cup right now, which is probably why the left one tore off in the first place.

What can I do about the split? I can't imagine they sell these plastic Y things anywhere nearby and I probably wouldn't be able to apply one either way.

Can I cover the plug with heatshrink tube too? Will that help it not tear so fast when the cable bends? If not, where do I get those rubber things that do and how do I apply them?

 

Thank you very much and have a good day.

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post #2 of 3
2/10/12 at 8:05pm

More or less right. 

 

Using speaker cable, you're going to have pretty unnecessarily thick wires though. You might see if they have some microphone cable in a starquad configuration (Mogami 2893 or 2534, for instance - Canare and Belden also make these, as do others - these have 4 conductors inside them). 

 

Each earcup has a (+) and (-) terminal. This becomes important when putting on the connector. 

 

Using a TRS connector like the Neutrik you listed (which is fine) - you have to pay attention to what goes where. 

 

The center most connection is the Tip of the connector. This corresponds to the Left side (+)

 

The middle connection corresponds to the ring of the connector. This is the Right side (+)

 

The outer sheath is the (-) connection for BOTH sides (you can twist them together before soldering). 

 

Y connectors are a pain in the ass. You can use an extra Neutrik barrel though, and fill it with hot glue or epoxy (and shrink wrap over the whole thing, if you want). Or Qables makes a snap together Y-split. Or you can DIY with some wood beads, or heavy duty adhesive shrink, or such. Everyone has their own preference. 

 

Also, when you solder the wires inside the earcups. 1. Don't overheat the solder pads. Bad things happen. 2. Add some sort of strain relief on the inside of the cup where the wire goes in so that if the wire gets pulled, it doesn't pull on the solder joint. A clamped down zip tie connector and some hot glue is one idea. Other people shrink tube a bead in place around the wire, or other fancyness (if the wire is thin, a simple knot can work too). Give yourself a little slack inside the earcup. 

 

And while I would never stop someone from trying to DIY.. if you get frustrated and just don't want to deal... write to Grado, they will fix them for a nominal fee. 


Edited by liamstrain - 2/10/12 at 8:08pm
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post #3 of 3
2/11/12 at 3:23am
Thread Starter 

Thanks a lot, that really helps. I'm having a hard time finding that kind of cable, but a different one with four 0,22sqmm wires will still do fine, right? So if I use a cable with 4 conductors, I'll have to cut off the tube after the split and cover it in heat shrink? Or do I need to cover it with something else? I see the cables have some material between the wires and the tube, is that something I need to worry about after the split?

I like the spare barrel idea, but is there any way I can damage the cable by applying hot glue? From where do I remove the tube? Halfway through the barrel?

And about the heat shrink, do I have to heat it up evenly?

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