[Cosmin Stanescu]

Hi,

I had intermittend sound coming from my 3 or 4 year old se846 so i assumed this is because my original shure cable was in a bad shape, so i bought from amazon a third party cable however after receiving it and plugging it the sound was almost completely gone, except if i held the cable and headphone in certain position. I sent them to shure repair shop in Germany and they confirmed its the mmcx connector however Shure apparenty doesnt repair these connectors which seem kinda fragile and instead offered to give a new pair for 700 euros which i refused, as these headphones are good but they are not worth that kind of money. So i got them back, hence my dilema, what can i do with them, is there a repair shop somewhere that can fix these connectors, it seems a pity since the drivers are perfectly working. And if there is no hope of repairing them can they be sold for parts on ebay ? I welcome any suggestions , thank you !

 

[assassin10000]

Take a look at the center pin inside the MMCX connector. Is it split? If yes, maybe it's opened up too wide.

I've had one with a split that was made too wide and wouldn't make contact with the center pin on the cable. All I had to do was use a 'pick' or small pair of tweezers to slightly close the gap and it started working.

 

[Cosmin Stanescu]

Thanks for you answer. I looked but it doesnt look split to me and unfortunatelly i dont have a magnfying glass. Any other idea what i could do with them ?

 

[davidcotton]

Thanks for you answer. I looked but it doesnt look split to me and unfortunatelly i dont have a magnfying glass. Any other idea what i could do with them ?

Take it to a local watch repairer?

 

[cantsleep]

Maybe custom mold them?

 

[assassin10000]

You can probably have the mmcx sockets replaced if you or someone is skilled enough to split the housing open and can solder in a new socket.

Something like these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/5Pc...ated-3-Pins-MMCXKE-Connector/32892212454.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MLL...5-SE425-SE315-SE215-Earphone/32865762318.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-...or-DIY-Custom-Shure-JH-Audio/32889890057.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fem...e-JH-Audio-westone-1964-ears/32808301726.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fem...ustom-Shure-JH-Audio-westone/32701080148.html



But try and use a small pick, sewing needle or something small and thin enough to get in there and press on all sides of the center pin of the shure socket to see if this tightens up the center. The split is fairly hard to see with the naked eye if it is so. Not much pressure is needed.

 

[Raketen]

Did Shure tell you what exactly was wrong?If you still get sound from them by holding the cable in a certain position, it may be just that the connectors are dirty/corroded - intermittent or low volume sound from this is one of the most common problems with removable cables (due to perspiration, environment etc...). If you don't mind potentially wasting $10-15 buy a small bottle of plastic safe deOxIt (or whatever the EU equivalent is), put a thin coating on your cable, insert (maybe turn it while inserted also), remove, wipe it off and repeat a few times.

As others suggested perhaps you could have a modder/re-sheller/electronics or watch repairperson try to fix them. might be able to find a matching MMCX connector on digikey/mouser or whatever the EU equivalent is.

 

[nish1]

Hi - it's probably too late for the posters above, but for anyone who comes across this thread in the future - DO NOT PAY SHURE TO REPLACE THE EARPHONE. They did the same to me - quoted me £315 to replace it. What is good is that they allow you to buy and replace just the earphone that is damaged saving you a lot of money instead of buying a whole new set.

But.....they also said 'It’s not possible to repair the connection section and we do our best to offer the customer the cheapest option available.'

This isn’t true.

I just got my new headphones back from these guys - https://uk.electronic.partners. They quoted me £45 for the repair. After I got the quote I called them as I couldn't believe it could be fixed for so cheap. This friendly guy answered and scoffed at what Shure had said and said it's easy.

He was right - a week later I have them back and they are as good as new.

I got to speak to someone a bit more senior at Shure in the end - they ‘might’ look into sorting this. Apparently they don’t have a consumer repair service due to cost of engineers but clearly they don’t need to use their pros on this - they can find people to do it for cheaper hopefully and have better service for high end retail customers.

 

[AgentXXL]

Is anyone aware of a reliable Canadian repair shop that can do the MMCX connector replacement? My left earphone started random dropouts just over a month ago. The original Shure cable failed in 2016. The cable was replaced with a 3rd party (Fiio) cable which was working fine until about a month ago. I ordered a new balanced MMCX cable to use with my new Fiio BTR5 but the left channel still randomly drops out. I tested both 3rd party cables on my SE215 earphones and experienced no dropouts so both cables appear to be OK.

Please advise on repair availability/cost/procedure. I used to do my own repairs (35+ years repairing electronics) but my health issues now make me too shaky to do the fine detail work required for a repair like this. I have already tried some Stabilant 22/DeOxit. I would prefer a shop in Alberta or BC but if others have used a shop elsewhere in Canada with good results, I'm fine with that too.

Thanks for any suggestions/help!

 

[nish1]

Is anyone aware of a reliable Canadian repair shop that can do the MMCX connector replacement? My left earphone started random dropouts just over a month ago. The original Shure cable failed in 2016. The cable was replaced with a 3rd party (Fiio) cable which was working fine until about a month ago. I ordered a new balanced MMCX cable to use with my new Fiio BTR5 but the left channel still randomly drops out. I tested both 3rd party cables on my SE215 earphones and experienced no dropouts so both cables appear to be OK.

Please advise on repair availability/cost/procedure. I used to do my own repairs (35+ years repairing electronics) but my health issues now make me too shaky to do the fine detail work required for a repair like this. I have already tried some Stabilant 22/DeOxit. I would prefer a shop in Alberta or BC but if others have used a shop elsewhere in Canada with good results, I'm fine with that too.

Thanks for any suggestions/help!

 

[nish1]

Hi! Firstly I don’t think they need a repair - they need cleaning. I have to clean my
connectors when the sound gets intermittent. I’d google around how to do this cos they are fragile the connectors. I think Shure has info on this on their website too.

if you do need to repair it I’d google around for headphone repair in Canada. I can see there are companies that fix cables etc - they can probably fix this too. It’s how I found the guys who fixed mine.

 

[Cosmin Stanescu]

Hi nish1,

That is excellent news you could get them repaired for so little. I understand you had the same problem with the MMCX connectors ?
I still have mine so this could help a lot

Thanks!

 

[AgentXXL]

Hi! Firstly I don’t think they need a repair - they need cleaning. I have to clean my
connectors when the sound gets intermittent. I’d google around how to do this cos they are fragile the connectors. I think Shure has info on this on their website too.

if you do need to repair it I’d google around for headphone repair in Canada. I can see there are companies that fix cables etc - they can probably fix this too. It’s how I found the guys who fixed mine.

As mentioned, the connectors have been thoroughly cleaned and some contact restorer (Stabilant 22 - similar to DeOxit) applied. Alas the issue with dropouts on the left earphone continue. It's definitely a connection issue, which the MMCX connectors are known for.

Again, I tried my cables on my older SE215 IEMs and neither cable would reproduce the left earphone dropouts. I'm fairly certain that it's the MMCX socket in the left earphone so I have put some feelers out in some audiophile Canadian forums/Facebook groups so hopefully someone will provide a reliable repair shop.

As mentioned in my original post, I've repaired electronics for over 35+ years (medical device repair) so I'm fairly confident that the problem is the MMCX connector itself. It definitely frustrates me that I have (had) the skills to do the repair but with my failing health, now I'm too shaky to do fine detail work. Hopefully I'll find a decent Canadian repair shop as I'm reluctant to send these outside the country.

 

[nish1]

Firstly I wish you all the best with your health. I saw my dad struggle the past 2 years and it was hard for him and for us.
Regards the connector it sounds like you know much more about this than I do! Hope you can find someone who can get them working again.

Note I spent £50 to get them fixed. I can see that some people are selling individual left or right earbuds for the Shure se215’s on eBay for less than that - it might be cheaper to do that. I assume they are second hand but will still work fine.

 

[AgentXXL]

Firstly I wish you all the best with your health. I saw my dad struggle the past 2 years and it was hard for him and for us.
Regards the connector it sounds like you know much more about this than I do! Hope you can find someone who can get them working again.

Note I spent £50 to get them fixed. I can see that some people are selling individual left or right earbuds for the Shure se215’s on eBay for less than that - it might be cheaper to do that. I assume they are second hand but will still work fine.

Thanks for the positive vibe towards my health. I'm still great mentally, but my physical limitations keep increasing. I've been off work for over 2.5 years and now am on permanent disability due to an auto-immune disease like multiple sclerosis. Of course that means my income is also much lower so repair is always the preferred option rather than buying a replacement.

There was a small misunderstanding about which earphone needs repair - it's the left earphone of my SE846. My SE215 are an older pair but they still work fine so I used them to test and verify the cables. If my posts to some Canadian forums/Facebook groups don't find a trusted repair shop I'll try and contact a former co-worker who's also into audio. Hopefully he's willing to tackle the repair - he too has been servicing electronics/medical devices for 30+ years.

Just knowing that you were successful in getting yours repaired gives me some confidence that I'll eventually get mine fixed as well. Have a good day and happy listening!