[eric2420]

Hello everyone - I am new here although I have been reading the site for years. I was hoping to get some advice from some of the thousands of experts that roam around in here. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s that I love and I wear them all the time and everywhere (grocery store, Target, work, gym, etc.) and they are usually plugged into my iPhone which requires an adapter. One came with the HD650s but it eventually gets glitchy and the sounds cuts out a little at first and then i have to hold it in the perfect position for it to work at all - I have gotten replacement adapters from Sennhesier that are about 8 inches long, they eventually go bad, and recently I have been buying the short stub versions but I still hear random static and noises that I shouldn't hear. It's annoying and I'm tired of having to mange it. I am worried that I am doing something fundamentally wrong with how I care for my headphones or cables. Please let me know what mistakes I am making and how to be sure that I can get solid clear sound out of an adapter for longer than a week or two. 
 
I used to have a pair of Shure SE425 in ear earphones that I would wrap up and store in their case when I wasn't wearing them and they kept having the same problem. My conclusion with those was that Shure has great technology but use cables that are way too thin and cheap compared to the in-ear piece. Like putting $20 tires on a Ferrari. Not sure what to do but I would really appreciate some tips. Lost the SE425s somehow so am looking for some new in-ear. 
 
Thanks in advance. Eric.

 

[DaveK1977]

Because of length and leverage, the combination of a 1/4" plug hung off of a 3.5mm jack through a rigid adapter should be handled carefully.  The static that you're hearing is probably the intermittent connection that comes from using something like that while moving around.  I think that Grado sells an adapter like that which is a little cord instead, to try to relieve some of the pressure from the 3.5mm jack.
 
Alternatively, you could buy a second cable and put a 3.5mm plug on the end of it.
 
That said, I'm afraid that with the problem evident on two different pairs of headphones that it might simply be the jack on the device itself getting iffy.

 

[eric2420]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I have ordered one of the longer Grado cables and plan to get a new phone soon anyway and that should fix any issues with the jack on the device. I am also going to get a new pair of in-ears because it will be better to leave the HD650s at home. Thanks again.

Eric