[castigar]

Curious first-time DIYer here... I dug around this forum and couldn't find anything on this so...

I got hooked onto balanced headphones after reading around here (damn you, head-fi), and am thinking about balancing my AKG K702s. However, I currently lack the funds to buy the balanced DAC and amp, so I figured I could try recabling it for now.

Now, the main issue here is that to balance it, I would need 4 wires going in, which isn't possible without completely removing the stock 3-pin mini-XLR jack that enables detachable cables. I really like the detachable design, but it's not a 4-pin, so I can't have a balanced cable going into it.

My question is this: does anyone know if you can easily replace the stock 3-pin mini-XLR jack with a 4-pin one? Is the plastic housing around it easy to modify, so that I can just "slip out" the 3-pin one, and "slip in" a 4-pin?

It'd be awesome to be able to convert it to such, and then I can build my detachable balanced cable for it. I can then modify my current stock cable with a 4-pin mini-XLR, and then use that for single-ended operation while I daydream about getting the rest of the balanced setup.

Thanks!

 

[momomo6789]

what you do is buy another right housing from akg then swap it with the left side drill 2 holes in each side put new wire on = WIN !!!

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momomo6789 /img/forum/go_quote.gif what you do is buy another right housing from akg then swap it with the left side drill 2 holes in each side put new wire on = WIN !!!

Or if you want to keep your cables detachable I am assuming you could get another left housing from akg and use two mini 3-pin xlr (obviously only using a single channel and ground) on each side. I have thought about doing this with my K81DJ's (not to balance them, but to be able to swap out different cables). Or you could get another right housing and mount some mono mini jacks and use mono mini connectors instead of the mini xlr's. This is what I settled on for my K81DJ's.

I HIGHLY doubt swapping out the male 3 pin for a 4 pin will be easy without some serious modding simply because it doesn't look like a standard case mount xlr. One thing you could do is try removing the jack and have a cable mount 4pin hang down a tiny bit if the case mount jack doesn't just slot in.

Good luck!

 

[castigar]

So after a large bit of failing and really scratching up the left grille and the ear lid, I finally got mine open. The plastic lid that holds the grille is quite difficult to remove. Now, the service manual downloaded from AKG says:

"Now press sides of lid 9 (21) together until the latches get visible. Depress these latches with a small sized screwdriver and pull lid off from ear-shell."

Execpt the sides are really hard to push in. I never even saw the latches until I got the thing entirely off. With a bit of forcing, I finally got the thing to come out, but at the cost of breaking off one of the soldered leads (the yellow L+ lead).

I examined the 3-pin mini-XLR receptacle... it doesn't look like anything I can buy from Mouser or Digi-Key, especially considering how tightly it fits into the plastic housing that I just removed.

I guess at this point, I'll have to order the left grille and possibly the left plastic ear cup that I had trouble with, as both are a bit scratched up. I guess I can't replace the 3-pin with a 4-pin easily, but I'll try asking AKG about it while I order the replacement parts.