Okay so Ive had my headphones for a good 3 years now and the 3.5mm plug has started to give me problems so I cut it off. I went to replace the plug as a beginner at soldering. I messed up numerous times with stripping the wire so now the cable is stripped down to the coiled part of my headphones.(I have the coiled cable version of the ath-m50) Also to make matters worse I soldering the plug to the point where the left sounds comes out the right ear driver and vice versa and the cable the right headphone goes out when I wiggle the cord so I guess I did a terrible job soldering. What I want to do is strip the wire again resolder a new plug and put on some heat shrink tubing so i can get rid a bit of the coiled cable to make it straight. Can you guys recommend me a size of heat shrink tubing to use on these headphones? Does this method im using to repair my headphones sound feasible?
Well, let's start with the obvious. How much wire do you have left? I don't think you've done any irreversible harm, but you very well could if you start mucking around inside the cups. I'd head over to the custom cable Q&A thread for your heat shrink question.
To get a bit more in depth, I'd have other questions, too. Have you ever soldered anything else before trying this? What kind of iron/solder/flux are you using? Are you stripping off both layers of insulation?
You'll want to practice a bit before you go any further on your current cans. Find some old broken headphones and solder their cables back together or something.
I know the wires that come with the ATH-M50's have an enamel inside them that makes them very reluctant to actually take solder. That was the main problem I ran into when putting a 3.5mm female jack plug mount in mine. If you're going any further, make sure you tin the wires first, and that you're actually getting a connection. A multi-meter is what you'll want for that.
Also, this video is the best possible resource for actual technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4
It is worth the dollar. Also, I didn't make it, nor am I affiliated in any way with the guy that did.
