[inertianinja]

I'm in the middle of this mod, but totally new to soldering.
 
I'm practicing on the stock cable, trying to tin the wires, and I can't get the solder to stick.
I have read up on soldering basics, and apparently you're supposed to tin the iron, then heat up the wire and get the solder to flow on. I can't get this to happen.
 
I have tried applying solder to the wire directly, with no luck.
I have tried burning off the enamel before tinning, which leaves a lot of black matter on the wire, and *at best* the solder will stick in clumps.
In either case, I can't get the solder to flow onto the wire. 
I have tried playing with the heat settings on my iron (Weller 5-40W adjustable), and hotter/cooler doesn't seem to work any better.
 
Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

 

[PETEREK]

You have to use it hotter on enameled wire. I just throw the stock cable out, the wire in it is terrible.  

 

[jpover]

Can tomorrow get here faster?   I've been reading this thread for a couple of days and can't wait to change out my 9'+ cord!

 

[SiBurning]

Nice starter kit. 

 
I got scared for a second there... Hakko's website says that station comes standard with a T18-D16, a 1.6mm spade tip, which is perfect for this. Tips didn't come in the stations I got from them. Glad they finally fixed this shortcoming.

 

[jpover]

  Nice starter kit. 

 
I got scared for a second there... Hakko's website says that station comes standard with a T18-D16, a 1.6mm spade tip, which is perfect for this. Tips didn't come in the stations I got from them. Glad they finally fixed this shortcoming.

Thanks!  I appreciate the help in making a good choice.  I've put off buying a soldering station for years so I'm pretty excited for it to get here.

 

[Mad Max]

 

Can tomorrow get here faster?   I've been reading this thread for a couple of days and can't wait to change out my 9'+ cord!

 

 

[inertianinja]

  You have to use it hotter on enameled wire. I just throw the stock cable out, the wire in it is terrible.  

 
It seems like a lot of other people have used the stock cable. I have continued to practice, but can't get the wires to tin cleanly.
Burning it isn't working for me - if i don't time it just right, the thread burns and leaves behind black crap that I can't get off.
 
I tried putting a blob of solder on the iron, and just putting the wire in it. I notice what appears to be enamel bubbling off, but it leaves behind black crap. 
 
really frustrating.

 

[jpover]

By the way, any suggestion on temperature?  My new toys... ahem, equipment... should be here in the next couple of hours.

 

[SiBurning]

It goes to 899F? Wow! The newer ones do much higher temperatures to accomodate lead-free solder.
 
Hate to take a guess on temps without knowing the physical size of the connector & wire. Personally, I think the hotter the better 'cause what you want to do is heat the smallest area possible as fast as possible and get the iron out of there. Higher temps transfer less total heat energy, which minimizes the chance of melting any plastic. But you can also burn off the flux too quickly. Also, as mentioned a couple of posts back, it depends on the wire. I'll leave numbers for those who know the materials and are more familiar with headphone cables. (But I'd personally try 800F.)

 

[PETEREK]

Mine goes to 932F (500 celcius). I have it set at a little over 300 celcius for non-enameled wire soldering.

 

[Kamakahah]

By the way, any suggestion on temperature?  My new toys... ahem, equipment... should be here in the next couple of hours.

It's always good practice to read the specifications on your solder to be aware of its melting point. I always try to use the least amount to adequately do the job. It's especially important for soldering to drivers as high heat can warp the voice coil and leave you with a pretty piece of garbage.

 

[Mad Max]

   
It seems like a lot of other people have used the stock cable. I have continued to practice, but can't get the wires to tin cleanly.
Burning it isn't working for me - if i don't time it just right, the thread burns and leaves behind black crap that I can't get off.
 
I tried putting a blob of solder on the iron, and just putting the wire in it. I notice what appears to be enamel bubbling off, but it leaves behind black crap. 
 
really frustrating.

 
I create a blob on mine at about 900 degrees, then very quickly tin enameled wires just as you describe.  I use silver-bearing (2%) leaded solder with flux core that I can buy locally, it is a little easier to make proper joints with it than regular 60/40.  Yours might be lacking the flux core, or perhaps you need to switch to leaded solder if you are using lead-free solder.  Taking many seconds to tin enameled wires leads to "black crap" for me as well.  I have a lot of practice doing it this way so I never mess up these days.  I tin only one wire at a time in one second or less and then wipe the oxidation from my iron with a wet sponge after each wire that I tin.
 
I think the stock wiring of ATH-M50 is decent.  It's no Mogami W2893 or W2534 for those who love that stuff, of course, but when not going for an outright recable, the stock wiring is worthy enough, it's not as skimpy as most other headphone cables.
 
Something I strongly recommend to anyone doing their own cable mods or recables: practice on some on-ear cheapo (not in-ear).  JVC S160 "Flats" can be had cheaply from Big Lots! for those of us in the US, as one example.  Recable it, or desolder the stock cable, cut the wiring, and re-tin and re-connect or whatever helps you.

 

[jpover]

OK, did the MOD successfully!
 
 

 
 
Sadly, I had the whole project done and finished but went back to add thread locker and then lost a connection on the reassembly – whoa, what a pain!
 
 
Some lessons learned:
 
 
 
- Practice on cheap wire
- Tin the wires
- Tape or secure the original connections unless you want to resolder the whole thing – I had to do this and it was a major bummer!  I got so frustrated I had to set the project down and come back to it later.  Then, with the larger wires I used (see below) it was a real hassle to reassemble.
 

 
 
- If you have to resolder, do so thoroughly!
- Take your time
 
Here's a helpful picture:
 

 
 
Here's a helpful testing link:
 
http://youtu.be/hTvJoYnpeRQ

 

[jpover]

Almost forgot, I did not want to cut the driver housing, so I cut the plug instead to make everything fit:
 

 
Further, if you plan on using thread locker, be sure you're done soldering.  I had a tough time resoldering the plug because I could not remove it without breaking something due to the thread locker (blue Loc-tite).

 

[inertianinja]

would it be a good idea to replace the stock headphones entirely with some 22-gauge speaker wire and bypass this enamel crap entirely?
 
i bought some cheap radio shack 22awg speaker wire; it seems like the stock M50 cables are at least 24gauge, so it should be an improvement, no?