[FRESHPINETRICKZ]

Everything was great  about my Sj55's as portables, but I wanted something on them I couldn't have; an inline remote and mic. Well, I've got both of them now AND removable cables, and here's how I got them... 







First, things you're going to need. (NOTE: Everything I did here can be done with parts found at Radioshack. They even sell SOL REPUBLIC replacement cables (Limited selection though)).

1. Your SJ55's! What? Did you think you could do this mod without headphones? 

2. A SOL REPUBLIC cable of your choice. (They come in  different colors and designs. I recommend buying them straight off the website*).

3. A small screwdriver. 

4. A soldering iron and solder (obviously).

5. (Possibly) A dremel.

6. Some sturdy glue. (I used super glue, loctite and hot glue)

7. Two 2.5mm (Yes, they are 2.5mm, not 3.5mm) female phone jacks (mono or stereo will work for this).

8. A steady hand.

*Website: http://solrepublic.com/shop/tracks-headphones-remix-headbands-cables-speakers/tracks-headphones-remix-cleartalk-cables.html





Now, how to build these bad boys.

1. Remove cushions (they come straight off, nothing special here), and remove the four screws holding the drivers in place.


 


2. This is do or die: Cut the wires and remove the drivers. This is the point of no return. You are a true DIY-er. Good luck!




3. You'll probably have these rubber things in the drivers still. Get some needle-nose pliers (or even some tweezers may work), and pull them into the headphone. This is where your jacks will go. Luckily, Audio Technica have made this mod easier, courtesy of making these holes just the right size for 2.5mm jacks already!




4. If you've gotten this far, you're committed. You are a true student of DIY. Give yourself a round of applause! Now, back to work! There's this plastic thing  that may, or may not be preventing your jack from fitting correctly. If it's a problem (as it was for me), then you're gonna have to break out the dremel and sand away. Be sure to blow/wipe any plastic dust off the housing. This is where your steady hand will pay off. Good luck.


 
 


5. Now we're getting somewhere! Time to break out the soldering iron and solder the connections on! You may find it helpful to use a bit of hot glue to reinforce your connection (like I did). (Fun fact: As for wire color, copper is common/ground. Any other color is for signal) (Fun fact 2: SOL REPUBLIC cables use stereo jacks that carry a mono signal, so as long as you get ground right, there is no way you can mess this up!). 




6. Glue them in place. Do this well, you don't want to end up with the jacks falling inside of your phones. I used super glue for adhesive, and hot glue to prevent rattling. 


 
 


7. THIS IS FREAKIN IMPORTANT! LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! Okay? Okay. Don't put them together yet. I recommend leaving them overnight open like this to allow the glue to cure completely. I ended up with super glue on my headphone jack connections which was a pain to clean up when they were back together. You can survive one night, right? 




8. Test 'em out, and put those heaven-sent, one-of-a-kind cans back together! At long last, your creation is complete! Looks like the work of a masta (sorry, Wu-Tang reference)!


 
 



Wait, wait. I can already hear you clicking away at your keyboard asking about audio quality before and after. Look, to me, they sounded slightly better after this mod. But to be honest, it's probably just me. And until I have another normal pair to compare them to, I'll never really know. But I have techno-blue cables now, so I don't care. The satisfaction of DIYing this mod made them more enjoyable for me, maybe they will for you. Good luck!

 

[jjmai]

Cool mod & nice descriptions!

 

[FRESHPINETRICKZ]

Cool mod & nice descriptions!

Thanks! They're really a good pair of headphones for the price, especially if you're getting your first pair or want something portable and stylish.

 

[GoldenGate]

Sorry for the thread bump, but I'm searching for all tips I can source here for re-wiring the cups themselves. But not specifically for AT's.

 

[FRESHPINETRICKZ]

  Sorry for the thread bump, but I'm searching for all tips I can source here for re-wiring the cups themselves. But not specifically for AT's.

Hi GoldenGate! For re-wiring the earcups, just find the find the ground wire for the driver, and wire that to the ground of the input jack you're using. Then find the R/L input wires, and wire them to the signal input for the driver. Remember, you are not doing anything fancy for this mod with wiring, you're just routing the wires through a removable jack in the earcups where the wires used to go. The wire coloring for the ATH's are usually copper = ground, and any other color (usually red or green) = signal. Copper colored cable is usually the standard color for ground, but don't take my word for it. Look online, and if you can't find anything there, test it yourself with alligator clips (that's what I did to double check my ground and signal wires). Good luck!
 
*EDIT* You may find these diagrams helpful! 
 

 

[GoldenGate]

Thanks for the diagrams too. I just picked up a set of helping hands to do the soldering. But I'm still reading up what I can about putting your own custom input into the cup, which connection, what will fit, etc.

 

[FRESHPINETRICKZ]

  Thanks for the diagrams too. I just picked up a set of helping hands to do the soldering. But I'm still reading up what I can about putting your own custom input into the cup, which connection, what will fit, etc.

If I were you, I would take the physical headphones to Radioshack and look at the different inputs they have to get an idea of what will fit. It may prevent some frustration later on since you aren't just looking at parts online and guessing. You don't necessarily need to buy the parts from Radioshack, but it may help just to get an idea.