[hybrid35]

I bought these iem's a few months ago and they have been great.
Recently though, I accidentally yanked it out of the port a little bit too quick because the clip was stuck on me when I walked away.
Now the stereo doesn't sound right, even though mono still works perfectly. I can pull the jack out about 2-3mm and it will sound ok too (I think it just puts it in mono though).
Anybody have any theories on how to fix this? I'm willing to modify or do whatever remedies necessary. Whatever the damage or bad connection is, it only affects stereo and not mono.

edit: it's definitely not the port's problem. I tried my phone, ipod, extra ports and they all have the same problem.

 

[goodvibes]

First thing to do is to replace the plug by cutting the old one off and starting over. Easiest and most likely area of problem. You've probably pulled the insulator in such a way that you've got a partial short or some such thing in the connector.

 

[hybrid35]

Is this the right guide? http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/how...ep-pics-50729/

I already pulled the old plug out. Looks like it has 3 contact points but I don't know which correspond to what (left, right, ground is my guess). Should I reuse this jack? I can't find one at radioshack.

Next steps cut off strain relief, strip off insulator, hopefully find the right wires to go with the right contact points, solder them, heatshrink (even though i want a strain relief i think this is as close as I can get), then good to go? Or am I missing something.

 

[ljokerl]

I recommend one of these. Reusing the old plug is not a good idea.

Abi has a nice guide that I've used in the past. Might be of help.

 

[hybrid35]

Thanks for the input, but wow, the jack's shipping costs 700% more than the jack. Can't they just letter mail it to me?!

On a more serious note, any suggestions for walk-in stores in socal?

 

[ljokerl]

I think partsexpress has the cheapest shipping of all the online retailers last I checked. Smartpost shows up as just $3.95 for me.

I suppose you could call up local radioshacks with the catalogue number for this to see if one of them carries it in-store. I've never worked with those so no promises on them being easy to use.

 

[rawrster]

typically shipping gets you when you buy online but most probably don;t just order one. you could try your radio shack, a local hardware store or something like home depot to see if they got anything cheaper. $4 shipped doesn't sound bad however and probably a safe bet unless you are in a hurry to get it done.

 

[hybrid35]

Very good points. I guess I'm in for one. Just that my slickdeal instincts got the better of me... always looking for free shipping+no tax haha.

I'll update on progress once I find a soldering iron and some solder somewhere on this campus.

 

[hybrid35]

Ok this is weird. I have 3 wires. Copper, red and green. Inside each wire is a beige color thread. What is this? I found out that copper is ground, red is right, green is left.

Seems like i need the contact of both the wire AND the thread for it to work... If this is the case, then wouldn't solder be bad for these threads?

 

[hybrid35]

Finally had the time to fix it. Apparently the thread and the wire need to be soldered onto the contact before it will work. There might be a conductor inside the threads the and wire is used as a shield. Any strands should be cut or twisted back on because they could touch the contacts and make a loop that's not wanted. I took this to a electronic repairman and even he said he's never seen this type of wire. So if anyone ever needed to fix their cyclones, I can confirm that all you need to do is solder it. But I HIGHLY suggest to get a new jack with a good strain relief and clean up the wires. Mine is now only fulling working in some positions and I believe that it is due to stray wires. It also doesn't feel very safe since the place that the wire's attached to is the solder and a very weak crimp.

 

[ljokerl]

You can usually fashion your own rudimentary strain relief by partially overlaying several layers of heatshrink. Still, glad you got them working, at least temporarily.

 

[hybrid35]

They broke again while I was overseas (never exercise with expensive-ish phones on!). But luckily, it was Hong Kong so it was filled with IEM stores. Surprisingly, though, there weren't many that deal with repairs. In the end, I was recommended by a store to a place called Perfect Ear (PEAR HK), and they fixed it professionally for $60 HKD... I'd say that's a deal considering they provided the plug as well. If anyone ever goes to Hong Kong and wants new cables, housings, plugs, repairs, or any modification to IEMs or cans, pay a visit to PEAR. It's in Sham Shui Po, in a plaza called Sham Ji Do on second floor. Helpful and really good staff.

 

[goodvibes]

I think the problem may have been your soldering. I forgot about this thread but the wires you described have individually insulated strands like magnet or litz wire. They need to be tinned in some melted solder for a bit before attaching to the terminals to get a really solid connection with enough surface area to last. For strain relief, I'd use a bit of epoxy or adhesive in the plug case and there are plugs with springs at the exit. If not then some rubber shrink at the plug exit is recommended as has been mentioned. You'll lose another 1/2" if it breaks again but it's a good trade off.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

They broke again while I was overseas (never exercise with expensive-ish phones on!). But luckily, it was Hong Kong so it was filled with IEM stores. Surprisingly, though, there weren't many that deal with repairs. In the end, I was recommended by a store to a place called Perfect Ear (PEAR HK), and they fixed it professionally for $60 HKD... I'd say that's a deal considering they provided the plug as well. If anyone ever goes to Hong Kong and wants new cables, housings, plugs, repairs, or any modification to IEMs or cans, pay a visit to PEAR. It's in Sham Shui Po, in a plaza called Sham Ji Do on second floor. Helpful and really good staff.

Very cool, sounds like a good deal

 

[hybrid35]

PEAR also included a rubber shrink strain relief for free. It looks like they did a pretty good job, only thing is that the housing for the plug is clear and it looks like they filled it with blue glitter for decoration. And you're right, it did need to be tinned or at least that's what it looked like staff did. They seemed very experienced at this profession.