[headchange4u]

I have 2 iPods which means I also have 2 sets of stock iPod buds. My wife is using one set with my 4G 20GB iPod. I would like to play around with modding/recabling the other set that I never use. I know that there probably wouldn't be any improvment in recabling, but I still want to do it.

I don't see any way of taking the buds apart without tearing them up. Has anyone else here tried to disassemble their buds with any luck?

[size=medium]UPDATE:[/size]

Like I said I managed to get them apart pretty easy. I used a really small flathead screwdriver and pried just a little bit. It only left a small mark that you can see in this pic:

Here's a detail of the inside after opening. Looks like enameled magnet wire almost:

Here's the driver and the voice coil. If you look close you can see the tiny strands of wire sticking out from the notch on the metal driver. That was the wire that broke on me:

I know I'm probably just trying to polish a turd by trying to upgrade anything on these but I'm going to do it anyway. The wire looks really bad. It's some sort of stranded wire that has no insulation to hold everything together. Who knows, stock buds could be real sleepers just by upgrading the wire a little bit. I guess we will find out. I will keep you updated.

 

[kin0kin]

I have a partially dead one and have also been wondering how the heck to open it up as it is tightly sealed. oh btw, if you have not opened up the ipod bud, you could sell them for 20bucks off ebay

 

[headchange4u]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kin0kin I have a partially dead one and have also been wondering how the heck to open it up as it is tightly sealed. oh btw, if you have not opened up the ipod bud, you could sell them for 20bucks off ebay

I know I could sell them but I use them for intial testing on amps and such. That way if something goes wrong I don't have to worry about screwing up by good cans!

I also use them in the bath tub.


I know there has to be a way to open them up without destroying them.

 

[Sinbios]

Why bother? The first step to better sound should be tossing those in the bin

 

[shiggins]

I'll disassemble mine as soon as I find an appropriate brick to go in my sock...

 

[jerb]

try warming it over a hair dryer and prying the sides with a fingernail or screwdriver

 

[headchange4u]

I had my set of buds at work with me today. I took a jeweler's flathead screw driver and gave some gentle pressure between the gray ring and the white housing and the buds just came apart. It hardly left a mark at all.

Now for the bad news. There was a copper coil mounted behind the screen that was connected by two strands (yes, I said strands) of copper to the driver. This broke when I pulled the housing apart. It looks like it will be easy to fix. kin0kin, this is probably what is wrong with your buds.

I will post some pics when I get home tonight of the disassembled buds. I am going to grab some 26AWG or 28AWG silver teflon wire from Ebay and do a recable on them. I think the 22AWG that I have may be a little big.I may also add some resistors in-line to see if that makes a difference. Will keep you updated.

 

[headchange4u]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinbios Why bother? The first step to better sound should be tossing those in the bin

I'm just doing this because.....uuummm....because I can. Plus since I have an extra set i can do some A/B comparisons.

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by headchange4u Who knows, stock buds could be real sleepers just by upgrading the wire a little bit. I guess we will find out.

Wouldn't that be a kick?

"Here, check this tune out."
Hands iPod and stock earbuds to head-fi friend.
"What? Stock earbuds"
headchange4u looks over top of eyeglasses.
. . .

"H

ly Crap! What happened to these?"
.
.
.

I have an old pair of Sony earbuds in Yellow...I'll be watching your thread!

 

[Kenny12]

i believe if you send ur broken buds in they give you an apple in ear as a replacement

 

[RedLeader]

really? how are the apple in-ears?

 

[Kenny12]

they arn't bad at all, 1st thing you do though is buy some shure tips then they sound about the same as sony ex71 with more tamed bass

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader really? how are the apple in-ears?

Remember the free pair that came with your cassette walkman in the 80s?

For me, I find them to be nearly identical: flat and rather dry. No highs or lows, just basic music playback. I know lots of people don't mind them, so that's cool. I'm not a big fan, myself.

Edit: Been playing with them a bit. If I remove the foam pads, I can get a subtle seal and they do sound better. I think the highs are a bit better too without the foam. Interesting.

 

[bhjazz]

Been playing with the yellow Sonys. They are MDR-E222. Can't get them to seal too well, but with foam pads they sit in my ears pretty good and have a pretty nice sound, with good tube like bass. However, the foam kills the highs... They would bet better if I could just get a seal without the foam. Inside of these is a driver that looks similar to the iPod buds, but I can't quite get it apart. The wiring is far better, that's for sure. I'm still pokin around....

 

[dmunky]

I think this calls for a star quad recable