I have numerous different mid-fi cans and a Fiio K7 that I got about 3 weeks ago. I'm just curious, will I eventually wear out the headphone jacks on the K7 by plugging this pair of cans in then that pair etc etc over and over again? Should I be worried?
I have numerous different mid-fi cans and a Fiio K7 that I got about 3 weeks ago. I'm just curious, will I eventually wear out the headphone jacks on the K7 by plugging this pair of cans in then that pair etc etc over and over again? Should I be worried?
Some modern day jacks are reinforced with gold plating etc, so generally they are rated for many hundreds to thousand changes. Most likely the user would have upgraded to another source by the time these jacks are worn out.
If you are concerned, you can buy some adapter plugs AKA socket savers and plug the adapter to the source, then connect your headphone to the adapter, so as to "wear out" the adapter instead (which can be replaced).
Some modern day jacks are reinforced with gold plating etc, so generally they are rated for many hundreds to thousand changes. Most likely the user would have upgraded to another source by the time these jacks are worn out.
If you are concerned, you can buy some adapter plugs AKA socket savers and plug the adapter to the source, then connect your headphone to the adapter, so as to "wear out" the adapter instead (which can be replaced).
I have numerous different mid-fi cans and a Fiio K7 that I got about 3 weeks ago. I'm just curious, will I eventually wear out the headphone jacks on the K7 by plugging this pair of cans in then that pair etc etc over and over again? Should I be worried?
Agreed, especially if you’re around these forums a lot. Sometimes I feel like my gear doesn’t even reach room temperature before I want to try something else…
Agreed, especially if you’re around these forums a lot. Sometimes I feel like my gear doesn’t even reach room temperature before I want to try something else…
That's why I'm worried. I'm swapping headphones on my K7 2 to 3 times a day and if I multiply that by like 3 years thats over 1000 swaps. I don't know how resilient these jacks are. This is only my 3rd headphone amp I've ever had.
Every 3.5mm jack wears out - some rather quickly. It doesn't matter much if they're gold, either. The jack is small enough that the springs go bad. When you think of the fact that the leaf springs have to be flat with a common width of about ~1.5 millimeters and the diameter of the plug is only 3.5mm - but circular, that leaves a couple of tenths of a millimeter that actually make electrical contact. The actual largest contact area is in the lengthwise bend of the spring, but even that is tiny.
Given that the springs are so small and the contact area is so small, it's no wonder they wear out over time. This is well known in the DIY community and 3.5mm - 1/8" jacks are discouraged. Why would you burn money, sweat, and tears to build yourself something that would wear out? Yeah, for a CMoy in a mint tin, 3.5mm jacks are fine. But a desktop? If you have one, it's only for convenience and marketing purposes, not for longevity.
OTOH, a simple 1/4" jack can last decades without getting "scratchy." XLR is even better.
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