[jpmilner]

My beloved EQ7s sound really weird today. I put them in and at first thought something was wrong with Pandora. All the vocals sounded like they were underwater. I tried every source in my house and it's all the same. I put on my fostex's and suddenly every source in the house sounds beautiful again.

With the EQ7s I'm getting clean mids, but no bass and the vocals just sound underwater. I played with the cable with no success. Are my beloved iems dead? Thanks everyone!

 

[soundstige]

The plug is damaged.

 

[jpmilner]

Oh? I would have thought that if the plug was damaged that it would kill the sound completely. Well, does anyone have any experience recabling eq7s from the drivers or do most people just replace the plugs? I just need to know what the best way to open the driver housing is. Thanks!

 

[DimitriTrush]

Maybe you can checking what the filter looks like. If you gets it clogged with wax and other stuffs it can sound underwater like you said it did. The other filter that came together with the earphone can help this. Regards.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

Yep, that is the sound of the wires at the plug end shorting out. Had it happen twice with my Eq7, first time with the original stiff plug - replaced under warranty, second time I got the end reterminated by a local cable company. What happens is that the cable gets bent and effectively crimps the ground shield wire from the rest of the cable assembly, which leads to the sound signature you describe. You can replace the filter, but I'd put money on that it doesn't resolve the issue. Re-terminating shouldn't cost too much and will extend the life of an excellent IEM.
 
regards,
 
Giles
 

 

[jpmilner]

Blah!  I got the plug apart and all 3 wires were shorting out.  I got the wires trimmed and stripped and ready to go on my fancy Pailiccs 3.5 connector and checked it with my ohm meter... Left and right are shorting out somewhere higher up the cable.  Looks like I'm going to have to build a whole new cable from the y split on down.

 

[soundstige]

The shorting is often inside the Y-split. A full recable might be best.
 
Quote:

Blah!  I got the plug apart and all 3 wires were shorting out.  I got the wires trimmed and stripped and ready to go on my fancy Pailiccs 3.5 connector and checked it with my ohm meter... Left and right are shorting out somewhere higher up the cable.  Looks like I'm going to have to build a whole new cable from the y split on down.