[funkyfunk]

Hey folks, figured I could post the DIY MOD I did a while back, for anyone who's looking to get a decent iPhone headset.
 
The hf2 have been on the market for more than two years now. They've undergone some slight revisions since then and etymotic even added the hf3 with volume control.
 
Back then, my hf-2 cable was beginning to show symptoms of a cable-break and since I've always hated the hideous tiny inline remote that came with it, it was time for storming the Bastille and decapition of the respecive earphones.
 
imageshack gallery:
 
http://img846.imageshack.us/g/img0360i.jpg/
 
 
Here's the result:
 
pic 1
 

 
The hf2 earbud casing is glued together. once it's open you will have 3 parts: the 2 cases and the rubber strain-relief
I simply used blunt force (knife) to pry it open. If you're worried about stratches you might wanna try dissolving the glue with heat or steam (though im not sure if it'll work)
 
pic 2
 

 
The driver. desolder wire and remove remaining solder. doesn't hurt writing down where which colour goes.
 
pic 3
 

 
decapitate or pry open (remove the silicone ring on the earpiece. there is a small hole located at the bottom of the ring which you can use as a lever - e.g. by using a paper clip - and solder iphone cable off the driver. thread the rubber strain relief.
 
pic 4
 

 
tie a knot, cautiously remove a bit of the acrylic coating on the tip of the two wires (e.g. #1 using a lighter torch (apply some saliva at the point where you'd like it stop burning or #2 use an acid or fine grained abrasive paper or #3 use your solder by applying tin-solder onto your iron until it forms a drop. run the wire through the drop, the coating will dissolve). Solder it on the HF2 drivers. After a lot of trial & error, instead of my soldering sation, i used a 2$ soldering pen and a universal dc adapter on 9V, 5$)
 
pic 5
 

 
Put it all together, use superglue to keep it in place
 
pic 6
 

 
Voilà! the result
 
edit: finally, pics are also available via head-fi!
 
edit:
 
-- sorry guys i just cant upload any pictures, will try editing the post a bit later --
 
still cant post pics, please refer to the imageshack gallery

 

[Insighter]

Hi! Thanks for the post! I had already changed cable on my HF2. It was tricky
 
Here you can find how one Russian guy has done this two years before
http://theapplegeek.ru/archives/2656
 
But what I found personally, is that HF2 (and HF3, HF5, I think) have couple of small SMD resistors (in Y splitter) that works as attenuator (without them HF2 Knowles Acoustic drivers have less than 8 Ohm resistance). Resistors nominal value is 16 Ohm.

 

[GeneralSmirnoff]

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead but I have a question. When I bought the HF3's I didn't know there was a version without the mic and volume control but I have lost the receipt and now I an unable to return them. I am also planning to recable them as well however will not having the resistor in the Y-Splitter affect the audio quality in any way?

 

[funkyfunk]

Quote:

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead but I have a question. When I bought the HF3's I didn't know there was a version without the mic and volume control but I have lost the receipt and now I an unable to return them. I am also planning to recable them as well however will not having the resistor in the Y-Splitter affect the audio quality in any way?

I didn't realize any.

 

[Shady1704]

Hi,
First off, high five for not letting your IEMs die in peace. 

 
I have done a few re-cablings myself on different IEMs and cans but over the time, I have realized that sound quality takes a great hit, it's probably due to the low electrical conductivity of the soldering material. Take for instance, the recabling I did on my VSonic VS3Ds; over the time, which in under a year BTW, the wire failed at strain points (both the earpieces and the jack). I had to make them work anyhow, they are not available where I live, I had to had them imported. So, a DIY recabling was inevitable. 
 
I pried open the earpieces with a cutter, cut the part of the wire that was giving problem and soldered it back on the drivers and super-glued the earpieces back together. The same I did at the jack. Although, being a metal covered jack, it was a bitch to re-solder it. 
 
I also added a spring to act as a strain relief, cover the connections with epoxy to restructure the jack and then added the metal covering for aesthetics. The connections are solid. and overall it looks neat. To provide strain reliefs on the earpieces, I super glued over-the-ear reliefs with the ear pieces. 
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/espyenob42ir7yd/P_20160120_103143.jpg?dl=0
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7kvfvq5z16vdz6e/P_20160120_103248.jpg?dl=0
 
Now here's the part that's been giving me problems, the cable that runs in these IEMs is Silver, which is really good at conduction, but this conductivity is hampered at the two solder joints, both at the jack and the driver. Sound Resolution has taken a big hit. Imaging is not what it used to be, and overall it's sounding veiled. 
 
So, my question to you is, did you also notice any differences in sound after recabling? If you didn't, what kind of soldering wire/glue did you use to recable? 

 

[AnyDave]

Very nice save, OP.  Especially considering that one of the pads ripped off the driver.