[nikongod]

Quote:

This is absolutely true and all worth considering.  That said, I think 2.5mm TRS is stronger than the 2 pin Sennheiser style connectors, though I don't have any hard evidence to back that statement up.

 
There are 2 types of 2-pin sennheiser connector. 
 
The one used on the HD414, which I own an original set that works nicely. This connector has been upgraded through the years to fit tons of senn headphones like everything the HD580/600/650 cable fits. 
 
and the one used on the HD800 (maybe the 700 too)
 
they are both pretty awesome. 
 
TRS or TR plugs are a sad compromise. When they were originally used for telephone switchboards fast switching was worth more than contact reliability or the ability to withstand funky stress.

 

[Hagios]

Quote:

 
There are 2 types of 2-pin sennheiser connector. 
 
The one used on the HD414, which I own an original set that works nicely. This connector has been upgraded through the years to fit tons of senn headphones like everything the HD580/600/650 cable fits. 
 
and the one used on the HD800 (maybe the 700 too)
 
they are both pretty awesome. 
 
TRS or TR plugs are a sad compromise. When they were originally used for telephone switchboards fast switching was worth more than contact reliability or the ability to withstand funky stress.

Fair enough!  I've heard a couple of coworkers complain that the dual-prong (HD600 style) was easy for them to damage, which is where my guess regarding the strength of one vs the other came from.  The HD800's connector, however, I have no experience with.
 
Anyway; not to derail this post: I do agree with the earlier statement that Mini-XLR connectors tend to be the nicest to work with overall.

 

[l337toast]

And my first recable attempt, on a pair of Denon D5000's no less, is complete...
 
Observations:

1. A heatgun is not at all necessary. I simply used a flame and it worked quite well after several passes
2. DO have a decent wire stripper. I can't imagine how much a pain it would have been to have used a knife.

1. I should have gone with a smaller diameter multifilament above the y-split. This made cable entry into the cups needlessly difficult and I will have to go back with heatshrink/ liquid electrical tape to really finish the job.

 
Here are several pictures of the recabling:
 
 
 

The headphones, with the orig. cable shorted, sitting on a pile of materials
 
 

 

1. Mogami 2893, 6ft.

 

 

1. Wire stripped; both ground wires twisted with the copper shielding

 

1. I found using this improvised vice made it much easier to solder the wires

 

1. Oops, ended up forgetting to take a photo post-soldering
2. top-left = plug ring / Right channel
3. center = plug tip / Left Channel
4. bottom = plug sleeve / Ground

 

1. cable sleeved, heatshrinked, and terminated with switchcraft 35HDBAU 
2. Note: I ended up redoing the heatshrink at the plug

 

1. Did not realize how easy it is to fray the sleeving
2. The y-split: blue and red are signal; black and white are ground

 

1. heatshrinking the y-split

 

1. A finished, albeit unattached

 

1. This will lead into one of the cups

 

removed earpads by gripping the hard edge at the bottom of the earpads, and giving a slight twist. The plastic tabs should now be out of their respective housing and one can easily pull away the cups.
 

1. Inside the ear cup, staring at the driver housing.
2. Red marks signal.
3. Note: the original cable has been removed and pulled through the hole (still some hot glue residue from Denon's job)

 

1. Artistic shot of the newly soldered wires, I suppose
2. strain relief was comprised of a ziptie (too large in retrospect) and hot glue
3. I was wary of using the knot method as I did not want to accidentally break the wire

 

1. RT earcup reassembled.
2. The entry will be revisited as it looks a bit rough and doesn't look as secure as it could be

 

1. Functional product

 

1. Detail of the plug

 
UPDATE: Painting over the cable entry with black liquid electrical tape (not exactly easy to use)
 
 

 

[mchang]

Nice work, l337toast! And excellent documentation.
 
For future reference: I had success with 1/8" multifilament above the y-split. It went into the stock strain relief just fine.
 
Here is my how-to for comparison: http://www.head-fi.org/t/616707/how-i-recabled-my-denon-ah-d5000-markl-modded-using-dhc-and-viablue-components#post_8501353

 

[qusp]

Quote:

TRS or TR plugs are a sad compromise. When they were originally used for telephone switchboards fast switching was worth more than contact reliability or the ability to withstand funky stress.

can you believe Denon's form using mono minis on the D7100 cups? a flagship headphone with mono minis? first denon with detachable cables I know of and they do this with all of the options visible in the marketplace! I really dont get it and I predict it will be a point of failure that will cost them money

 

[Pingupenguins]

Looks very good. I don't like the look of heat-shrink, (edit) Electrical tape, but for a first re-cable, on a D5000 none the less, great job.

 

[mkmossop]

How much should a re-cable cost for parts? I wrote Moon Audio telling them I wanted to re-cable my ESW9's, and the guy suggested this cable:
 
http://www.moon-audio.com/diy-audio-parts/audio-wire/moon-audio-silver-dragon-v2-bulk-headphone-cable.html
 
Which is $18/foot. I'm not sure if this is normal or if he's just trying to sell me the most expensive stuff. Seems very expensive for a cable, but I don't know anything about this at all.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

How much should a re-cable cost for parts? I wrote Moon Audio telling them I wanted to re-cable my ESW9's, and the guy suggested this cable:
 
http://www.moon-audio.com/diy-audio-parts/audio-wire/moon-audio-silver-dragon-v2-bulk-headphone-cable.html
 
Which is $18/foot. I'm not sure if this is normal or if he's just trying to sell me the most expensive stuff. Seems very expensive for a cable, but I don't know anything about this at all.

It should cost as much as you feel comfortable paying.  Many people pay north of $300 for replacement cables.
 
You can buy Mogami or Canare microphone cable for less than $1 a foot and have a very nice cable to work with.  Moon Audio also has cheaper varieties as well.  They probably recommended the silver because the ESW9 is a very warm headphone and they believe that silver will help balance that.  $18 a foot for a quad of stranded silver isn't actually that bad.   Check out the DIY Cable Gallery thread for ideas of what you can do.  Search it as well, as any question you could have has been asked and answered many, many times in that thread.

 

[mkmossop]

Great thanks for the info!