[cardern]

Hi, I've had a pair of SR60i's for about two years and love them. Recently, though, the tip came off the jack. I tried glueing it back on with a small dab of superglue, but the left earpiece seems to cut in and out based on the rotation of the jack now. I don't think soldering would be an option because of the plastic ring on the jack. Is there any alternative to just sending them back to Grado to fix? Thanks

 

[GREQ]

If the tip has actually broken off the end of the plug, the connection to the left channel is severed. 
 
Actually soldering SHOULD in theory work much better than super glue, and if you're very quick you might be able to get some more use out of it - however I would strongly suggest either sending it to Grado for a repair, or attempting a repair at home by purchasing a replacement stereo plug, as you don't want the tip breaking off while it's plugged into something and you can't get it out again.
 
That would also give you the opportunity to chose between a quarter inch or 3.5mm jack depending on it's primary use.
As the headphone is out of the warranty period, it's probably a lot cheaper to attempt the repair at home. 

 

[cardern]

Quote:

If the tip has actually broken off the end of the plug, the connection to the left channel is severed. 
 
Actually soldering SHOULD in theory work much better than super glue, and if you're very quick you might be able to get some more use out of it - however I would strongly suggest either sending it to Grado for a repair, or attempting a repair at home by purchasing a replacement stereo plug, as you don't want the tip breaking off while it's plugged into something and you can't get it out again.
 
That would also give you the opportunity to chose between a quarter inch or 3.5mm jack depending on it's primary use.
As the headphone is out of the warranty period, it's probably a lot cheaper to attempt the repair at home. 

Awesome, thanks I do not have any experience with repairs, do you have any resources that you could recommend? I think the cost would be $25 + shipping if i ended up sending them to Grado. So not too terrible, but given the original price of the headphones not cheap either.

 

[GREQ]

I'm not familiar with American stores and products, but here's some links to give you ideas.
 
The cheapest I'd be willing to go is at least something branded - here's a very cheap neutrik plug (they also make some of the best stuff too)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neutrik-Rean-NYS231-3-Pole-Metal-3-5-mm-1-8-Stereo-Plug-w-Crimp-Strain-Relief-/121007410663?pt=US_Cables_Snakes_Interconnects&hash=item1c2c9a8de7
 
But a cheapish neutrik, gold plated one like this should also do the trick: I would recommend this just because gold plated is better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neutrik-YS231BG-3-5mm-3pole-Mini-Jack-Plug-Stereo-Gold-Plasted-Bulk-Pro-New-0530-/300683140741?pt=US_Cables_Snakes_Interconnects&hash=item46021c9e85
 
If you already have a soldering iron or a friend you can borrow one from, at the low end you're looking at a $5 repair job that should normally only take around 30 minutes max. 
If you want to make it more reliable and durable, you could also get some cheap heat-shrink tubes which you can shrink around the connection using a hair dryer. 

 

[ambchang]

The easiest way to do it is to cut off the jack and put in a new jack.  You can get a cheap one for $2 from a local hardware store, or get fancier ones (like Switchcraft, Oyaide and Viablue) for up to $25 a piece.
 
But you will have to have a soldering iron.

 

[GREQ]

A $25 jack on an $80 headphone doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

A $25 jack on an $80 headphone doesn't make any sense to me.

 
Why not? Op will have a $105 headphone 

 

[cardern]

OK, I just got the new jack in the mail and I have no idea what to do. My roommate's got a soldering iron.
 
Here's the new jack:
http://imgur.com/PIyCI.jpg
 
Here is the old one with the broken tip:
http://imgur.com/AK0Tn.jpg
 
Does anyone have a good step by step resource on fixing the jack? 

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

Does anyone have a good step by step resource on fixing the jack? 

There are three insulation colours inside Grado cables.
 
BLUE - GROUND
RED - LEFT CHANNEL
WHITE - RIGHT CHANNEL
 
Using the photo you posted as a reference:
 
-The GROUND should be soldered directly to the biggest post that also clamps the cable in place (the two feet it's standing on is a clamp, that you simply tighten around the cable with pliers when you've finished soldering all the wires - its easier to solder the wires before clamping it in place)
-The RED should be soldered to the post on the LEFT
-The WHITE should be soldered to the post on the RIGHT
 
Hope this helps.

 

[cardern]

Quote:

 
-The GROUND should be soldered directly to the biggest post that also clamps the cable in place (the two feet it's standing on is a clamp, that you simply tighten around the cable with pliers when you've finished soldering all the wires - its easier to solder the wires before clamping it in place)
-The RED should be soldered to the post on the LEFT
-The WHITE should be soldered to the post on the RIGHT
 
Hope this helps.

Do I have to cut off the entire top of the grado cable? What are the other 2 parts for? The new jack doesn't really fit into that other part, and I have no idea what the plastic thing is for. I feel like I should seek assistance somewhere...

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

Do I have to cut off the entire top of the grado cable? What are the other 2 parts for? The new jack doesn't really fit into that other part, and I have no idea what the plastic thing is for. I feel like I should seek assistance somewhere...

Yes, you need to amputate the entire plug - just cut off the cable as close to the plug as possible.
 
The transparent plastic ring goes around the connectors (solder connection points on the plug) once you're finished - so start off by threading the cable through the BLACK PLUG COVER, then thread the cable through the TRANSPARENT RING.
Then solder the wires to the plug. Once you've finished soldering and clamping the cable (not too tightly though), thread the transparent ring over the soldered connections, and finally screw the plug cover on. 
 
If you want to go for a stronger connection, throw away the transparent ring and purchase some heat-shrink tubing - then cut off around 30-40mm of tubing - then just put that in the assembly process where the transparent tubing would be, but before screwing on the black cover, you need to shrink it with a hair dryer or a heat gun. It will shrink tightly over the connections and also serve to strengthen the end of the cable which normally needs some bracing to prevent quicker wear and tear. 

 

[cardern]

Quote:

Yes, you need to amputate the entire plug - just cut off the cable as close to the plug as possible.
 
The transparent plastic ring goes around the connectors (solder connection points on the plug) once you're finished - so start off by threading the cable through the BLACK PLUG COVER, then thread the cable through the TRANSPARENT RING.
Then solder the wires to the plug. Once you've finished soldering and clamping the cable (not too tightly though), thread the transparent ring over the soldered connections, and finally screw the plug cover on. 
 
If you want to go for a stronger connection, throw away the transparent ring and purchase some heat-shrink tubing - then cut off around 30-40mm of tubing - then just put that in the assembly process where the transparent tubing would be, but before screwing on the black cover, you need to shrink it with a hair dryer or a heat gun. It will shrink tightly over the connections and also serve to strengthen the end of the cable which normally needs some bracing to prevent quicker wear and tear. 

Thank you for your help so far. Here's where I'm at:
http://i.imgur.com/sTMkS.jpg
 
It looks like there are actually 2 grounding wires, how will that affect the process? It was a bear getting the black cord off with those wires still intact and you can see that I nicked one of the grounding wires, will that affect the sound at all? Finally, how much of those wires should I remove before soldering and how will I accomplish that? I don't have a wire stripper, only a combo pliers/wire cutter.

 

[GREQ]

Usually a super sharp craft knife is enough to strip wires, or just holding the wire against a single blade of a pair of scissors with your thumb and pulling the cable away also gives similar results (although this puts strain on the cable and I wouldn't recommend it).
 
The nick on one of the blue wires shouldn't be a big problem, I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you want perfection and better stress relief on the wire, you probably should start again - but you only need to cut off around 2/3 of the black insulation compared to what you did the first time - those cables are a little long. The red and white wires need to be a little longer than the blue ones - around 5mm longer.
 
Also you MUST solder both blue wires to the ground connection - if you solder only one cable, only one side of your headphones will work. Also it doesn't matter if you solder the blue cables together. They are simply the electrical signal returning from both sides of the headphone and both need to connect to ground or 'return'.
 
Also a soldering tip - first apply a little solder to the ends of each wire - then hold the cable against the plug connection point and quickly melt the solder and remove the iron - you don't want to over-heat the plug or the plastic parts WILL MELT (black plastic part on the plug) and this will destroy the plug. If you fail, wait 20 seconds for it to cool, and try again. You can hold the iron to the connection points without too much worry for around 5 seconds, which if you count is long enough to make a simple solder connection without stressing or rushing - normally just a quick touch of the iron is enough the melt the solder and in another second the solder sets hard. So a connection should only take just over a second.

 

[cardern]

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was gone for Thanksgiving. Speaking of thanks- I definitely appreciate all of your help, GREQ  
 
Here is where I am at now:
http://i.imgur.com/N3bUU.jpg
 
The red and white wires are at 0.95 cm, and the blue are at 0.9 cm, I think that they are the correct length now, right? When stripping them, should I go all the way down to the base or just a small amount? 
 
Also, I was wondering how you were able to tell which color should be soldered where by looking at the photo? I have not soldered in a long time, I have laid out some cardboard and got a sponge to help with tinning the soldering iron. How much solder should I use, and would you recommend putting anything beneath to catch excess solder besides the cardboard? How long will it take the solder to cool, and should I just hold the wire to jack until it does?

 

[Hooster]

There are lots of tutorials about soldering on youtube. Take some time and have a look. For an explanation of headphone jacks you can see:
 
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/Phoenix/ModifyEN.htm
 
Near the bottom.