[AndreYew]

"but if I were a betting man, I would bet the decision was primarily related to moving mass considerations alone, as the REST of Al characteristics are inferior to Cu overall."

That may be so, but I wasn't saying anything about why Sennheiser chose Al over Cu. Physically, no matter who uses it, Al has higher resistivity than Cu. For whatever other reasons Sennheiser chose to use Al, they must account for Al's higher resistivity in the design of the headphones. If someone chooses to tweak their Sennheisers by replacing their Al coils with Cu coils, and wish to retain identical system response, they must account for Cu's lower resistance. This means either using smaller diameter Cu wire, or longer Cu windings, both of which lead to changes to the overall system response since the former lowers moving mass, while the latter increases inductance.

"Additionally, we've already much anecdotal evidence to support that aftermarket cable replacements generally bring improvements to the "system.""

As you say, it's anecdotal.

--Andre

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally posted by AndreYew "Additionally, we've already much anecdotal evidence to support that aftermarket cable replacements generally bring improvements to the "system."" As you say, it's anecdotal. --Andre

hehe, yes, I was careful to stipulate that. I've never seen an objective test. A few years ago I would not have given any credance to cable differences of any kind other than gross issues of general quality and shielding. Now that I've experienced tremendous differences in interconnect cables, I'm at least willing to consider the possibility that an improvement could be made in the headphone cables.

Cheers!

kevin

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by LarryS I did notice with quite some dismay that the wire leading from the headphone plug springs to the driver is *extremely* thin.

The wire inside the Sennheiser cable is extremely thin also. Probably a good match with what's in the headphone. The electrons might have to march up and down the cables in single file, though.

 

[kwkarth]

There you go!! Perhaps there is a method to the madness!!

Actually, the wire is plenty thick enough to carry the required current for these headphones. Guage is not the only issue in question though, is it!

Cheers!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Squirt -- nice! Thanks!

Anyone put any thought into bypassing the mechanism completely? Or possibly replacing the mechanism? Maybe with regular RCA jacks (opening up a whole new realm of possibilities)?

 

[stallion11msu]

How can I tell what year my 580s were made? I bought them used, and I think they're 2 years old but I'm not sure??

 

[{-_-}]

Thank you so much for writing this and the hi-rez pics. You helped me save myself from making a $150 dollar mistake (read: used equinox cable)

Again, thank you

 

[Jazz1]

My left headphone speaker lead wiggles, and the sound cuts in and out. Do I need to do the surgery that is described, or simply replace the cable? If so does the cable just pull out without taking the headphone case apart?

 

[{-_-}]

Yea, be sure and grab it firmly by the ridges on the side, then pull it out. Be sure to not be too forceful with it.

 

[Jazz1]

Quote:

Originally posted by {-_-} Yea, be sure and grab it firmly by the ridges on the side, then pull it out. Be sure to not be too forceful with it.

Do you think there is any chance that by pulling out the wire, and pushing it back in would reset the connection so I don't get the cut-out when the cable is wiggled? Or is there something broken inside? Would it hurt to try?

 

[{-_-}]

Sure it wont hurt to pull the plugs out, just be firm but gentle when clasping them by the sides.

 

[Jazz1]

Quote:

Originally posted by {-_-} Sure it wont hurt to pull the plugs out, just be firm but gentle when clasping them by the sides.

Well now you've gone and done it. For two years I've lived with this problem, and now after you gave me the courage to pull the plugs the darn thing is fixed

I thought I had the perfect reason to tell the spouse I needed to upgrade the cable

Thanks, they sound better than ever, I guess that is why the call it stereo

 

[kentamcolin]

Thanks a bunch for the tip, I've been having this problem with mine as well.

 

[Ross]

I've had this problem with both my pairs of 580s and both my pairs of 600s for years, and have done the repairs Squirt has helpfully documented many times. Unfortunately, it either doesn't completely fix the problem some of the time, or is only a temporary solution which lasts a few weeks.

I still find it unbelievable that Sennheiser would ever have come up with this stupid mechanism for attaching cables, and it makes me angry that such good headphones are spoiled by this idiocy.

I am now giving some thought to soldering the plugs of my Cardas cables directly to those springs. Aside from the risk of damaging the thin wires, does anyone have a view on whether this should not be done for other reasons?

Ross

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ross I am now giving some thought to soldering the plugs of my Cardas cables directly to those springs. Aside from the risk of damaging the thin wires, does anyone have a view on whether this should not be done for other reasons?

If you do this, make sure that the heat doesn't transmit back to the drivers -- put a load on them or something -- otherwise you'll damage them.