[HELP!] Bizarre problem with SR60 + H320.

[slag]

I have a pair of SR60's which I ordered from Drew at Moon Audio; they're custom cut to a 40" cord for portable use. They are used almost exclusively with an iRiver H320 running the latest Rockbox.

Every once in a while, while I'm walking around, I'll notice a little "rattling" distortion in the sound of the right speaker. It's that static sound that you hear when you get a bad audio connection. It "jiggles" a little bit as I'm walking and when I turn my head, but doesn't happen all that often or consistently.

Finally, sometimes while I'm listening to music, the right speaker will start to diminish in volume. It seems to be a slow fade - but eventually will be so faint that I can barely detect any output in the right speaker at all. The left, however, will continue to function normally at full volume during this time. Plugging the headphones into a different audio source that is producing output for a second or two, then switching the headphones back into the H320 will fix the problem.

What the heck is going on, here? Where could the problem lie, and why is it so inconsistent?


EDIT: added a few more details to my description

 

[Dzjudz]

On Misticriver (don't know if you're on there, but you should, since you have an H320

), I've seen a few threads with people complaining about loss of sound or crackling. In some of the cases, the headphone jack inside their H3xx loosened over time so the plug doesn't stay in snugly and properly. You should connect the SR60 to the line-out of the H320 and see if you still have the same problem. If you don't, it's probably the headphone jack of the H320. One solution is to open the H320 and tighten the metal throngs (or whatever they're called) to tighten the jack again. Another solution is to use your headphone out of the line-out, but that doesn't fix the headphone jack

. Good luck.

 

[slag]

Thanks for the response!

I actually did try switching the phones into the line-out, and I still had the problem. I also seem to remember having this problem once when I was using it with my laptop's headphone jack.

I guess that means the problem is probably with my headphones...

 

[Dzjudz]

No problem. Yes, it seems the problem is with your Grados then. You should contact Grado and explain your problem and see what response you get.

Good luck.

 

[slag]

This really sucks. The problem is becoming more frequent and occuring more rapidly.

I contacted Grado Labs and Drew at Moon Audio. I hope this won't cost very much to repair, because I first experienced the problem on the same day that I received them new.

 

[slag]

This is now terribly frustrating. I want to smash these headphones, but they sound so good when they work!

I sent them in to Drew for inspection. He couldn't find anything wrong with them, so he sent them back.

Immediately upon testing them at their return, I was getting left output only! This happens with both my DAP and my laptop. I can swap the SR60's for a different pair of headphones and get full output. When I test the SR60's on my stereo, they work fine!

What the hell is going on?!?! I can send them in to Grado, but I'm getting pissed and I want to know what the problem is before I try to have it fixed again.

 

[epaludo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slag /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is now terribly frustrating. I want to smash these headphones, but they sound so good when they work! I sent them in to Drew for inspection. He couldn't find anything wrong with them, so he sent them back. Immediately upon testing them at their return, I was getting left output only! This happens with both my DAP and my laptop. I can swap the SR60's for a different pair of headphones and get full output. When I test the SR60's on my stereo, they work fine! What the hell is going on?!?! I can send them in to Grado, but I'm getting pissed and I want to know what the problem is before I try to have it fixed again.

If your Grados works well with your stereo them seems that it's a problem with your source (H300). I suggest you to try the following:

-Different headphones?
-Different firmwares (rockbox and original iRiver firmware)?
-Test your Grado in every source possible (Computer, stereo, TV, etc.), but not only a little, do some extense tests (alternating between different sources).

That way you should get some conslusion if you have a headphone or source problem.
BTW: do you use an amp with your H300 or just the headphone connected directly to the DAP?

 

[slag]

I've tested these pretty extensively:

Test: use the Grados with multiple audio sources
Method: listen to Grados in laptop, H320, and stereo
Result: works fine with stereo, left-output-only with laptop and H320
Conclusion: unknown

Test: test the audio file itself
Method: with an audio file that causes the problem on my laptop, run a line-in to my stereo and test the headphones using the stereo's headphone-out
Result: the problem does not occur
Conclusion: the audio file is not the problem

Test: when left-output-only condition occurs, swap the Grados for different headphones
Method: switch from SR60 to KSC75,Shure e2c
Result: other headphones work fine and the problem immediately disappears when the SR60s are removed
Conclusion: problem is specific to the headphones

Other notes: with the H320, swapping from headphone-out to line-out for the SR60s does nothing to resolve the problem