HELP! fixing headphone cables

[sunv]

Hi my name is Victor and i've gotten pissed at how many headphones i've bought and ended up throwing away just being one side of the headphones dont work.

I've had this problem many many times and must have gone thru at least a dozen headphones and ear buds. I notice most of the time though that if i bend the wire a certain way, sound returns to both ears. So im am sure its a wire short or seomthing like that.

I am posting here for advice on how to cut headphone wires and resolder them to a new jack. Like is regular solder ok? is it ok if i do a crappy job? can i just wrap the thing with electrical tape because i dont got heat shrink tubing. which wire is ground and which is for the sound. and why is there like some string wrapped with the wire? would that influence the soldering?

If i learn this, i probably wouldnt have to buy 1 pair of headphones every year.

You probably know by now that i buy cheap brands like JVC and panasonic, none costing over $30. deep inside, I would love to wear some grados or sennheisers but i just do not have enough money for headphones like those. So i have to stick to these cheapo ones, AND on top of that, i want to repair them.

Another question. what headphones would you recommend that would last for 2 years or more? if that saves me the trouble of purchasing new ones every year i might make the investment and get them.

THanks for your time

 

[MASantos]

Welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet!!


If you bought a pair of entry level IEM's used, such as etymotic er6, westone UM-1, shure ec2 you would be much better served. These usually cost around 60-80$ used in good condition and would last much more than 2 years if properly cared for. Save a bit money and get some nice phones, with better sound quality, better contruction quality, better everything.



Manuel

 

[kklee]

The sticky on how to make your own interconnect is a good place to start. Follow the instructions for the mini to mini cable, but you're only dealing with one end of a an existing cable.

As MASantos has said, you're better off saving up for better gear rather than contantly going through cheap gear.

 

[silmaauki]

This is an intresting issue, since I have a similar case with my kids.

Recabling headphones is basically pretty easy. I say basically, since it is not necessarily a simple tasks to do. It does require some care, understanding and tools.

Depending on the case you can use the old cable - solder a new plug after shortening the cable. But sometimes it is best to renew the whole cable - then you need to open the phones. In both cases you need to know which wire goes and where. This is where a multimeter is needed.

I suggest as well that you read the sticky threads about cables.

If you continue breaking tha cables, I cannot agree on recommending IEM's. It would be much harder (if not impossible) to recable those.

About your questions. Regular solder is ok. If your soldering looks crappy, but it works - who cares. You will eventually learn to solder better. Electrical tape is ok. As long as it holds on the place. I cannot advise you on which wire is which, since each brand and model has different cable. This is where you need to use the multimeter to resolve the cabling.

I hope this helps a little.