[plisandro]

I've been struggling a lot lately between the convenience of Bluetooth and my love for 1More's Quad Drivers, which have been my everyday in-ear for over a year now. I use them coupled with a BTR1 bluetooth receiver which sounds great but... wires. Wires still annoy me.

Noticing there's a lot of Bluetooth MMCX wire options available i though, well, wouldn't it be cool to have that option? So I then decided to take a stab into converting my well-worn headphones to MMCX. What's the worst that could happen?

My original, super worn Quad Drivers in all their glory.

I ordered MMCX male/female plugs suitable for this project from China - after some measurements i figured i could put the plugs on the very end of the stem where the wires comes out. The conduct is roughly the same diameter as the plugs i had in mind.

The first problem: these are well built headphones and, no matter how much i tried, apparently impossible to pry open. I didn't want to smear the finish worst than they are right now, so i opted to solder the new plugs without opening them instead.

Oh boy.

Warning for whoever might want to try something similar in the future: soldering MMCX connectors is no fun. Even with some experience on my belt i had to spend time to get these right - they're very small, with little clearance between solder points and overheat easily if mishandled.

So, after a couple hours of tinkering i had both the cable and the headphones ready. Hurray!...

...or not Turns out the plugs were slightly wider (about 0.5mm) than the wire conduct and wouldn't fit properly. I was wondering how to file those into size without messing up the wires when, out of a whim, decided to try unscrewing these conducts. Voila, they came out right away! The open hole where they go looked like a much better fit for those MMCX plugs, so...

...and, after testing everything worked correctly, i fixed everything up with epoxy. I was concerned the extra mass would mess up the sound but the headphones work just as good as before the entire operation.

Woot!

Next thing, i'm ordering a wire BT adapter for these! I'm stoked. Man, i really wish 1More would offer MMCX as a stock option, because the end result is pretty damn convenient.

 

[greenkiwi]

I hear you on the by mmcx convenience.

I reality like the fiio rc-bt.

Though it seems to like to be worn in front of my neck.

 

[plisandro]

I reality like the fiio rc-bt. Though it seems to like to be worn in front of my neck.

Reception issues? I was fully prepare to buy it myself but i kept reading about them disconnecting when used behind the neck which is a shame. I really like my BTR1.

Ended up going for KZ's "high performance" BT wire adapter: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-...Support-AptX-for-KZ-ZS10-ZS5/32892495323.html
Seems to check a lot of boxes - memory wire, IPX5, 130maH battery, CST8645 chipset.

 

[greenkiwi]

Doh!

I wish I'd seen those....

The connectivity isn't that bad... Only had issues some times. But these are cheaper too.

 

[greenkiwi]

I'm curious about the aac+L

 

[plisandro]

I'm curious about the aac+L

I mean, for the price of a large fast-food combo, why not?

I'll report on these as soon as i get them.

 

[AudiophileAri]

Coo

I've been struggling a lot lately between the convenience of Bluetooth and my love for 1More's Quad Drivers, which have been my everyday in-ear for over a year now. I use them coupled with a BTR1 bluetooth receiver which sounds great but... wires. Wires still annoy me.

Noticing there's a lot of Bluetooth MMCX wire options available i though, well, wouldn't it be cool to have that option? So I then decided to take a stab into converting my well-worn headphones MMCX. What's the worst that could happen?

My original, super worn Quad Drivers in all their glory.

I ordered MMCX male/female plugs suitable for this project from China - after some measurements i figured i could put the plugs on the very end of the stem where the wires comes out. The conduct is roughly the same diameter as the plugs i had in mind.

The first problem: these are well built headphones and, no matter how much i tried, apparently impossible to pry open. I didn't want to smear the finish worst than they are right now, so i opted to solder the new plugs without opening them instead.

Oh boy.

Warning for whoever might want to try something similar in the future: soldering MMCX connectors is no fun. Even with some experience on my belt i had to spend time to get these right - they're very small, with little clearance between solder points and overheat easily if mishandled.

So, after a couple hours of tinkering i had both the cable and the headphones ready. Hurray!...

...or not Turns out the plugs were slightly wider (about 0.5mm) than the wire conduct and wouldn't fit properly. I was wondering how to file those into size without messing up the wires when, out of a whim, decided to try unscrewing these conducts. Voila, they came out right away! The open hole where they go looked like a much better fit for those MMCX plugs, so...

...and, after testing everything worked correctly, i fixed everything up with epoxy. I was concerned the extra mass would mess up the sound but the headphones work just as good as before the entire operation.

Woot!

Next thing, i'm ordering a wire BT adapter for these! I'm stoked. Man, i really wish 1More would offer MMCX as a stock option, because the end result is pretty damn convenient.

Cool post - wireless driver series coming soon

 

[plisandro]

Cool post - wireless driver series coming soon

If 1More ships MMCX in-ears i'll be first in line to buy them.

 

[greenkiwi]

Yeah. I hope they are mmcx.

 

[plisandro]

Finally got my KZ bluetooth wire! Damn this set up looks sweet...

I'll need to properly review these after some break in.

 

[greenkiwi]

The photos didn't come through

 

[plisandro]

The photos didn't come through

My bad forgot to set the proper permissions on these. Fixed.

 

[greenkiwi]

Btw, the first image still doesn't show up.

After a few weeks, how are you liking them? How is the BT cable?

 

[Peddler]

I'm also very curious.

 

[plisandro]

I need to do a full writeup on these but, in short, they're very very good

I ended up removing the memory wire on mine as it is mostly intended for monitors with plugs on the top; the set up is now super comfortable. I usually wear these around the back of my neck and i've experienced zero reception issues overall.

Battery life is quite good; i'm getting close to 8hs on a full charge. Really wish the charging port was USB-C though.

As for sound quality, i'd rank them just a tad lower (a bit more compressed and with a slightly narrower soundstage) than the BTR1 which is my golden standard for BT receivers, but it otherwise sounds great, with no appreciable noise or distortion. You get SBC, aptX and AAC support and the sound is particularly good using the later. It has enough power to drive my Quad Drivers to uncomfortable volumes; again, not as much as the BTR1 but this is not too shabby either.

All in all, at $17 this is an absolute steal. I took my chances as i read a couple horror stories for KZ's previous BT wire adapters, but this one is stellar IMHO.