[rvas18]

I got a little fed up with having to carry around a cumbersome adapter to use my RE-Zero's.  The soft adapter was starting to give me some static, and I did not like the hard adapter so I decided to put a neutrik plug on mine and eliminate need for a balanced adapter.
 
I found this graphic that explained to me what a balanced plug is.  I tore done my plug and found four enameled wires two gold wires, a red, and a blue.
 

 
Gold wires are combined for the Grounds, Red is the right channel, and Blue is the left channel.
 
I order a Neutrik Plug and started to work.
 
First I stripped away the original rubber around the plug and exposed the wires so I could use my multimeter to determine which wires go where.  (this is unnecsassary unless your wires are enameled different colors for some reason)
 

 
Now I was 100% sure what wires went where, I just cut the plug off entirely.  Then I stripped back the insulation and got the wire ready to solder.  Because these wires were enameled with a nylon core, I had to scrape the enamel off with a razor blade, the burned the excess enamel and nylon off with a lighter.  After the enamel was on I cleaned the ends and tinned the wires.
 

 
 
From here on out it was a simple plug installation.  Just take time and follow the instructions for the plug you chose.
 

 

 
And finally a finished product!
 

 
 
I am currently very happy with the new plug, and it is nice not to have any of the crackling introduced by the adapter.  I didn't feel I had much to loose since the RE-Zero's only have a 90 warranty, which was about if not already expired on my set.

 

[proedros]

great job , although i couldn't do it since i am a complete dork on these matters
 
nevertheless , great initiative you took there
 
also ,the warranty for the re-zero has been upgraded to 12 months , just found out about it today
 
Cheers

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Great work! I'd consider this myself if it weren't for the fact that I'm lazy, incompetent and also fascinated about this supposed balanced DAP we're getting at some point.
 
Also, RE-ZERO warranty extension? Where?

 

[rvas18]

Thanks everyone.  I haven't heard anything about the RE-Zero's warranty being upgraded myself, but it wouldn't surprise me if Feng did that given the RE-0 have 12 months.  Either way though my warranty is gone
 
This mod has been great so far, it is great not to have to worry about the adapter occasionally crackling.  Plus the added portability is nice when I have my player in my pocket since these are primarily used outside of the home when I am out and about.  The right angle to right angle adapter and the big one bothered me for some reason.  Overall I would say the mod is pretty simple with the hardest part being the preparation of the enamel wires.  A third hand tool would be ideal for the task, but I couldn't find mine and still managed.
 
I really like the Neutrik plug too and I would recommend it to anyone.  Compared to other 3.5mm plugs I have dealt with, the Neutrik is way better in quality and engineering.  The white plastic piece pic is a clamp that holds the wire in place and prevents strain on the solder points.  The fitment of the actual plug into my amp or players is VERY solid too.

 

[sergiu]

I'm trying this mod right now, but on my RE-ZERO, there are 4 wires: red, blue, green and gold. Any guesses which one is which? I've tried all combinations and I only get signal in the left earpiece. Red seems to be the tip (left channel), but I cannot figure out which one between blue and green is the ring (right channel). I suppose one of them together with the gold wire is the ground, any suggestions would be great! Otherwise I'll have to take these to someone who knows how to do this  

 

[dragonhf]

I wish I had your skills. I have a pair nuforce ne-7m, which is my favourite.
I have some problem with the plug. It would be so nice if I can fix those nuforce by changing the plug.

Updated 2013-08-05

Thanks for this thread, it encouraged me to go to the store today and I bought a solder, multimeter and a 3,5 mm jack.
This one:
http://www.kjell.com/sortiment/ljud-bild/kablar-adaptrar/3-5-mm/kontakter/kontakt-4-pol-3-5mm-ha-p37195
Very bad quality, it´s kind of to long for iphone and is not fitting well at all, is sitts like the tower in Paris lol, but it´s working.
 
I think it very hard to isolate each of wires. I don´t have nailpolish at home. Does anyone have som tricks?

But atleast it saved my favourite Nuforce NE-7M. I will go to ebay and buy a better 3,5 mm jack.

Thanks a lot.
 
Updated 2012-08-17

I found a better 3,5 jack on ebay, now it works great. Thanks a lot, now I really saved my Nuforce NE-7M.