[joeywreck]

There is something wrong with it at least.. Only the right side of my headphones will work unless I push the cable down. Taping has been unsuccessful. I've tried different pairs of headphones and speakers, it seems to be my laptop. I'm not inexperienced in opening my laptop and fixing things but I have no idea how to fix this and I don't want to risk trying.. I could have it looked at and fixed, but I'm also seeing this as an opportunity to look at some USB alternatives. 
 
http://www.amazon.com/HiFiMan-HM-101-Portable-Sound-Card/dp/B0066AHES4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367126517&sr=8-1&keywords=HiFiMan+HM-101
 
This seems interesting so far. Any suggestions?

 

[namaiki]

http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/15wunp/guide_dacs_and_amps/
 
Maybe you can use this chance to get something like the Fiio E10 or E07K. What headphones though?

 

[joeywreck]

I've thought about it and I would just like something that would sound as good as my laptop did.. and I don't want something that would be a pain to carry around. I'm not a stiff, I tend to have my laptop on my laptop and lay down with it, switching positions several times a day. But then again I've wanted something like the Fiio E7 for some time.. Is that still something I could use? I have Sennheisers HD380 and I don't consider myself much of an audiophile.. Would it be right for me?

 

[proton007]

Either use a dac+amp, or if you can, open up your laptop and solder a pair of wires and an external connector.

 

[duncan1]

If you do open it up to fix it remember some headphone jacks have a built in cutoff switch to cut out the internal loudspeaker when headphones are plugged in .  So there could be more than 2 soldered connections probably 3 -mono-[ more for stereo]. If you are soldering it "direct" then the internal loudspeaker will still operate when using the headphones.