[Myriad]

Long story short. Two consecutive pairs of earbuds (Sennheiser CX300 & q-JAYS) drop to less than half volume in the right earbud. Only thing I used them with was my iPod. I got told by Apple that certain manufacturers use slight larger than standard stereo jacks and this can cause damage to both the iPod and earbuds, and this is especially well-documented with Sony earbuds. He checks out my iPod anyways and finds that the left and right volume levels are slightly imbalanced and so replaces it under warranty, which was awesome.

However I've never heard of this before, so my question is: did I get ********ted? Did the guy find a problem that didn't actually exist to possibly cover-up that some iPods can be earbud killers? A little extreme I know, but I can't find any evidence to support what I was told. However if what I was told is true, which brands of earbuds are safe to use?

 

[ClieOS]

Never heard of such a story. Headphone socket uses spring loaded metal contact that will swing back into original position once the jack is removed. There is no reason to doubt that headphone jack will do any damage to it as the mechanism is designed to accompany slight variation. The most likely explanation is either the socket is defected, metal fatigue sets in, or bad soldering.

If Sony earbuds are so well documented for damaging ipod, one would think Apple will not want to sell them in the Apple Store.... or maybe someone just full of BS.

 

[tom_s252]

I imagine the volume drop has more to do with the cleanliness of your earbuds than the jack socket on your iPod. I'm sure any minute now one of the more experienced people on here will swing by with some advice on cleaning them; failing that, try a search.