Project Sennheiser HD570 - Advice Needed

[cbrodie]

First up I want to say Hi, been browsing the forum for a couple of days and decided to join, I never knew so many people were addicted to headphones!

The reason I ended up here is I have a pair of broken Sennheiser HD570's that I'm looking for advice on. I got these when they first came out around 6 years or so ago and paid £90 for them (around $170!) and have so far replaced the cable (a common complaint) and also sent them back to Sennheiser because I suspected there was another problem with them (they couldn't find anything wrong, I think I just used them for too long and the quality degraded, or my ears did!), where even though the phones were out of warranty by 2 years or more, they still took them apart and cleaned them free of charge (that's service!).

Anyway, recently the headphone snapped (picture enclosed) and I'm in a position where I dont know what to do, heres what i've considered, use your wisdom and help me out.

1) Bin them, the quality is piss poor (I've heard alot of hate for these phones on these boards

) and you'll only waste your time trying to fix them.
I have a sentimental attachment to these and also they are super super super duper comfortable, despite what some people on this forum think. I do intend to buy another set of phones in the not too distant future but I hate the idea of just throwing these away because a tiny piece of plastic is snapped

2)Sellotape / Ductape / Glue
Tried it, the snap is right on the right angled join of the headband and nothing really holds for long enought, I'm tired of sticking them back together or tying to my head with a belt (I'm not kidding)

3) Buy a spare headband and fix them yourself
The only spare I could find was over £50! for which I'm sure I could buy a brand new pair or 2x pairs second hand, clearly this does not make any sense, unless I can buy the part second hand from someone on these forums of course... I have also emailed sennheiser to see what they could do in coming up with a spare but no reply

4) Make your own headband
This to me is the only option left and I'm thinking about how to do it, don't have alot of craft skills but I'm willing to give it a shot, I've got nothing to lose.

5) Fix them without using a headband!?!?!?
I want to know If anyone has tried / seen / came across this idea before and how successful was it. I want to fit a pair of over ear clips, inside the cups themselves thus removing the need for a headband at all, these phones are so light that I think I might be able to do it, And I think it'd look pretty cool, I've enclosed a picture of the inside of the cups with the foam removed, so you can better idea of what I'm thinking. If anyone thinks I can pull this off then give me a hint on what phones to cannabalise to use for the clips, have been looking around ebay but many of the clips look cheap and nasty, the main think about them is that they would have to loop round the top back and bottom of the ear, to give me enough space to attach them to the inside of the cup

Anyway guys let me know what you think. Thanks.

 

[espire]

The headphone snapping in that place is difficult to repair. This is because that's where all the tension is applied to the earcups, and duct tape or glue will allow the cup to bend outwards somewhat, nullifying the pressure. I really don't know what to do...

 

[Exediron]

I would offer that this is a perfect time/opportunity to upgrade to something else. It's probably not worth your time to fix it.

 

[cbrodie]

I know, major pain in the arse, this had been my solution thus far

ImageShack - Hosting :: photo6xe0.jpg

Not really a good look for roaming the streets! Think I might just have to bite the bullet and scrap them so dissapointing really, all the good times! Will save up my pennies and hopefully get a pair of HD25's that I should have got in the first place (hindsight eh?)...

 

[inthecup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrodie /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know, major pain in the arse, this had been my solution thus far ImageShack - Hosting :: photo6xe0.jpg Not really a good look for roaming the streets! Think I might just have to bite the bullet and scrap them so dissapointing really, all the good times! Will save up my pennies and hopefully get a pair of HD25's that I should have got in the first place (hindsight eh?)...

Upgrade...Just watch your wallet!!!!!

 

[bjarnetv]

you could probably fix it using iron as reinforcement and large amounts of epoxy, but it would probably end up looking like trash

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

Take the drivers for a transplant. The drivers look the same as my hd490. they seem to be 40mm.

 

[pukka]

One of my hobbies is RC and we're used to have to fix things in a durable manner

It may end not being the best looking phones, but it will be up to the task. Better than scrapping them anyway...

You have two options:

- Use an specific epoxy formulated for plastic bond (because polietilene and PVC usually doesn't stick with regular cements nor epoxies, and most times plastics contain them). They're usually bi-component, and can be found at RC shops: the epoxy will phisically "weld" onto the two pieces. If you want to reinforce the joint, you can use glass fiber fabric/silk, also easily available at RC shops who carry airplanes, etc. Basically you use less epoxy at the joint, cleaning the excess, then dilute some epoxy mix with alcohol, wet the fiber fabric on it, then wrap the joined pieces rubbing bubbles out. Once that dries is pretty though without being "bulky".

- A faster approach would be to use cyano acrilate (loctite, superglue), the key is apply a little excess, do the joint, then pour some baking soda over the joint. The baking soda gives "body" to the joint surrounding area, reinforcing it. I better to use gel cyano than regular one.

 

[cbrodie]

Thanks for all the tips guys, especially pukka.

Have given the headphones to a kind friend with fibreglassing experience, he said he would try a two part epoxy on them. I'll post later on with what happens either way. Fingers Crossed!