Senn 600's Recabled with Mogami Neglex (pics)
Apr 5, 2005 at 8:39 PM Post #16 of 64
What you want is epoxy casting resin, it's made specifically for hobby die casting. You pour the epoxy resin into a mold and add a small amount of hardening catalyst. It's not a 1:1 ratio like adhesives, probably because it's in the natural form. I.e. the catalyst is not diluted to make a convenient 1:1 ratio.

Here's what you'd want your mold setup to look like:
sennplug3fj.gif


You want to make sure you completely and fully cover the plugs with the clay. The optimal clay would be a soft, lower viscosity (not like the really liquidy stuff you have to bake) clay that can harden without baking, or at least come close. You want to pull the plug out by the cord. Don't worry that you won't mold to the taper on the plug, an accurate fit with the plugs is most important. Epoxy casting resin isn't an adhesive, but I'm not sure how it well it sticks. I'd assume it's mostly for low level DIYers that buy molds and cast many parts themsleves, in which case the molds are made or coated with a material epoxy won't stick to, like Teflon. Since we're talking clay here, and clay means semi pourous...I'd suggest that once the mold is hard, pour olive oil in. Let it "soak" in a little, then pour it out. Then rinse it out with plain water. You should get a thin oily skin that the epoxy won't stick well to. I'm thinking thick oil layers or talc will just slurry and mix with the epoxy. The resin is thin like water until you add the hardener. Worse case scenario, the epoxy sticks a little and you have to bust off the clay and sand/scrap off any clay that adhered to the plastic.

After the inside of the clay mold has been oiled up, you'll want to solder your wires to your plugs and insert them down into the mold. Fill it all the way up. You'll get a big ugly square which you can then carve and shape into a nice taper like the actual plugs. You can even add a large peice of heatshrink as a strain relief.

The only thing better I can think of would be vacuum forming a mold. Home vacuum formers aren't hard to make but might be a waste of time. Might look a little nicer in the end depending on your level of skill and craftsmanship when shaping the plug if you used clay. Vacuum forming probably wouldn't get the necessary detail for the plug's snap, however.

The pins you can probably get from Digi-Key, Mouser or another electronics supplier. Just measure the pins and get whatever you can that's closest, it's probably a standard. Would be a good idea to order several sizes near your measurements however, to be safe.
 
Apr 5, 2005 at 9:51 PM Post #17 of 64
The pins are not available from Digikey, Mouser, etc. There have been many threads on the topic and I believe a single potential source has been identified (other than paying $15 for a replacement cable just to get the pins).
 
Apr 5, 2005 at 10:21 PM Post #18 of 64
Wow! I'm glad this thread has generated a great discussion on plug fabrication, since this seems to be the crux move in recabling the senns.

SuperGonzo:
Congratulations on getting your plugs pluggable! How did you do it with just heatshrink? Got any pictures?

Emon:
Thanks for a great description on the right way to do this... If my current cables ever bust, I'll be giving a shot at your casting process.

Mono:
You are correct, full-cure JB Weld is stronger... but the five minute JB still beats out any other five-minute epoxy I've tried, and I'm just so terribly impatient... Sigh. Someday maybe I'll learn to wait a little longer...

Edwood:
It's true, the noise of the techflex is a little annoying sometimes.. but only when I rasp it over the edge of a table, like you said. Next cables I do will be covered with braided nylon. Someday I might build cables with the chrome techflex purely for the extravagant bling factor, but I think that nylon is the way to go.
 
Apr 5, 2005 at 11:59 PM Post #19 of 64
Quote:

Originally Posted by BradJudy
The pins are not available from Digikey, Mouser, etc. There have been many threads on the topic and I believe a single potential source has been identified (other than paying $15 for a replacement cable just to get the pins).


What is it? Or did you mean there wasn't a source identified?

Now that I think about it, the bare pins would be hard to get...but maybe some other connector or adapter that has the pins which you can remove? Worst case scenario, you buy a new cable. Or buy them off someone around here who maybe has an old cable they don't want, and is willing to cut up.

Another option is to just use a new connector, like a mono 2.5mm jack. Remove the old one and place your own in the enclosure. Of course this means it works only with your cable, but if you want a removable cable for safety or portability reasons, that would work fine. Or if that doesn't latch well enough, any small, two conductor jack which you can place in the cable opening without significant widening.
 
Apr 6, 2005 at 1:03 AM Post #20 of 64
Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon
What is it? Or did you mean there wasn't a source identified?


It would require some searching. Someone found a company that appeared to make plugs that looked just like Senn plugs. I'm not sure if anyone ever ordered any to verify the pin size.
 
Apr 6, 2005 at 2:17 AM Post #21 of 64
Over a year ago I embarked on a quest to make my own DIY Sennheiser headphone cable. So it is with great interest that I read this thread. I had hoped to to improve upon the skinny stock hd600 cable. Perhaps even manufacture a after market cable to offer to the general public at a fraction of the price that quality after market cables go for currently. I failed in achieving my objective, but I'd like to share with you some of my reseach.

I had envisioned finding a company that already made a plug like the one Sennheiser uses. I contacted a number companies, that manufacture a wide variety of plugs. Many where not interested, some recognized the Senn plug, and suggested I contact Sennheiser, others were at a loss as to where to find a source. My search led me to a company named, Plastic One. They currently make a plug that is very close to the Sennheiser, and are willing to do custom fabrication. To see what they have to offer go to < http://www.plastics1.com/CCS/Catalog.php?Cat=70 >. My contact with Plastic One was a guy named Tom Jessee, in case any of you want to pursues this further. He sent me some samples, and all looked promising. Until I discovered the cost and quantities for having a custom fabricated plug was prohibitive. I dropped my project about that time due to estmated costs, and changes at where I was then employed.

I'm still interest in making my own DIY cable, so perhaps I'll follow your lead here and try and alter some plugs from an old cable.

- augustwest
 
Apr 6, 2005 at 3:15 AM Post #22 of 64
I know there was a group buy a while ago. It was before I owned my Senn's. I wonder who the source was for that? Wonder if there would be enough interest for another group buy?

I have posted a couple of "WTB Senn plug" threads in the "For Sale" forum with no avail. I don't really like the thought of having to buy a stock cable and hack it up. Making a mold and casting your own plugs sounds great, if it wasn't for those pesky pins. There's always something.
tongue.gif
 
Apr 6, 2005 at 3:36 AM Post #23 of 64
Nice work. I use Mogami 2534 for my interconnects and both my K-1000 cables. When I get my camera back I'll post my latest cable build.
 
Apr 6, 2005 at 5:17 PM Post #24 of 64
I don't might getting into the 'clay, glue & pottery' bits to get the job done for the senn cable. This thread has been a very good source of info for that so far (at least for me).

But if there is a better chance for more reliable plugs I would certainly like to try that too!

Ever since the HD650 came out you hear/read people's comments on how much better the stock cable sounds in comparison to the HD600's... and then, of course, follows a review on how their DIY cable shatters them both.
Lessons: must get rid of HD600 stock cable, must make DIY cable.

The plugs are then the biggest issue, and I guess that counts for a lot of people.

So I am curious on how much interest there is.. and if this would allow for a group buy.
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Apr 6, 2005 at 9:30 PM Post #25 of 64
Quote:

Originally Posted by .: ZMN :.
So I am curious on how much interest there is.. and if this would allow for a group buy.
icon10.gif



I think there might be enough interest for a group buy. I have no idea where the plugs from the original group buy came from. It might be a good idea to start a thread to check the interest on another group buy. I wouldn't want to get people's hopes up if there no source for parts, though.
 
Apr 10, 2005 at 6:23 PM Post #26 of 64
I made a prototype plug using JB Weld (long cure version) and a clay mold last night (no pins, just a wire to check strength). I did a clamshell type mold of the Meier audio plug. Overall it worked well with a couple of issues:

-clay is a pain to clean out of the nooks
-I didn't have the two halves aligned perfectly, but it was close enough
-I'm not certain that the pins would stay set exactly right
-a couple of small trapped bubbles (nothing big)

It looks a lot like a gray version of the Meier plug which is cool.

It seems like the best idea is to clamp the pins in a vice before melting the old plug away and then soldering and welding while they are still int he vice. That would ensure they stayed in the right position.
 
Apr 10, 2005 at 6:38 PM Post #27 of 64
The last 'group buy' was a purchase of faulty cables produced by Jan Meier. We had them all, there are none left
frown.gif


We hacked the cables/plugs the same as you would need to do with the stock cables, we did not get blank/empty plugs.

Of course, it was cheaper than buying Senn cables, but that was the only advantage.

EDIT: Faulty means Jan's supplier made a mistake during production, not Jan.
600smile.gif
 
Apr 10, 2005 at 7:51 PM Post #28 of 64
Quote:

Originally Posted by gnewcomer@strate
The Senn 650 is a gigantic improvement over the 600 cable. If you never buy another cable, at least throw down the 15 bucks and upgrade your 600 cable to a 650. Detail, soundstage increase noticably, and the Sennheiser veil gets thinner. Sennheiser completely cripples with 600s by shipping with that crap-ass cable.


Can you just plug the 650 cable into the 600s? Or is some modification needed? I'd certainly drop <$30 to upgrade the cable, but $100+ seems a little much for copper, rubber and plastic.
 
Apr 10, 2005 at 8:40 PM Post #29 of 64
BradJudy:
Awesome that you tried the mold idea! So... I take it that now the DIY plugs you've created actually 'click' into place with a mechanical connection to the headphone cup, as opposed to just using the resistance of the pin-jacks to hold the cable on? Anyways, thanks for realizing some of the kick-ass molding ideas that have been expressed in this thread. Next time, I'll give it a shot too.

redruM:
Yes, you absolutely can just plug the 650 cables into the 600s, and I think that bang for your buck-wise, it's a great improvement in sound, as long as your source/amp is putting out enough detail to make the difference audible.

Edwood:
An update: I've re-worked my cable design. As you noted, it was heavy, and due to the full-cable/techflex cables connecting directly to the headphones, they were very stiff. Although I think they looked much prettier before (better than the pro stuff like the cardas, etc) I was forced by wieght and mobility to go with the standard method of stripping away the cable and going to a simple twisted pair arrangment after the y-split, like cardas, etc. Now I know why they do it that way... sigh, not pretty, or remotely bling, but hey: Very comfortable!

-Sermon
 
Apr 10, 2005 at 8:50 PM Post #30 of 64
Has anyone considered that the best connection might result from doing without these connectors completely, permanently soldering the wires in? It would tend to kill 2 birds with one stone unless you need detachable cables.
 

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