shorter headphone cords
Nov 22, 2002 at 6:28 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 123
d_wilson

d_wilson

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How many of you are using products such as the newer iPod's with the remote control, that are looking for a shorter headphone cord?

Don Wilson
Etymotic Research
 
Nov 22, 2002 at 6:42 PM Post #2 of 123
Portably I use a slick sony pcdp with remote so, yes, short cord would be great.

However, head-fiers willing to buy an expensive earphone for portable use probably would prefer using a portable amp too, which (in the absence of a chestpocket) outrules short cord headphones as an option.

I bet a lot of people will be willing to answer your question. Surveys like this one makes us feel important!! Thank you!!

I wonder...

Are you targeting the question towards portable amp users and/or remote-users?? Or do just want to find out how many of us use remotes??

please elaborate...
 
Nov 22, 2002 at 7:01 PM Post #3 of 123
I have had a few customers looking for a shorter (20-24") cable for the ER-4 or ER-6 for use with a pcdp or MP3 with remote. I am interested if it is a big need, or just a few isolated cases.

Don Wilson
Etymotic Research
 
Nov 22, 2002 at 7:12 PM Post #4 of 123
Maybe you could do a combo like what Sony does with some of their earphones? They utilize a short cord that terminates into a straight plug (important that it be straight, so that the plug fits flush with the remote), and include an 1/8th jack to 1/8th plug extension cable that terminates in an L plug. Best of both worlds.
 
Nov 22, 2002 at 7:27 PM Post #5 of 123
Audio Technica also does that on some of their portable headphones. Long cords can be very annoying; I don't own any Etys and don't know how long their cords are, but these 1m cables on headphones are really bad when used portably.

kerely
 
Nov 22, 2002 at 7:41 PM Post #6 of 123
Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1
Maybe you could do a combo like what Sony does with some of their earphones? They utilize a short cord that terminates into a straight plug, and include an 1/8th jack to 1/8th plug extension cable that terminates in an L plug. Best of both worlds.


seconded.
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 8:34 PM Post #7 of 123
I know this is way after the fact, but I would LOVE a short cord for my ER-4Ps. All I really use them with is my iPod with wired remote. I think Sony did it right with their EX-70s, a very short cord with straight plug and then a long extension with L-shaped plug.

Incidentally, I also find the ER-4 cord quite stiff and hard to manage. Maybe some conditioner.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 8:38 PM Post #8 of 123
Wouldn't an short-cord + extension arrangement cause problems with impedance? If this could work, I'm all for it.
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 8:50 PM Post #9 of 123
Yes, a short cord is welcome anyway. I'd be glad about a less stiff and microphonic cord for future users, too (myself I'm lucky to have the low-microphonic Fixup cord).
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 8:52 PM Post #10 of 123
Heh.. I may be out of subject (or not), but I have a question concerning cords
in general. Why do they even make them this long to start with? I mean, OK, some
people listen to headphones sitting in a chair far far away (2m?!) from their source..
But even on the more portable headphones, they still manage to put some really
long cords. Why, o why?! And doesn't the length of the cord create sound
'loss' the longer it is (from what I remember from my physics class, the longer
a cord is, the more resistance it creates).

Just some thoughts I had..
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 9:11 PM Post #11 of 123
Like this?

short%204p.jpg




Is there still interest for this. I haven't pursued the second version of this cable yet. This version does have a smaller and more flexible wire. It wasn't supposed to have a "pod" on it.

Don Wilson
Etymotic Research
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 9:43 PM Post #13 of 123
Is two feet about the correct length?


Would anyone have an objection if I changed the length of wire between the pod and the ear from 18" to 14"?

Also would any users have an objection to this wire (between the pod and the ear) if it basically eliminated the cord noise? Basically is it too ugly?


er-4ptp.jpg



Don Wilson
Etymotic Research
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 10:02 PM Post #14 of 123
IMO that cable would be fine if it eliminated the noise. I think the Sony length is 1.5 meters, which I remember being a really good length, but I guess 2 feet would be okay. Is that from ear to plug or pod to plug? And lastly, 14" from pod to ear sounds fine to me.


-Ken
 
Mar 10, 2003 at 10:09 PM Post #15 of 123
1.5M = 59 inches Don't tell me that you think our cable is 1 inch too long!
smily_headphones1.gif


The Sony short EX70 that I was shown was .4M long =16 inches.

Don Wilson
Etymotic Research
 
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