[TheVinylRipper]

I done gone and ripped it apart..

My problem lies under the white goop covering the cable connections, can does not work at all now..

Any clues how to remove white gook without trashing delicate voice coil wire?

Here is the driver unit..

Front view..

And the back view..

And the back of the can..

 

[cotdt]

cool

 

[ericj]

Well there's no telling what that white gook really is. Is it soft?

How are you certain that the problem is under that? Where is the most likely stressed point?

By the way, it would be most excellent of you to add the first two pictures to the "headphone driver pics" thread. It's very interesting how the outer donut of the diaphragm is mottled like a beyerdynamic driver but the dome is smooth. And the full plastic body construction strongly resembles a Koss HV/1.

How do the TK22 sound, by the way?

 

[wualta]

The ATH-22 also reminds me of the Realistic Pro 30.

 

[ericj]

Yes, the design is pretty similar, but the Pro 30 has a deeper cup.

'course, what i find interesting aout the Pro 30 cups is the way it looks like there's a 2nd ring of vents sealed up by that stylish aluminum cap.

One of these days I'll get curious and leave a Pro 30 cup soaking in ethanol for a few days so i can lift off the cap without damaging it.

 

[dcheming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif By the way, it would be most excellent of you to add the first two pictures to the "headphone driver pics" thread.

I didn't even know that thread existed, pretty interesting. I need to read the headphones section more often.

 

[tyre]

I had a similar problem with my Audio Technica ATH-5, which is the supposedly identical to the TK-22. When I got them, there were a few cuts in the cable right where the cable entered the earcup causing one side to work intermittently. In the process of repairing them, I removed one of the screws on the backside of the driver holding the metal tab in place. The voice coil wire is connected (not soldered) around the end of the metal tab underneath that white rubbery substance and it had somehow become disconnected when I removed the screw. The driver stopped working. I tried scraping off the white substance on and around the tab to try and fix the voice coil wire, but I couldn't get it working again. The voice coil wire is thin and enamel coated so it's difficult to solder to. I ended up just tossing the driver, no big loss since I only paid $10 for the headphones. Anyways, I still have one working driver if you need a replacement.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyre /img/forum/go_quote.gif The voice coil wire is thin and enamel coated so it's difficult to solder to. I ended up just tossing the driver, no big loss since I only paid $10 for the headphones. Anyways, I still have one working driver if you need a replacement.

That's very generous of you, I'll PM you with my address.

I can Paypal you whatever you need for postage.

I guess I'll have to withdraw my offer of the cables now.


You described the problem exactly, the voice coil wire was not soldered to the terminal but just wrapped around the screw hole. What was happening is that the connection had become intermittent and when I pushed the cable where it entered the can it put just enough stress on the connector to make the connection again.

Personally I like the sound of the TK22's, enough bass to keep me happy, enough treble to do the same and the midrange is nice to my ears. Not to mention that my head size is in the 99th percentile and most phones are way too tight and these fit comfortably on me.

When I bought them back in '81 or '82, I auditioned every pair of cans in the store and the TK22's were by far the best to my ears, I knew instantly that that they were the ones (they were the very last pair the salesman showed me). I brought my own record which I was familiar with and the salesman kind of rolled his eyes a bit but I was determined that I was going to do it my way.

 

[bhjazz]

Soldering to enameled wire can actually be pretty easy. The trick is to get enough enamel off of the wire to enable to solder to stick. How much do you have access to? If its at least an inch, get some 500 grit sandpaper. Disconnect whatever wire is connected to it currently. Sand the wire from the voice coil very carefully (obviously don't pull on it too much.) Once you are down to the wire, clean it up. At this point you should be able to solder to it fairly easily.

If not, tyre's offer is outstanding! Take it!

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj 'course, what i find interesting aout the Pro 30 cups is the way it looks like there's a 2nd ring of vents sealed up by that stylish aluminum cap.

There IS another ring of vents very cleverly obscured (and mostly but not completely covered) by that aluminum cap. That's why you have to be careful to make the first felt vent-damping disc big enough to cover them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj One of these days I'll get curious and leave a Pro 30 cup soaking in ethanol for a few days so i can lift off the cap without damaging it.

Nifty idea. It's probably contact cement. You might be able to do some interesting experiments with the bigger vents you'll create.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhjazz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soldering to enameled wire can actually be pretty easy. The trick is to get enough enamel off of the wire to enable to solder to stick. How much do you have access to? If its at least an inch, get some 500 grit sandpaper. Disconnect whatever wire is connected to it currently. Sand the wire from the voice coil very carefully (obviously don't pull on it too much.) Once you are down to the wire, clean it up. At this point you should be able to solder to it fairly easily. If not, tyre's offer is outstanding! Take it!

We're talking about what the HAMs call 'FRCH' wire. google it.

Basically, what he's dealing with is an impossibly thin wire that is just exposed somewhere in that white goo, and he for some reason can't get a connection to it anymore.

If he had a conductive paint, like the stuff they sell at autozone for the repair of defogger grids, it might be possible to just paint the entire area where the wire might be, cross fingers, and hope that maybe it worked. If successful, it would give you a much bigger contact area.

But it's easier to just replace the driver.