[knowhatimean]

When I first thought about doing this it seemed pretty straightforward... until I took a look at how the DHC headphone connectors where terminated to the cable.
 
Is there a ground connection to each connector because the cable is being terminated  "to a connector"? & not directly to the driver ?
 
That being the case do I then just hardwire both wires on each side like they were just one wire ? Any other things I should be aware of ?
 
Thanks

 

[icebear]

google:
 
"hd800 dissection and measurements"
 
for some useful info for this adventure.
And no, there is no ground connection for the drivers, only L+, L- / R+, R- same like with your speaker termination.

 

[knowhatimean]

 I realized (while having some "Buffalo Wings" about an hour ago), I was only thinking about 1 driver & not both of them !
 
That would make the "HD400" as that would only be 1 side of the 800 (in which case I was'nt looking at L,R but L-,L+, which makes sense as I was looking at the picture* of "1" HD800 driver terminal & the +,- existing connections on the DHC cable threw me off)
 
I'm off to get an "iron" & other things right after I get a bottle of "Tums" (the wings were tasty, but my stomach's not a "happy camper"at this point) (I'll get on this after I avoid my "gastric disaster")
 
Thanks
 
* (Yup, That's the thread I was viewing this morning) (Wondering if I can leave the driver right in the basket; the "screen" behind the driver magnet has already been gone for months; Nah, I better remove it , no sense in starting bad work habits at this point)

 

[knowhatimean]

Well after "futzsin" around a little bit today on exactly I was going to approach this, I "bit the bullet" & took a short trip to a local
Radio Shack got myself an soldering iron (with a few other things) & set about getting ready to do the hard wiring.
 
I did something a bit stupid when I pulled the "shrink sheilds"with the markings L + R on either side so I had to throw them back on the headphones they were on & play some music to rediscover which was which as I was not changing the phono jack ! (I definitely would not have been happy to find out I'd soldered the wrong channel wires to the HD800)
 
That straightened out, I took the connectors off marked the wires + & - (& made sure I marked 1 side "R") then "tinned" all the wires.At this point I disassembled the HD800 to the point of having the 2 separate ear cups. The earpads came off next & then the baskets that sit inside the 2 outer frames that hold them as they hang from the headband. (I'll be skipping over a few things ,as this is all covered in the thread mentioned in the posting between my posting)
 
At the point you have the 2 separate baskets sitting in front of you , the existing wires & input connector jack are now visible . At this point once you cut the wires to the input connector you're commited to following through with hard wiring (At any point up to this you can just reverse your disassembly & you're good to go). I didn't remove the drivers from were they sat as working with the DHC "molecule" cable in the space available wasn't that difficult. I took my time & soldered all the wires to there correct places.
 
Doing this was a bit of a "stretch" for me (as several other things I've also done to my HD800) but it's really been a matter of "mind" over "roadblocks" as they've occurred ! I took my time reassembling the headphones & cleaning up all my work materials as I"delayed" checking out seeing how the results were !
 
I needn't have been so concerned, as I'm enjoying the DHC cable as I had on the other headphones I've used them on. The stock Sennheiser HD800 cable has a slight bit of "midrange hollowness" to it that the DHC cable doesn't . The aftermarket ALO cable I was using while not having the Senn cable hollowness though detailed doesn't have the same ability to let you hear the notes trail off as naturally as the DHC cable .
 
I'm not sure how much of what I like about how the 800 sounds now is due to the fact it doesn't have to pass through a connector & tiny wires, as things sound more immediate.
 
YMMV
~steve

 

[Eee Pee]

Why do you keep "using" quotation "marks"?
 
Good job, "gutsy" "procedure".

 

[kapanak]

  Why do you keep "using" quotation "marks"?
 
Good job, "gutsy" "procedure".

Yeah, it makes me read every sentence sarcastically.

 

[knowhatimean]

  Why do you keep "using" quotation "marks"?
 
Good job, "gutsy" "procedure".

Maybe because my English Grammar "sucks" (& if I think I'm saying something that a slang saying , I will place in quotations to
indicate that I'm not using "proper" English)
 
Sorry... I'll try to relax & trust that people will recognize when I've intentionally used sloppy English !
 
Thanks

 

[Eee Pee]

Yeah, no need.  
 
Especially with a username like yours!  

 

 

[knowhatimean]

 

  Why do you keep "using" quotation "marks"?
 
Good job, "gutsy" "procedure".

Yeah, it makes me read every sentence sarcastically.

Trust me when I say "Sarcasm is never my intention"
 
Sarcasm is just lazy thinking as far as I'm concerned

 

[knowhatimean]

  Yeah, no need.  
 
Especially with a username like yours!  

 

Yeah...... I've got to change that username:
 
It embarrasses me at this point

 

[kapanak]

I'm not allowed to link it here, but I'll PM you something helpful

 

[knowhatimean]

It's funny how you think of how you could have had an easier time doing things, if you'd spent just a bit more time considering the method of work you're using to accomplish particular tasks !
 
So yesterday while I was finally attaching my headphone cable to the HD800 drivers terminals, I was cursing myself the whole time,as it really would have helped to have a third hand to keep the wire in place. By the time I got to the 2nd driver I had figured out a technique that would work (but it was still a major PITA). for where I'd decided to leave the drivers while I was doing this ! Long story,short, I was glad that everything worked out fine & I'm enjoying the hell out of my headphones !
 
About 20mins. ago I thought of that soldering accessory that has an adjustable wand on it with a clip on the end of it. I smacked my forehead & said (as Fred Sanford used to say to Lamont) "Ya dummy". I needed that,there's that third hand.I suppose it comes with the territory when you reverse engineer what it is you're working on , you're not thinking as much like a Technician as you could be ! (Not that I would claim to be one; just technically aware I would hope)
 
Have a Great Day !

 

[icebear]

How have you fixed the cable going in the HD800 body?
I guess it's called tension release ... to prevent the cable being pulled out by force.
Post some picture ...
 
And of course hats off !
I'm not sure if I want to solder around my HD800 drivers

 
 
PS: positive 3rd hands come in handy when soldering tiny stuff

 

[knowhatimean]

  How have you fixed the cable going in the HD800 body?
I guess it's called tension release ... to prevent the cable being pulled out by force.
Post some picture ...
 
And of course hats off !
I'm not sure if I want to solder around my HD800 drivers

 
 
PS: positive 3rd hands come in handy when soldering tiny stuff

He, he,he..... That is today's project; I realized yesterday after putting the cans all back together I hadn't provided for the cable
relief issue. I was careful with them while listening last night,but realized I had to provide for that ASAP.!
 
I'll consider my plan for that after I've had some breakfast & taken a ride over to a Hardware store. There isn't really that much to see
as the DHC "Molecule" cable  is pretty thin & the two leads to each terminal is soldered right to these . Take a look at the picture
in the thread of the disassembled HD800. I cut those tiny blue & red wires close to the terminals , pushed the connectors these wires
were connected to out of headphone & tack soldered the new wires right on top of were I'd cut the wires from !
 
If I can figure how to post a picture that I'll take with my IPad I'll do so ! ( But for now I'm just going to fix the cable relief issue !)
 
Thanks
~steve

 

[knowhatimean]

Just a short one for now (Before I start another 'hopefully' successful project)
 
I don't know how it happened but I lucked into finding a product that is working ideally for my cable relief needs . Within a few minutes of entering my local Lowes Hardware store I came across a store clerk who suggested he'd just recently gotten a product in that he really wasn't even sure what it could be used for, until I described what I needed it to do ! It was a little funny as after describing what I was looking for he just smiled & said he had exactly what I needed. It's a product called
"Sugru" that was on a small display rack in  front of the Paint section.
 
Basically it is a moldable glue that bonds to about anything & hardens to a flexible silicone rubber. It comes in small foil packets that you cut open & then take an approximate amount of what you'll need to cover the opening were your cable passes through . You'll mold a small ball & place it around the cable & press it up to the opening. You have 30mins. to mold it's placement to how you'd like it before it sets.I got a bit more generous with how much I used, but I can trim the excess off the headphone easily with an exacto blade. I'm the only one who sees my HD800, but I'll probably clean it up some  so it looks cleaner if I decide to take photos of the headphones
 
Getting back to how the headphones are sounding, it seems like I'm noticing a few subtle changes whenever I've taken time to listen. I don't know whether it's just me , but if I haven't listened to cables for a while they seem to "go to sleep" as to some of of the qualities I remember them consistently being able to display. I hadn't listened to the cans the DHC cables were on for any appreciable amt of time for a few months. I've been letting my DFP run 24/7 with my headphones attached from when I finished Hard Wiring them.
 
It's strange but the DHC cable is waking up beautifully ! (This really isn't a thick cable, just wonderfully detailed) One more thing &
this has nothing to do with tonality. I'm now absolutely certain that I had a slight channel imbalance that was corrected once my headphones became straightwired. whether this was a cable connector issue I'm not sure,but the channel balance is distinctly solidly
just that now !
 
(This is just too good to let pass. I'm currently listening to a recording of cello & fortepiano, where it appears that whoever prepped the fortepiano appeared to be very wary of placing any downbearing on it's soundboard. This instrument doesn't even appear to be at the early music pitch of 428 (at least I think that's the pitch that is normally used). The cellist started playing first & I thought his pitch seemed a bit ragged, it wasn't until the keyboard playing started that I realized the cellist's pitch was at the mercy of whatever the fortepiano's pitch was. It was a pretty poor production decision to record the pieces anyway with an insufficient keyboard instrument. I think this was a Petr Wispelway recording on Channel Classics, so it's kind of a surprise this was recorded this way!)