[Aryadeva]

I know this topic has been posted about several times over the years, but I haven’t been able to find success given any of the previous recommendations I’ve read. I’m really hoping someone can help or has a new suggestion. Here’s what I’ve tried so far that hasn’t worked:

1. Just pulling straight down (at the base of the connection, and not the wire).

2. Wrapping the base of the connection with a towel, and pulling straight down with pliers (I only have needle nose pliers, so maybe that’s giving me a mechanical disadvantage vs. a real pair?).

For both of these, I held the cup in one hand and pulled with the other, being careful not to put pressure on the grill. I’m not a particularly weak guy, and I’ve applied as much force as I physically can with these 2 methods. No dice. It might be worth noting that these headphones are slightly over a decade old, and I’ve never removed the stock cable before. Is there some sort of physical or chemical process that can happen over time to get them extra stuck?

Other methods that I’ve read about, but I’m hesitant to try until getting further feedback:

1. Use something like DeOxit, WD40, or gun oil, and put a small amount right at the base of the connection so that it seeps inside.

I have 3-in-one oil, which I’m guessing could serve a similar purpose to other non-organic oils, but this just scares me a bit. Like I said, these are decade old cans that I’ve been through a lot of music with, and pouring something liquid inside just feels...strange. If this method is actually viable, maybe someone can give a chemistry based reason that I don’t need to worry, and whether or not 3-in-one oil is a viable medium?

2. Wiggle the connection when trying to remove with force.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about this, some saying it might damage internal components, others saying it’s how they got it out. Should I try it? If so, I’m assuming it’s best to wiggle it perpendicular to the direction the R and L face?

3. Put on the headphones, stand on the cord, and stand up.

This one scares me the most. It’s not particularly important to me that the stock cables remain intact since I plan on only using the replacement (and after this, pulling them out again feels like a terrible ordeal), but that seems like a great way to rip the cord off the pins, something that I’ve seen reported several times in other posts.


I’m happy to answer any further questions about what I’ve already tried or researched if it’ll help the community give advice. I’ve had a very frustrating couple of days with sore hands from pulling, and sad ears from not being able to use my new balanced silver dragon cable on the headphones that’ve served me so well over the years.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GREQ]

First I'd try to get a decent set of pliers and give the plugs a good firm pull.
Never put any strain on the cables themselves, or you might end up with a broken cable and the plug still firmly attached to the headphone.

Surprised you're having so much trouble with it.
For me it was the stock cable that was easy to install or remove, and the 3rd party cable that needed a bit of force both ways.

There's not much else you can do other than pulling it out.
A straight pull is the way it needs to go.

The headphone is completely modular and can be disassembled by hand, but disassembly won't work either.
If you try to disassemble the headphone, you'll run into a problem where two main parts won't separate due to the cable still being attached.

 

[Aryadeva]

From what I've read, it seems like the amount of trouble people have had varies significantly; maybe subtle differences in manufacturing? And I really do wonder if having them in place for over a decade has cause some sort of extra stickiness.

I'll go buy a decent pair of pliers and see if it helps. I'll also have my wife hold the cup so I can use two hands instead of one on the pliers to apply more force.

If anyone else has some other suggestions or solutions that have worked for them, I'm all ears.

 

[Aryadeva]

Pulled with all of my might with a good set of pliers using both hands and legs while my wife was holding onto the cup with both hands while sitting in a chair. I was literally almost lifting her out of the chair with the amount of force I was applying...

This is crazy. I feel like I have to be doing something wrong.

 

[GREQ]

I was hoping you'd finish that sentence with an analogy about giving birth... what a let down

That's not right at all. I'd contact sennheiser directly about this.
As soon as you cause any visible damage yourself they probably won't be so helpful.

You could try this fella to start with - https://www.head-fi.org/members/sennheiser.146072/
I think there's a customer service guy from sennheiser also around here, but I forgot his user name.

 

[spikersuppa]

1. Just pulling straight down (at the base of the connection, and not the wire).

2. Wrapping the base of the connection with a towel, and pulling straight down with pliers (I only have needle nose pliers, so maybe that’s giving me a mechanical disadvantage vs. a real pair?).

This is an old thread, but for anyone that has this problem, this might be your solution. I've had this problem with new cables on old HD600, HD650, HD6xx a couple of times. If you are familiar with pulling apart this series of Sennheisers, then you should be left with only the driver with the cable attached and in between the U-formed bottom part of the headcup after disassembling (Search disassemble HD600 or HD650). I used a rotating vice with rubber grips to grip the cable plug so that I could pull downwards, but I've also used an ordinary vices with a lot of microfiber cloths to grip the plug. Just be careful not to squash the plug too destruction. Then hold on to the solid sides of the driver and pull by all your might. This has worked every time for me. If the membrane on the driver gets bumped or dimpled, then make some DIY double sided tape with ordinary tape. I have used scotch tape and painters tape. Put it gently on the bumps or indentations and pull quickly out. Might take a couple of hundreds of times. The vice and the tape has always worked. Please: DO NOT USE PLIERS!