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DIY headphone repair |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #103380, posted by Phlamethrower at 18:09, 7/7/2007 |
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Bah! Why do they have to use wire filaments that are coated in plastic?
*attempts to create an invention to remove invisible, micro-thin plastic coatings from wires* |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #103381, posted by Phlamethrower at 18:23, 7/7/2007, in reply to message #103380 |
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Good news, everyone!
I have invented the Near-blunt Scissor Blade Resting Atop the USB-2-PS2 Keyboard Adaptor (Which, for legal reasons, will henceforth be known as the Demicroplasticfilmifier)
Now all I need to invent is a device to hold the wires together. Is the name Selotape taken? |
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Mike |
Message #103382, posted by MikeCarter at 19:08, 7/7/2007, in reply to message #103381 |
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I might try this method of using the Demicroplasticfilmifier to fix mine too. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #103383, posted by Phlamethrower at 19:35, 7/7/2007, in reply to message #103382 |
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Yes.
Please note, however, that although the Demicroplasticfilmifier may be able to repair your headphones, it does not provide any extra protection against accidentally tugging on the cable and causing the headphones to break again. |
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Jason Tribbeck |
Message #103385, posted by tribbles at 20:39, 7/7/2007, in reply to message #103383 |
 Captain Helix
Posts: 929
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I had to replace the cable on my old Senheiser headphones, and couldn't find one (at that time). So I wired some phono connectors to the side, and used a standard cable.
Trouble was that it looked like the cables came straight out of my head. |
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Adrian Lees |
Message #103386, posted by adrianl at 21:21, 7/7/2007, in reply to message #103385 |
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I added a cable to my radio headphones when the batteries ran out and I couldn't be bothered to go and buy some more  |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #103396, posted by filecore at 09:18, 8/7/2007, in reply to message #103386 |
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Not strictly the same, but I have one piece of RJ-45 running from bedroom (my machine etc) to livingroom (router and modem). Now, at each end of the cable, there's a Y-splitter (because only 4 of 8 wires are actually used for ethernet), with one branch going to my switch for teh internets. The other goes into a piece of hacked-apart RJ45 which terminates with the wires being soldered into RCA connectors - ditto at the far end of the cabel, one end becomes RCA and one end joins the router. So now I can have internet as well as connect my computer to the stereo in each room, and listen to the same music in all rooms on the stereo at once - better than streaming, lag-free! If I had more wires I'd run video RCA too, but then again I can do that if I am okay with just having mono sound. Like I said, not strictly the same, but all it takes is a little imagination. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #104623, posted by Phlamethrower at 10:10, 1/10/2007, in reply to message #103396 |
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My headphones are broken again. Wah!
Although I can probably do another DIY repair and extend their lifetime until I accidentally pull the cable too hard again, the fact remains that I WILL HAVE NO MUSIC AT WORK TODAY. |
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Phil Mellor |
Message #104624, posted by monkeyson2 at 11:01, 1/10/2007, in reply to message #104623 |
 Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler
Posts: 12380
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My headphones are broken again. Wah!
Although I can probably do another DIY repair and extend their lifetime until I accidentally pull the cable too hard again, the fact remains that I WILL HAVE NO MUSIC AT WORK TODAY. You could hum. |
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Tony Haines |
Message #104625, posted by Loris at 14:42, 1/10/2007, in reply to message #104623 |
 Ha ha, me mine, mwahahahaha
Posts: 1025
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I suggest that when you repair it again, you also attach a slightly shorter piece of string, so tugging it pulls the string instead.
Then you can break whatever socket it is plugged into, instead of your precious headphones. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #104635, posted by Phlamethrower at 19:41, 1/10/2007, in reply to message #104625 |
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Interesting. Although it sounded broken when I tested it a few minutes ago, after dismantling the headphones the problem magically vanished. Nothing new seems to be damaged, and the old fix seems to be working still.
Headphones are now reassembled and still working. Hurrah! |
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Simon Wilson |
Message #104638, posted by ksattic at 03:05, 2/10/2007, in reply to message #103380 |
 Finally, an avatar!
Posts: 1291
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*attempts to create an invention to remove invisible, micro-thin plastic coatings from wires* Soldering iron works wonders. Also good if you like to inhale plastic and see unicorns. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #104710, posted by Phlamethrower at 10:07, 11/10/2007, in reply to message #104638 |
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My headphones just broke and then fixed themselves within the space of 10 minutes, without any interaction on my part. So I'm guessing it's the computer that's going funny, and not the headphones  |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #104720, posted by filecore at 15:28, 11/10/2007, in reply to message #104710 |
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My headphones just broke and then fixed themselves within the space of 10 minutes, without any interaction on my part. So I'm guessing it's the computer that's going funny, and not the headphones Not necessarily - it could be a loose wire, which got jogged out of place and then back into place ten minutes later. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #104721, posted by Phlamethrower at 15:42, 11/10/2007, in reply to message #104720 |
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It must be a very selectively loose wire then - wiggling the headphone lead around doesn't do anything, and I wasn't particularly moving much when it broke/fixed itself. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #104732, posted by Phlamethrower at 12:41, 12/10/2007, in reply to message #104721 |
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Looks like it was a loose wire, because they broke again last night. Lots of fun trying to fight antlions/acidlions in HL2 Ep 2 if I can't hear what's infront or behind me  Also I missed half of what the vortigaunt said, but from what I did hear it sounded like all ass-kissing anyway.
Long story short: Headphones are fixed again, but if this fix fails there's unlikely to be any better way of fixing it that doesn't involve money or high temperatures. |
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Stephen Robinson |
Message #104891, posted by steviebaby at 17:55, 20/10/2007, in reply to message #104732 |
Member
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I once tried to fix a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones.
That's ones with a Step-UP voltage transformer in their dedicated charger unit, with hilarious results.
[Edited by steviebaby at 18:55, 20/10/2007] |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #107618, posted by Phlamethrower at 14:38, 10/6/2008, in reply to message #104891 |
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They're broken again! Wah!
Maybe this is a sign that I should buy one pair for work and one pair for home instead of carting the same pair back and forth all the time. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #109138, posted by Phlamethrower at 23:00, 17/1/2009, in reply to message #107618 |
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My new pair are now broken as well! And there doesn't seem to be a way to take them apart to fix them! Cocks!
Why can't headphone manufacturers work out how to make leads that can survive more than a couple of accidental tugs?
[edit]
Repaired!
It turns out that the lead had been bent 90 degrees just after entering the headset, and then glued in position (presumably to keep it from getting in the way of the different parts as they were put together, and to stop it from tugging on more sensitive parts of the wiring when pulled). Except that since it was glued right next to the bend there was no give in the cable at all, so even small tugs could have the effect of shearing through some of the wire filaments.
Now I've got to wait to see how long it is until the 90 degree bend shears through the new part of the lead!
[Edited by Phlamethrower at 00:12, 18/1/2009] |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #110532, posted by Phlamethrower at 21:00, 8/7/2009, in reply to message #109138 |
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Now I've got to wait to see how long it is until the 90 degree bend shears through the new part of the lead! Hello!
Repaired again, but now with seemingly shitter sound quality and 100% less mic.
So, does anyone have any recommendations for a wired headset with decent-ish sound quality and wiring that won't break as soon as you touch it? |
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Adrian Lees |
Message #110533, posted by adrianl at 21:47, 8/7/2009, in reply to message #110532 |
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I have a couple of pairs of Sony MDR-V150s that I found at Tesco and have been very happy with. They're well made, but I must warn you I'm no audiophile, and they're both plugged into low-end computer audio hardware. |
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Blind Moose |
Message #110534, posted by Acornut at 21:48, 8/7/2009, in reply to message #110532 |
 No-eye-deer (No Idea)
Posts: 487
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Headphones? Pah!! What you want, is summt like this. 
http://gizmodo.com/367848/reppo-2-boombox-backpack-easy+carry-portable-music-action |
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richard cheng |
Message #110541, posted by richcheng at 08:50, 9/7/2009, in reply to message #110533 |
Posts: 655
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I have a couple of pairs of Sony MDR-V150s that I found at Tesco and have been very happy with. They're well made, but I must warn you I'm no audiophile, and they're both plugged into low-end computer audio hardware. +1 on the recommend of MDR-V150s. These are my go-to headphone for my daily commute.
Not sure if I could really recommend the wiring, though. I've been through four or five pairs in the last four years. |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #110544, posted by Phlamethrower at 10:43, 9/7/2009, in reply to message #110541 |
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Not sure if I could really recommend the wiring, though. I've been through four or five pairs in the last four years. Useless! (plus they don't appear to have a mic)
I'm almost about to give up and go for a wireless headset, except (a) it would either be one that converts the analog signal to radio/bluetooth/etc., requiring an extra plug socket (which I don't have spare atm), or (b) it would be a USB audio device (which would render my perfectly-good, never-done-me-wrong, has-fancy-hardware-mixing Audigy 2 redundant). |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #110920, posted by Phlamethrower at 23:22, 13/8/2009, in reply to message #110544 |
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In the end I've decided to go with these. Not because I believe for one minute that Fatal1ty knows anything about headset design, or because I think that buying stuff with his name on it will make me cool, but because they are pretty close in specification to my current "nice sound, shame about the wiring" pair. So hopefully the 2-3 times price differential is indicative of them hiring someone who knows something about wiring (and that they're not just trying to leech money from chumps). I guess the 2.5m long cable will go a long way to preventing accidental tugs when the cable gets caught on the armrest of my chair, or the headset falls off my desk - so maybe they've hired a guy who knows about wiring after all. Plus of course they're made by Creative, so if they turn out to be shit I can use it as an excuse to abandon all things Creative (i.e. my soundcard) and switch to a nice and simple wireless USB pair to avoid any future wiring letdowns.
[edit]
Also a pair of those Sony MDR-V150's for work, since the current pair I've got at work are also dead (since they were the barely-living remains of the original headset this thread was created for). Having broken headphones isn't very helpful when you get a load of audio bugs!
[Edited by Phlamethrower at 00:26, 14/8/2009] |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #110921, posted by filecore at 05:27, 14/8/2009, in reply to message #110920 |
Posts: 3868
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switch to a nice and simple wireless USB pair to avoid any future wiring letdowns. And just end up with your batteries dying halfway through something, instead? |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #110925, posted by Phlamethrower at 08:27, 14/8/2009, in reply to message #110921 |
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switch to a nice and simple wireless USB pair to avoid any future wiring letdowns. And just end up with your batteries dying halfway through something, instead?
Yes 
(Although the advantage is that that's a temporary problem rather than a permanent one) |
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Jeffrey Lee |
Message #122722, posted by Phlamethrower at 20:44, 21/10/2013, in reply to message #110920 |
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Posts: 15100
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Headset update, headset fans!
In the end I've decided to go with these. The microphone is now broken, which renders them pretty much useless as a headset, as replacement microphones don't appear to be sold separately. And although there are similar-ish flexible mini mics on the market, they all seem to have a 90 degree bend right at the connector - so aren't very likely to fit the recessed socket on the headset.
Also the inline volume control has been playing up for the past year or two, needing a bit of a nudge to fix the volume balance of the two earphones being off. But that's a lesser concern.
Also a pair of those Sony MDR-V150's for work The headband on those broke pretty quickly, it seems my head is too big for them. So they still work, but I get a lump of plastic digging into my skull whenever I have to wear them. Not uncomfortable at all! |
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Ian Cook |
Message #122723, posted by ilcook at 14:37, 22/10/2013, in reply to message #122722 |
 Resident idiot
Posts: 1077
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it seems my head is too big for them. Nnneeevvveeerrr  |
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Trevor Johnson |
Message #122729, posted by trevj at 12:18, 23/10/2013, in reply to message #109138 |
Member
Posts: 660
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Why can't headphone manufacturers work out how to make leads that can survive more than a couple of accidental tugs? How about a coiled mini headphone jack extension? (Creating a permanent electrical connection to the headphone lead would eliminate the weight of those plugs, which could cause annoyance mid-way.) |
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