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Headphone Problem

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ckj

Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Location
Ca, USA
So I accidenatlly cut the cord on my sennheiser HD-201s, and rather then buy a new set of headphones, is there someway I could fix this for cheaper? Like a place to buy a new cord and a method to switch them out? I'd just like to save a few dollars if possible. :bang head
 
ckj said:
So I accidenatlly cut the cord on my sennheiser HD-201s, and rather then buy a new set of headphones, is there someway I could fix this for cheaper? Like a place to buy a new cord and a method to switch them out? I'd just like to save a few dollars if possible. :bang head
personally, I'd buy a cheap pair of phones and swap the cords :) I've used cheap computer speaker cords as well. Infact, the 'phones I'm listening to right now have the cord from the HP "Polk Audio" speakers. It works great and has held up for over two years so far.
 
arent senheisers were the high end phones? or are these particular ones lower? i thought that it was very common for audiophiles to swap out the cords on them to achieve better sound.

I'm not sure of the disassembly of the phones, but the cord should most definately be replaceable. it will likely involve removing the paddings, disassembling the cans, unsoldering the wires from the driver, and then removing the cord from whatever strain relief it has (a simple knot in cheap headphones)

then you'll have to basically do the reverse steps with the new cord, can be raped from a pair of cheapies or probably bought retail.

one problem ive come across is that some of the headphones have a thin wire that seems kindof like a thread, and doesnt solder easily at all, i hope you dont run into this situation.
 
four4875 said:
arent senheisers were the high end phones? or are these particular ones lower? i thought that it was very common for audiophiles to swap out the cords on them to achieve better sound.

I'm not sure of the disassembly of the phones, but the cord should most definately be replaceable. it will likely involve removing the paddings, disassembling the cans, unsoldering the wires from the driver, and then removing the cord from whatever strain relief it has (a simple knot in cheap headphones)

then you'll have to basically do the reverse steps with the new cord, can be raped from a pair of cheapies or probably bought retail.

one problem ive come across is that some of the headphones have a thin wire that seems kindof like a thread, and doesnt solder easily at all, i hope you dont run into this situation.

The HD-201's are low end headphones. You are quite correct about audiophiles swapping cords on higher end 'phones. It's generally not worth the aggrevation when your dealing with low end 'phones though.

The thread like wire you describe is probably magnet wire. It's insulated and that insulation must be removed before soldering. I generally just burn it off.
 
How would i go about doing this? Would i just strip the wire and solder the two ends together or is it more complicated than this?
 
ckj said:
How would i go about doing this? Would i just strip the wire and solder the two ends together or is it more complicated than this?
You need to pull the HD 201's apart and desolder the existing cord from the drivers (take note of polarity). Then take your donor cord and solder it to the drivers. Make sure you have left/right correct and that your polarity is the same for both drivers. Tie a knot in the cord right after the solder joint for strain relief so you don't need to make unnecessary repairs later on. Reassemble, test, and enjoy.
 
Alright thanks! I'm not that great at soldering so I'll probably end up ordering myself another pair. :bang head

I will attempt the cord swap though, so if i get it right i'll have a nice back up.
 
ckj said:
Alright thanks! I'm not that great at soldering so I'll probably end up ordering myself another pair. :bang head

I will attempt the cord swap though, so if i get it right i'll have a nice back up.
This *should* be easy for you. The soldering isn't difficult at all.
 
Since the cord got cut near the phones themselves, I can use the remaining length of cord right? I mean, the extra cord is pretty long...

Also, I cracked it open, it doesn't look too bad. I'm just going to need to pick up a pair of wire strippers.
 
ckj said:
Since the cord got cut near the phones themselves, I can use the remaining length of cord right? I mean, the extra cord is pretty long...

Also, I cracked it open, it doesn't look too bad. I'm just going to need to pick up a pair of wire strippers.
You could, but that would leave a weak point at the repair.
 
Mmm... no more than useing a spare cord. Maybe I worded that poorly. I've cut with about 6ft left on the plug end of things. I can just strip that 6 feet of cord and attach those to the drivers yes? This way I only lose 1.5-2 feet of cord taht was just excess anyway.
 
i wasnt referring to the magnet wire, ive come across that, its basically solid copper wire with some enamel. the stuff im talking about is like a cotton thread, it actually feels cottony, and whenever ive tried to solder it it just like burns up and melts away. ive encountered it in a headphone cord and in a phone line.

ckj, just be careful when stripping the cord, as there is multiple conductors in there that need to be worked with seperately. i personally would use an xacto knife or straight razor and score a line aroudn the insulation, then you should be able to bend it back along the line and if it doesnt break through, gently touch the blade to it and it should go right through. then work your way around the wire till its all split and slide off the insulation. depending on the cable, it might just have a couple wires inside the outside insulation, or it might have them with a braided shield around an insulated center conductor. if its the coaxial type, you'll need to pull the braided stuff to the side and strip a length of the center one as well. dont take the center back as far as the shield, this way it will keep from shorting. you could get away with doing it outside of the phones, but its really ugly and can get easilt pulled apart, and since you already have popped them open why not go that distance. the soldering shouldnt be much of a problem once you get used to it, they are relatively big pads and all you really need to do is tin the wire, heat the pad and stick th wire on the pad and remove heat and let cool. iron should only be on the pad for a second or so, if that. with a good contact the solder should melt like almost instantly. then plop on the wire nad you're good. but you will likely find it easier to tie the know in the wire before soldering them down.

are these phones the style that the cord splits off in a Y, or does the cord enter the phones on one side and is carried over to the other side internally?
 
ckj said:
Mmm... no more than useing a spare cord. Maybe I worded that poorly. I've cut with about 6ft left on the plug end of things. I can just strip that 6 feet of cord and attach those to the drivers yes? This way I only lose 1.5-2 feet of cord taht was just excess anyway.
Yeah, you can do that. I misunderstood you before... I thought you meant you wanted to splice the old cord together with a new one.

i wasnt referring to the magnet wire, ive come across that, its basically solid copper wire with some enamel. the stuff im talking about is like a cotton thread, it actually feels cottony, and whenever ive tried to solder it it just like burns up and melts away. ive encountered it in a headphone cord and in a phone line.
I know what you're talking about now... I hate that ****.
 
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four4875 said:
i wasnt referring to the magnet wire, ive come across that, its basically solid copper wire with some enamel. the stuff im talking about is like a cotton thread, it actually feels cottony, and whenever ive tried to solder it it just like burns up and melts away. ive encountered it in a headphone cord and in a phone line.

That's the stuff in my headphone cord. Is that a problem?

Also, I tried using a knife and i just suck so I think an inexpensive wirestripper should be fine.
 
ckj said:
So I accidenatlly cut the cord on my sennheiser HD-201s, and rather then buy a new set of headphones, is there someway I could fix this for cheaper? Like a place to buy a new cord and a method to switch them out? I'd just like to save a few dollars if possible. :bang head
are the wires removable from the headphone pieces? my HD212 wires have a jack that go into the ear cups, and one day it got messed up, so i just bought a replacement wire here:

http://shop.sennheiserusa.com/retail2002/SECPartsFinder.aspx?direct_catlg=Parts

i didn't see any replacement wires for hd201's, though.
 
ckj said:
That's the stuff in my headphone cord. Is that a problem?
Could be if you want to resuse your original cord. I'd try using your original cord first, and if it doesn't work out then buy a new cord / donor headphones.\

BTW... I have a nice scar on my finger after I slipped while stripping wires with a knife. I now use automatic wire strippers.
 
Bleh, I tried it and i get the sound coming out very faintly out of one half, and no sound of the other half. Don't know if it's because it was a poor soldering job, or the cord has that cottony stuff in it. I'll probably try the donor cord.
 
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