Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Romantic, but doomed to fail.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


               

Headphones with replaceable cord

Headphones with female jack(s); cord is REPLACEABLE! (Doh!)
  (+3)
(+3)
  [vote for,
against]

Don't you hate it when your stereo headphones turn into mono (one-sided) ones, or completely stop working, even though the wire still looks intact from the outside!

(The darn little thin wires wore out again >:-(, even though the strain relief looks pretty durable!)

My solution EXTREMELY obvious: install a small female mono audio jack on each side of the headphones (or a stereo female jack on one side), preferably 1/8" or 3/32". The cord has either two monural male plugs, or one stereo male plug. That way, the wire wears out, go buy the replacement cord instead out a whole new pair of headphones. Also, the cord would twist freely at the jack, extending the cord's life even farther. (If there is a better type (swivel-able) audio jack, then use it, the idea is "sound"!) Gold-plated would probably be a plus.

I think this would even work with earbuds, some of those earbuds are pretty expensive, wouldn't you rather just replace the cord??

File this under: So obvious that headphone manufacturers don't want to sell more cheap cords, just more expensive headphones! (Don't you just love our disposable society??)

EdisonEnvy, Nov 13 2009

AKG studio headphones http://www.akg.com/...2,_language,EN.html
with replaceable cable, mini XLR, and gold-plated, yay! [jutta, Nov 13 2009]

Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.
Short name, e.g., Bob's Coffee
Destination URL. E.g., https://www.coffee.com/
Description (displayed with the short name and URL.)






       The cord on some high-end earbuds (e.g. the ER-4* from etymotic) is kind of replaceable. The jacks are two thin pieces of metal sticking out, not sure what those are called. It's expensive and inconvenient; one has to mail in the cable to have them replace it, but there's really no reason to do that - other aftermarket connectors should work just as well.
jutta, Nov 13 2009
  

       OK, I'll amend that last sentence: So obvious that headphone manufacturers don't want to sell more cheap cords, just more expensive headphones OR expensive cords!
EdisonEnvy, Nov 13 2009
  

       Sennheiser DT100's (or for ones that sound nice - DT150's).   

       This is generally the main difference between pro gear and domestic gear. It's the build quality, not the audio quality.
wagster, Nov 13 2009
  

       got a pair of those K141's kicking around somewhere... no problem with the cord, but the headstrap broke, so my prized headphones (okay they weren't *that* expensive <$100 iirc) look like they're made out of duct-tape.   

       Mostly when you go to buy a pair, check to see if you can take them apart to replace the cord if they break or if they're just molded plastic; the latter, forget it.   

       hmm... how about a pair that can be adjusted to any (standard) reference level ? -20 -10 +4 db's, and has various connectors   

       I wonder if the mini-xlr ones are balanced
FlyingToaster, Nov 13 2009
  

       [Ian] My headphones are Sennheiser HD480s too - I replaced the foamy bits about two years ago.
hippo, Nov 13 2009
  

       I thought this was common in higher-end headphones.   

       I have a Sennheiser set that I got used for free, and it doesn't have a modular cable, and the cable was damaged when I got it, so I started to convert it to modular, but never finished. That was only a few months ago, so I might still finish it soon. Anyway, I was planning to put the jack on top of the headband, facing backward. That way, I can use a cable with a straight plug or a right-angle plug and have the cable come off my head in three directions, with clips added to the sides to hold it from flapping around if I run it down one side or the other.   

       // I wonder if the mini-xlr ones are balanced //   

       You're probably going to plug them into an unbalanced source, so I'd doubt it, but I haven't actually looked into it at all.
notexactly, Nov 14 2019
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle