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]

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



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