I acquired two sets of headphones with a special plug (shown in the attached image). Of course I cant plug this special plug into my iPhone so i decided to replace the jack with a regular 3.5mm one. the soldering was successful and the music plays however it is very quiet. I have a feeling this is because one of the five wires coming from the headphones is the power for an amplifier inside the headphones. I have to say, I am no electrician so I don't know if this is the case. By the way the colours of the five wires are: Red, White, Blue, Green and Pale Brown.
Why is the music quiet? and what should i do with the three left over wires coming from the headset?
Thanks, appreciate any help
Why is the music quiet? and what should i do with the three left over wires coming from the headset?
Thanks, appreciate any help
I suspect the quietness might come from the headphones being the wrong (lets say unsuitable) impedance.
I've never seen a plug like that before
in fact I thought it was a mains plug until I looked closer.
Seeing a shot of the headphones and perhaps a make a model for them as well would help unravel this.
Do you have a multimeter ?
If so then you can check on a resistance range what each earphone measures. You will also hear a faint click (or not so faint depending on the meter and range used) which can be used to identify wire pairs to each driver. I would suggest not wearing the headphones at first as the clicks may be loud.
For stereo you would normally have three or four wires with two of them being a common connection between left and right earpieces. These connect to the main body of the jack plug with the two 'tip' connectors being the left and right feeds.
I've never seen a plug like that before
in fact I thought it was a mains plug until I looked closer.Seeing a shot of the headphones and perhaps a make a model for them as well would help unravel this.
Do you have a multimeter ?
If so then you can check on a resistance range what each earphone measures. You will also hear a faint click (or not so faint depending on the meter and range used) which can be used to identify wire pairs to each driver. I would suggest not wearing the headphones at first as the clicks may be loud.
For stereo you would normally have three or four wires with two of them being a common connection between left and right earpieces. These connect to the main body of the jack plug with the two 'tip' connectors being the left and right feeds.
1) that weird triangular plug actually has 2 x 3.5mm mono plugs and one x 2.5mm mono one.
Weird is an understatement and hints at a non Audio/HiFi use but something completely different: communications radio? / motorcycle intercom? / custom Airplane passenger headset so customers don´t steal it from the plane? I wouldn´t be surprised at the last possibility.
2) you have connected only 2 wires out of 5, so in any case it will NEVER work as a stereo headphone.
3) post the full headphone, brand, model, and a link to some page referred to it.
Weird is an understatement and hints at a non Audio/HiFi use but something completely different: communications radio? / motorcycle intercom? / custom Airplane passenger headset so customers don´t steal it from the plane? I wouldn´t be surprised at the last possibility.
2) you have connected only 2 wires out of 5, so in any case it will NEVER work as a stereo headphone.
3) post the full headphone, brand, model, and a link to some page referred to it.
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more images and answering questions
No logos or numbers on the set of headphones sorry. but do have a look at the new photos maybe you could figure it out.
Mooly - No I don't have a multi-meter, as I said I am a beginner and haven't ever done things like this before. I see you suggested the problem is impedance, I don't know what this word means and google only shows me complex math equations. Your solution surrounds using a multi-meter (which I don't have). Are there any alternative ideas for fixing the volume of the headphones?
Also what move would I make if I did know the right (or suitable) impedance. When I google impedance the results have a lot to do with capacitors and resistors, (not sure how i could fit one of those inside the cable).
I forgot to say before but one of the three plugs (probably the small one) I think for a noise cancellation so that is probably the other wire's purpose.
JMFahey - I don't understand your second point you made. Why will it "NEVER work as a stereo headphone"? I have connected the left and right channels and the sound comes through however it is quiet.
Why are my headphones quiet?????
Is it impedance?
What is impedance? and how do I fix it?
Thanks btw
No logos or numbers on the set of headphones sorry. but do have a look at the new photos maybe you could figure it out.
Mooly - No I don't have a multi-meter, as I said I am a beginner and haven't ever done things like this before. I see you suggested the problem is impedance, I don't know what this word means and google only shows me complex math equations. Your solution surrounds using a multi-meter (which I don't have). Are there any alternative ideas for fixing the volume of the headphones?
Also what move would I make if I did know the right (or suitable) impedance. When I google impedance the results have a lot to do with capacitors and resistors, (not sure how i could fit one of those inside the cable).
I forgot to say before but one of the three plugs (probably the small one) I think for a noise cancellation so that is probably the other wire's purpose.
JMFahey - I don't understand your second point you made. Why will it "NEVER work as a stereo headphone"? I have connected the left and right channels and the sound comes through however it is quiet.
Why are my headphones quiet?????
Is it impedance?
What is impedance? and how do I fix it?
Thanks btw
I don't think that's even possible to do when you have only two wires hooked up.
If the left is to one speaker and the right to the other speaker and the grounds are connected in the headphone then you would get the speakers in series.
But that'd mean you'd have to connect the ground wires together, though.
Problem is that IF it were some standard headphone, a type we all know, we might give you "paint by the numbers" instructions "do this .... this ... this ... ) and you´d probably wire it right.
Problem is WE do not know it, as shown.
2 minutes testing with a multimeter would give us a firm clue about what´s going on ... but apparently that is not currently possible
You´ll have to find a friend with multimeter and basic knowledge on how to use it, then you can draw a diagram showing whwre each wire goes or what it does.
Just curious (and that might at least partially solve the mysterry): where did that headphone come from, or what is its intended use?
You claim no data or labels on it, but I see a barcode sticker, what does it say?
There´s also a red LED visible , and what looks like a volume control under it, this headphone might be active.
Again: where did you get it from?
Was it as is? Inside a blister or sealed bag? A cardboard box? If so, what does it say?
EDIT: you would have saved us all a lot of time if you had been straightforward .
Those are Airplane Headphones, meant to be left on the plane and not carried home.
To ensure that they use a special incompatible plug system, but some do not learn and carry them anyway.
They *are* active and beyond what you can do at home to use them.
Cut and paste:
EDIT2:you have to power *THIS* inside your phones:
Problem is WE do not know it, as shown.
2 minutes testing with a multimeter would give us a firm clue about what´s going on ... but apparently that is not currently possible
You´ll have to find a friend with multimeter and basic knowledge on how to use it, then you can draw a diagram showing whwre each wire goes or what it does.
Just curious (and that might at least partially solve the mysterry): where did that headphone come from, or what is its intended use?
You claim no data or labels on it, but I see a barcode sticker, what does it say?
There´s also a red LED visible , and what looks like a volume control under it, this headphone might be active.
Again: where did you get it from?
Was it as is? Inside a blister or sealed bag? A cardboard box? If so, what does it say?
EDIT: you would have saved us all a lot of time if you had been straightforward .
Those are Airplane Headphones, meant to be left on the plane and not carried home.
To ensure that they use a special incompatible plug system, but some do not learn and carry them anyway.
They *are* active and beyond what you can do at home to use them.
Cut and paste:
Sorry.
EDIT2:you have to power *THIS* inside your phones:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
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Thanks for your help
JMFahey Thank you ever so much for your time spent helping me. As you requested I will be straight forward this time. My Dad go them off of a couple business class flights that cost thousands, so he figured he'd bring them home and have me tinker with them, learn something while trying to fix them.
Thanks.
JMFahey Thank you ever so much for your time spent helping me. As you requested I will be straight forward this time. My Dad go them off of a couple business class flights that cost thousands, so he figured he'd bring them home and have me tinker with them, learn something while trying to fix them.
Thanks.
If the impedance is wrong (to high) then it would be a little like trying to run a 12 volt bulb from a 3 volt battery. There wouldn't be enough voltage available to fully drive the bulb. Poor analogy but it shows the problem.
Having looked at the pictures JMFahey has posted I would say the best you could hope for would be to remove all the electronics so that all you have left are the wires to the earpieces.
If you could identify those and solder the wires in the lead to them then you could probably make a pair of stereo headphones.
Ok, thanks.
They *can* be adapted, not exactly "fixed" becaue there´s nothing "wrong" with them, simply they were meant for another purpose.
Playing just at the plug end is not enough, they are "active", which means Audio does not go straight to the transducers, "tiny speakers" but to some kind of small amplifier which in due time drives the transducers.
Problem is we don´t know what that amplifier is, I never saw a schematic or even a description on how they work, just that they claim to be "noise cancelling".
And in any case that small amplifier needs a power supply.
I have read about some adapting them to an USB connector, others running them out of a couple AA batteries, which have to be replaced after "X" amount of hours .... neither a good option.
As Mooly suggested, the practical plan, if you dare, is to remove Electronics, identify wires and transducer connections, and wire them straight to a regular stereo plug.
I think you can use the original cables, although connected in a different way.
1) You will need to open the headphones and expose the tiny speakers, we want to see the actual solder terminals or clearly identify the wires connecting them to amp board.
2) also some wires must reach each headphone cavity coming from the plug end, again a picture and just in case name the colours, sometimes they are not easy to identify on a screen.
3) again identify colours at the plug end.
Knowing that, we can suggest a connection "map" .
It should be better to confirm that with some multimeter readings, but if not available, we´ll have to trust colours, so get them right for us
We also want to see the amplifier board(s) so we can suggest what wires to unsolder.
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