soldering headphone cable

meaghers · 20th November 2006, 11:12 PM

Hi all!

I'm fairly new to this whole diy land and the boards here. I'm trying to fix my sennheiser headphones by attaching a new connector to the end inside of the headphones.

I know how to solder plain old cables together, i've done plenty of instrument and mic cables and rca interconnects, but this headphone cable is weird. It has 3 tiny strands of coloured non-conductive wire wrapped around nylonish threads. Where is the conductor? Where do I solder?

Please help! Any further info and pics will be provided if useful.

thanks and rock on.

Sonusthree · 20th November 2006, 11:36 PM

Hi meaghers,
Which model Senheisers are they? I'm assuming you have three conductors because they are a model that connects to the headset at only one side as opposed to both.

The wire that you see is insulated with the coloured coatings. I think it is anodised but don't quote me!
Someone here will correct me and I will learn too.
The coloured insulation melts away when soldered which is pretty clever.

If you don't know where to terminate each conductor then I would recommend that you tin the very ends of the wire so that they conduct and use your multimeter to find which wire should go where using the Jack plug as a reference.
I will assume that you know that you know the tip/ring/sleeve design but here's a great link just in case. Just check the diagram halfway down the page..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_plug

Good luck,
Martin.

P.S Wow Sek. That was close!! Is that a new forum record?

sek · 20th November 2006, 11:36 PM

Hi,

the three wires are the conductors for left, right and ground. The nylon strand is for flexibility and durability.

Just tin the (laquered) wires with solder and flux by the heat of your soldering iron. The (enamel) laquer will melt and flow off.

Then measure the color code (referred to the connector pinout) and write it down. That's all there is to it.

Have fun,
Sebastian.

meaghers · 20th November 2006, 11:42 PM

Thanks for the reassurance sek and sonus! Wow, quick responses, I'm so glad!

Thats what i was doing, but it seemed messy and stinky, so i thought perhaps there was some special method that I was missing.

Cheers!

sek · 20th November 2006, 11:48 PM

Hi meaghers, Martin,

Quote:

Thanks for the reassurance sek and sonus! Wow, quick responses, I'm so glad!

Cool!

Quote:

P.S Wow Sek. That was close!! Is that a new forum record?

Wow, extremely close, you're right!

20th November 2006, 11:12 PM	#1
meaghers diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver BC	soldering headphone cable Hi all! I'm fairly new to this whole diy land and the boards here. I'm trying to fix my sennheiser headphones by attaching a new connector to the end inside of the headphones. I know how to solder plain old cables together, i've done plenty of instrument and mic cables and rca interconnects, but this headphone cable is weird. It has 3 tiny strands of coloured non-conductive wire wrapped around nylonish threads. Where is the conductor? Where do I solder? Please help! Any further info and pics will be provided if useful. thanks and rock on.

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20th November 2006, 11:36 PM	#2
Sonusthree diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Brighton,UK	Hi meaghers, Which model Senheisers are they? I'm assuming you have three conductors because they are a model that connects to the headset at only one side as opposed to both. The wire that you see is insulated with the coloured coatings. I think it is anodised but don't quote me! Someone here will correct me and I will learn too. The coloured insulation melts away when soldered which is pretty clever. If you don't know where to terminate each conductor then I would recommend that you tin the very ends of the wire so that they conduct and use your multimeter to find which wire should go where using the Jack plug as a reference. I will assume that you know that you know the tip/ring/sleeve design but here's a great link just in case. Just check the diagram halfway down the page.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_plug Good luck, Martin. P.S Wow Sek. That was close!! Is that a new forum record?

20th November 2006, 11:36 PM	#3
sek diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Berlin	Hi, the three wires are the conductors for left, right and ground. The nylon strand is for flexibility and durability. Just tin the (laquered) wires with solder and flux by the heat of your soldering iron. The (enamel) laquer will melt and flow off. Then measure the color code (referred to the connector pinout) and write it down. That's all there is to it. Have fun, Sebastian.

20th November 2006, 11:42 PM	#4
meaghers diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver BC	Thanks for the reassurance sek and sonus! Wow, quick responses, I'm so glad! Thats what i was doing, but it seemed messy and stinky, so i thought perhaps there was some special method that I was missing. Cheers!

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