# Headphone recable



## DLim98

I was wondering if anyone could help me with recabling my headphones. The jack got ripped off at the bottom and I was going to replace just the jack, but I would have to get a soldering iron and I thought that might have been more of a hassle then recabling it. Thank you all for your help.


----------



## DLim98

I forgot to mention that the headphones are bose triports so I would rather not spend a lot. Thank you guys again for your help.


----------



## jsmithepa

I recabled mine by ripping from a stock iPod's phone 'coz I couldn't fine a slim jack, the ones at Radio Shack are big and butt ugly. Still needed an iron though, unless by recable u mean send it off to be done.


----------



## DLim98

I just found out that my friend's dad has a soldering iron that I could use. Just wondering, but was it hard to recable them? I might just try to find a mini 1/8 jack to reattach to the cable? Also if anyone else had any ideas of how I could make them sound better since I might be opening them up anyways, that would be great. Also does anyone know what good, but cheap headphone cables/plug I could use? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm new to all this DIY stuff oh and thanks jsmithepa.


----------



## jsmithepa

u can recable yourself only if u know how to open the phones, else replace plug.


----------



## DLim98

I was wondering if it was hard to open the triports up without damaging anything and if anyone had a guide.


----------



## eruditass

what should one use to recable?

 i'minterested in recabling KSC75's, what can i use? Cat5e cable?


----------



## FallenAngel

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *DoomzDayz* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_what should one use to recable?

 i'minterested in recabling KSC75's, what can i use? Cat5e cable?_

 

The cheapest and usually best bang/buck is SPC (Silver Plated Copper). I would recommend 24AWG from seller navships on eBay. Great guy to deal with, nice prices. Don't worry about the Kapton stuff, regular Teflon is just as good (if not better for headphones). At about $7 for 50', it can't be beat.


----------



## fatman711

I ordered some navships stuff too. Getting ready to do some cables for the first time. His stuff is cheap as anything...$28 shipped for like 200 feet! Insanity!


----------



## Fitz

He's far from the cheapest, just the most convenient.


----------



## jsmithepa

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *DoomzDayz* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_i'minterested in recabling KSC75's, what can i use? Cat5e cable?_

 

are u insane? the 1 gbit/sec rate will burn the transducer!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Not to mention stiff.


----------



## FallenAngel

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Fitz* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_He's far from the cheapest, just the most convenient._

 

That is definitely what I mean - the most conventient. At $7-$8 per 50' he is definitely a nice source for reasonably short length wire. At longer lengths, of course it's a large loss, in fact, it's more than 60% loss when you get 1000' of wire, but not many need that much. For people looking for headphone recables, building a few IC's or wanting to wire their DIY heaphone amps, he's still the pretty much the best source for wiring which is why I have bought from him so much and why I recommend him so easily.


----------



## Fitz

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *FallenAngel* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_At longer lengths, of course it's a large loss, in fact, it's more than 60% loss when you get 1000' of wire, but not many need that much._

 

Doesn't even need to be that much, in some sizes I get about 2000' for what he charges for just 200'. It only really makes sense if you need just single 50' rolls of different sizes/colors, and not a foot more.


----------



## Hase

Where then do you suggest buying lengths of cable?


----------



## DLim98

I was wondering if anyone had a step by step guide on how to recable headphones? Or like a website explaining how to do it if I got the wire from the ebay seller? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new to this and I don't want to open up my headphones to mess it all up lol.


----------



## nullstring

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Fitz* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Doesn't even need to be that much, in some sizes I get about 2000' for what he charges for just 200'. It only really makes sense if you need just single 50' rolls of different sizes/colors, and not a foot more._

 

Where can you get such cable?


----------



## pyrokid

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *nullstring* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Where can you get such cable?_

 

I've been wondering this too, but didn't feel the need to necro. 
 I guess it's not as big a deal here as it is at other forums though.


----------



## FallenAngel

Ebay of course. I bought a 4000' spool for $100.

 1000' spools:
26 awg
26awg
22awg


----------



## nattonrice

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *FallenAngel* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I bought a 4000' spool_

 

O.o That's crazy! But very cool!


----------



## arteom

I got the teflon wire from navships to use as hookup wire, great stuff but not very flexible at all, don't see it being used as headphone cable for that reason. Fallenangel, how is the stuff you posted above as far as flexibility?


----------



## kshelton

Thread revival! So I was looking at navships stuff and it seems like a good price but sounds like it might be a little stiff? I am going to attempt my first re-cable and I am not sure where to get good cheap cable wire for it. If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be very helpful.


----------



## Chamakazi

Maybe try some canare starquad?


----------



## Netto12

This is from forever ago but is this the type of wire you mean?
http://cgi.ebay.com/25-feet-22-AWG-Silver-Teflon-Wire-Red-19-Strands-/380354075569?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588ede9bb1
  I'm trying to figure out how to recable my KSC-75's with a nicer stronger cord, and possibly help sound quality a bit.


----------



## FallenAngel

That's good wire.


----------



## zammykoo

Is it just me or does 22-24awg silver plated copper stranded wire get stiff after braiding? I haven't used it for headphone recable, but I think my LOD feels a bit stiff. Maybe I'm too used to the flexible stock cable on my cans.


----------



## nikongod

I also find it gets a little stiffer. I kind of like it - the cables pretty much stay in the shape you bend them into. Its very nice if you bend them in a specific way to avoid snagging.


----------



## bluemonkeyflyer

I've been searching and researching DIY cables for T50RP phones.  I've read that 4 wires Litz braided with a common ground is great because of canceling factor vs a terrible idea because of crosstalk problems.  Same for shielded vs non-shielded.   And so on.
   
  Is this an unsolvable conundrum or is there a scientific/common-sense approach?
   
  I plan to use 24 or 26 AWG kapton twisted pairs from navship (I just like the look) and twist two of these together with common ground to TRS sleeve and the others as R and L channels.  Either hard wire or use mini xlr's.  Another option if not too thick/stiff would be to Litz braid 4 runs of this twisted pair wire and double up the connections; may need 28 or 30 AWG, though.
   
  Any advice appreciated.


----------



## Hunny

Thread Revival:  I recently bought this  http://www.ebay.com/itm/120823767882?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_500wt_1413 and am wondering if its good enough to rewire my ah-d2000 with.  Thanks in advance.


----------



## liamstrain

I don't see why not... though the enamel insulation will be a pain to work with, and it might be a bit stiff (solid core) and you'll probably want to get some sort of individual insulation sleeving as well as sleeving for the whole shebang. But metal/material/awg wise - you should be fine.


----------



## HiGHFLYiN9

Quote: 





liamstrain said:


> I don't see why not... though the enamel insulation will be a pain to work with, and it might be a bit stiff (solid core) and you'll probably want to get some sort of individual insulation sleeving as well as sleeving for the whole shebang. But metal/material/awg wise - you should be fine.


 

 All good advise. I'd likely use some PTFE / Teflon tubing on each strand to ensure the enamel wouldn't ever scrape away and short during regular use, although it would be a bit of a pain to put the wire through the tubing if the cable is a long one.


----------



## Hunny

ay i was looking at insulation tubing and im failing at finding 24awg tubing.  I just ordered some navship's wire and uh hope it werks out better lol. thank thanks.


----------



## liamstrain

Navships sells good wire.


----------



## Hunny

ay thx for the helps. but as im sittin here i just realized i bought 80 feet of this stuff so i better put it to some use lol.  http://www.amazon.com/Zeus-Teflon-Regular-Tubing-Length/dp/B000FOV02S/ref=sr_1_12?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1323984161&sr=1-12  Is that stuff ok to cover the wire with? or is that what you guys meant? sorry for the noobness. thx.


----------



## liamstrain

Yes. That is fine to cover the wire with.


----------



## HiGHFLYiN9

The trick is to procure some PTFE / Teflon tubing that's at least a couple gauges thicker than the wire itsself, otherwise it will be a royal PITA to sleeve


----------



## Hunny

i got the exact same gauge.... royal pain indeed.... =(


----------



## Duran

Some of the best stuff I saw from navships was this: 20 feet 22 AWG Shielded Silver Kapton Teflon Wire 3 Twisted for $25.
   
  I could see this as good for point to point cabling, but for headphones it seems like it would be real stiff. Also, it doesn't seem like the best price.
   
  What I'm looking for is the real flexible and thin multi-strand stuff you find in most headphones (for example, one channel is composed of like 9 or 10 tiny, individually coated wires). But I don't know what it's called (if it even has a name). I tried searching on ebay for "headphone wire" and a few other terms, but the closest I got was headphone extensions and other short stuff with attached plugs.
   
   
   
  As for the 3.5mm plugs, how much of a difference is there between different qualities? Is it too negligible to matter, or will some cross-talk be apparent with cheap stuff like this: 3.5mm Male to male Stereo Jack Headphone Audio Lead Cable Wire 0.95M Black?


----------



## liamstrain

litz or magnet wire... very thin lacquer coated wires usually interwoven with cotton strand insulation and overwrapped. 
   
  Pain in the arse to work with if you don't have a solder pot.


----------



## Duran

Oh ok, litz wire, that's what I was talking about. Thanks.
   
  I just found some on ebay, but mostly as single runs of it, like this: 10-46 Litz Wire Loop Antenna Ham Crystal Radio 200 ft. (I don't want to say single "conductor", because it's already 10 conductors offered as one. but hopefully you know what I mean).

 I want to know if I can find multiple sets of it in one cable, like what is often found in a pair of headphones with two channels (or two channels plus a mic). So I'd like 3 to 5 sets in one cable. Perhaps with shielding.
   
  OR, I'd like to know a good way to combine several litz wires together as such myself (which might be considerably cheaper than ordering it together). This would mostly just be a question of how to get all that into a sheath roughly the same diameter as it. Maybe some kind of nylon weave? That's got low friction, so it would be good for pulling wire through it, plus the nylon could be a fairly larger diameter than the combined wires because it would shrink in diameter when pulled taut.
   
   
  I also just found this on allelectronics.com: 5-CONDUCTOR SHIELDED CABLE W/ DRAIN. But I'm pretty sure the stranded wire in that wouldn't behave the same as litz wire.


----------



## wj888

Anyone know how to go about recabling the Philips Uptown?
  It is permanently attached at one end to the phones and have flat cable.
   
  I'm thinking of taking out the defective volume control by snipping under it and soldering another cable at the loose ends.
  Is this workable? Alternatively, it could be like the short cable connector on the Superlux 668B.
   
  I dont think I have the expertise to dissassembled the phones and I think it's not engineered to be taken apart (even the earpads are glued to the phones).


----------

