# Fixing DT770 and DIY cable questions



## CloudColor

I recently broke the jack to my DT770's, clean thru the 1/4 adapter into my 3.5mm. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 This has thrown me into DIY audio projects, which isn't bad because i wanted to anyway and now i'm EXTREMEMLY motivated to fix my lovelies.

 My goal is to make a few cables and then attempt to reterminate my 770.
 It seems like for cables i can either make my interconnect myself (which sounds a bit more then i want to get into currently).....or buy the cables preassembled. 
_I'm simply overwhelmed by the selection of DIY products and wanted some insight_


 1. Recommended pre assembled interconnects. There are just too many options and i don't want to buy something blatently wrong. Quality isn't too big an issue as these are my test runs, as long as they are better then radioshack
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



*mini - mini interconnect
 1/4 - 1/4 interconnect
 mini male - mini female interconnect*
Need Cookies Enabled One of the few i've found, not sure if its under/overkill and if it will fit the neutriks?
 Could i just use this one cable for my 3 projects?
 2. I want to use *neutrik plugs* (i think) and i don't want to accidentally get cable that won't fit. 
 3. A *recommended plug* for my 770's, was thinking of sticking to neutrik
Need Cookies Enabled
 4. If possible i'd like to place only one online order, from somewhere like markertek
 5. shopping list: 3 cables, 7 plugs, some heatshrink, maybe some tech flex for fun. did i miss anything?

 Sorry for all the questions mixed in there I'm sure i'll have many more, and thanks for you help!
 I will post pics when all is finished!


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## scootermafia

It's pretty easy to totally recable your DT770s. Just pull off the earmuff pads, then use a small screwdriver or spudger to pry up the retaining plastic ring. You'll then see the driver in all of its glory, and it's not held in place by any glue, if you invert the headphone they'll just fall out so be careful. Just desolder the old wires, but take a pic first of how everything looks on each side. Once the cable's out, check the continuity with a multimeter and then you'll know for sure which contact is which on the DT770s, they're very easy to solder, big metal pads separate from the voice coil wires. It was my first recable and was not hard. The key is to recable with a fairly light wire that you can work around a bit inside the earcup, anchoring it in a few places so that there is strain relief and nothing is pulling on the solder joints - use hot glue. You want to remove the wire that's going through the headband - I don't like single entry cables because there is a different length of wire for each side. Just drill a small hole in a similar location on the right earcup as on the left, and run the 2 wires to the driver that way. If you want to do it for cheap, try 24ga teflon stranded silver plated copper from ebay. If you want to go big, maybe 24ga ALO SXC wire from ALO. Pretty much any recable is going to make DT770s sound way better too.

 Edit - Neutrik plugs are fine, but I think the Furutech 1/4" plug is much easier to work with - so easy to solder. Definitely get some 1/4 and 1/8" black techflex or 1/4" nylon multifilament from wirecare.com, they sell the whole techflex catalog in any length pretty much. I suggest quad braiding the wire up to where you want it to split to the 2 earcups. If you want to use a single entry still, braid 3 wires. 

 I remember how the LEFT earcup looks like inside:

 [] [] []

 3 contacts, like this.

 The middle one is just an anchor point for the right signal wire. It just is soldered onto this point as the right wire comes out of the cable into the earcup and sticks on here, then another wire is soldered here which goes through the headband to the right driver. That's why you see 2 wires here.
 The left contact is the ground contact. It has 2 wires attached to it also. There's only one ground wire inside the DT770 stock cable, and it goes to this contact. A 2nd wire then attaches here and goes through the headband to ground (negative/return wire) the right driver. 
 The right contact only has one wire on it - this is the left signal wire. 

 So, on the RIGHT earcup:

 [] empty []

 The left contact is for the ground wire, and the right contact is for the signal wire, just like on the left earcup.

 PM me if you get stuck. And remember, hot glue is your friend.


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## CloudColor

I had seen some pics of a recable done to the 880's and it looked a little daunting. but after reading your simple description i may attempt it. 
 I think it would be amazing to do, I"m just worried about my babies!

 The main thing that scares me is i feel when i reassemble it, it won't be as 'solid'. Especially when i have to pry pieces off 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ....... it seems with anything you take apart it never seems to fit perfectly back together....how did yours feel?

 Didn't quite get your description of the middle contact on your edit?
 or will this all make sense when i crack them open?

 how about i just braid 4 cables in there and have 2 ground wires, but single entry?

 last question, you say pull off the earpads...... i just pull em off????? how do they go back on?


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## scootermafia

There's no prying, luckily. K701s are way worse to try to take apart.
 The earcup pads come right off, just grab and pull. The little plastic ring pops off underneath like a bottle cap, like it's super easy...just put a small screwdriver into the visible crack...i'll take pix in a while to help the Beyer recabling first-timers. it's just a plastic donut that is holding the foam in place that covers the driver.

 Then, the driver's right there, and it literally falls out. from there just desolder the wires and put on the new ones. They make it so easy, you can't cook the drivers, the solder pads are like these metal tabs hanging off. Could not get easier.

 They go on really easily, they just have this vinyl sewn on ring that engages the earcup...you just sorta stretch em back on. Pix incoming.






























 As you can see, I'm so skilled with a pen tablet that I am practically advertising my services as a graphic artist.


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## CloudColor

I actually thought about asking for a paint drawing! but thought it'd be a bit much to ask for lol

 so i see that the right channel solders into the left middle pad. That seems odd but i guess i'll go with what works
 I also see that the ground is split up, that makes it easier.
 I ALSO SEE that those solder pads are huge! great illustration!

 I'm definitely inspired to take on this project now

 That ALO cable looks badass, I'll probly get it, even with the 10$ shipping.
 that Fururtech is a real beaut as well.
 I need to decide on a 1/4 or 3.5 end plug tho. I use 1/4 at home but could see an adapter geting in the way if i ever get another mp3 player
 How much harder is it to solder a 3.5mm jack? I'm thinking of cutting open my old one when i get home to check it out.....
 ( I haven't done any soldering since i was a kid, I made a phone with my grandpa 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)


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## scootermafia

I'm about to post up a thread with the viablue 3.5mm plug. It's gorgeous as hell and cryoparts and av-outlet.com both sell it.

 3.5mm jacks are easy to solder. Some are just crueler than others in design.

 With ones where they put the right solder spot on the little middle pin pole behind the left solder spot, they say it's good to turn the wire at right angles, that way one is not going over the other. If you look at pix of plugs like the Pailiccs or the Viablue that i'm about to post, you'll see it.


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## CloudColor

Well i opened them up after work and found that mine look much harder then yours........

 Lets see if these pics from my dropbox work








 (they work for me, let me know if you can't see them)

 As you can see there is a large immovable piece of plastic in my way D:
 There are a few centimeters above the plates and a bit more to the driver casing.

 It sill looks possible, for an experienced person. So i'm going to have to decide if i'd like to attempt. Because now i'm all pumped up for it


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## scootermafia

It's tricky, but you have to sort of solder right up against the plastic. Doesn't matter if you melt the **** out of the plastic, it's worthless anyway. You could probably use your solder tip to cut a section of plastic out, unless i'm missing something major, it's been a long day of LOD making. Now desolder that nasty stock cable.

 Edit: yeah, some metal cutters (Mr. Nippy) could chomp through those two segments of plastic holding in place that segment that crosses over the solder terminals. If Beyer answered to a God other than Cthulhu, they would have made those terminals accessible.


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## CloudColor

oh, so do your innards look like that as well? maybe i freaked out a bit early

 Good idea on melting the plastic but i'd want a second opinion before i possibly destroy some kind of structural integrity

 I wouldn't mind melting it a little bit tho 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ...alright F it, i'm gonna do it
 first i need to make some cables tho.

 You've got a PM


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## HiFi1972

I'm about to do my DT 770s too. I thought it was a bit hillarious when I opened up the drivers, that I found the stock cable wires to be bare and thought "woah, I'm surprised these guys haven't bumped into each other to cause a phase cancellation!"

 I put them back together carefully (had opened them up to study the connections and do continuity tests with my DMM) and now the R side is dead, LOL, crappy stock cables!


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## scootermafia

Damn, how'd the right wire come undone like that...although i've heard nightmare stories about the K1000's voice coil wires which are not tough at all, just look at them and they're dead (rather, mod them and die).

 The DT770 is a great first recable, very solder friendly and hard to screw up. If you follow my crappy picture you can't go wrong. The only people that go wrong are those that try to recable with no multimeter lolololol


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## CloudColor

Well unless putting some food coloring on the wires protects them, they are always bare




 these are mine....doesn't really make sense


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## Fitz

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *scootermafia* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The DT770 is a great first recable, very solder friendly and hard to screw up. If you follow my crappy picture you can't go wrong. The only people that go wrong are those that try to recable with no multimeter lolololol_

 

Yeah... except for the small detail that a little too much heat can cause those solder tabs to separate from the plastic housing on Beyer drivers. I've had to repair a set of Beyers for a friend for that specific reason... plastic softened while he was soldering and the tab came off, ripping the voice coil lead loose. In rarer cases I've seen the voice coil lead just fall out of the lower solder joint on its own while soldering the wire to the top one, similar to what can happen on most AKG drivers.



  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *CloudColor* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Well unless putting some food coloring on the wires protects them, they are always bare_

 

It's not just coloring, those wires are enamel coated like magnet wire, so they're not really bare in the electrical sense.


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## CloudColor

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Fitz* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It's not just coloring, those wires are enamel coated like magnet wire, so they're not really bare in the electrical sense._

 

I see, i could have sworn it was food coloring 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





 Thanks for the tip about the solder tabs seperating. I have a 15w / 30w iron, so what i will probably do is heat it to 30w and then switch it to 15w before i solder to get right in between


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## CloudColor

AH! i just remembered my idea before i fell asleep last night.

 I dislike having a giant plug when i adapt 1/4" to 3.5mm, it feels like there is more leverage to rip stuff apart. Therefore i was thinking i could create an interconnect that is a female 1/4" -- mini. It will be about a foot long and could double as a 1 ft extension cord : D

 I probably won't do this right away as i just put in all my orders. unless i can find one on dalepro to avoid shipping costs. 

 I found these put i can't really tell what they are. they just look like cylinders to me, and i need solder points. 
Neutrik NYS238 1/4" Stereo Dual Female Adaptor: NEUT-NYS238 Dale Pro Audio
Switchcraft 131 1/4" 3-Conductor TRS Female Cable Connector: SWIT-131 Dale Pro Audio ( i think this one works??)
 technically it should be good enough quality to match my 770 recable, but not too big an issue as i'll only need this at work or if i ever can afford a decent mp3 player. ( where the audio source is blah)

 Anybody done this before?


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## ShinyFalcon

I'm thinking something like this would work for a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter. I wanted to make an adapter like this when I actually own a dedicated desktop amp, but I don't have one at the moment.


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## HiFi1972

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *CloudColor* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Therefore i was thinking i could create an interconnect that is a female 1/4" -- mini. It will be about a foot long and could double as a 1 ft extension cord : D_

 

I use all of my headphones with pro audio equipment, so all my connectors are 1/4". I got a female 1/4" to mini adapter with my HD650s and was thinking about building a couple in case I need to use my DT 770s with anything that's 3.5mm.

 I just can't believe they used enamel-coated wire for the stock cable, that provides only a thin amount of insulation; I checked my right driver last night and sure enough, one of the cables had become frayed and was touching another terminal!


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## CloudColor

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ShinyFalcon* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm thinking something like this would work for a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter. I wanted to make an adapter like this when I actually own a dedicated desktop amp, but I don't have one at the moment._

 

That looks right except i need it to be 1/4" female jack (that unscrews into solder points for my interconnect to mini male.) 


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *HiFi1972* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_was thinking about building a couple in case I need to use my DT 770s with anything that's 3.5mm._

 

Yeah i decided on an 1/4 for my home use. But i use mine alot at work with HP integrated sound. 
 I could use a 1/4 - mini adapter and the a mini-mini cable but that just seems like i'm adding uneccesary parts....


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## CloudColor

When doing a four strand braid with two ground wires i've heard you should leave 1 side of the ground floating. Which side would this be on? The headphone or the plug?
 What if its a simple interconnect like mini-mini?


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## suhaybh

Sorry for resurrecting the thread. I have 250 ohm Consumer DT770 that are in need of recabling so I have decided that I will go full out and do some heavy modding to these headphones. Apparently the 250 ohm drivers are the worst of the three ohm impedance so I am thinking of replacing the drivers to maybe grado drivers or 600 ohm DT770 drivers. Has anyone done something like this before? I have found guides online for modding the Pro series DT770 but not the consumer editions. Thanks in advance.


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## PurpleAngel

Is Dynamat Extreme still the preferred material for noise damping, or is there something better?


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