# Beyerdynamic T1 cable connection mod



## majkel

The modification is easy, invisible and flawlessly reversible. The first step is to disconnect the cable shields inside of the jack plug. This way you decrease the capacitance between the hot wires and the ground. Another step is to separate galvanically one shield from another so that they don't create short circuit. This step is even more significant as you decrease capacitive crosstalk between channels. Instead of shorted screens you have just a minute capacitance remaining between them. So, when you cut or de-solder them off the jack plug, you have to isolate the rest of the copper with insulation tape so it doesn't short with any other pin and the screens don't short together. The white wires remain connected, of course. You have to be careful while distinguishing the copper strands of the shield from the white wire strands. The results are:
  - wider soundstage with great feeling of immersion in the music
  - I finally enjoy Barocco music like Branderburgian Concertos
  - I enjoy classical more
  - better microdetail retrieval, slight roundedness in the sounds that some people reported, disappeared
  - the Stax Demo CD sounded uncovincing before the mod, and it's one of the best real life illusion after the mod
  I made a circuit so that I could short the screens together back and then re-connect them to the ground pin of the jack plug. In such a quick comparison you realize that with the stock connection there is something wrong. Actually, I repeated this experiment because I had done it two years ago prior to making my first DIY re-cable of the Creative Aurvana Live! Then I checked all the combinations of connecting the screens - grounded, floating, shorted, and then knew which was sonically and electrically the best. Even when some handbooks say how to connect the screen, it concerns static signal measurements in general. Here we have music and we care more about transients than steady states, so noise cancellation is less important than undistorted transients and impulses.
  The mod is easily reversible by re-soldering the disconnected screen wires. When you like narrow and distant soundstage with small size imaging - don't do it. Otherwise, enjoy!  Give yourself at least an hour to discover the new sound after the mod. For me there is no coming back.
   
  Below are some instructions for those who don't know the Neutrik NP3X-B plug mechanics.
   
  1. Grab the metal jack enclosure tight and twist off the plastic cable shield. The metal enclosure will fall off towards the jack tip.
  2. Pull away the plastic shield towards the headphones.
  3. Remove the blue strain relief  by unbending it and pulling aside.
  4. Look at the soldering of the ground pin. There are two white wires and two shields connected. Un-split the shield wires and disconnect them (cut off, de-solder)
  5. Un-split and disconnect left cable screen from the right one.
  6. Bend both shielding wires backwards and wrap around with a tape. To make it easier, cut the outer sheath along the middle on a 1/4" distance.
  7. Place back the strain relief so that all three wings surround the cable and the bottom border fits the jack tip shaping.
  8. Pull back the plastic shield.
  9. Put the metal enclosure onto the jack, keep the plastic shield tight and twist on the metal enclosure until the whole thread is hidden. Done.


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## Zombie_X

So shich is the shield? The white wire, or the loose copper? Most likely the loose copper is the shield.


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## Zombie_X

OK the shield was the loose copper. I should have known that "hangs head in shame".....


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## majkel

You need to disconnect the bare copper surrounding the wire pairs.


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## Zombie_X

I did the mod and found the changes to not be so big, but everything you described happened. I think it's worth it.


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## daveDerek

majkel, could you possibly post step by step pictures to go with your instructions, as it'd be very helpful. thanks.
  
  Quote: 





majkel said:


> Below are some instructions for those who don't know the Neutrik NP3X-B plug mechanics.
> 
> 1. Grab the metal jack enclosure tight and twist off the plastic cable shield. The metal enclosure will fall off towards the jack tip.
> 2. Pull away the plastic shield towards the headphones.
> ...


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## majkel

Before I manage to take some pictures I'll try to clarify the cable construction.
Here is a single shielded cable with one pair of conductors. You have two such geometries in the T1's cable. 
  Stock connection is made that one wire from the pair is connected to left or right channel pin of the jack and the positive pin of the corresponding transducer. Another wire from the same pair is connected to the negative pin of the same transducer on one side and to the ground pin of the jack plug on another side. So, both "returning" wires meet at the same jack pin. Besides the return wires, there are both shields (the outer copper layer) connected to the ground pin of the jack. So this means they are shorted one to another. We don't want this so the only way to achieve the isolation between them is to disconnect them from the ground pin and one from another. How to accomplish this - I have posted above.
  The shields aren't connected anywhere at the transducer side which I verified with the multimeter.


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## Zombie_X

When you take apart the plug you will see a Red, Green, and copper wire (ground). Snip all the wires off the connector and strip the black rubber jacket back about 1/4". each channel has the mash copper shield, hot wire (Green or Red) and the cold wire (looked like copper covered in clear PE). Just separate the copper mesh from the PE wire and tape the mesh down. You will then solder the wire back to the correct pads and re-assemble the jack.
   
  I will take a picture for you guys in a bit.
   
  EDIT: Here's pictures of the T1 wires, you can see I have the shield wire taped down.
   

   

   
  Quote: 





davederek said:


> majkel, could you possibly post step by step pictures to go with your instructions, as it'd be very helpful. thanks.


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## majkel

@Zombie_X, I'll appreciate your effort as I'm off the bench for a couple of days now.


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## Zombie_X

No problem man, and the pictures are up.
  So guy's here's the color coding of the wires. Each of the two cables will have three wires.
   
*LEFT:*
Green Wire - Positive Polarity (+)
Copper Mesh - Shield (Neutral)
 Clear Wire - Negative Polarity (-)
*RIGHT:*
 Red Wire - Positive Polarity (+)
 Copper Mesh - Shield (Neutral)
 Clear Wire - Negative Polarity (-)
  
 _________________________________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________________________
  
  
 For 4-Pin balanced termination you'll need to follow the following wire layout. A 4-Pin XLR will have pins numbered from 1-4. Makes sure you have the on the right solder terminals otherwise it won't work.
  
 Pin 1 - Left Positive Polarity (Green Wire)
 Pin 2 - Left Negative Polarity (Clear Wire)
 Pin 3 - Right Positive Polarity (Red Wire)
 Pin 4 - Right Negative Polarity (Clear Wire)
  
 _________________________________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________________________
  
  
 For 3-Pin balanced termination you will need two 3-pin xlr's. The wiring will be as follows.
  
 LEFT:
 Pin 1 - Copper Mesh (Shield)
 Pin 2 - Left Positive Polarity (Green Wire)
 Pin 3 - Left Negative Polarity (Clear Wire)
  
  
 RIGHT:
 Pin 1 - Copper Mesh (Shield)
 Pin 2 - Right Positive Polarity (Red Wire)
 Pin 3 - Right Negative Polarity (Clear Wire)


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## noris83

Does anyone have pictures of this mod on the standard 1/4 plug? I'm not sure I follow the order on how to reconnect each wire


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## GreatDane

I decided to do this simple mod so here are my pics:
   
  Before any change:
   



   



   
   
  De-soldering the shield wires:
   



   



   



   
  Taped off
   



   
   
  So far I've listened to several reference tracks. My T1 has approx. 400 hours and my amp is a Woo Audio 3. I wish I had time to set up a test circuit as majkel did to clearly hear the differences...but, I believe I'm hearing an improved soundstage and overall less congested sound. I think it is an improvement however small. This mod takes 10 minutes and is reversible but I have no plans to do that.


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## noris83

Thanks for taking the time to put up pics with the 1/4 inch plug. This mod is even easier than I thought.


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## majkel

Thank you, Great Dane for your efforts! Now the thread is complete.


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## GreatDane

Quote: 





majkel said:


> Thank you, Great Dane for your efforts! Now the thread is complete.


 


  Thank _you _for the insight to begin with. I'm not much of a DIY'er but this was too easy not to try...and well worth it.
   
  I hope other T1 owners try it. I'd like to see more impressions.


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## rasmushorn

How would this mod have effect on the sound if it is used with a Meier Concerto with active balanced ground?


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## noris83

I think the only way to know how the mod sounds with the Concerto is to try it. I suspect you will hear a difference since you are only removing the shield from the 6.5mm plug. The ground and all other wires remain in place.
   
  Not much of an engineer so I really can't explain why or how this mod works. I can only say that it was easy to complete and the difference is noticeable.


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## Tyson

I just tried this mod and it worked brilliantly.  Before the mod, the T1's had a bit of grittiness to the mids and highs, and it smoothed out quite a bit after the mod.  Thanks!!


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## notengewirr

Hi,
   
  i would disconnect the shield only at the driver, not at the jack !
  So the cable is fully shielded.
  Loosing the shield only on the end side, not  at the source-side  !
  Pseudo symmetrical cables are made so.That's the better way


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## 2dyclectic

Is T1 original cable  good enough?
  I have some supra loudspeakercable i don't use. 2 pair 3meter.
  Is this project of any use?
  Do i need the black driver shield to ground?


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## rasmushorn

Quote: 





2dyclectic said:


> Is T1 original cable  good enough?
> I have some supra loudspeakercable i don't use. 2 pair 3meter.
> Is this project of any use?


 

 Do not expect any improvement by changing the T1 stock-cable. It is one of the best cables on headphones you can get IMHO.


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## Phos

Quote: 





notengewirr said:


> Hi,
> 
> i would disconnect the shield only at the driver, not at the jack !
> So the cable is fully shielded.
> ...


 


  Is is even connected at the driver?  If it's configured as an extra ground on the plug side I kinda doubt it.  This just seems to me to be one of those times where you aren't really doing anything.  I mean, this capacitance wouldn't even be in series with what's going on.  
   
  BTW, in case you hadn't figured it out by now I'm a cable curmudgeon, I don't buy into simple conductors having any effect.


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## kolhoz

Imho, disconnecting shields from the source plug is a mistake in terms of shield function...disconnecting from the speaker and leaving connection at the source would effectively create a "drain".


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## mbllbm

does anyone have a schematic exchange plug in T1 4pin XLR?


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## wisemanja

There is no industry standard for the use of 4 pin XLR connectors for headphone use. For example, one use is for powered microphones where two lines are the signal and the other 2 lines are the power. How you hook them up for headphone use would be completely dependent on the amp output that you were using. For reference, I am attaching the XLR-4 output jack pinouts for Sennheiser's HDVD800 headphone DAC/amp. I have no knowledge of why they did it that way. In some multi channel circuits, I've seen the second circuit with R+ on 4 and R- on 3 so go figure.
   
  In any event, to include the modification that was mentioned by the OP on this thread, you just don't connect the shields (screens) to the ground tab on the XLR connector. This is what I'm using on my T1s right now and I've created a XLR-4 to stereo phone plug adapter for other applications.
   
  So the HDVD800 headphone outputs look like:


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## groovyd

phos said:


> Is is even connected at the driver?  If it's configured as an extra ground on the plug side I kinda doubt it.  This just seems to me to be one of those times where you aren't really doing anything.  I mean, this capacitance wouldn't even be in series with what's going on.
> 
> BTW, in case you hadn't figured it out by now I'm a cable curmudgeon, I don't buy into simple conductors having any effect.


 
 actually seems that it is in parallel with the circuit, not series.  capacitors in parallel are additive. Cp = C1 + C2 where C1 is the capacitance between the driver (+) wire and the (-) wire while C2 is the capacitance between the (+) wire and the shield assuming the shield and the (-) are connected at the plug.
  
 http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/capacitors-parallel-series-d_1388.html
  
 Still nervous about taking apart my expensive headphones jack to try this but in theory it seems legit.  Anyone else try this?  Looking for a consensus before doing it myself.


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## SONYES

HI
 IT RELY WORK ON MY T1 MORE AIR TO THE MIDS  HIGH  AND LOW BASS WENDERFULL SOUNDSTEG
  
 THANK YOU


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## pdrm360

Why only Beyer T1?  What about other headphones?
  
 The shield is connected to L- and R- in all single ended terminations, and this is a standard for all SE terminations with shielded cable.


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## pdrm360

I didn't hear any difference after this mod, so I've changed it back to original.


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## sahmen

...


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## sahmen

sonyes said:


> HI
> IT RELY WORK ON MY T1 MORE AIR TO THE MIDS  HIGH  AND LOW BASS WENDERFULL SOUNDSTEG
> 
> THANK YOU


 
 So what does all this mean? Are the shields also connected at the drivers end or not, and must they be removed from there too for this mod?  I am sorry if I cannot deduce the answer from the pictures, since my expertise and knowledge in such DIY projects is next to zero.
  
 In spite of my non-expertise, I need to reterminate my T1 cable for use with a couple of HP amps that require the 4-pin termination for a balanced connection, which is why I am glad I found this thread, and why I am asking.  Thanks for any helpful input.


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## Judgment

What sonic difference would it make to use 2x 3pin XLR instead of 4pin? Does the cable shielding "function" properly without being terminated on both ends?


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## Allanmarcus

judgment said:


> What sonic difference would it make to use 2x 3pin XLR instead of 4pin? Does the cable shielding "function" properly without being terminated on both ends?




None


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## Luke Aquilina

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread! I really appreciate the documentation on re-terminating the T1 in balanced mode!


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## lucianpescaru

Did the 4 pin XLR mod. The wire colors can be different. Mine are:
*
LEFT:*
White Wire - Positive Polarity (+)
Copper Mesh - Shield (Neutral)
Brown Wire - Negative Polarity (-)
*RIGHT:*
Red Wire - Positive Polarity (+)
Copper Mesh - Shield (Neutral)
Blue Wire - Negative Polarity (-)


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