# Sennheiser HD280 Pro jack mod



## tsdorsey (Jul 28, 2020)

I found the threads on here about the HD280 "blue tak" mod helpful in taking apart my set to add a jack so I thought I reciprocate and post a thread showing how I added a jack to replace the built-in cord.

Update: Executor32 found a really nice headphone jack on Amazon, I've quoted his post here so you can all see it sooner.


Executor32 said:


> ...I did find this Philmore panel-mount jack that I ended up using.


 
  I have had my 280's for a few weeks now and love 'em. They block out lots of noise and don't hurt they way the RS 120's did (because the don't sit ON my ears). However I didn't like the coiled cord that came with them. My full intention is to use the RS 120 guts to make the 280's wireless but that will be for another time. In the mean time I wanted to remove the coiled cord and make it possible to use any cord. I've seen mods where all but a few inches of the cord are removed and a male jack is added. This means you can use whatever extension cord you have but they are removable. I didn't like this because it's not very clean and because of my final goal of making them wireless. So without further ado here are the pic's of my conversion.

  1. There are lots of thread about how to take these apart so I'll skip that step. Here is the left shell with the cover in place. This is the part that we'll need to modify.




  2. The panel removed.




  3. This is the jack we'll be transplanting into the headphones. It's a radio shack part, nothing special. After opening the set I discovered that it's almost like this was intended. With only a little plastic removal I was able to get a perfect fit. I only thought to take pictures after I made the cuts so I have no before pictures. The bit I removed looked just like the U shaped part you see here.




  4. A test fit. This is too good to be true.




  5. Here is another shot from the top of the test fit.




  6. There is a little bit of plastic that needs to be removed from the underside of the cover as well but it's easy to do. I recommend scoring it with an x-acto knife and then using a pliers to break it off. It makes a very clean cut that way.




  7. I used the x-acto knife to crosshatch the jack so the epoxy would have more to grab onto. Here you can see the epoxy.




  8. All back together. You'd never know that it wasn't stock.




  Thanks for reading. Hope I've inspired you to do your own mod.
  -Trevor


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## csteimnetz1

Great job! Your mod has a very clean look and has peaked my interest in maybe doing a similar mod to my HD280 Pro's. I don't have any issues with the attached coiled cable but I really like the idea of having both a detachable cable (for storage) and that it can be replaced. Although I am even more interested in the wireless mod that you mentioned. Will you be posting that here also because I would definitely be interested in seeing the results.


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## tsdorsey

Thanks. I will post the wireless conversion if/when I do it.
   
  While just transplanting the RS120 guts would work, It's not my first choice. For one thing, the circuit boards are bigger than they need to be.
   
  My ultimate headset would have the following features (in order of how important they are to me)...

 Passive noise reduction (like the HD280's)
 Wireless audio to them at a range of about 100m line of site
 Physical jack which bypasses the wireless stuff and connects to the speakers directly giving you full fidelity audio if needed
 Wireless stereo mic's back to the base station (perhaps not as long a range)
 Bluetooth headset pairing ability which could be active while transmitting and receiving from the base station
 Active noise reduction via side facing mic's
 Conversation mode. Use the noise reduction mic's to feed the outside environment into the headset so you don't have to take them off to have a quick word with someone
   
  I've been looking at Rohm FM transmitter IC's and they might be small enough that I could put them in the headset for mic transmission back to the base station. A simple FM receiver could be used to get audio to the headset. A bluetooth headset could be added to the mix (perhaps with only one of the microphones feeding into it).
   
  We'll see, it's a complicated circuit to design and it has crazy space requirements (super small) and has to be run on battery power to boot.


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## wileEcoyote

I have a quick question.  Does this mod only work for one ear?  I only see the two wires for the right headphone.


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## tsdorsey

It works for both ears. I just took the picture before soldering the right side wires on. The jack goes on the left side and the right side wires go up and over the headband.


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## totalnoob43

Could you tell me where I can get a similar female jack like the one you used? Thanks


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## Lateness

Quote: 





totalnoob43 said:


> Could you tell me where I can get a similar female jack like the one you used? Thanks


 
  I'm not the OP but you can find those on mouser.


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## Nicadraus

I might do this mod as well on my HD-280. Thanks for the instructional pics.


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## jgc731

sorry noob here, but i am trying to do the same mod and i got a similar jack from radio shack and looking the images and i am wondering where do the other 2 wires (black and blue) get soldered to?
  
 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26526416/2014-03-12_090639.png


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## gyro55

What kind of epoxy did you use for that?


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## Michael P

Hi all , have had a pair of HD 600's for about a year - love the SQ, but not the leakage of outside noise into the music
 So I thought I would try to up the performance of the HD280's
 Bought a pair for $ AUS 135 ( better than the $400 I paid for a pair of HD 280's , 10 years ago !)
 Decided to go all out and perform a double jack replacement to allow the use of Mundorf Silver/Gold 0.5mm hookup wire,
 between 3.5mm jack and Driver
 Luckily , the Right cup has the same inner moulding as the Left, to hold the jack in place with Epoxy glue
 Filed the required hole by wrapping some Wet and Dry sandpaper around  the shaft of a appropiately sized drill bit,
 and used the left cup and hinge cover to check my progress
 Instead of Blutack , I  copied another posters use of alternatives ( to make removal easier , if I didn't like the result)
 Ended up using Scotchguard 3M heavy duty exterior mounting tape ( Grey tape, Red plastic backing, super sticky)
 Cable is Audience Cu in cotton sleeving with Neutrik 3.5mm plugs
 The HD280's are hooked up  to my Samsung S4 into a Herus DAC , powered by a 5V ,1A lipstick battery
 The Herus and battery are permanently attached to a spare S4 case, so when I want to listen, just pop the cover off the S4, snap it into the case and plug in the cable and phones
 Have managed to up the SQ of the 280's - they now sound more dynamic with better instrument separation - also , unexpectedly, have gained a noticeable increase in perceived volume - using Neutron - have gone from 73 to 60 for same slam
 Planning to visit a locol store soon , to compare the 280's to M50x ( love the look of the Blue and Tan version)


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## blessedangel

That is bloody brilliant!!!!


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## Michael P

Thank you


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## Jurassic Park

Hoping to do this mod soon. Thanks for the idea.


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## tsdorsey

Thanks for the encouragement. Here are some rather late responses.
  
@totalnoob43 I bought that one from Radio Shack. 
  
@jgc731 There are two wires coming from the left speaker and two from the right that come over the headband. Both pairs have a ground wire (usually a bit larger and bare copper). They both go to the same terminal on the jack. Looking at my picture I think I have those two wires backwards. Do a Google search for "tip ring sleeve headphones". The tip is the left audio, the ring is the right audio, and the sleeve is the common ground.
  
@gyro55 I just use any old 5 minute epoxy.


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## tubey1

tsdorsey said:


> Thanks for the encouragement. Here are some rather late responses.
> 
> @totalnoob43 I bought that one from Radio Shack.
> 
> ...


 
 Thanks for your posts. I'm about to try this mod.
  
 On step 7, which wire is positive and which is negative? Is red positive?


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## tsdorsey

@tubey1 The red is the positive for one side and green is the positive for the other side. I don't remember which is which. The gold/uncolored wire in each pair of wires should be tied together and attached to the "sleeve" contact on the jack. That's the one that sticks out the side in my case. In the picture for step 7. I have the wires backwards. I corrected this before putting the headphones back together.


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## tsdorsey

For anyone interested, this mod has held up really well. Love that I can pack them into a laptop bag or backpack without the worry of a cable being broken off.


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## toxicrocker

tsdorsey said:


> @tubey1 The red is the positive for one side and green is the positive for the other side. I don't remember which is which. The gold/uncolored wire in each pair of wires should be tied together and attached to the "sleeve" contact on the jack. That's the one that sticks out the side in my case. In the picture for step 7. I have the wires backwards. I corrected this before putting the headphones back together.



Hello! First of all, love your mod! I just did the double jack mod myself (with sloppier results - it's my first) and am having a beast of a time getting the sound right.
Right now, I've got both drivers wired up the same way to the TRS jacks (one on each side) - tip and sleeve only. I'm getting good sound when I run a single TRS cable from one ear to my iPhone, but good sound from only one ear when I run two TRS cables into a splitter. I got a 2 x TS to TRS interconnect, but that gives me NO sound.

I've tried:


running the drivers to the tips and rings only (same results)
re-tinning the wires and re-soldering all connections
different TRS cables to make sure one hadn't gone bad
using a splitter
using a TS x 2 to TRS interconnect (no sound at all)
I hate to be such a noob, ergh! Double ergh because I've got no brains when it comes to math/spatial relations, so this stuff is superextra tough on me. But, despite that, it's addictively fun and I'm mad for it.

Thanks!


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## Mad Max (Apr 25, 2018)

Your splitter seems to be the cause, otherwise, you would have problems getting sound in the other tests that you performed.  I recommend building yourself a cable, or buy a Brainwavz HM5 headphone cable. For the Brainwavz cable, make sure that your 3.5mm sockets are wired tip and sleeve only.


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## toxicrocker

I had the 3.5mms wired to tip and sleeve only. The cable I tried after the splitter was a TS - TS --- TRS. No sound at *all.* 
Now I'm having issues with the drivers, too, ugh. I had forgotten how they were supposed to sit in the back of the cup. I put them in correctly and did the blu-tak mod and am now getting very low-volume sound. SMH.


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## Mad Max

Make sure that the post that each driver sits on isn't too far into the driver, or it will interfere with the driver diaphragm.


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## toxicrocker

Mad Max said:


> Make sure that the post that each driver sits on isn't too far into the driver, or it will interfere with the driver diaphragm.



Indeed, I have noticed that. Touchy little things, they are. I kept putting them in on the post, rather than seating them in the little snap-slide in bit on the other half of the cup. Only problem is, when I did that - combined with the blu-tak - the life is sucked out of 'em.


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## Mad Max

Test the drivers on their own, with the headphone not assembled.  Still get low volume when you hold them up to your ears very close?  Then you may have damaged them.  If they work fine, then remove the blu-tak and see if the headphone can work normally.


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## tsdorsey (Apr 25, 2018)

toxicrocker said:


> Hello! First of all, love your mod! I just did the double jack mod myself... ...I've got both drivers wired up the same way to the TRS jacks (one on each side)...



First, thank you for the interest and kind words.

Second, you said you did a "double" jack mod? You put a TRS jack in each side of the headphones? So a total of 2 jacks?

This is not what I did. A single TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) connection supports two audio channels. I only put a single jack in my headset. Here is a digram for a TRS plug https://robrobinette.com/images/Audio/TRS_Pinout.jpg

I see that michael-p did a double jack mod but that will be two TS jacks. Each side only caries the audio for that side (sleeve and signal) and will have to be merged into a TRS plug at some point to plug into a phone or computer.


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## toxicrocker

Mad Max said:


> Test the drivers on their own, with the headphone not assembled.  Still get low volume when you hold them up to your ears very close?  Then you may have damaged them.  If they work fine, then remove the blu-tak and see if the headphone can work normally.



Well... they worked well if seated properly on the post and NOT inside the other part of the earcup. However, when removing one of the drivers, I severed one of the two hair-like wires there on the side. So, RIP, driver. Phooey.

Any suggestions for a replacement?


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## toxicrocker

tsdorsey said:


> First, thank you for the interest and kind words.
> 
> Second, you said you did a "double" jack mod? You put a TRS jack in each side of the headphones? So a total of 2 jacks?
> 
> ...



I know - I wanted to go with the double jack and just used the two TRSs. I didnt know enough to get the TS jacks. Perhaps next time, after I get a little better at this...


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## Mad Max

toxicrocker said:


> Well... they worked well if seated properly on the post and NOT inside the other part of the earcup. However, when removing one of the drivers, I severed one of the two hair-like wires there on the side. So, RIP, driver. Phooey.
> 
> Any suggestions for a replacement?


Order replacements from Sennheiser, or score a busted or used HD280.


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## toxicrocker

Mad Max said:


> Order replacements from Sennheiser, or score a busted or used HD280.



Aha! Victory is mine, thanks to my spouse. She's got the same headphones (though hers have an elaborate cage over the drivers to keep dopes like me from getting at them), so I swapped out the drivers half of the cups and one of the back plates, wired the thing up, and... sounds brilliant!! Definitely got me out of my fail-funk. Now I've got to make detachable cable for 'em; am using some garbage from Monster I had lying around at the moment. It has a little *rhinestone* on the in-line remote; eep.


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## Mad Max

Wow, that's mean.


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## toxicrocker

Mad Max said:


> Wow, that's mean.



LOL! Dont get me wrong, I love a good rhinestone, just not on this headphone cable.


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## tsdorsey

toxicrocker said:


> I wanted to go with the double jack and just used the two TRSs


Oh, in that case just jump the ring and sleeve connections. Technically not needed, you can just use the tip and sleeve


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## Executor32 (Aug 3, 2019)

I created an account just to thank you for this thread, and to give you and future readers a heads-up about a jack even more ideally suited for this mod.

So, early last week while I was mowing the lawn, I got the idea to see if modding a headphone jack into my HD-280s was a possibility; I'd forgotten to charge my Bluetooth earbuds, forcing me to use my HD-280s if I wanted music while I was mowing, and the cable kept getting caught on the mower handle and pulling itself out of my phone. After I got done, I did some googling and stumbled across this thread. When I looked on Amazon to see if I could find the jack you used, I didn't have any luck, but I did find this Philmore panel-mount jack that I ended up using.

The body of the jack is cylindrical and 5/16" in diameter, so it fits perfectly in the hole for the original cable and doesn't require removing any plastic. It also has a nut on it that's just thin enough that it can be wedged securely between the outer cable hole and the bit that normally holds that rubber block at the end of the cable. Then, all you have to do is insert the rest of the jack and tighten it, solder your wires, and reassemble. No muss, no fuss, and no need to glue/epoxy anything, though you do still need to remove the circuit board. Here's how it looks on my HD-280s; I think that plastic flange around the outside of the jack makes it look even more like it came stock like that.

Now I just need to get a good Bluetooth adapter (I've got my eye on the FiiO BTR1K), a male-to-male adapter and a right-angle adapter—unless there's such a thing as a male-to-male right-angle adapter, which I can't find for the life of me—and I'll be all set to mow the lawn without any cables getting in my way.

If you're wondering why I didn't put the ear cushions back on before taking the photo, they were the original cushions that came with my cans when I got them ten years ago, and despite being as gentle as I could they pretty much disintegrated when I pulled them off.

Also, I don't know if you ran into this during your mod, but when I soldered the wires so the copper ones were both on the neutral terminal and the red ones were on their corresponding live terminals, one of the drivers was out of phase so I had to re-solder one set of wires so the red was connected to neutral and the copper was connected to live. Makes no sense whatsoever given the wiring layout of the original cable and circuit board, but at least everything sounds right.


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## Knee Deep In Epoxy

tsdorsey said:


> I found the threads on here about the HD280 "blue tak" mod helpful in taking apart my set to add a jack so I thought I reciprocate and post a thread showing how I added a jack to replace the built-in cord.
> 
> Update: Executor32 found a really nice headphone jack on Amazon, I've quoted his post here so you can all see it sooner.
> 
> ...





tsdorsey said:


> I found the threads on here about the HD280 "blue tak" mod helpful in taking apart my set to add a jack so I thought I reciprocate and post a thread showing how I added a jack to replace the built-in cord.
> 
> Update: Executor32 found a really nice headphone jack on Amazon, I've quoted his post here so you can all see it sooner.
> 
> ...


Hi

This seems to be what I'm looking for for my 280s but for some reason the pics in your post aren't appearing anymore (on phone or laptop). Is it just me? Any chance you could repost the images?


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## tsdorsey

Knee Deep In Epoxy said:


> Hi
> 
> This seems to be what I'm looking for for my 280s but for some reason the pics in your post aren't appearing anymore (on phone or laptop). Is it just me? Any chance you could repost the images?



Looks like they did some sort of image moving and my post didn't get automatically upgraded. Thanks, I've updated the post to point to the images again.


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## Knee Deep In Epoxy

tsdorsey said:


> Looks like they did some sort of image moving and my post didn't get automatically upgraded. Thanks, I've updated the post to point to the images again.



Thank you very much!


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## bl1ndmanonac1d

Joining the 280 Pro Cable Mod Club 

Feels a lot better with a custom cable, all the weight pulling them down is gone. There's still some microphonics though and I'm gonna try and put some rubber around the connector to see if I can dampen it.

Damn I'm surprised at how much I enjoy these headphones.


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## tsdorsey

bl1ndmanonac1d said:


> Joining the 280 Pro Cable Mod Club
> 
> Feels a lot better with a custom cable, all the weight pulling them down is gone. There's still some microphonics though and I'm gonna try and put some rubber around the connector to see if I can dampen it.
> 
> Damn I'm surprised at how much I enjoy these headphones.



Very clean! Well done.

I also had that issue. I used a braided cable (which was great for preventing snags) but when it rubbed on the edge of the table it would send that vibration straight into the headphones. I wonder if getting a short extension cable would work to absorb some of that...

Something like this:




https://www.cmple.com/3-5mm-stereo-audio-headphones-mini-plug-extension-cable-6-inches


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## bl1ndmanonac1d

tsdorsey said:


> Very clean! Well done.
> 
> I also had that issue. I used a braided cable (which was great for preventing snags) but when it rubbed on the edge of the table it would send that vibration straight into the headphones. I wonder if getting a short extension cable would work to absorb some of that...
> 
> ...



Yea, I'm also using braided cable. I'll do some experiments and check back here if I get any wiser


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## fabo142

Well..

 I'm not a professional whatsoever but i did it! this  is my first headphone mod ever.. i'm gonna use a short cable with my vr headset

 i'm happy with the results! everything is working so i'm proud of it 

Loving this detachable mod so far! i used silicone for isolate the soldering  and 10 min resin for the jack.. tested it and everything, that's not coming  loose soon  lol


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