Help with my headphones?

[dark_iscariot]

One of the most important things at home-the headphones.
Mine are really old and classic, they are glitching worse and worse therefore, what can it be, there must be some common things that make the sound only play in the right or left headphone?
Thanks

[Krakit]

Most likely cause (at least the easiest to determine and fix) is the phono jack.

Unscrew the protective plastic cover from the metal part of the jack.

Check the solder joins and make sure that all are still secure.

If yes, then you may have a blown speaker or a short somewhere along the length of wire.

Test this by listening to something in stereo and rolling the wire between your thumb and index finger. Start at the end of your phono jack and work your way up the lenght till you get to the part where it connects to your headphones.

If you find a spot that consistantly makes crackles or kills the sound in either speaker you found your short.

Snipt the wire on either side of the break. Repair by joining the two ends by soldering them. If you use shrink tubing, be sure to put in on BEFORE you solder.

If you aren't using shrink tubing, than you take great care in using electrical tape (which is by far not as good as shrink tubing).

If it isn't the wire, you may have to contact the manufacturer to get a new speaker for the flakey side. Take apart the head phones, and solder the new speaker to the contacts.

Carl

[dark_iscariot]

Alright thanks alot!

[Fangar]

To add to what Kakit Said:

If you are using them with the same source all of the time, it could very well be the heaphone output jack as well. Also check to see that this jack has not become dirty. A simple contact cleaner from your local electronics store will help that problem. You will know if it is that jack when you spin the 1/4" connector in the heaphone out socket and it crackles and pops. Try the cleaner if this is the case.

Fangar

[dark_iscariot]

oh cool, thanks!

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Dark Icarus:

All of the above is true and good information. But, since you live in Europe, why not get a pair of Beyer 250 cans? I have ash cans, coffee cans, beer cans and two pair of Beyer 250 cans, as well as Sony cans and AKG cans. For the money, about 130 US dollars, the Beyer cans do an excellent job.

I saw one of those 1/4 inch plug cleaning devices in Musician's Friend catalog. I may have to get one just to have handy. They do not cost very much.

Cheers from the Colonies
Green Hornet

[dark_iscariot]

Cheers!
Thought about thoose cleaners, but maybe they can damage something, just like cleaning devices for cd-players....?

[Slackmaster2K]

I'd imagine that all cleaners will do at least a tiny amount of damage....but it's not like you're going to dip the plug into the cleaner and it's going to start bubbling like in some horror movie and you'll pull up an bare cord

What I'd like to know is how dirty does a phono plug have to be before you'll LOSE a signal? It sure seems like you'd have to have some serious corrosion or just plain filth going on to completely lose conduction. I can definately imagine a negative impact on sound but...

Slackmaster 2000

[Bodhisan]

I hope you're not getting like me, where my right ear is starting to (gulp) lose some hearing ability, so when I wear headphones, center is actually a little left. It's a bitch to mix!

Bodhisan

[Fangar]

The cleaner I am talking about is for the actual Jack itelf. The 1/4" male plug is most likely not the problem, but the socket or female input. The TV, Tuner cleaner style cleanser that they have on the market will not do any damage. That is what it is designed for. If you pump a cuople of gallons in then yeah there may be an issue, but just a puff should not be a problem.

Fangar

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Slackman:

I just ordered one of those female/and/ 1/4 inch insert plug cleaners. I don't think there are chemicals involved in the liquid state. I saw the ad in MF and decided to add one to my studio.

I know contacts get dirty. I have a no smoking studio and I don't smoke anymore. But, the air that surrounds us carries gunk in it from cooking and open windows. I know this to be true for two reasons. I clean the contact points on my DX-7's cartridges with a white eraser as tutored by a PC guru.

My portable flip/phone has a recharge base and one day when I put the phone in the unit, the "red" light did not go on indicating that it was charging. So, I got out the white eraser and cleaned the contact points. Voila -- back in business. Just have to vacuum out the eraser residue or brush it out gently.

I might guess that some pollutants get into the jack plugs right out of the factory? I don't know what conditions are in those far away factories.

Happy St. Patrick's Day
Green Hornet