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Can anyone on here shorten headphone cables (professionaly)

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  • 28-12-2011 5:31pm
    #1
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    Strange request but got myself a good pair of headphones (studio ones), as a result, the cable to jack is very long, so would be gathering up loads of it for the pocket!
    Is there anywhere around town, or can anyone on here, sparky for example, shorten the lead, but do a good job on it? Is it easy or hard to do. I wouldn't even attempt it, but if there was anyone around the town who knew how to do it, I would love to get it done......


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    #2
    kenoconnell
    Registered Users Posts: 303 ✭✭kenoconnell


    seachto7 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Strange request but got myself a good pair of headphones (studio ones), as a result, the cable to jack is very long, so would be gathering up loads of it for the pocket!
    Is there anywhere around town, or can anyone on here, sparky for example, shorten the lead, but do a good job on it? Is it easy or hard to do. I wouldn't even attempt it, but if there was anyone around the town who knew how to do it, I would love to get it done......

    Soldering iron and some heat shrink with a 3.5mm jack from Maplin... Easy to do but those wires can be very light and bit fiddly so need a steady hand.... Try mobile on top of tomas St, he might do it for ya


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    #3
    skyguy19
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭skyguy19


    why not put a cable tie on it that way you can extend it again if you want.


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    #4
    Owen
    Registered Users Posts: 12,683 ✭✭✭✭Owen


    kenoconnell wrote: »
    Soldering iron and some heat shrink with a 3.5mm jack from Maplin... Easy to do but those wires can be very light and bit fiddly so need a steady hand.... Try mobile on top of tomas St, he might do it for ya

    You'd think that, but I just shortened a cable on my sennheisers. It was a pig of a job. A lot of headphones don't have normal cable inside, there's like a fabric sheath around the most fragile of conductors. The soldering iron will melt the sheath, but anything more than a second of heat and it's enough to break the conductor inside and you've to strip more back. Took me an hour to get actual solder connections that would conduct. Hideous job!


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    #5
    Skuxx
    Registered Users Posts: 2,370 ✭✭✭Skuxx


    As Ken said, fairly straight forward to do. I'd buy a couple of cheap pairs from tesco or ebay, probly get a lot of 10 for under 5 quid, and have a go doing it with them first and see how it goes!


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    #6
    the_blackstuff
    Registered Users Posts: 462 ✭✭the_blackstuff


    Owen wrote: »
    You'd think that, but I just shortened a cable on my sennheisers. It was a pig of a job. A lot of headphones don't have normal cable inside, there's like a fabric sheath around the most fragile of conductors. The soldering iron will melt the sheath, but anything more than a second of heat and it's enough to break the conductor inside and you've to strip more back. Took me an hour to get actual solder connections that would conduct. Hideous job!



    This is true. I've had a bit of experience lately doing the same and there is on guarantee with the lighter modern cables that you will not get any loss in signal quality. They are very hard to solder or join. If these are studio quality do you really want to risk this? How much excess are we talking and what diameter is the cable?


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    #7
    langdang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,864 ✭✭✭langdang


    I'll agree with Owen and blackstuff, soldering these is a pain, may lose quality and will most likely break at the join sooner rather than later. Maybe there is pro way of doing it, I'd imagine it involves some sort of connector block.


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    #8
    Owen
    Registered Users Posts: 12,683 ✭✭✭✭Owen


    If I was doing it again, I'd actually put a 3.5mm socket into one of the earphones and use a male to male cable instead.


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    #9
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    I would prefer to get a pro job done if at all possible....:(


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    #10
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    skyguy19 wrote: »
    why not put a cable tie on it that way you can extend it again if you want.

    I have this BIG ball of cable gathered in my pocket then...


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    #11
    kenoconnell
    Registered Users Posts: 303 ✭✭kenoconnell


    Owen wrote: »
    You'd think that, but I just shortened a cable on my sennheisers. It was a pig of a job. A lot of headphones don't have normal cable inside, there's like a fabric sheath around the most fragile of conductors. The soldering iron will melt the sheath, but anything more than a second of heat and it's enough to break the conductor inside and you've to strip more back. Took me an hour to get actual solder connections that would conduct. Hideous job!

    Ya thats what i meant buy saying the wires are very light, i find when doing it not to strip the wires at all, the heat from the solder normally mealts it of and just use lots of flux......

    Not an easy job, but not too bad if you've done a few...

    agree with the cable tie if you can but know it can be bulky, the head phones that are for TV use have 5metre cords so its juts as big as the i phone when u bundle it and in the pocket it could be percieved ur looking at porn on the bus!!!!!!

    best of luck...... if ur not used to it, get someone to do it...

    happy Headphones!!!


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    #12
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    yeah, I will get someone to do it. Apparently there is a Welsh dude called Russel in Raheen who is good with electrics?


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