[Sony 7506 phones] Soldering those strange coated wires?

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Aj

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
63
Location
Greater Ann Arbor, MI, USA
I just broke off the stereo plug on a pair of Remote Audio HN-7506 headphones (basically, these are Sony 7506s installed into gun-range style sound isolating ear protectors).

I need some help with soldering a new plug.  The wires inside the headphone cable are strange... it's almost as if they are coated in plastic.  Does anyone have any tips on how to approach soldering this type of cable?  Do I need to remove the coating somehow?

Also - while we're at it - I could use a refresher on how to solder a replacement stereo headphone plug.  It's been a while!  There are three wires in the cable, and I'm not sure which one goes where on the new plug.  One is green, one is reddish, and the other plain copper color.

Thanks in advance!  I actually have a long vocal dubbing session tonight, and need these headphones fixed in a jiffy...

Gratefully,
Aj
 
Ha! When I read the beginning of this thread title I was sure it was one of our spam bots in action.

If the wire sleeving can't be removed with wire strippers use a razor blade or knife to scrape just scrape it off.

As far as the color coding goes, the red and green are probably left and right with the bare copper being ground. I can't assume which color is which ear though, that would require some testing or poking around I suppose. The ground goes to the sleeve, while the other wires will go to the tip or ring of the connector.

Hope that helps some.
 
Thanks for the quick reply... !

It's not that the wire still has a sleeve on it.  I've already completely stripped the leads so it's definitely bare wire.  It's just the bare wire feels... I don't know... plastic-y?  Maybe I'm imagining it... but I remember hearing about this quirk with Sony 7506s years ago, and I'm guessing someone here will know about it.

Aj (not a spam-bot, fembot, or other!)
 
They must be older HN-7506s.  The newer ones don't use the Sony cable as it tends to break easily (as you noticed).

If it is the Sony cable (red, green, and copper colored wires inside), just use a lighter to burn off the lacquer coating.

And yes,
Red = Right
Green = Left
Copper = Common Ground
 
I use a Weller 45 Watt iron and just apply solder and iron to the lead ends to tin them. Takes longer than ordinary wire, but within 4 or 5 secs the laquer burns off and the wire is tinned ready to make the joint.
 
While I would normally agree on the color coding....

Beep them out.  I just went a round fixing headphones two days ago and I had a couple that actually beeped out differently than all the rest.  So much for quality control.

 
Well, I just finished soldering it.  Thanks for all the advice.  It was a b-tch.

Tinning this wire is REALLY painstaking work.  You have to leave the iron (with a little solder on it) against the wire for a long time, 10-15 seconds at least, until the smoke goes away.  Even then, the solder only sticks to the wire in places.  It's not easy.

If I had to do this again, I think I would start by physically scraping the wire with something (fine grain sandpaper maybe?  light strokes with an exacto knife?).  

Actually, if I had to do this again, I would buy different headphones that could more easily be self-serviced.  I hate this woven wire with a passion now.  Also, I don't like how the Remote Audio ear muffs are glued shut - I'd like to be able to unscrew them to work on them.  But that's another rant...

Thanks again all.  Glad to have this forum.

Aj

P.S. A word on the color coding - it turned out that red was left!  So, yes, double-check... I didn't, and these are wired backwards now.  I fix them tomorrow - what fun - but they will be good enough for my session tonight.  Which starts in 15 minutes by the way.  How's that for drama... :).
 
I had the same problem with Sennheiser HD-600 that has a design error that would break the cable about once a year. I worked out a little adapter that I could keep soldering so I would not melt plastic around, but yes the wire material was fricking impossible. 50 watts for a minute with additional rosin would not melt the solder to the wire perfectly. It was barely there at best, but at least it worked. I have no clue what the material is. It's not your average enameled copper, but something far more rugged that will only break when you have a hideous design error in any of the connectors.

I would also be curious on the correct way to solder that. Probably needs special chemicals and temperatures.


Later I found out Sennheiser sells cheap upgraded cable with better connectors and more rugged design and it's been stellar. If they didn't have the replacement, I would probably make a better rugged replacement cable with my own connectors.

[edit]

bad Sony, bad Sony, why you poop on the living room floor! now Sit! even a child knows this cornerstone of audio rules: Red for Right.
 
bad Sony, bad Sony, why you poop on the living room floor! now Sit! even a child knows this cornerstone of audio rules: Red for Right.

Not just Sony....  Sennheiser and Fostex have done it to me also....  ;D

Just check them and it doesn't really matter what they do.
 

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