Headphone wires.... confused!

[budwich]

I picked up a "beat up" set of sennheiser headphones (hd201). The phono plug end seemed to have an issue such that most of the time only one ear would work but by compressing / bending the jacket of the phono plug, I could cause the other ear to work. Must be a phono jack (3 pin) problem. So I cut it off and have solder based replacement. BUT... the wiring seems "mysterious" to me. I can't see how this can work or even ever worked. Attached is a picture of the wires (less the phono plug). One sheath has what I believe is two enameled wires while the other has basically copper... just one "wire". One sheath goes to one ear and the other goes to the other ear. How can this work??? I don't believe there is any wiring leaving the ear pieces and traveling thru the head band as the ear piece holders / frame are basically solid plastic.

How does a "wire pair" ever get "completed" at each ear piece?

[stj]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

red is one side, green is the other and uncoloured is common.

are you sure the red isnt just twisted with another uncoloured one?

[budwich]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

the one sheath going to the one ear has the two colored wires. The other sheath has what looks like bare copper / uncolored. The is no wiring leaving the ear pieces (going from one side to the other). I looked at the "single uncolored" sheath. There is only uncolored copper and "hair strands" of some sort of "cording" which in large cable, I think, could be use to strip other side sheath ... at least that's what I have seen it used for. There is no second conductor that I can see in that sheath, which I have cut back at least 5 inch already looking a second conductor. I have to pull the ear pieces apart to see what's up... but it still seem kind of strange that the two colored conductors are in the same sheath and going to one ear piece.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

I've seen some stereo headphone cable use two pairs of lacquer coated wires, one pair going to each earpiece...

[stj]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

is the bit between the ear sections metal by any chance?

[budwich]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

that would be too easy. attached is a picture of the speaker assembly from the side that has the two colored wires in the one sheath going into. Note there is no contacts out of the "box" going into the ear "body" so I don't think there is any was to get electricity flowing unless its travel thru my ears from one side to the other.... :-)

[lotas]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

Remove the insulation a little further, most likely you cut it or it was broken.
https://audiorepair.ru/product/provo...02-hd201-hd206

[budwich]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

there is no wires in the removed insulation. I didn't do 4 inches in one cut... I did about 3/4 inch at a time. I am going to crack open the speaker module, hopefully without wrecking to see how those wires are physically terminated inside the housing. Then, maybe the mystery will be solved.

[lotas]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOc3aYNq10o

[budwich]

Re: Headphone wires.... confused!

Remove the insulation a little further, most likely you cut it or it was broken.
https://audiorepair.ru/product/provo...02-hd201-hd206

AH... you were right. I took a larger "strip" about 1.5 inches and was more careful and indeed there is two wires in both sheaths. The thin "ground" wires were being stripped away by the stripper and being so fine were lost inside the removed insulation.

thanks.... mystery solved... poor technique and poor eyes. :-)