Help..Headphone channel dead!

[shadow]

Hi, Relatively recently I bought myself a pair of relatively cheap surround sound headphones from Ebay. The model is:
MMGear M500FL - information about it can be found on:
http://www.mmgear.com/eng/e_pro/e_pro01.html

Other manufacturers sell this model rebadged, the most famous example is the Zalman ZM-RS6F:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...x=110&code=023

I really do like these nifty little headphones even thou the sound accuracy is not the greatest. Just today while using them the front right channel died. I noticed this when suddenly I was not hearing the generic windows sounds from the right. Specifically the little sound that Windows makes when changing folders.

I then proceeded to check each channel using the "Sound Effect" program which comes with Realtek sound chipset drivers. Sure enough the front right channel was not working while all the others did. Before I did any checks I turned off the computer and turned it back on. I then tried switching the front speakers jack to the rear speakers jack to check whether the onboard sound card jack has somehow failed. I tested again and sure enough, the rear right hand channel was dead now since I plugged in the front speakers into the rear speakers jack.

Conclusion from this test is that the sound card is fine, the problem is with the headphones themselves. Now I know that the most common place for headphones to fail is either internally (that is the connection inside the headphones have somehow disconnected) or the cable itself.

I have dropped these headphones a fair amount of times (this is because it was originally placed in an awkward location) but they worked just fine every time. In fact they failed while I was using them (I could tell nearly straight away that something was not quite right). I am completely at loss as to what caused the channel to fail. Maybe I just did not realise that it was dead.

I hope that someone can help me out as I use my headphones quite a bit and I spent quite a bit of money for them (I am a poor student ). I would really appreciate any sort of comments on how to fix them or any further tests that I can do to diagnose the problem.

Thanks to everyone that contributes!

[shadow]

Re: Help..Headphone channel dead!

Just a quick update, I tried wiggling the cable where it connects to the main headphone unit. This does not produce any sort of sound at all so I think it is safe to say that there is no break in the cable in that location. I have not tried and I do not know how to test whether there is a break in the cable without popping open the headphones and do a continuity test on each line. It looks like I have to find a way to pry open the headphones without destroying them.

One thing to keep in mind is that they seemed to fail during use (another thing to add is that it was not being used full blast volume, only about one third), to the best of my knowledge this seems to me that it is very unlikely that there is a break in the cable since it was not dropped for quite some time now (since I relocated it). I hope the problem is just that the wire somehow disconnected from the terminal and needs resoldering. Are there any tips for opening headphones without destroying them?

[stretch0069]

Re: Help..Headphone channel dead!

Your message is a bit confusing.......

Plugged in normally, you hear nothing from the front right speaker.....correct?

Then when you switch the front and rear audio plugs, you now hear nothing from the right rear speaker?????

I tested again and sure enough, the rear right hand channel was dead now since I plugged in the front speakers into the rear speakers jack.

If, with the plugs switched, you hear nothing from the right rear speaker, that would indicate a problem with your sound card.

[shadow]

Re: Help..Headphone channel dead!

Sorry about the confusion guys.

You are correct stretch0069, when the front speakers are connected normally. The front right channel does not work. However what I meant to write is that when I switched the front and rear audio jacks. The physical front speakers are connected to the rear channel. When testing with the software, The front right channel is still dead. However as far as the software is concerned, I am testing the rear right channel instead of the front right channel.

I can see your confusion and I am sorry for not clarifying that area properly.

[shadow]

Re: Help..Headphone channel dead!

Just an update, I have fully diagnosed the problem. The problem is that there is a cut/broken wire within the headphones. These headphones fold up and the broken channel suddenly works when the two hinges are swivelled to certain positions. I do not know exactly where the cut is yet. However it is most likely at the hinges.



The bottom hinge is easy to take off, it is held by screws. I already examined it and did not find an obvious break. However I did not test it thoroughly yet. I do not know how to open the other hinge yet. Hopefully the problem is not there!

Anyway, when I do find the fault. I wondered what would be the recommended course of action.

Should I just solder the existing wire back together without adding any extra wire? I think this may cause tension problems and may cause the same problem to occur later down the track. Or should I solder a small bit of wire?

I think the problem is caused by repeatedly opening and folding the headphones. Is there anything that I can do to minimise the chance of this happening again? (Besides not opening and folding them )

I will be sure to take some pictures of the headphones opened up so that it is easier to judge the best possible way to fix the problem all together.

[stretch0069]

Re: Help..Headphone channel dead!

Probably solder a short length of wire and then cover with heatshrink. Shouldn't be a problem.