Replacement 3.5mm plug

daphatgrant

Fi-yah!
Staff member
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
18,564
Hey [H], the 3.5mm plug on my AD900's is starting to cut in and out if I bump the cord. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to pick up a 3.5mm replacement plug? I see them on Amazon with absolutely terrible reviews and what looks like the same thing on ebay. I'm happy to spend some $ to grab a replacement from a reputable place, I'm kind of surprised that I'm not finding better options.

Thanks
 
Hey [H], the 3.5mm plug on my AD900's is starting to cut in and out if I bump the cord. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to pick up a 3.5mm replacement plug? I see them on Amazon with absolutely terrible reviews and what looks like the same thing on ebay. I'm happy to spend some $ to grab a replacement from a reputable place, I'm kind of surprised that I'm not finding better options.

Thanks


so from my own experience these 3.5mm jacks are just a PITA to solder correctly, especially if trying to solder them on to factory headphone cables. Generally such cables have been enameled this coating must be removed before wires will tin at all. Additionally the connectors are TINY and soldering them is a huge pain in the butt. This is my guess as to why they review badly as using them is difficult.. they are small and working with them is a pain in the rear.

I would if these were my headphones at least contact audiotechnia about costs / estimate to have them just re-cable these.. before jumping in. If Audiotechnia wants too much / won't do it whatever... then I'd probably buy a new cable

something like this (or whatever)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DJ-Headpho...876662?hash=item3ce2216336:g:AuEAAOSwEK9UIBqS

and I'd take the headphones apart and desolder the old cable and solder the new cable in... in my experience this is much less difficult than soldering them little fiddly 3.5mm jacks.. but I have big hands and 48~yr old eyes..so maybe they are easier for some others.. the enamel coating is a pain in the butt however..


alternately you could do some research on removable cable mods ... I modded my Sony MDR-V6's to have a removable cable..

mdv_v6_mod2.jpg


i'd recommend a plug.. but I haven't really used one I'd recommend =\ I mean I can solder the dumb things but I have wrecked a few also and I really had working with this things.
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
You can get these at digikey; part number 889-1850-ND. They will sell directly to the public, but they have a $25 minimum order, but they sell all kinds of electronic stuff, so that shouldn't be hard to do. They're $3.48 each, but these are not of suspect quality, and will probably outlive the headphones. :)
MFG_KS3PC-AU.jpg
 
Hey [H], the 3.5mm plug on my AD900's is starting to cut in and out if I bump the cord. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to pick up a 3.5mm replacement plug? I see them on Amazon with absolutely terrible reviews and what looks like the same thing on ebay. I'm happy to spend some $ to grab a replacement from a reputable place, I'm kind of surprised that I'm not finding better options.

Thanks
go to a local music shop, like where they sell guitars and synths and shit. they'll have good ones worth putting on those. local electronic shops should have em too.
 
I think it would be easier to do the soldering at the headphone area instead of a new 3.5mm plug:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how...ble-mod-ath-adxxxx-and-what-not-to-do.798199/

If you are willing to do some soldering at plug level, then headphone level should be a hell of a lot easier and can put you in a better spot for future replacements if you follow the above post.
Just ordered a female 3.5mm plug and 4' 3.5mm cable, going to give this a shot when everything comes in, thanks for the idea!
 
I did a little investigation while waiting for the replacement plug to come in. Disassembly was pretty easy, the only thing that I'm not sure of is which wires do what? I think that they are as follows?

AD900 Wiring.jpg

Here's my invoice in the event that there is any confusion

AD900 Invoice.JPG
 
I did a little investigation while waiting for the replacement plug to come in. Disassembly was pretty easy, the only thing that I'm not sure of is which wires do what? I think that they are as follows?

View attachment 97534

Here's my invoice in the event that there is any confusion

View attachment 97536
that's the standard color coding as far as I know. good thing you got that receipt though, ya never know when you might need it! ;)
 
Only partially related but I broke one of the "wings" on the headband a while back and have just been dealing with it falling off on occasion. I contacted AudioTechnica and was pleasantly surprised that they offered to ship a replacement out for free and have already emailed me a tracking #. Awesome customer service!

This is what broke:

AD900 Wing.jpg
 
Just an update after some use. Being able to remove the cord from the headphones is awesome, these are now my 100% preferred pair of cans to use. It is so nice to be able to swap out cables depending on what I want to do. Want to watch TV at night? Grab the 10' cable and plug into the receiver. Want to listen to music on the phone? Grab the 3' cable.

Thanks again for the 3.5mm plug mod suggestion!
 
Another update, I added a Bluetooth receiver. I didn't think I could like this mod or these headphones more.

20181031_100639.jpg
 
Adding a huge BT lump to block the open back of the headphone is going to alter the sound. Just noticing the obvious.
 
I agree that to some degree it'll effect the sound stage but I honestly don't notice a difference. If it were to completely oclude the back it would be an issue, the small size of the BT receiver isn't an issue for me.
 
I agree that to some degree it'll effect the sound stage but I honestly don't notice a difference. If it were to completely oclude the back it would be an issue, the small size of the BT receiver isn't an issue for me.
This is a good example about how hard technology audio is. The partial blocking of the back would show clearly in measurements but probably you won't hear it.
 
A removable cord is just what I DON'T WANT in a headphone.

The connector is the most likely place for a cable to fail.

You must have one plug on the end of the cord. No choice there.
But I surely don't want a second opportunity for failure at the headphone end of the cord.
 
Back
Top