A700 plug broke

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coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
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So I was flying to London a few weeks back and I brought my Audio Technica A700s for the plane. It was my first time flying and I didn't realize they put the headphone jack in the armrest, which is probably the worst possible spot to put it. So when I wasn't paying attention I must have shifted in my seat to look out the window or something and I broke the plug right off the cable with my leg.

So now I need to fix them. I'm not really sure what the best way to do it is. Should I replace the whole cord, or just the plug? I figure I could do either of them on my own, I have a soldering iron. I don't really know where to buy a new plug, because all the searching I do is just turning up adapters and other things. I would need a place in Canada, and I live in a pretty small town so we don't have any stores that would sell that kind of stuff here.

I found some on ebay but they look pretty cheap. Is there a difference between a plug that costs a couple of dollars and one that costs more? I doubt it, but I would hate to handicap my headphones with a cheap plug.
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
I'm not worried about losing some length. The cord is already too long.
 
Ika

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
hans030390 said:
You can just replace the plug if you don't mind losing a few inches off the existing cable.

I know that 3.5mm Neutrik plugs are fairly popular on Head-Fi. I can only find them as L-shaped plugs. Something like this should work:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=092-157
Click to expand...

Neutrik owns the REAN brand. If you look closely in the pic of the REAN, you can see the letters "EU", which don't exist in REAN but do in NEUTRIK. These are typically the cheapest quality plugs you can get, a lot of people use them because they look decent, don't cost a lot, and are consistently good quality. You can also look into Switchcraft plugs, which are slightly higher quality but a little pricier, or you can look around on eBay if you want a crapshoot. Some sellers on eBay have very nice-looking plugs for great prices including shipping. You can also try a Pailiccs 3.5mm plug, which look great, but I've heard they're a pain in the ass to work with.

But yes, it is relatively easy to splice a new plug onto an existing cable. You do need to look out for strain relief, though, or else you will just pull the old cable out of the new plug again. Some people use hot glue to secure the cable to the barrel of the plug, others use knots, heatshrink, zip ties, or any number of other methods. For this application hot glue is probably the best way.
 
Last edited:
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
I'm not too worried about looks either. These stay plugged into my computer 99.99% of the time. If a cheap plug for a couple bucks would work, that's what I'll go with. I've been playing xbox a lot more lately, so I haven't had much use for my headphones since I got back so I'm taking my time.

Do you think a Circuit City would carry a replacement plug? There's one of them nearby. I know they would probably charge a little more than other places, but I'd rather pay the premium to not have to wait for one to ship.
 
R

Ross Ridge

Senior member
Dec 21, 2009
830
0
0
There aren't any Radio Shacks in Canada anymore. Nor are there any Circuit City stores anymore either. The old Radio Shack chain in Canada got bought out by Circuit City, and renamed to the "The Source by Circuit City". When Circuit City went bankrupt the Canadian chain was sold to Bell Canada and renamed to simply "The Source".

The stores don't sell much in the way of electronic parts anymore, but it's worth a look. You should also check the yellow pages to see if there are any electronic parts stores in the area. You don't need to go all the way to Toronto to find them.
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
10
81
You can buy an extension cable and cut off one end and splice it.

If I were you, though, I'd just wait until I had a bunch of stuff to order from Monoprice or something.
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
Just got back from the Source. They had a pack of 2 for $7. They're Nexxtech brand, nothing fancy.

Now I just have to figure out how to do this...
 
sdifox

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
98,981
17,393
126
coldmeat said:
Just got back from the Source. They had a pack of 2 for $7. They're Nexxtech brand, nothing fancy.

Now I just have to figure out how to do this...
Click to expand...

strip wire down to conductors, sand the conductors since they are probably coated with insulators. Solder.
 
alfa147x

alfa147x

Lifer
Jul 14, 2005
29,307
106
106
If anyone else is looking for plugs I just ordered 4 of these for $2 a piece off of ebay
pailiccs35mmstereoplugm.jpg



Pailiccs 3.5mm
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
Ok so I'm working on it now. The wires were a pain because they were enamel coated, but I got them stripped. Now I have the wires through the holes in the new plug, and I plugged it in to see if I had the left/right channels in the right holes, but when I play some test audio, it always plays through both sides, so I can't tell if it's right or not.
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
10
81
coldmeat said:
Ok so I'm working on it now. The wires were a pain because they were enamel coated, but I got them stripped. Now I have the wires through the holes in the new plug, and I plugged it in to see if I had the left/right channels in the right holes, but when I play some test audio, it always plays through both sides, so I can't tell if it's right or not.
Click to expand...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8ODm-F9-IM

If it doesn't work, something is NOT RIGHT.
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
The plugs came in a pack of 2, so I pulled the wires out, cut them off, started again this time doing it much better, and used the other plug but I get the same problem.

Maybe it's time for new headphones?
 
Ika

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
If you have a multimeter, measure: Left to ground, Right to ground, and left to right using the resistance meter. Report your findings. L>G and R>G should both be the nominal impedance of the A700 (IIRC it should be 32ohms). L>R should not have any connection unless there is a short. If the wires themselves are okay, then the problem lies either in the plugs or your soldering. You didn't buy mono plugs or something by accident, did you?
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
10
81
Are they tip-ring-sleeve or just tip-sleeve?

Do the resistance check as Aflac states. If the resistance is infinite between R and L (between tip and ring, not the sleeve), your wiring should be OK and it's either software, or the source hardware.

BTW the DC resistance will always be less than the impedance, as the nominal impedance is determined as the "average" impedance, and impedance rises with frequency.
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
this is what I bought, don't know if the link will work for you.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...roduct=2740284

I haven't soldered them yet, the wires are just sitting in the holes right now, but I've made sure they aren't touching each other or anything.

I'm not sure if I have a multimeter or not. We had one a few months ago, probably got thrown out.

I've also tried plugging it into both my desktop and my laptop, and I know my desktop's audio is fine because my ear buds work with it.
 
sdifox

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
98,981
17,393
126
coldmeat said:
this is what I bought, don't know if the link will work for you.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...roduct=2740284

I haven't soldered them yet, the wires are just sitting in the holes right now, but I've made sure they aren't touching each other or anything.

I'm not sure if I have a multimeter or not. We had one a few months ago, probably got thrown out.
Click to expand...

lulz you could have got that at the dollar store...
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
10
81
coldmeat said:
this is what I bought, don't know if the link will work for you.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...roduct=2740284

I haven't soldered them yet, the wires are just sitting in the holes right now, but I've made sure they aren't touching each other or anything.

I'm not sure if I have a multimeter or not. We had one a few months ago, probably got thrown out.

I've also tried plugging it into both my desktop and my laptop, and I know my desktop's audio is fine because my ear buds work with it.
Click to expand...
Looks about right. Get a cheap MM and do some testing. Maybe you have an almost-invisible short somewhere.

In the meantime, what happens if you have only one channel hooked up (in the plug) at once? i.e. have left/ground attached with right not connected
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
sdifox said:
lulz you could have got that at the dollar store...
Click to expand...

I tried the dollar store, they didn't have it. So either I pay $4 a piece at the Source, or I drive 45 minutes to the city to get one there.
 
coldmeat

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,230
136
106
Howard said:
Looks about right. Get a cheap MM and do some testing. Maybe you have an almost-invisible short somewhere.

In the meantime, what happens if you have only one channel hooked up (in the plug) at once? i.e. have left/ground attached with right not connected
Click to expand...

I get no sound unless they are both plugged in.
 
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