2 Headphone Questions (1 Viewer)

[Ike]

Okay, again, I felt this was probably better suited for the Basics area, but this maybe better suited for another area.

I have a pair of AKG K301's that I like. They are comfortable and accurate in their reproduction. However, I used them for recording, and they got a little more wear and tear than usual, and thus have had some problems. The wire connecting into one of the headphones is loose or something, as the signal changes when I turn my head. For example, if I'm lying down, and the wire is lax, and I sit up, the music may suddenly change and have another guitar I didn't hear. They never seem to completely cut out of the cup (i.e. no sound out of the left can), but it's like it's losing one of the tracks, and somehow filling it in.

Pushing the wire in causes this problem to show up. I'm sure that I've pulled the wire loose. I also may have to rotate the jack in for it to get sound in one of the cans. Once they get sound, however, they don't lose it.

I've chalked these up as lost, but I'm curious if this might not be a simple problem that could be solved rather inexpensively. If it's as simple as tightening a connection, it doesn't seem like it'd be that big of a deal. However, I don't know of anyone who does headphone repairs, and have no idea what the typical repair would run me.

If these are lost, I've been looking at a replacement. $50 is about my budget, so I can't replace them. I ordered a pair of Panasonic RPHT710's at Buy for 25 beans, but before my order went through, they went out of stock. I ordered them at Amazon, where it was listed as Shipping In 1-2 Weeks. It said that 2 weeks ago when I placed my order. I can't find them in stock for a similar price online.

So, I need a decent pair of headphones for $50 (or less) if headphone repair is out of the question.

Thanks.

 

[SteveKNJ]

Ike,

Once you have owned AKG headphone (good ones I mean), you will never be satisfied with $50 headphones!! I was in the same boat as you. I had a pair of AKGs I had bought when I was 19 (I'm 43 now) that I absolutely refused to give up. I had taken wires to keep the headband together and all the foam had fallen out of the headpeace, but finally, about a year ago, they had fallen apart so bad, they were just not comfortable to wear anymore. Not bad for 20+ year old headphones. The day I got rid of them they STILL sounded wonderful, but I was having the same trouble as you, the wire was loose and I couldn't fix it. I shopped around for those $50 headphones and they either sounded lousy or looked and felt cheesy. I finally decided to buy another set of AKGs. Found them at the AKG website for about $80 after rebate. I couldn't be happier. Believe me, it's worth the extra money.

 

[Ike]

OK, some basic headphone questions.

When you burn them in, what volume level should you keep it at? Should the music be bassy? How long should you burn them in?

And, a really stupid question, can you blow the drivers out, like you can blow a speaker out? I'm assuming you can, but I'm just curious. In other words, can I play music so loud that the headphones break?

 

[Aaron_Morris]

Break in period is arguable. I personally don't notice any obvious diffeance from minute 1 to minute 100. As for blowing the drivers, you are going to blow your eardrums first.