Introduction: Quality DIY Headphone Cable Replacement
In this instructable I will show you how to make a great replacement headphone cable.
Instructions are specific to Sony MDR-V6 headphones, but should work with any similar large (studio type) headphones as long as you they are easy to disassemble.
I've been using this headphones while commuting to work because they sound great and very comfortable. But coiled cable was very long so I decided to make my own.
Cable that I used is high quality and flexible Mogami W2893 4 conductor microphone cable. It costs $0.82 per foot at RedCo Audio. Final cable that I made was a little over 4 foot (50 inches). I don't recommend anything shorter as I previously made 3 foot cable and it was a bit too short for walking comfortably.
I paired it with gold plated Amphenol KS3P-AU 3.5 Stereo Mini jack ($1.79).
For outer jacket I bought a pair of 63" Kevlar enforced laces from Shoelacesexpress.com ($9 for pair). You can use others, but make sure it's flat and 3/8 inch wide.
Here's part list:
- Mogami W2893 5-6 ft
- Amphenol KS3P-AU 3.5 Stereo Mini jack
- 63" Kevlar enforced laces
Tools that you will need:
- Soldering iron with small tip
- Rosin core solder
- Sharp blade (i.e. from box-cutter knife)
- Wire stripper
- Diagonal cutters (or anything else that can easy cut wire)
- Phillips head screwdriver (to open headphones)
- Multimeter or continuity tester
- Needle nose pliers
- 3rd hand tool or soldering vice (to hold plug while soldering)
Warning! By proceeding you will most definitely void any warranty you might have for your headphones . You might also damage your headphones if you are not careful, so please do not blame me.
Instructions are specific to Sony MDR-V6 headphones, but should work with any similar large (studio type) headphones as long as you they are easy to disassemble.
I've been using this headphones while commuting to work because they sound great and very comfortable. But coiled cable was very long so I decided to make my own.
Cable that I used is high quality and flexible Mogami W2893 4 conductor microphone cable. It costs $0.82 per foot at RedCo Audio. Final cable that I made was a little over 4 foot (50 inches). I don't recommend anything shorter as I previously made 3 foot cable and it was a bit too short for walking comfortably.
I paired it with gold plated Amphenol KS3P-AU 3.5 Stereo Mini jack ($1.79).
For outer jacket I bought a pair of 63" Kevlar enforced laces from Shoelacesexpress.com ($9 for pair). You can use others, but make sure it's flat and 3/8 inch wide.
Here's part list:
- Mogami W2893 5-6 ft
- Amphenol KS3P-AU 3.5 Stereo Mini jack
- 63" Kevlar enforced laces
Tools that you will need:
- Soldering iron with small tip
- Rosin core solder
- Sharp blade (i.e. from box-cutter knife)
- Wire stripper
- Diagonal cutters (or anything else that can easy cut wire)
- Phillips head screwdriver (to open headphones)
- Multimeter or continuity tester
- Needle nose pliers
- 3rd hand tool or soldering vice (to hold plug while soldering)
Warning! By proceeding you will most definitely void any warranty you might have for your headphones . You might also damage your headphones if you are not careful, so please do not blame me.
Step 1: Cable Preparation
Measure 50 inches of Mogami cable and cut it with diagonal cutters.
Take one shoe lace and with sharp blade cut one end of. Kevlar is very tough material, I had trouble cutting it with scissors but sharp blade works great. We do not want to cut other end just yet for 2 reasons. First, it's hard to judge needed length of shoelaces at this point as it will become shorter when slid over cable. Second, it's much easier to thread finished hard end into headphone's hole.
Take one shoe lace and with sharp blade cut one end of. Kevlar is very tough material, I had trouble cutting it with scissors but sharp blade works great. We do not want to cut other end just yet for 2 reasons. First, it's hard to judge needed length of shoelaces at this point as it will become shorter when slid over cable. Second, it's much easier to thread finished hard end into headphone's hole.
Step 2: Measure and Cut Wires
Take Stereo jack out of packaging (do not loose transparent plastic piece!) and unscrew it. Pull out rubber end, you will not need it.
Now you will strip small piece of cable's rubber jacket to expose wires inside. To do this place end of the cable next to the plug until it reaches bottom of threads (as shown on the picture).
Notice at the end of the plug there are 3 clamps that will hold the cable. You will cut off outer jacket at the point where clamps end. Mark this point.
Now take sharp blade and gently cut where marked. Just press on blade and roll cable until you can pull off rubber jacket.
Unroll copper shielding, and cut off half or more of the strands. If it's too thick it will be very hard to solder. Then just roll all those loose strands into single wire. Do not leave any loose strands, as they might cause a short.
Cut off paper, rope material and spread out wires.
Now you will strip small piece of cable's rubber jacket to expose wires inside. To do this place end of the cable next to the plug until it reaches bottom of threads (as shown on the picture).
Notice at the end of the plug there are 3 clamps that will hold the cable. You will cut off outer jacket at the point where clamps end. Mark this point.
Now take sharp blade and gently cut where marked. Just press on blade and roll cable until you can pull off rubber jacket.
Unroll copper shielding, and cut off half or more of the strands. If it's too thick it will be very hard to solder. Then just roll all those loose strands into single wire. Do not leave any loose strands, as they might cause a short.
Cut off paper, rope material and spread out wires.
Step 3: Soldering
Strip Black and White (transparent) wires all the way down. Tie them together with shield strands. Tin them with solder.
Place plug into 3rd hand tool or soldering vice.
Now measure where to cut/strip red and blue wires. Place cable into plug assembly and see how long should these wires be. Leave some slack. Now cut them if needed, strip off insulation and tin.
Now comes the trickiest part, soldering shielding wires to the body/sleeve of the plug. First melt some solder inside the plug's sleeve as shown on picture. Measure cable again and cut excess of the shielding if it's too long. Solder shielding wire to the body of the sleeve, take care so it doesn't touch other two leads (ring and tip), but also make sure that cable's black jacket is inside tabs. It might take some extra heating from soldering iron.
Once it's soldered test if it's securely attached, then move on to the remaining 2 wires. Solder Red wire to lead that goes to the tip (one on the left side like on the picture) and Blue wire to the Ring lead (right one). Check with multimeter set to continuity if there are any shorts.
Cut off excess wire ends.
With needle nose pliers bend tabs around black rubber body of the cable so it's attached securely. If they are sticking out or uneven they might prevent plug's cap from sliding on.
Place plug into 3rd hand tool or soldering vice.
Now measure where to cut/strip red and blue wires. Place cable into plug assembly and see how long should these wires be. Leave some slack. Now cut them if needed, strip off insulation and tin.
Now comes the trickiest part, soldering shielding wires to the body/sleeve of the plug. First melt some solder inside the plug's sleeve as shown on picture. Measure cable again and cut excess of the shielding if it's too long. Solder shielding wire to the body of the sleeve, take care so it doesn't touch other two leads (ring and tip), but also make sure that cable's black jacket is inside tabs. It might take some extra heating from soldering iron.
Once it's soldered test if it's securely attached, then move on to the remaining 2 wires. Solder Red wire to lead that goes to the tip (one on the left side like on the picture) and Blue wire to the Ring lead (right one). Check with multimeter set to continuity if there are any shorts.
Cut off excess wire ends.
With needle nose pliers bend tabs around black rubber body of the cable so it's attached securely. If they are sticking out or uneven they might prevent plug's cap from sliding on.
Step 4: Cable Sleeve
Now we'll inserting wire in shoelace. There are two methods to do this.
Method A:
From the other end of the cable slide transparent piece of tubing that came with the plug. Slide it so it covers soldered connections. It will isolate it from the outer metal jacket of the plug.
Now take shoelace with one of the ends cutoff (in step1) and snake it on the cable. It's not very hard, but will take a while. Just bunch it up at the end, and smooth out over cable. It will start moving over it slowly. Keep doing it until end is just below the threads of the stereo plug.
Now take plug cover and slide over covered cable. It will give you some struggle once cover is just about over the plug because of the added thickness of the shoelace. Screw it in, it will be tough. I used put some cloth on the tip and held it with pliers, but it's easy to damage plug like that.
Method B:
Almost like Method A, but slide shoelace first, and then slide transparent tubing over it. It might be a little harder to do but it will hold shoelace more securely.
Method A:
From the other end of the cable slide transparent piece of tubing that came with the plug. Slide it so it covers soldered connections. It will isolate it from the outer metal jacket of the plug.
Now take shoelace with one of the ends cutoff (in step1) and snake it on the cable. It's not very hard, but will take a while. Just bunch it up at the end, and smooth out over cable. It will start moving over it slowly. Keep doing it until end is just below the threads of the stereo plug.
Now take plug cover and slide over covered cable. It will give you some struggle once cover is just about over the plug because of the added thickness of the shoelace. Screw it in, it will be tough. I used put some cloth on the tip and held it with pliers, but it's easy to damage plug like that.
Method B:
Almost like Method A, but slide shoelace first, and then slide transparent tubing over it. It might be a little harder to do but it will hold shoelace more securely.
Step 5: Headphone Attachment
Now we going to replace headphone cable and attach new one to Sony MDR-V6.
Take off foam padding from the earpiece that has cable coming in. You will see 4 screws. Remove them. Notice how wires are connected. Two of them are going into second earpiece, we will not be touching these.
Green wire is Tip, Red is sleeve and shield wire is sleeve/jacket of the plug. Remember where they located and unsolder all 3. You can always reattach them alter if desired.
Some plastic tabs hold wire inside, just unravel it from there.
There's small rubber piece that doesn't let wire slide easy out of earpiece. You need to push it inside the body of earphone, and then slide off the cable. Now slide cable out and put aside in your drawer, etc.
Take pointy end of the shoelace and thread it inside earpiece hole. It will pull new cable along with it (with lots of resistance). Pull about 4 inches in.
Measure about an inch from where cable ends (you can't see it because of the shoelace, but you can easily fill it) and with sharp blade carefully cut outer jacket together with shoelace.
Cut off shielding, you will not be soldering it.
Strip and tin all wires, tying together black and white/transparent.
Solder these tied wires to spot where original cable's shield wire previously was.
Solder red cable to where green one used to be, and blue to where red one from original cable used to be.
Plug cable into some audio source, preferably w/ left and right channel test and check if you can hear sound coming out of headphones. I accidently swapped left/right channels on mine, first time I did it, so just make sure they are correct before closing earpiece.
If too much of cable is inside earpiece pull out some. It should be really hard to pull out, giving you sufficient security from accidental tugs.
Put cover back on, screw it in and pull padding on.
You are done, enjoy!
Take off foam padding from the earpiece that has cable coming in. You will see 4 screws. Remove them. Notice how wires are connected. Two of them are going into second earpiece, we will not be touching these.
Green wire is Tip, Red is sleeve and shield wire is sleeve/jacket of the plug. Remember where they located and unsolder all 3. You can always reattach them alter if desired.
Some plastic tabs hold wire inside, just unravel it from there.
There's small rubber piece that doesn't let wire slide easy out of earpiece. You need to push it inside the body of earphone, and then slide off the cable. Now slide cable out and put aside in your drawer, etc.
Take pointy end of the shoelace and thread it inside earpiece hole. It will pull new cable along with it (with lots of resistance). Pull about 4 inches in.
Measure about an inch from where cable ends (you can't see it because of the shoelace, but you can easily fill it) and with sharp blade carefully cut outer jacket together with shoelace.
Cut off shielding, you will not be soldering it.
Strip and tin all wires, tying together black and white/transparent.
Solder these tied wires to spot where original cable's shield wire previously was.
Solder red cable to where green one used to be, and blue to where red one from original cable used to be.
Plug cable into some audio source, preferably w/ left and right channel test and check if you can hear sound coming out of headphones. I accidently swapped left/right channels on mine, first time I did it, so just make sure they are correct before closing earpiece.
If too much of cable is inside earpiece pull out some. It should be really hard to pull out, giving you sufficient security from accidental tugs.
Put cover back on, screw it in and pull padding on.
You are done, enjoy!