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For those of you won't done't pay much attention to the venting threads, I've got something of a problem with me and headphones. It seems that every few months, the pair that I'm using crap out, no matter how much I try to be careful with them, and I have to shell out another twenty bucks only to have them die a few month later. The perpetrator always winds up being the point of connection between the actual headset and the cord that connects them to the PC: due to the constant motion and stresses placed on this particular area, they always wind up getting torn or coming loose from the set.

So I was sitting on the can just now, as it always seems to be with these sorts of things, when an idea suddenly popped intoo my head: if it's that particular connection point that always winds up giving me trouble, why not design headphones that simply eliminates that point which gets worn out? There are already wireless headphones, but they require a constant stream of batteries means I'll have to shell out for replacements as needed, not to mention the inherent expenses of going wireless: there's also the matter of justifying their use on a PC, where you only need a meter or two of cable to jack it in. And then it hit me.

What if, instead of using the hard-wires connection system that has the wires coming straight ouf of the headset, what if someone instead came up with a system where each end of the cable was an actual plug? On one end, you'd have the standard male business end that you plug into the sound output port of your PC and system; then on the other, you'd have either another male end or a female end instead, which plugs into an appropriate plug inside of the actual headset. You'd have a locking system of sorts where you twist it a quarter-turn to one side or the other, which then keeps the cord from being pulled out of the headphones if you pull on it for some reason. Since there aren't any wires to get damaged at this point of connection, you won't have to worry about the constant motion of the cord causing the set to go bad, and if the cord winds up getting damaged, you could then just throw it in the trash and pick up a new one to take its place.

Thing is, would this work? I'm not familier with the way audio-based electronics work, so I don't know if there's a specific reason why the cord always has to be hard-wired into the set or if there would be quality loss due to the double-jacked nature of the system. And if it can be done, has it been done?

Sharpshooter wrote:Thing is, would this work? I'm not familier with the way audio-based electronics work, so I don't know if there's a specific reason why the cord always has to be hard-wired into the set or if there would be quality loss due to the double-jacked nature of the system. And if it can be done, has it been done?

Higher-end headphones typically have removable cords.

My HD570s have plugs so if the wire breaks you can just replace it instead of shelling out a hundred bucks for new headphones.

My headphones simply have a small loop in the wire right near the earphone that is connected to the frame with small piece of elastic string. If you put tension on the wire it stretches the elastic instead of the wire or plug so there is no damage. No matter how much you stretch the elastic it is still shorter than the wire so it is nearly impossible to damage. I have had the headphones for at least 6 years and they still sound far better than all the other headphones I bought as replacements in the meantime or any of the 2.1 speakers systems I owned before my current ones.

If you really want that sort of connection, why don't you just get a a male/female headphone extension cord from radio shack (I can't imagine it being more than 7 or 8 dollars)? Wouldn't that do the same thing?

I have a soldering iron... so broken connections are just a minor inconvenience to me.

Don't buy cheap ass headphones? If you're buying $20 headphones, and have had to replace them more than once (>=$60), then you could have purchased a one nice pair that won't be lame and break in a month.

Just a thought...

Miles Teg

I say go wireless and use buy a couple of pairs of rechargable batteries and a charger.

Buy more expensive headphones which use the big connectors.
They will probably also have replaceable cables: My HD280's certainly do.

The solution I'd use would be

1) plug a splitter into the back of your computer (so you can have the headphones and speakers connected at the same time)

2) Obviously, you speakers go on one output of the splitter. On the other output you want a male to female extension cable (probably a 1.6m one). The male end plugs into the output, and the female end is anchored (by your method of choice) to the top surface of your desk.

3) When you want to use your headphones, just plug them into the socket on your desk. (don't forget to turn your speakers down/off)

By this method, the cable should be out of harms way, and shouldn't get tugged or snagged that much. The other advantage is that with the connection facing towards you(as opposed to away from you if they were plugged into the back of your PC) any snags or tugs that do occur will likely just pull the connectors apart rather than wrecking the cable. Also, you don't have to go rooting around the back of your Pc whenever you want to switch between speakers and headphones.

Before you ask, I don't use this setup myself. I don't need to. My computer's audio output goes into my Stereo. (which has a front mounted headphone socket). But I heartily reccomend it. And it shouldn't cost you much more than $10 to do.

Sharpshooter wrote:Thing is, would this work? I'm not familier with the way audio-based electronics work, so I don't know if there's a specific reason why the cord always has to be hard-wired into the set or if there would be quality loss due to the double-jacked nature of the system. And if it can be done, has it been done?

Quite a few headphones already have detachable cords, unfortunately they do cost more. About $100-150 or so the last time I checked, there was the Sennheiser HD495 that sold for around $50 or so but it's been discontinued.