The strain relief sleeves end abruptly. The cable will chew at that spot over time. I repaired a number of such things.
I was thinking that too, sound quality is secondary to lifetime for me, I hate going on a long trip and having one or both ears go out when I least expect it, that is the worst ding to sound quality of all.
Why is it so hard to buy headphones and earbuds which last more then a few months? How hard is a strand of spectra anchored at both ends, better strain reliefs, a more flexible wire alloy, and more durable insulation?
I would pay extra headphones with 100% Au stranded wire since that stuff pretty much bends forever but without a strong reinforcing strand it is about as durable as a strand of butter.
You can improvise strain relief from silicone caulk or hot-melt adhesive. A bit goes a long way, and a gradual taper-off can be made and added to existing design with ease.
Not so much, but the vendors would ask $100+ for that, so they can keep making profit from headphones that keep breaking.
You can of course make this yourself, the cable is nothing but three wires splitting to two pairs (four if microphone is added), the connector is a standard 3.5mm jack (or can be sometimes salvaged from the broken cable, the metal parts on the hard plastic insulating spacers typically don’t fail and the moulded plastic cover can be snipped away with wire cutters), and the transducers themselves can be salvaged from a good pair of headphones that failed due to the cable.
Using salvages, you can even make two pairs so one is a backup, and get reliability bumped from months to years.
I have done exactly this, thought most wire is not made for so much flexing.
The best I have done was with PU printed strain reliefs, ABS printed housing for the 3.5mm TRS, 3 strand parachute cord over for strength and abrasion, my big quest is the conductor.
Until I solve the breaking wire issue I just buy more good-enough earbuds.
My best solution has been a BH-214 clip-on bluetooth headphone stereo control thing with a 3.5mm audio jack. Using short wire earbuds which terminate at the bluetooth clipped to my collar they get very little trauma and last far longer than a wire which dangles to my trouser pocket.
I just used a small torch and a hot glue stick. Melt the end of the hard-glue stick with flame, smear it over the connector until it is roughly shaped, lick over with flame to melt the top layer so it is nice and smooth, add a bit of strain relief from softer glue, let it cool down to putty-like consistency, make final shape, lick with flame again to smooth the surface (optionally add a layer of colored glue stick if color coding is called for), and you’re done.
When it fails after 2-4 years, cut off the broken wire section, resolder, remodel,
Works for all kinds of power supplies, too, on both the PSU side (cut at the end of the strain relief where it usually breaks, strip the strain relief, expose the wires, rejoin, cover with heat-shrink tubes and layer of hot-melt glue) and the connector side (where the connector itself can be isolated by snipping away the moulded-on plastic and new body then can be hand-moulded from the glue).
Sugru!
Would work, likely pretty well. The downsides are relatively short shelf life, and the need to use a whole pack at once; it is not on my primary materials list for purely logistical reasons.
…also, nonsequitur, it cures to a fairly slippery surface; works rather poorly as brake pads.
I used to do this too until the wires were too short.
With a lighter and a tea candle or a soldering iron; a hot glue stick, and some polymorph plastic nearly any challenge can be met.
The polymorph is worked poorly with flame. Hot water kettle works better here. But hot air or brief lick with flame can be used for melting the mating surfaces for efficient joining.
A pretty good kind of lighter is the type that makes hissing blue flame. Well-worth the premium, and you can even use it for silver-brazing thinner wires.
I would barely know except from watching my kids slowly raid my stockpile, apparently the kettle and then the espresso machine steamer or hot plate to keep water at temp and a fork to extract the glob. I like to keep a few globs rolled out like a stick for fixing bike stuff in the field, it really adheres to ABS and PVC almost to the point of being problematic.
I have to try out this!
I don’t see any gold plating or woven cloth.
Can’t see them ever selling for $100!
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