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Topic: Sennheiser HD555 cable problem (Read 5463 times) previous topic - next topic
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Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

So I sent my HD555s to Sennheiser. They said a replacement cable costs 60EURs. Adding misc charges, it all adds up to 85EURs, but I paid 100EURs for the HD555s. Is 60EURs really a reasonable price? If not, where can I actually find a reasonably priced cable that ends in a 3.5mm minijack?

I found hifiheadphones.co.uk selling the cable for 10 GBP (!) but it's with the big 6.35mm connector.

Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

Reply #1 –
What's on the other end?

If there are bare wires that you're going to solder, you can buy a cable with a 3.5mm plug on both ends, or an "extension" cable with a matching socket on the other end, and cut-off one end.  (The color code might be different, which could make it tricky if you don't have an ohmmeter to check the connections.)

If the problem is a broken connection at the connector-end (a common failure point), you can buy a replacement plug (at a place that sells electronic parts, like Radio Shack) and solder it on (assuming you were already planning on soldering).

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I found hifiheadphones.co.uk selling the cable for 10 GBP (!) but it's with the big 6.35mm connector.
You can get an adapter, but they can be bulky/clumsy, especially when plugged into something small like an iPod.  When I have to use this kind of adapter, I prefer to use an adapter cable like   this[/u].  (I actually built a couple of these recently.  I bought a cable with 3.5mm plugs on both ends, and a couple of the larger female jacks, whacked the cable in two, and soldered.)

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Is 60EURs really a reasonable price?
    Next time, buy Koss (Lifetime warranty!). 

    It seems high... Kind of sickening...  but there are higher overhead costs involved in stocking/distributing specialty items items in small quantities.  For similar reasons, it's often cheaper to replace something (made on an assembly line with a small amount of low-cost labor) than it is to repair the item (with an hour or two of high-skill labor).

Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

Reply #2 –
It's sad that just soldering some wires together is now something that is considered highly skilled work, yet people who solder things onto circuit boards for assembly as a job don't make much more than minimum wage.  It's also sad that things are built to just throw away anymore instead of to be maintained.

Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

Reply #3 –
Buy a new jack on ebay or an electronics store might have one. The headphone wires are coated with enamel and need to be burned off before soldering. I use a 40watt desoldering iron with a big blob of solder on the tip, it burns the enamel off and tins the wire.

Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

Reply #4 –
Quote from: ramicio on
It's sad that just soldering some wires together is now something that is considered highly skilled work
That wasn't my point...  Soldering isn't that hard.  My point is that modern production makes things cheap.  Most electronic repair is done by a technician (even soldering a broken wire) and the diagnosis/troubleshooting usually takes more time than the actual repair, and often more time than it took to build the whole thing in the first place. 

I'm not sad that things can be built things efficiently with unskilled labor and machines.  It's the main reason we have a high standard of living.    I really don't want to pay an someone to hand-build a TV, or car, or soundcard for me!    (Now, sometimes I do like a "hand made" meal, but I can't afford that everyday, so I usually go for the "production line" food.  )

Sennheiser HD555 cable problem

Reply #5 –
It's also the reason why goods are complete pieces of crap anymore.  Our modern philosophy is to either pay an illegal immigrant dirt to do a quick job or have a machine do it.  Sadly it cheaper to warrant a POS good from the bad work than to hire good work and have a good product in the first place.  We can't expect humans to be around for ever if we continue to want robots to do everything for us, unless everything becomes free and we get rid of and monetary systems, but that would just be a return to being animals.