Odd headphones question - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 07:05:37 pm
content: Well, this is wierd, not sure if anyone can answer this.So I have a pair of headphones($30 not that expensive but I consider them nice). They were working fine and I hang them in the spot I normally do and go eat dinner. Come back and whoa! something sounds off. Long story short, after comparing my ears and headphone speakers to make sure I didnt seem crazy, somehow, frequencies lower than about 60-70Hz do not seem to be making it to the right speaker at the same volume, its lower. You can imagine its off-balancing to pick up frequencies lower in one ear than the other.Tried a different set and they seemed to be ok. The one caveat is that the other set I tried does produce sound a bit more biased towards the bass end of of things rather than treble end but I think there still should have been a noticable difference.My question is, what would suddenly cause this? This seems like it might be more a materials question than an electronics question but hey, its electronics related so someone might have an answer. I have had these head phones for about a year without any problems and they are the primary ones I use. I suppose I will just buy another pair anyway.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 07:14:37 pm
content: The only thing I can think of is perhaps it's the AC coupling capacitor on the amplifier but it wasn't a problem for the other headphones. Do both of the headphones have the same impedance? Do the ones with a better bass response have a higher impedance? If so, that may explain it.Have you tried using the headphones with a different amplifier?

author: electr_peter
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 09:21:58 pm
content: It could be a mechanical issue - check if any foreign object is touching membrane and look for possible damage to the speaker.

author: RobertoLG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 10:14:17 pm
content: well, from my personal experience, this really could a bad speaker or just a very little short at the cable/plug, I had 2 pairs of headphones doing the same at me, but both got bad speakers, they just stoped working, tested everything that came to mind, I guess it was a manufacture issue, I hope it helps in some way

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 11:29:59 pm
content: Ear wax or a stray hair touching the speaker membrane?

author: Paul Rose
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 04:09:29 am
content: I once had this happen years ago on a pair of stereo headphones.The "shield" connection came undone in the plug. So the L & R were hooked up right, but the L & R ground were still hooked to each other, but not to the plug ground.The result is that you get the L & R speakers are wired in series, but out of phase across the L & R channels. You get the "difference" signal. On a perfect pure-mono source you would hear nothing, but on stereo source you get an exaggerated difference, and for some reason very little low frequency.

author: TMM
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 04:28:28 am
content: Debris (usually hair) tends to cause a buzzing rather than a vast reduction in bass quantity, it would still be a good idea to remove the ear pads and have a look though.Could also be dirty plug/jack contacts. Dirty contacts can result in capacitive coupling, which will roll off lower frequencies.Try saturating the end of the plug with contact cleaner, inserting and removing it from the jack a few times (with the equipment powered off of course), then wipe the plug with some paper towel and let the cleaner evaporate from the jack before testing.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 05:32:45 am
content: Could be a very little short/open. I should have specified these are the ones connectected to my computer not a sound system. I use an extra cable connected between the computer and the headphones to give them more length so I usually never plug directly to the computer. The head phones are the things mostly moving around so I would have to think thats the issue from all this. Guess its off for a new pair.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 12:41:24 pm
content: You should listen to some $200 headphones and see what you think. I would recommend sennheisers.The clarity/enjoyment of sound from $30 vs ~$200 headphones is like night and day.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 02:15:06 pm
content: Fixing a $20 problem with a $200 solution. You aren't in marketing by any chance are you?

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 02:39:42 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on December 24, 2014, 12:41:24 pmIt's very subjective. Someone else who doesn't know the price of the headphones may disagree.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 06:29:08 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on December 24, 2014, 12:41:24 pmOh but contraire, what you fail to realise is the second pair I tiredisa $200 pair of headphones; and from the reviews I compared, one of the better sets. Comes with its own molded case and everything. The reason I dont particularly like using them is that its too heavy on the bass. In fact its half impossible to find a good pair that isnt. I like hearing high notes that arnt drowned by bass. The problem is all these idiots who think bass is everything when they are compensating for lost hearing from listening to music too darned loud.No, I am not sure thats an entirely proper use of contraire, but I always wanted to use it and it sounds cool. haha

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 06:44:04 pm
content: 'DJ' headphone will have too much base, as they want to hear the beat, for mixing songs.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2014, 01:14:13 am
content: I much prefer clear high frequencies too.Currently using sennheiser PC360 (basically a hd558 with mic)

author: Maxlor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2014, 05:13:45 am
content: Too much/too little bass? Beyerdynamic Custom One. Passive bass adjustment. I really like mine.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2014, 06:16:09 am
content: Quote from: Tinkerer on December 23, 2014, 07:05:37 pmIs there more to this?Are they hanging by the headband, cord, or...?Any possibility of mechanical twisting of the frame? Rubbing of a part?If it's a 'habit' thing - there may be some subtle mechanical issue that wouldn't occur if you had hung it once - but every day for a year... has perhaps masked some deeper, less obvious mechanical condition.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2014, 12:11:40 pm
content: Too much bass? Simply adjust the tone control.Another option is a series inductor.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2014, 04:31:31 pm
content: Quote from: SL4P on December 25, 2014, 06:16:09 amNo, they are hung by the frame, I would never hang it via the cord. The last pair I had I hung there for much longer, the only reason I stopped using them is because the cord was so old it had become brittle. CD player headphones, by some fluke they were comparable to my $200 pair and the best pair I ever had.Quote from: Hero999 on December 25, 2014, 12:11:40 pmOn this note,(no pun intended) I found out how to adjust the frequency levels which I didnt know about before so that helped a great deal.