Headphones.
 

I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but thats for the mods to decide. Anyway: I have had many pairs of headphones and they all seem to meet the same tragic fate. The sound in one side fizzles and fades for a while, returning only when you push in the plugg, and even after a while, that fails, leaving you with a fizzly side. Then the other side goes. If you push the plugg it might work for a while, but then it dies. Some of these headphones that have suffered this tragic demise have been rather new. Any idea of what thats all about, and possible cures?

Does it happen in only one thing? (cd player, stereo, walkman, computer) If it is only happening in one device, then you can blame that as your problem.

I think it may be that the male end of the headphone jack just isn't making any good solid connection with the female end (Male=stick, Female=Hole) I think there are things out there that can help make a better connection, but generally you are just better off getting something new.

It could also be the wire. If it gets tugged on a lot, then it might not have a solid path.

Thats about all i know ;)

Hey, thanks for the sex ed class meanSpleen, heh heh :lol:

Agreed with spleeny, Its the connection not the phones.
Theres a couple of things you could do.

Break the bad boy open & replace the socket altogether. Its a pretty simple job if you know how to solder.

Ive found in the past that if you "raise" the plug a tad the connection improves. Get a piece of rubber & cut it to shape (with a hole in the middle) so it looks like a washer & put it on the end of the headphone plug. When you plug it in it will not go all the way in & may improve the connection.
The only other thing I can tell you (& this may not work) is to get your hands on a mini-to-mini splitter or something similar (see pic) & use it betweem the source & your headphones. It might fix your problem & will prevent more wear on the socket.



http://headphone.com/productphotos/0060260003front.JPG

Hope that helps.

Good point magpie -

Having something to bridge between the socket that you are trying to protect, and all the inserting-uninserting you might be doing will only prolong the life of your equipment. Now, the mini 2.5mm Y splitter 'may' degrade the quality of the sound a tiny bit, it is barely noticable. If you are truly paranoid about having 1 percent less quality, stick an inline amplifier between into the mix :D

(thanks to charliex for remind me about the inline amplifier in another thread)

If it is just a problem with the headphone wires, you could just use some of your older ones to make a new connection at the male end.

I used to go through cheap headphones quite a bit before I bought some nice ones. And cheap headphones would ALWAYS have that problem. I would just make new ends, and sometimes make both the left and right channel go into one cup. Handy for DJing anyway.

Jdoe