My F&*%ing Headphones Broke Again! - What to do now?

Hardware Other Hardware
1

I started off on my journey in quality headphones with the audio-technica ATH-AD700s, I must say I LOVED these headphones. The sound was amazing and the comfort was spectacular. Fast forward a year or two and the audio is cutting out on one side. Being into the do-it-yourself stuff I attempted a cable swap myself without the proper tools and ended up damaging it further beyond repair.

So I went on the market again for headphones and purchased the AKG Q701s, I do not like these nearly as much as the audio technicas, the positional sound isn't as good for games and the sound signature doesn't suit my tastes (I don't think this is open enough for me). Furthermore these headphones are not nearly as comfortable, the headband has ribs that dig into your skull after long periods of usage and the contact with your ears is uncomfortable. I decided not to return them because I thought the swappable cable would save me money in the long term and I've been using them for a year or two now when today the right speaker stopped working.

This is because although the headphones do have swappable cables, I believe the mini-xlr jack in the headphones themselves is damaged. The headphone cable has a tendency to get snagged and stepped on and the jack itself was pulled right out of its socket.

So I have some options here, as far as repairing it goes. I could attempt to repair it myself again (although that didn't go so well last time), I could try to have AKG repair or replace it, or I could pay to send it to someone to repair it for me.

Another option would be to just buy a whole new pair of headphones, I didn't like the Q701 much anyways so this is a great time to change to a new pair. I could go back to the audio technica products as they're proven to be great, but I don't want to have to buy them over and over again as they break. Another option would be a new pair of headphones, this is somewhat risky because I don't know what they're going to sound like before I get them, at least if I buy audio technica I know what I'm getting.

If you guys have any suggestions I'm open to them right now, I'm using these Apple Earpods and they're passable but I'd like to get back into quality audio by the end of the month.

2

If the jacks just come out - take it apart and do a quick solder then a little glue or something. Ask around if you're not that great with soldering. You may even have a neighbor who is a gun at it.

3

I would first contact AKG to ask if:  1-this enters under the warranty somehow, or 2- get an estimated on how much would cost to repair them.   The repair cost may not be unreasonable and you'll get back your nice pair of headphones.

Regardless of what you do, I would also start looking into some way to hold the cable so you don't keep stepping on it and breaking all future headphones.

4

If you have the money, and you don't like the Q701 anyway, then I say just get another set. It seems that you abuse your headphones pretty regularly, so I would put build quality pretty high on the list of things to look for.

As far as the sound signature that you are looking for, if you like the AD700 more than the Q701, then you like things to be pretty damned bass light. Q701 is very neutral overall, and most people call them bass shy. The AD700 on the other hand is simply anemic as far as bass is concerned.

For positioning in-game, the Q701 (and K701, etc) is generally regarded as being amazing (second only to the AD700, actually). If the positioning isn't up to par with the Q701, then I have to wonder what kind of amping you have going on. The Q701 are generally considered to need an amp to get the full performance. It is possible that that is the problem for you. Either that, or you have unrealistic expectations and/or don't accurately remember how good the AD700 was at positioning (audio memory is notoriously bad in general).

 

If you are looking for something bright, bass light, very open, and built like a tank, then look at Grado. There are tons of models, with little difference as far as audio goes between them, so just grab what you are willing to pay for (though I advise that you read up on the various models before pulling the trigger). Grados also tend to not need amping nearly as much as the Q701, so you are in luck there if you don't have an amp.