Self-Contained Music Headphones

Reuse an pair of old over-the-head headphones with a Shuffle for "wireless" headphone goodness.

Step 1 Reuse

Find a pair of over-the-head headphones that you're not really using anymore. In my case, it was a really excellent pair of AKG K240's that I'd run over with my office chair, damaging the cable, and destroying the headphone jack.

Hack the broken cord off with scissors, or a giant machete, or whatever you have handy about 4" from the base of the cord.

Then, go to your local Transistor Hut, and pick up a new headphone jack. (~$4), some solder (~$3) and a soldering iron ($? I had one already).

Use a pair of wire strippers, or a knife (giant machetes unwieldy for this step), strip the outer housing, and the three (in my case) wires on the inside.

These particular headphones had a red wire, a white wire and a yellow wire.

Comments

[tbird45039]

if i get some high end cans do you recomend akg or grado

[Bartboy]

Sennheiser is my favourite, but I also have a very nice pair of pioneers.
Just don't get Bose....

[helava]

Thanks, crewjuice! The Shuffle was definitely loud enough to drive 'em. I've been using this setup for a while now, and still love it.

[crewjuice]

GREAT IDEA!! I have a pair of AKG 240's that I Love but it's becoming clear to me that no matter how much I love them I still opt for the smaller, more "on the go" headphones! This would be a great idea to revitalize those studio standard AKG's. What I was wondering was this: Is your I-Pod Shuffle strong enough to drive your AKG's? I tried using them with my 80g I-Pod and the sound just wasn't there,....I Dunno. I thought I tried everything! Regardless, it's a fantastic idea! Thanks for the great idea!!

[dhuynh289]

amazing work....even if its already been done. it would look really nice with silver headphones to match the ipod or a black shuffle (the 3rd generation one) gonna have to try this...i have an extra black sansa clip that would might work

[helava]

Thanks! It's worth doing - I still use these at work all the time.

[BillyBlack]

How do you find the AKG 240s in terms of volume? I've tried using those and other high-impedance headphones on my iPod, and always found I had to turn things way up, and weren't even really usable in noisy environments. Does the shuffle have the output to properly drive these?

[helava]

Ahoy! The shuffle definitely produces enough volume for my purposes, though while earbuds might have you at 15% volume, these for the same level might require 70%. So if you like your music LOUD, it might not be enough - for me, it's been more than plenty.

[dpocius]

Amen! I did the same thing with a pair of Sennheisers and a gen 1 shuffle. Only difference is that the Sennheisers have a detachable cord with a 2.5 mm stereo plug, so I was able to make a replacement short cord. Also, the gen 1 shuffle doesn't have a clip, so I used a slip case and Velcro strap to attach the shuffle to the side of the headband. The gen 1 shuffle is reported to have the best audio section of all the iPods, but that was before the gen 2 came out. with the Sennheisers, the sound is awesome. How's the sound with the gen 2/AKG combo?

[helava]

I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, so take my opinion as such, but the AKG's are the best headphones I've ever used, and the 2G shuffle doesn't sound any worse (or better) than any other reasonably good audio source I've attached these things to... which is to say, it all sounds awesome. I think people complain sometimes about the AKG's lack of ludicrous bass, but I really like the balance. It's noticeable without being overwhelming - more than bass, you get clarity. I dig it.

[helava]

You know, I probably should have looked around and seen that someone's already basically done the exact same thing. Alas!

[oskay]

There are quite a few good variations on this project.
Here's my take on it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/E4SHCXOAVBEP287T5J/

[wi-fi astronomer]

Once I bought those headphones that NASCAR fans buy from Radio Shack intentionally to modify. They are mono but I rewired them for stereo and clipped a small Walkman to the headband. Becuse they use off the shelf speakers inside they don't sound bad. The NASCAR fans use them with a scanner to listen to signals from the drivers and their "ground control" crews. Of course you could get one of those iPod FM transmitters to hide the iPod in a pocket away from "iJackers" but you look geeky of course also deterring iJackers. Since Walkmans are sooooo last century, you can keep your iPod Shuffle safe.

[helava]

Heh. Yours was the one that popped up immediately on the "Related Projects" pane on the right.

[mothflavour2]

Wow, I was just looking at a pair of those the other day. How well do they work? Nice idea if you have a new shuffle (getting ideas as I glance over at my headphones with a 15 foot cable.)

[helava]

The AKG headphones are awesome. Easily the best pair of headphones I've ever had. I'm not a huge audiophile, but I can definitely tell a distinct difference in quality between these and any other pair of headphones I've used. (to put that in to some context, I've used all sorts of headphones, from Shure e2c's to relatively upscale Sennheisers, to a whole variety of Sony headphones - nothing even comes close, IMO)

[mothflavour2]

Sweet, good to know. I'll keep that in mind for when my current pair busts. I know sometime my greedy subconscious will prevail and cause me to step on them eventually. Most headphones don't have nice, solderable wires unfortunately, but rather crappy fragile stuff with a coat of lacquer. This makes it really annoying to solder. I've found that the easiest way is to burn off a centimeter or so of the lacquer (this also helps get rid of the thin plastic fibres that strengthen the cable) then use fine-grit sandpaper to remove the soot. Nice instructable, by the way.

[helava]

Thanks! Good luck keeping your subconscious from forcing you to need a new pair of headphones. :D