Headphone trouble -- anyone else ever had this problem?

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-- Headphone trouble -- anyone else ever had this problem?

Posted by B_man on Jul-26-2007 03:00:

Headphone trouble -- anyone else ever had this problem?

Greeting producers, tranceheads, and everyone inbetween...
I've had these ATH-D40fs for about one and a half years:

For the past month, my left ear-speaker has been going downhill and is starting to "buzz" uncomfortably on certain frequncies. This is especially apparent on bassdrums and bass instruments. It "buzzes" or resonates -- not clipping, but there is definately something screwy going on with it that isn't happening with the right ear-speaker. THe right ear-speaker hasn't been having this happen. I have tested the phones on my computer setup and on the stereo and to no avail... the problem remains the same.

In fact, it has been getting worse and worse. The buzzes are getting more high-pitched and I fear that I might even by damaging my left ear if the damage gets too extreme. SO far, no uncomfort, but the biggest concern of mine is that it is painful to monitor my mixes.

I'm very poor right now because of college funding. I'm working on my chillout tune today and the experience makes me feel kinda like I'm going blind on one eye.

Posted by Mr.Mystery on Jul-26-2007 03:02:

Is it "digital" resonating or "something's loose inside the cup" resonating? Because the latter has happened to me with pretty much every single pair of headphones I've ever owned - and then you're just fucked

Posted by B_man on Jul-26-2007 03:16:

It kinda sounds like the plastic is vibrating... therefore I think I am undone.

[edit]
Random question... if I end up buying a new pair, what would you recommend as a "step-up"?

Posted by Mr Kre8 on Jul-26-2007 12:12:

Something open-backed for a start. You can't mix for very long on closed-backed's as your ears become fatigued.

Posted by echosystm on Jul-26-2007 12:19:

akg240 are great value

Posted by phantom limb on Jul-26-2007 20:22:

quote:
Originally posted by B_man
It kinda sounds like the plastic is vibrating... therefore I think I am undone.

[edit]
Random question... if I end up buying a new pair, what would you recommend as a "step-up"?

If you do plan on buying some, I recommend Sony. I've had mine, which I bought refurbished, for about 5 years now and these babies are still working fine. They have a great frequency response range and they are very flexible/comfortable. They've been through a lot of shit with me too and still holding up. Here's an ad on amazon for these things:

Sony MDR-V600

Hope that helps.

Posted by camsr on Jul-27-2007 06:54:

Got a screw loose?

And I recommend a pair of Grado cans.

www.gradolabs.com

Posted by Storyteller on Jul-27-2007 08:06:

quote:
Originally posted by B_man
It kinda sounds like the plastic is vibrating... therefore I think I am undone.

Mind your ears. If something is resonating in the headphones it's either of shitty quality or you're putting the volume way too loud over long periods of time. Well, at least it's a possibility. I'm just saying mind your ears. The problem with headphones is you need to set them much loader than speakers in order to hear at a similar volume level. Also headphones damage your ears easier, just because of that reason. So be careful with the volume. Very important if you still want to be able to make music in a few years or so...

Posted by B_man on Jul-28-2007 00:54:

I appreciate your concern, and couldn't agree with you more.

I'm really not sure what to say other than, why isn't the other speaker having the same problem?

It's really a bummer since I'm limited to headphones 99% of the time. I can't use my monitors because of the housing (the houses are connected). My neighbors are a problem in and of themselves, they have very odd schedules. Therefore, if my left headphone piece is losing fidelity then I'm basically becoming deaf (in a producer's kinda way).

Posted by B_man on Jul-30-2007 03:47:

AW CRAP!!

It would appear that one of the wires that connects to the left earphone is hanging by a thread... I thought the left phone was dead, I need to press the wire into place with my finger in order for the signal to make it. No wonder it's not working properly, the connections are bad. I have no idea how the wire is acting like it's been tugged on awful hard.