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Author Topic: Bluetooth headphones  (Read 5738 times)

Weaver

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Bluetooth headphones
« on: June 06, 2019, 03:26:08 PM »

My Sennheiser headphones have a faint mains hum when I have the dc power cable into them. The obvious cure is to disconnect the cable, but then of course the battery goes flat because I forget to reinsert it when I am not using them. Any suggestions? What about some kind of filtering?

The power cable is a USB-to-some really strange looking flat connector.
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2019, 11:11:39 PM »

If it is a steady hum, ie it doesn’t come and go with movement and orientation, and it hasn’t always been there,  my guess would be a hardware failure.  Most probably imho, a faulty decoupling/smoothing capacitor.  Electrolytic capacitors tend to be a weak point in any modern apparatus, “modern” as in mid 20th century onwards.

Might be worth trying a different PSU.  Any chance the “flat connector” might be a USB-C?
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Weaver

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2019, 01:26:55 AM »

I wouldn’t know about usb-c haven’t knowingly encountered one - it’s really small on the bottom of one of the headphones. But from the pictures of usb-c this doesn’t look right as my connector does not half 180 degree rotational symmetry, it has little bumps and microscopic recesses on one side, and it has two sharp pointy corners and two rounded corners rather than two rounded ends.

I have had the headphones themselves repaired a while ago.
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tubaman

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2019, 09:17:41 AM »

The connector sounds like it is micro-usb from your description, which from a quick Google check is a type that Sennheiser use.
As suggested by @sevenlayermuddle my first thing thing would be to try a different PSU as they do vary in quality greatly.
Another option might be to try a USB power bank to charge/power the headphones. You would of course need to remember to charge that too, but it would run them for longer than just their own batteries. What I don't know is if you can use a power bank like a mini UPS - ie charging it and pulling power from it simultaneously (and whether that would make any difference to the hum anyway?). Others may be able to advise.
 :)
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Weaver

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2019, 12:34:30 PM »

I got a power bank for my wife, to charge her iPhone. That’s a good idea, as it banishes all mains from the whole system. Thank you very much!

I tried plugging it into different devices, first into a usb socket on a Belkin mains distribution block which also has a usb output. Then tried it into an Apple white usb mains power adapter thingy -don’t know what it’s called. Hum still persisted though.

The sound quality in these headphones is not that great given that they cost a small fortune. There is persistent low level white noise, which I would have hoped is a thing of the past. They have an environmental noise cancelling facility which is excellent.
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2019, 02:07:54 PM »

Clutching at straws maybe, but have you tried a different cable?

You might find you have one lying around, isn’t micro USB common for phone chargers?   Except Apple of course.  But other stuff too, fairly sure my old Sat Nav, before I started just using a smartphone, had micro USB cable...
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Chunkers

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2019, 07:12:15 PM »

What sort are they? I have an old pair of RS180 wireless Sennheisers and they don't suffer from any noticeable noise and sound excellent, so it definitely sounds like there is an issue

C
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Weaver

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2019, 01:44:33 AM »

They are `momentum m2’ something or other, cant remember.
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tubaman

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2019, 09:25:49 AM »

They are `momentum m2’ something or other, cant remember.

It looks like they are micro-usb then. It's a very common connector so leads are easy to get and cheap (certainly don't pay Sennheiser prices).
 :)
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Weaver

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2019, 06:10:59 PM »

Have ordered micro usb cables from Amazon. Many thanks for all the help. You have all been brilliant. Amazon does a nice job of mixing USB-C and Micro USB cables up so that ordering is difficult.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2019, 06:21:09 PM by Weaver »
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Weaver

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2019, 01:48:07 AM »

I think I’m going to give up with my old ones; aside from the noise, which still persists and is very bad, there is the issue of discomfort. After a few hours of wearing them, I do get pain in my head. They pinch on the sides of my head and the band over the top of my head hurts; pressure on my skull fro something very hard and uncomfortable.

I can get new Sennheiser much higher audio quality HD 630 VB phones from John Lewis, and the Low cost Sennheiser 4.40 which may or may not be rubbish sound quality but they ridiculousky cheap, while seeming to have a similar or better spec than my current ones, and hopefully more comfortable.

Any thoughts?

Or should I jump ship and try a different manufacturer’s brand altogether?

I suppose that I cannot wear them, because then, if I do then I won’t be able to send them back if they are horrible and uncomfortable?

If that’s the case then I will just have to rely on reviews.
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Ronski

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2019, 09:45:05 AM »

I recently purchased a pair of Sony WH-1000X M3 noise cancelling headphones, I'm very impressed with them although I've so far only used them at home. Originally purchased so I could actually hear films when on a plane, I haven't had chance to try them out as the wife got ill and we haven't been on holiday since.

I've not worn them for long periods but they do feel light and comfortable, although my ears get a little warm I suppose that's expected.
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jelv

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2019, 10:00:01 AM »

Would earbuds be more comfortable than headphones? I've been looking at them recently and the cheap ones that Which suggest as a best buy get good reviews: Skullcandy Jib+ which are £24.98 on Amazon (but you'd still need to remember to charge them!).
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dee.jay

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2019, 09:04:43 AM »

I recently purchased a pair of Sony WH-1000X M3 noise cancelling headphones, I'm very impressed with them although I've so far only used them at home. Originally purchased so I could actually hear films when on a plane, I haven't had chance to try them out as the wife got ill and we haven't been on holiday since.

I've not worn them for long periods but they do feel light and comfortable, although my ears get a little warm I suppose that's expected.

Likewise. I wear them all day at work because I detest open plan offices, of which I work in one. I need to be able to concentrate and background noise just distracts.

I can pair them with laptops, phones, even my TV (though I haven't tried that). They're great headphones with excellent sound quality. Worth the outlay - £260
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Bluetooth headphones
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2019, 04:34:22 PM »

I purchased a pair of unkown-brand noise-cancelling headphones a few years ago.   I bought them on spur of the moment whilst waiting at an airline gate in the US, for an overnight flight home, and seeing several families around me with potentially noise-generating babies.

They weren’t expensive (maybe £50 or so) and coupled with the price markup of airport stores, I fully expected them to be complete rubbish.  Actually they were really good, made a huge difference to the cabin noise, and vastly improved the usefulness of in flight movies.  We live by a main road and in the summer I used to use them if listening to radio 4 plays whilst sitting outside.

They lasted a few years before the cheap plastic started to go sticky and brittle, eventually crumbling beyond usability.  Even so, they were one of my better spur of moment purchases.   I’m sorely tempted sometimes to indulge in a decent quality pair, I’m sure they’d be even better. :)
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