Changing headphone jacks

[JGS4]

I just got a new pair of Ultrasone HFI-700DVD headphones. They are terminated with a 1/4 inch connector. All of the sources I listen to (mp3 player, computer) have 1/8 inch jacks. This requires me to attach a 1/8 inch adapter with makes the connector about 4 inches long, which as you can imagine is extremely combersome. Is there any way for me to change this jack?

I'm thinking of cutting the connector off and soldering on a mini jack. Will this change the sound of the headphones in any way? What's the easiest way to do this? Is there a better way? Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[WmAx]

Is there any way for me to change this jack?

Yes.

I'm thinking of cutting the connector off and soldering on a mini jack. Will this change the sound of the headphones in any way?

It will not change the sound, assuming you have good solder joints/connections.

What's the easiest way to do this? Is there a better way? Thanks a lot for your help.

The easiest way is to stop at Radio Shack and get 1/8" stereo plugs that have screw connectors inside instead of solder tabs. However, this is not the best solution. There was no stress relief crimp tabs to hold the cable at it's base for strength as is found in the solder-type plugs. What this means that is instead of holding the cable firmly at the base of the cable jacket, the strength/support comes from the actual terminated wire ends. Depending on your usage, this may require you to periodically strip the wire a little bit more every few months to get a new connection. You could alleviate this problem by using a heat shrink tube with adhesive. Be certain the tube will shrink enough to tightly shrink around the cable. After it has cooled, it will have glued to both the cable jacket and metal plug housing, acting as a stress relief. Or, you could just use the solder type-jacks...

Note: There is one potential problem with shortening headphone cables: Some cables[this is rare] may use a litz-type wire that is extremely fine and woven in a peculiar pattern that makes it very difficult to strip down and work with for new connections.

-Chris