New User, Fuze questions

[zmatt]

Hi all, this is my first post.

After 2 iPods I made the switch to Sansas. I've been using them for about 4 years now. I had my e200r for a long time and upgraded to the 4gig Fuze about this time last year.

I have a small working knowledge of audio, I know the different brands and terms, I've been playing guitar for awhile, but I wouldn't call myself an audiophile or an expert by any stretch.

Anyways on to my question. I use the 4gig Fuze like I said earlier, paired with Seinheisser PMX200s. These were my first really decent headphones. Before then i was going with $20 pairs of Sony's or whatever I could find. An interesting thing has been happening with them though. When I move around the sound can cut in an out. This is realyl bad when I am running or riding my bike to classes. I can't tell if its the Fuze or the Cans, but my last Sansa met an early demise from the headphone jack being broken due to a drop, so I'm not ruling it out. One day when the temperature was in the negative the rubber insulation on the cable cracked. i repaired ith with shrink wrap and epoxy. I don't think this has anythign to do with my sound issue, since it worked fine until I fixed it.

As far as I can tell there are 3 possible culrpits.

#1 the jack on the headphones is broken and I need to replace it
#2 the wire is damaged from where the insulation cracked
#3 the female jack on the Sansa has been broken from a drop

I'm pretty handy with a soldering Iron so if its one of the first two I can fix it pretty easily. I would much rather operate on a $40 pair of headphones than a $100 mp3 player.

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

Welcome to abi, hope you enjoy

Seems to me that you asked and answered your own question have you tried other headphones to eliminate it being the female jack on the player?

[tenzip]

Did it work with the Fuze previously, or is the Fuze brand new?

If new, the headphone jack on the Fuze tends to be very tight when new. Try pushing the plug in harder.

[zmatt]

Well I would test out other headphones, but I don't have any other. I'm cheap so I replace them every time I kill a pair and the oens they have hear on campus are over priced. I was considering getting a pair of HD280 pros, but I don't have the cash right now.

I can tell you this, I didn't have this problem before I got the Sennheisers. I just tried pushing the jack around and it seems pretty tight, but the jack wiggles a lot in there. I think the jack may not be big enough to fit tight (poor QC?) it's not something I would expect from Sennheiser, but it isn't impossible either.

EDIT:

I just compared them to an old dead pair of sony's and they seem to wiggle more than the sony's do.

[zmatt]

OK so I have pretty much settled on the issue being the headphones. I ordered a pair of HD202s today. I've been meaning to have 2 pair anyways, but I will repair the pmx200s.

I do have a quick question though. What if I get the 202s and I still have the audio cutting out? Obviously I misjudged and the issue is with the sansa, is there any way to repair it? Or will I have to get it replaced?

[curiouswonderer]

if it is the sansa's problem, then it's likely something to do with a loose headphone jack. if you can get it open, you could try soldering the jack back into place at the connection points. This sounds like a very very similar problem that i had with my samsung p2, so its very likely that the fix is the same too.

[zmatt]

I had that happen to my e200. I tried to solder it back but the connections were way to small (probably one of the reasons it broke so easy) What is it like in the Fuze? I have all the equipment, soldering iron, solder, that little sucker thing, I just don't know if I can get it. The smallest thing I ever soldered was the wires to the drivers in a pair of headphones. Its hard to solder by a neodymium magnet, I had to use both hands and have someone hold the driver down.

[zmatt]

ok, new update everyone. I popped open my fuze and checked the jack. Of the 4 solder joints I saw all 4 were intact and in good shape. In fact when I inserted the jack and wiggled it I was surprised to find all of the motion went to the PCB and not to the jack. I now that pcb can take some weird flexing and still work so I'm 99.99% sure its the headphones.

I'll be sure to give an update when the HD202s come in in the next few days. That will be the definitive test.

Also, what is a good, cheap amp that you guys would recommend?

[zmatt]

OK good news, the HD202s came in and I am in the process of breaking them in. They sound amazing.

The bad news, I messed with the fuze and it still cuts out, but not as bad. I was talking to a friend today and he told me about a pair of headphones he had that his DAP just hated. They worked fine in everything else except that player.

The connectors on the hD202s and PMX200s are identical. Could it be that they just don't fit the fuze right? Before I had the PMX200s this problem didn't exist. I'm thinking i might try to replace the connector on the PMX200s anyway and see if that works.

[zmatt]

Would anybody like to comment? Surely there is someone out here who knows more about this than I do and can give some input.

[DPyro]

Should have just bought a cheap pair like what the Fuze came with just to test it out.

[zmatt]

I was going to upgrade to the 202s anyway.