Oof too personal here. Wsb funded the other two for me at least. Both are greatly eclipsed by games though.

Feel like a weird math problem guy when I look at my budgeting lol

Well soldering skills came from quads. There is a lot of soldering required on some small things. Sometimes you mess up and just reset by rewiring everything from scratch. From there I kinda just tried to fix what ever broke with varying success.

This fix was like a 1/10 for complexity. It was literally two screws and we’re soldering. There’s a lot of other things you can fix/mod but varying difficulties. An example of hard would be the 0603 led. I’ve had the pleasure of soldering some of those without the wires. Breathe too hard and they disappear because they’re so small.

I’d recommend a “Pinecel” since it’s only ~$25. That was my “upgrade” after my Hakko that cost 4x broke. Super neat little thing and it can run off of a power banks usb-c. Add in some solder, flux, wick, desolder pump (desolder gun sounds cooler but they’re $$$), and a sponge/brass. I use pretty cheap basic stuff. The Pinecel is the real game changer.

I have a tiny little wire stripper (the majestic Radio Shack Leatherman Squirt lol) that I use. Generally effective but this was a real short wire. Also could’ve just been me not paying attention. I looked down and saw copper strands between my fingers and no sleeve in sight. Years of drones ended up saving the day. I found some assorted spare wire from my quads.

I am sorry to inform you but I was already inside fixing it right after I posted. Just removed the pad and two screws. Two minutes of work vs who knows how long to RMA. Not to toot my own horn but my solder was cleaner than the factories anyway lol. This is good because they’ve getting action all day as I play some nice immersive space sim on a big ol 49” curved monitor.

I mean technically this was my second pair. The new connectors do feel tighter but hey old ones are like a decade old it seems. Might try to make something modular because I plan to swap cables.

Yea I’ve seen lots of people say it splits at the Y but I’ve got parts for custom cables coming today and I might go by Redco and buy some wire. Fixing these headphones was just a trial run on making cables I guess lol

Neat! The ones I have were definitely older and well used. Paint missing off of every corner and edge basically. Crazy stuff considering the new pair are 47xxx. Wonder if these serial numbers are consecutive because that’s a lot of 800s out there.

I agree 100%! The PC38x really threw me off because imo they felt like cheap plastic. The Astros I had previously weren’t amazing but things like the metal arms on them made it feel much more “premium”. Besides the Astros and AirPods (Pros & Max), the only headphones I owned are actually M50s! I was thinking maybe I was being too bougie since that kinda build quality was all I know.. but maybe it’s not enough lol

I figure the 800s would be a good base line. Neutral with a good sound stage I can use for gaming/VR/XR plus plays nice with an EQ. Once I settle in good I’ll find one really nice pair I can listen to music on till they can zap jams directly into my brain.

Honestly after going inside of these I think I’d be tempted to swap out whatever. It breaks down nicely, I was surprised.

I try to stay away from things I don’t understand well like software or batteries so that project already sounds complicated. Especially on something so small. Everything looks easy when someone else is doing it.

Interesting on the Samsung codec. I’ve had every Fold and this is news to me… possibly because I use an iPhone/AirPods for music usually. Folds getting more love these days though since it can output Ldac… not that I can really tell a difference if I’m being honest haha.

Technically this is my 5th pair of Sennheisers. After having this happen I have seen a few post complain about the same thing and I mean… I can see why I wouldn’t call it poor QC but maybe they could’ve done something to hold the metal piece inside the headphone housing better.

Regardless this was the last pair of Senns I planned to buy anyway. Was eyeing some Audeze’s but I’m sure there’s problems or negative opinions/experiences with any choice lol.

While I did partially pick up a new one because it has a warranty, it was more like “fresh for me to ruin on my own”. I’m a fan of modding/customizing so things break. Generally if I break it myself, then I gotta fix it. I don’t think I’ve actually ever utilized a warranty. If plastic snapped or something I would’ve returned/warranty but I’ll take every opportunity to tinker I guess.

I know very little about headphones but from what I read there was just a lot of praise for how long peoples 800s have lasted. I used my Astro A40s for like a decade so I’m pretty gentle with my stuff but wasn’t expecting this. If these do break, I’m fairly confident (much more after this) that I’ll be able to fix them myself/source parts.

Did see a lot about Hifiman quality control since Sundras were an option. A bit ironic since I kinda avoided them lol.

Fat discount on it so possibly through warranty. Site was down and I was sitting next to my tools. Possibly 1 week+ vs 5 minutes. I am confident in my repair skills. Just gotta attach the two points, two taps of the soldering iron.

Shout out to the 6xx I was originally aiming for… ended up with all this before the drop could ship haha. Probably for the best in my case.

That’s what I’m saying but at least the internals were nice and clean so easy repairs. A trial run before the parts to make some cables come some might say.

New discounted sold as open box. Warranty was included so could’ve claimed but I like to fix.

They were “open box” but basically new and included the warranty. I could have tried but don’t think I would’ve gotten such a good deal. A smarter person would’ve probably just gone through warranty but it was a simple fix. I’m generally pretty eager to try and fix things myself.

Yup took a few minutes and lost the silicone sleeve on one, but back in action. I guess I get a bonus trip to Microcenter tomorrow to buy more wire. I’ll take that as a win.

I’m just gonna assume unlucky and it had a weak solder or something. I literally got the 800s because I wanted durable quality. The Astros I used before might not have sounded great, but I liked the build vs the lower end Senn stuff. Maybe try somethings with less than stellar QC after I settled in with the 800s. But nope got a mini diy to get started instead lol.

Yea I was thankful it’s a super simple solder imo. The only downside was my wire stripper pulled the silicon off one because it’s such a small gauge lol. Minus that mishap I probably could’ve been in and out in like 5 min.

If I were someone else without the tools/soldering skills I probably would’ve felt some kinda way because ouch first new pair? First high end new pair?!

They’ve been fixed for the most part. I’ve built e-bikes/eboards/quads so my soldering/diy skills are actually decent. One of the benefits and appeal of less “high tech” headphones is I can fix them relatively easily. I mean not ideal but I didn’t even get to put the mod mic magnet on and I’m tired of waiting haha.

I actually plan to make my own cables. One shorter one so I can mount the Qudelix + mod mic for gaming and one that’s not 100 ft long. I was planning to cut out the internals and 3d print something so the cables aren’t pointing straight down.

The metal piece that holds the wires is held pretty snug inside the plastic housing honestly but this is really all that connects it. They felt pretty firm to me but I don’t know. This bad boy wanted freedom.

Oh no these are brand new. The warranty claim page was down and my soldering skills are decent so I’m already inside.

Pretty sure I had an older pair that were fine(Made in Germany 4xxx serial number) but man these news ones…it just popped right out! Not saying quality changed or anything but yikes. These were my first pair of new headphones lol!