FoggyLog

Wed Nov 1st 2006 22:18:38: Bang & Olufsen A8 Headphones Wiring

I got asked to replace a duff connector on some B&O A8 Headphones by a guy at work the other week. Well I've just got round to doing it, and in case anyone else ever has to do this, here is the wiring colour codes as far as I can make out.

The wire itself is enamelled, so it's a sod to solder. I did it by trying to "wipe" the enamelling off using a very hot soldering iron. Even after that the solder joints wern't amazing. After a bit of detective work using a scope, I recon Yellow on one headphone and Red/Green on the other should be commoned together to get the phasing right. I then connected green to the tip of the 3.5mm jack and red to the ring. Obviously I then connected both yellow and red/green to the collar.

Now I give them back and see how long before he returns them because my soldering has failed!

Comments (9) | Permanent Link

Thanks Gary, I had to do the same repair myself. I ran the enameled wire through a lighter first(be careful, you have to do it quickly, or the wire will melt), then tinned and soldered to the headphone jack. Thanks again for the colour code.

Comment by Gruff at 19:26 on Thu 3 March 2011

Be sure to replace the normal plug with a "L" shaped one, will prevent to be easily borken again, just like the original B&O one always does.

Comment by Stefan at 1:24 on Sat 29 October 2011

Thank you for this advice. I followed it all. Using a circuit tester on the 3.5m jack plug confirms the colour coding you recommend is exactly right. Also the advice to use a flame to remove the enamelling was also really very helpful. Finally, the "L"-shaped 3.5 socket was another fantastic recommendation. Ah, the power of the internet. This definitely saved me lots of time and, most importantly, money as the A8 headphones are not cheap. Thank you.

Comment by Mark Newall at 11:45 on Sun 29 January 2012

The wiring on mine was red instead of yellow. I found I didn't need to remove the enamel as long as I made the connections with decent beads of solder. Many thanks Gary, the headphones would have been binned without your advice.

Comment by Jeremy Richards at 0:12 on Tue 6 March 2012

Nice one Gary, I did much the same after reading your post but instead of cutting the plug, I soldered it to another stereo lead with 3.5mm plug already attached (gave me a bit more cable) I just matched your colour coding to the ones on the new cable (melting the wax away). I used thin strips of tape to keep the positive and negatives away from each other and then used a heat shrink to tidy up! Thanks again Gary, I would could not afford to throw these away at £120, or buy a new pair! This repair was done for £6 with about an hour!

Comment by Darren Senerat at 22:28 on Fri 20 April 2012

Thanks to all for advice and comments - I just performed the same procedure - and it worked a treat. Used the lighter trick to remove the enamel insulation. Am NOT an experienced user of the soldering iron, so totally rely on suggestions like these!

Comment by David Stott at 18:42 on Tue 1 January 2013

Thanks for the colour codes! This saved me a lot of trouble.

I tried by all means to wipe the enamel off the wires but nothing worked, so in the end I just wrapped the end of the wires onto the connectors and covered them with a glop of solder. In the end it took and, although it doesn't exactly look clean, for the moment works perfectly.

Comment by Don at 18:57 on Sat 20 April 2013

I have done this now with a number of earphones. Finally, when tested and all is working well, I smother the soldered wiring with epoxy.

Comment by Jeremy at 6:09 on Fri 7 August 2015

Hi. was wondering if anyone can provide this service? Please help with my broken jack H3 earphones, else it will go to the bins. I havent got much skills in electronics works..

Please let me know.

thanks.

Dennis

Comment by Dennis at 9:28 on Tue 27 March 2018

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