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Backstory: I had a pair of headphones with a faulty 3.5mm plug on one end, and a 3.5mm audio cable that was so long, it picked up an insane amount of interference.

Solution: Cut both cables! Join them together! Reduce, reuse!

Problem: What do I do next? (See photo.) I’m not sure which inner wires connect to which, and I’ve never seen wires like in the headphones before; they don’t seem to be really individually insulated, but appear to be dyed copper woven with some sort of fiber.

Two stripped audio wires. They look very different.

(The left cable is from the Sennheiser headphones; the right, from a cheap 3.5mm audio cable.)

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Closing because this doesn't appear to be related to home improvement. – BMitch♦ Aug 31 '12 at 17:07
Suggestions for a better stack exchange board? :/ Couldn’t find one about “hardware” or anything. – Alan H. Aug 31 '12 at 17:08
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Consumer electronics was a failed area51 attempt. Electrical engineering might work, I'll check if they are interested in having this migrated over. – BMitch♦ Aug 31 '12 at 17:21
The EE guys pointed out this dupe: electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/7489/… – BMitch♦ Aug 31 '12 at 20:07

closed as off topic by Niall C., BMitch♦ Aug 31 '12 at 17:07

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1 Answer

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The fiber is a type of insulator so I wouldn't worry about that.

Red is traditionally positive, white or black is negative.

Really, your dealing with such a low voltage, just touch the various wires together, 1 pair at a time and see what produces sound.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I tried this and didn’t seem to hear anything. I guess I’ll give it another shot. – Alan H. Aug 31 '12 at 17:09
The insulation on the wires on the left is meant to be burnt off as it is soldered. You can try burning it off with a lighter (carefully!), but that often leaves residue that gets in the way. – Grant Aug 31 '12 at 19:21

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