What is Digg?211 Comments
- whiskeyclone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Not that anyone will pay a blind bit off attention to me, but this has happened to the headphones I got with my 2nd, 4th, and 5th Gen iPod earbuds.
It has nothing to do with the iPod and it is certainly not a 'critical flaw'. Its very simple really (and it can be fixed very easily too). The stock earbuds are famous for two reasons:
1) They are the iconic Apple brand white
2) They are rubbish
If you take apart the earbuds, you'll see the same type of thing you get on a speaker; a cone with a little nub in the middle. The problem with the earbuds is that the speaker cone inside them is made of a cheap, thing foil like material. The reason this is a problem is that is it easily displaced, crinkled, or bend out of shape. Distortion of the cone leads to odd sounds emanating from the speaker.
Reasons for the speaker cone film becoming displaced could be anything from playing a song at loud (uncapped for Europeans) volume which has high Bass or low-end noise to simply dropping or knocking the earbud against something hard. I was the victim of the latter, because I'm pretty clumsy to be fair. They'd work fine, I'd take them out of my ear to pay for a train ticket, they drop onto the counter and when I put them in they crackled. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what is wrong there. There is a really simple fix though: Blowing air through the earbud.
Sounds dumb, but try it. You can use suction to invert and displace the speaker cone in your earbuds, and likewise put it back to its original shape. The material has memory. If your earbuds are crackling and don't want to spend £25 on a new pair of headphones right now, just place your lips up to either the mesh-grill on the front, or the small holes at the back of the buds and very gently blow and suck until the crackling stops. I really am amazed that people think this is a problem with the iPod itself rather than noticing the earbuds that come with it are cheap pieces of tat. The problem exists only with the stock earbuds not with hi-quality headphones.
Seriously, why don't people work from the bottom up anymore. Something happens, and instead of looking at the site of the problem they just jump online and claim that the world is ending because they are too thick to actually figure out whats wrong.
Just blow into the damn earbuds. - Terc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Alright, I haven't noticed a crackling yet... but my ipod spends most of its time playing through my cars audio system. Someone try to verify this one for me. I have separate powered woofers, and when switching tracks I notice a thumping noise. It's less apparent when the track ends and the ipod moves to the next track on its own. This thump seems to be between 25 and 40 Hz... and would easily do this kind of damage, especially if it's causing clipping on the iPods amplification circuitry. If someone could confirm this thump maybe we could make progress on the possibility of a firmware upgrade from apple, or maybe replacements : )
- steveng, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I am on my 9th pair from apple, and it is always the right one that blows, but I have a 4G
- tmiller51, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why doesn't someone with a possibly "offending" ipod hook the right side output to an oscilloscope and then compare it to the left hand side to see if there's a difference?
- craterburnsu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Play it too loud and they're bound to blow"
*****, Get good earbuds that are rated for over 115dB and you'll be fine. Even cheap Earbuds go that high now, so it's not a matter of loud music, definatly seems to be a manufacturing flaw. - alloneword, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It is amazing how many people don't read the link, and just thought they should comment.
To everyone who said "iPod earphones suck, use something else":
You obviously didn't read the link, it is the iPod killing the ear buds, not the ear buds themselves, using a different set is not having any affect. Different brands are dying as well. And some people have killed multiple ear buds, multiple brands, on the same iPod.
READ THE LINK BEFORE SHOUTING ABOUT STUFF! (yelling intended) - Zenz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2As far as I've read, the problem exists also with far more expensive, third party headphones. And considering the fact that's it always the right ear part... I'd take a look at the video-out settings. When I connected my 5G to a TV set with a standard AV cable (multimedia jack to triple cinch) I noticed the Apple pin-layout is not standard. A little Googling revealed the Apple pin-layout on Flickr. If you *plug in* the headphone while the TV-out signal is on, the right output temporarily shortcuts with the video signal. This may very well damage it. So here's a question for those who's right earbud is blown, is the TV-out option on your iPod set to 'on', 'off' or 'ask'?
- leobaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I do not listen to music very loud. In fact, with the last pair of destroyed headphones it was podcasts only.. My green mini has officially killed 3 pairs of ear buds, on the right side only.
- Nuak, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1My iPod 5G killed the right earbud of my Senheissers cx300.
- themulf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Man I thought something was wrong with my pair. SO I guess my $50 Sony pair are kaput. Also, few days ago I stepped on my IPOD breaking it (5G Video)
- Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That is weird. I could be wrong, but the crackling sound people were mentioning would seem to indicate that there is some DC voltage leaking into the amp output from somehwere.
- nabilanwar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2A little bit of insider info for everyone. If ur not satisfied with the stock apple buds, email Apple in their support page and say something like "Left earbud is cracking!!". And they will send you a new one in under a week. And they will keep sending them too. One of my friends got 8 pairs after which they wanted the supposed broken one sent back. Another friend stopped at 5 pairs. I got 1 so far, and i think i need another fresh one soon.
And i hardly think its ipods fault, in fact the new ipod is supposed to have a vastly imporved audio core. Its just the crappy cheap headphones apple ships. Use 'ear muff' styled headphones if u want or good 'in-ear' ones. Problem shall be solved. - kanashibari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Look, it happed to me with my iShuffle that doesn't even have a bass booster, so I reckon it can happen to any one of them.
- EvilCowSan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This doesn't really solve anything, but i know the left earbud is a mic(you can test it by plugging it into your computer mic port and talking into the left earbud). Maybe this somehow causes only the right earbud to blow out. Like i said no really hypothesis, just an observation.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Turn down the volume and it won't happen. Any music device can destroy earbuds, they're ***** little speakers to begin with.
- ScoTTeh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@evilcowsan
Pretty much any speaker will work in some limited way as a microphone. - Turminator999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1two things, first off do you people have any idea how much clipping it would take to turn AC into DC? I don't even think it would be possible, without a rectifier and one big capacitor. In addition why would a DC signal do any more damage to an earbud (loudspeaker) than an AC signal would at a comparable amplitude. Even if DC or some other signal, i.e. noise, crosstalk, feedback, whatever is present in the output, why hasn't anybody connected the output of their ipod to an oscilloscope with two channels, and compared the output of the right and left channels? this would show any discrepancies in the two channels, and it would also let you see what if anything was happening to the audio signal. Trouble shooting could then follow. Perhaps it is a deign flaw, and maybe its just cheap earbuds. Also I would doubt that many earbuds are rated at 115 decibels for long, that might be a peak measurement, but not R.M.S. I dunno how many people on this site will understand this but those that do, drag out your tektronics and you ipod which ate your earbuds and show the world some traces of your signals.
By the way maybe apple should call it the ipood - xelloss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have had a few blown out apple Ipod headphones with the 2G ipod, but I never go past 60%, I dont know how people listen music so freaking load. Also it was the Right Ear too.
- siestaguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is happening to people with $300+ earphones such as the Etymotics. I just turned down a free 5th gen iPod from a friend because of this story. I don't want it to destroy my Etymotic headphones.
- nfbarrett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My left ear is out on my third party ear buds. But i thought it was because i play it so loud at work so i can hear it. (Warehouse) i have the 5G 60GB
- szelij, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I've only changed my earbuds once and that was because my girlfriend got angry and cut them up with a pair of scissors. But to be fair mine is a 3rd Gen...and it's worked fine although the battery is sort of flaky.
- yensed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Every ipod i have owned (3g and two 4g's) has done this over time. Total dead: 4 Official Apple Earbuds and one pair of radio shack's earbuds. And every pair, its always the right earbud.
- rowanjl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"That is weird. I could be wrong, but the crackling sound people were mentioning would seem to indicate that there is some DC voltage leaking into the amp output from somehwere."
Its probably clipping: The amp is trying to play the signal at a volume it isn't capable of, and cuts of the top and bottom of the AC waves sending DC voltage to the speakers causing the crackling sounds.
However, if the crackling happens at low volume, then there is another flaw in the amp. - Snyder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Woah. This happened to me on my 4th Gen iPod with the stock earbuds (while I wasn't using my Sennhisers for a few weeks). The right earbud had the same problems as everyone is describing. I thought I had just blown out the speaker by having the music too loud, but apparently there is more to this than meets the ear. I bought a pair of Sennhisers almost 3 years ago when I got my first iPod (3rd gen), and they had a crackling issue in the right ear, so I returned them for a new pair, which has worked fine ever since.
I've been listening to music at these volumes on portable players for many years prior to owning iPod's, so it's odd that since owning iPod's I've gone through 2 pairs of headphones, both because of issues with the right earphone. - whitething, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just noticed that I get a loud "buzz" sound in the right ear when I plug my nano into the USB port on my laptop. Maybe the usb port is killing the headphones indirectly with a signal fed through the ipod?
Does anybody else get a buzz when plugging their ipod into the USB port? Do the people who have problems ever leave their headphones in their ipods while syncing/charging them?
Perhaps unplugging the headphones when syncing/charging can fix the problem. And maybe this is why the problem wasn't occurring with older ipods—only recently are USB ports more common than firewire for ipod syncing. - jaknet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@ whiskeyclone
You obviously have not READ the article or most of the comments otherwise you have noticed that it is not just the SUPPLIED earbuds.
It is happening with different makes of earbuds etc..... Therefore we have 3 items here...
1 The player
2 Earbuds
3 Volume
Thus people have identified that is happens regardless WHAT make of buds are used... So we can therefore discount it being due to one type of bud.....
Second It is happening to people regardless of what level of volume and always the right speaker..... so we can discount it being the volume ... and even if this played a part in the problem.It would not always be the same side that dies
Therefore there is ONLY one component in the system that is left.......... The Player
So can we please get rid of the the... "too loud" & "cheap buds" morons who don't seem to read more than just the headline - ThisGeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0My 60gig 5G ipod is two days old, I'm a bit scared for my ear buds now (I've been meaning to replace them but still, that should be my decision, not my ill-behaved ipod's)
Stay tuned, I'll let you know what happens to mine. - KorbenDallas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0173 comments and only ONE person says 'class action' or 'lawsuit'...
Come on, where's that Digg Spirit? - dstart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@ jaknet
How does one player destroy the headphones if it is not too loud? - Linuxrocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0iPod earbuds suck, mine died after one month. And it wasnt cause of the iPod.
- ilitorat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0That is nuts! this same thing happened to my 4g nano. The right earphone crackles.
- po6ot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0..continued.
Hopefully the potential muggers will see my black headphones and presume I have an iRiver or some other ***** mp3 player and pass me by. XD - Batiu-Drami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Play it too loud, and its going to blow."
I don't know, because its always the right earbud which blows, apparently. - Darthpip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Um... I've only had a problem with the stock earbuds. My Bose headphones (sound cancelling) work and sound great. The stock earbuds... i couldn't listen to bass on eaither ear. It just wasn't there.
- yoonix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have to chime in too. 20GB, was just one earbud. The right one sounds correct.
- 06metzp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this happened to the left side of my 4G iPod photo 30GB, that's the price we pay for having decent output levels. I don't think it's a "new" flaw...
- ehmjay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this happened to my earbuds with my 4G iPod...
- ronaldpoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This happened to my iPod shuffle too... but just a few days, now they're working fine... this just happened when the sound was too louder.
- cheztir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Similar thing started to happen when i had a 3G, but when i got a firmware upgrade the issue went away but the damage to the earbud was done. Now it just crackels every now and then. I kept them and i use them in my Photo and they sitll pop and crackel. Time to break out a new pair.
- knightwalker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Thanks for bringing this to my attention... this is why i LOVE Digg!
I thought it was only my earbuds that were screwed up... but too many 'right ear-buds' are failing for it to be a coincidence... or even due to high volume. - xcodemanx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I got it on a Shuffle 1gb but not my 5G 30gb
- neofactor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I hate the stock white earbud! They hurt like hell!
I am looking for a cheap in-ear instead of those crap round -press against the ear- hurt-like-hell buds
. - britkev1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Its not about getting a replacement pair of the crappy stock headphones! I had a middle of the road panasonis pair do the same thing. Apple will not replace those! I am scared to use my Shures now!
- theprodigy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Definitely dugg.
LOL @ ~MDK~ who said: "iPods messing up your earphones? This is the biggest crock of ***** Ive ever heard."
Who cares about evidence when you've got dogma and obstinance? lol - Zero2aHero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This happened to me as well, less than a few days after buying a 60gb 5g.
- zbeast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm guessing whats happening is your head phones are being destroyed by dc bias.
Its a common design error that happens in DC powered audio devices.
You should not see a bias voltage greater than .1 vac. - JaggedEdge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Took me 7 days to crack the screen on my video (slammed it in a car door, was in coat pocket)..... then it took 2 more days to have the LEFT one go out on me. Apple makes a fine product.... just not for someone like me who's always listening to it no matter where I am.
Honestly though i wanted the 40gb 4th gen, theyre a bit more bulkier in the screen area, more space, and i have a psp outfitted with a 1gb mem card to do video. - ronaldpoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If this happen again, I'll try what whiskeyclone said...
- DarkSenay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This happened to me on my 4G ipod...
- ciphex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this happened on my 1GB shuffle. crackling noise in the right ear piece. happened to two pairs of apple ear buds that i have. Both sets still work... I just have to keep the volume down on audio files with a lot of bass and the crackling disappears. (no it wasn't normal noise... it sounds like the speakers are actually torn.)
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