Are my headphones toast?

October 3, 2008 4:12 AM

Are my noise-cancelling really dead? I have a pair of Sony over-ear noise-cancelling headphones, which I have been very happy with for several years. They still work, but the noise-cancelling part does not. I changed the batteries (of course), but the light does not come on. Are they toast or is there somewhere I could take them? The local shop of course says 'buy new ones' but I'm not sure I want to give up so quickly. This question applies to electronics in general, actually. I often have stuff that stops working (in part) and feel bad about throwing it out. What do you do?
posted by sinbarambam to technology (4 comments total)

Unfortunately, these things are seldom built to be easily repaired. You probably can find parts somewhere (Sony has their own spare parts store here), but the parts will likely cost as much as the headphones. I'd do some basic checks before writing them off, tho; make sure that the batteries are good, and that the contacts inside the headphones are touching both sides of the battery. Then check the on-off switch; is it actually working? Try tracing the cables to it and shorting them out; the switch itself might have broken.

I hate to throw electronics out, so I will usually try and fix them if possible. But if the fix will cost more than the new, I don't usually bother.
posted by baggers at 6:23 AM on October 3, 2008

I s'pose you are confident that the noise-cancelling is dead--not just the indicator light.

Before giving up on the noise-canceling, I would:
. Rub the battery contacts with an eraser, perhaps coarse cardboard, to make sure they're not slightly oxidized.
. Give it a little shake, watching the indicator light. Hey, duct tape helped save Apollo 13.
. If not afraid of possibly wasting the remaining value as headphones, disassemble and reseat, press, or jiggle connector points. Unfortunately, though a common defect, it is tricky to resolder something lose on surface-mount circuit boards. But maybe you'll get lucky.

While thus probing, you should probably put the phones on a hard pillow and have a motor running so you can properly test the noise-canceling.

I too feel bad about not being able to repair stuff as was common in simpler days. Even then, there was nostalgia for simpler technology.
posted by gregoreo at 6:41 AM on October 3, 2008

Contact the manufacturer directly. I've sent my digital camera back to Sony for repairs. It was free (except for shipping it to them) and they returned it within a week.

I believe that repairing stuff is better than replacing it but if you really want to dispose of it, recycling is everywhere these days. Many cities have drop-off facilities or electronic recycling days. You just have to find out what day it is, and remember to take it there. Addtionally, a lot of big name stores will now take your old electronics. I've taken old cell phones to Verizon, and batteries to Radio Shack. Ikea takes back CF light bulbs with mercury. Costco has a trade-in program, (though I haven't tried it). Even Best Buy has recycling events, and drop-offs for your old phone, batteries and ink jet cartridges.

Otherwise, freecycle is a good alternative, because there's always a hobbyist around who likes to tinker or needs spare parts.
posted by hooray at 9:00 AM on October 3, 2008

Oh, and I find it's handy to own a soldering iron and tiny screwdrivers and to know some basic electronics. Be brave and open that sucker up, look for loose connections or jostled parts. If you look on the Internet hard enough, you'll find someone who has had the same problem as you, and if you're lucky they've posted a solution. This might not apply specifically to your headphones, but for simple electronics it's a good way to learn how to your stuff works.
posted by hooray at 9:07 AM on October 3, 2008