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And now for something completely different ......I get through quite a lot of earphones - mostly the in-ear sort used either when walking or working or even falling asleep.
Many of the wires get very stiff and then brittle, often just the last 12 inches or so before the eapiece itself.
I have always assumed this was due to body heat due to lying on them in bed.
Any ideas on what causes the (pvc?) to harden like this?
Any suggestions?
Follow Ups:
I guess I'll just have to treat them as consumable items and buy a cheap job lot!Audio quality is not so important when attempting to nod off !
Thanks all.
rw
Is likely the problem. The plasticizer can "off gas". The is increased by temps over 85 F and exposure fats, oils, and saliva. PVC is naturally brittle and the insulation on your ear phone leads are about 50% plasticizer.Maybe put a sleeve on them....wash face before use....and wash leads after use???
Hi.Somehow I got quite a few small earbuds sleeping in my gadget basket (never ever bought one). They got tiny PVC leads, which if used too much outdoor in cold cold weathers can get stiff & brittle but should be nice & soft up to 80C before heat deforming.
Keeping indoor all the time, mine do not get such stiff problems.
The wires get so stiff that I can hold them almost like astick. This over the last 20 years with dozens of different models.I am pretty sure it is the sleeping on them that does it - the half at the stero jack end never seems to suffer.
Well, if its the insulation, body oils and such may well be the cause as Dan says. I never knew that a Bybee purifier worked on earwax, though!I don't use headphones nearly as much as you do, but I have had the cord go, too', but because of the wires. I rather suspect that reason is that the last foot undergoes much more flexing than the rest of the cord, and so the wire eventually gets brittle and breaks. Maybe all that flexing affects the PVC, too.
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"Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony."
------Heraclitus of Ephesis (fl. 504-500 BC), trans. Wheelwright.
It's the ear wax leaking out of your ears and onto the cable causing the breakdown of the cable insulation. :)
A Bybee purifier with a least 500 hours of break in will cure this.
d.b.
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