iPod killing headphones?

Question

iPod killing headphones?

My 5.5G iPod video was doing fine until recently. In the past 3 months, I've bought and returned 3 pairs of high-quality earphones because after a while either the left or the right stopped working at a decent volume. On the second time, the clerk told me perhaps my iPod is sending electrical charges to my headphones and that's why there is always one side not working. I didn't really believe him until now.

It's my third pair of earphones now, the left one stopped working a couple of hours ago. Note that I'm only using them on my iPod and I'm really careful with them, so I can't believe I've been out of luck 3 times in a row. Should I downgrade my firmware, and is it possible that it's indeed my iPod who is killing my earphones?

Macbook 2.2Ghz, 160 Gb, 4 GB, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Apr 14, 2008 10:33 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 14, 2008 4:51 PM in response to XavierGosselin

Well you can't just blame the iPod, although yes my iPod has killed my headphones before. But that is really rare. Try plugging the pair of speakers into a headphone jack in your computer or something with an AUX port.

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Answer 2

Apr 14, 2008 7:25 PM in response to vvgamepro

Yeah I have tried this. What happens is that 1) my headphones work, anywhere... 2)at some random time, while I'm on my iPod, the left (or right) earbud stops working and 3) Then, it stops working, not only on the iPod but everywhere

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Answer 3

Mitch 751

Level 6

11,644 points

Apr 14, 2008 7:44 PM in response to XavierGosselin

I personally don't agree with the statement, I believe it is the bad contact between the iPod's earphone jack and the plug causing the problem.

You can see from time to time, there are posts regarding to they can only hear one channel from the earphones.

May be it is the quality control problem, after hundred times of plug and unplug of the earphones with the iPod, the iPod jack's metal contact parts become lose, and created space in between the plug and the jack.

Consider setting up a mail-in repair for your iPod http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/
Or visit your local Apple Retail Store http://www.apple.com/retail/
In case your iPod is no longer covered by the warranty and you want to find a second repairing company, you can try iPodResQ or ifixit (if you good to deal with electronic part) at your own risk
http://www.ipodresq.com/index.php
http://www.ifixit.com/ - for the part replacement (earphone jack)

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Answer 4

Apr 14, 2008 11:01 PM in response to Mitch 751

I've been having the exact same problem, and I can confirm the iPod is indeed causing the problem, as when I've used the same headphones on a PC or my DS and never my iPod they never go dead in 1 ear. I've tried this with multiple different brands and pairs. The headphones that die on me will get progressively worse over time from being brand new, and act the same on any kind of device. I have noticed that if I stop using them on my iPod and use them on another device without using them on my iPod anymore then they stop degrading.

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Answer 5

May 8, 2008 4:10 PM in response to XavierGosselin

agreed XavierGosselin, i have a 5G iPod and the 2 out of 3 Apple headphones that i have got have broken inside the headphone under normal wear and tear. The support person that i talked to today said that it might be the problem with the iPod. I have heard of people using dollar-store headphones and the iPod breaking them also with expensive headphones.

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