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Topic: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried? (Read 3101 times) previous topic - next topic
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My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Just noticed that my idsd nano's headphone jack wiggles around internally when I move the plug around. It used to be solid. It still holds my plug in well enough (not as tight as it used to) and I don't experience any audio issues when wobbling it around, but could this progress to, well... broken? I think I tripped over the cable once or twice.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #1
Got a soldering iron?

I honestly don't know how the jack secured in that DAC but I will tell you if you know how to take things apart and put them back together without breaking them and know how to solder it might be small afternoon project that takes a few hours at the most.    Maybe a little hot glue does the trick instead of soldering in that case?

As for the worrying part?  Um.  Does it work just fine or is it kind fickle when the jack moves?  How loose is it?  Does it feel like you could rip the jack out when you remove the headphones?  If you answer yes to any that you should worry, but is seems you answered no, so maybe you don't have to worry.  Just keep an eye on things for a while to see if you notice any issues crop up.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #2
Googling for pictures indicates that it is fixed to the mobo, and I see no screw to the "front plate". 
It could sooner or later break loose from the soldering then? Anyone? Glue?

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #3
Soldering would be the most effective treatment.  If you can find a star point screwdriver to open it with.  Some reflow work and it should be good.

Gluing it to the plate would be a bad idea if you ever need to open it again.

Just checked Google for pictures.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #4
Soldering is not the issue. If it had come unsoldered then it would no longer work. The traces have pulled loose from the board, so you need to apply a lump of glue to keep the jack from wiggling and tearing the traces.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #5
Googling for pictures indicates that it is fixed to the mobo, and I see no screw to the "front plate". 
It could sooner or later break loose from the soldering then? Anyone? Glue?

If it is held in place by only  circuit board land patterns then it can reasonably be expected that continued flexing of the copper traces will cause them to work harden, fatigue, and break. 

The other advice you received to glue it back in place seems most reasonable. Be sure to clean the area to be glued with a flux-removing solvent to ensure the best possible bond. High strength epoxy that lacks metal filling  seems to be a good solution.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #6
Ha, I thought I would get emails alerting me to responses. Did on my last post at least. I'm no good with all this soldering and DIY-type stuff, but I suppose I could learn pretty easily if needed. Glue, eh? I'll see how things progress, if needed I could do this. The supplies would be cheaper than a new DAC anyways! Ha ha.

Thanks a lot guys.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #7
I haven't seen photos, but if (as others are saying and as I suspect) the headphone jack is mechanically held in place by the circuit board traces themselves then you need to completely stop using it until you can mechanically secure it to something else.  Hot glue works wonders IF you have room inside the case.
Creature of habit.

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #8
Looks like this, right?
http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/stereo_electronics/media/iFi/ifi-nano-dsd-dac-binnenkant-boven-2_thumb_zpsbf0017fb.jpg.html

https://www.stereolife.pl/archiwum/testy-lista/1518-ifi-audio-idsd-nano
(with a battery?). Not obvious to me that the "front plate" can be removed with those bolts (how about that volume knob?), and it is actually not obvious to me that there isn't some screw atop the jack outlet either.

 

Re: My headphone jack on my DAC is loose, should I be worried?

Reply #9
Soldering is not the issue. If it had come unsoldered then it would no longer work. The traces have pulled loose from the board, so you need to apply a lump of glue to keep the jack from wiggling and tearing the traces.

The contact points are soldered, but they are not meant to keep the connector in place. This is normally done by some thicker soldering points just connected to the ground on the PCB, or just connected to nothing but the PCB. In some cases the metal is just a flat piece of metal that is twisted at the other side of the PCB.

If you choose to resolder, first remove the old cracked solder and apply new solder. That keeps the connection secure for a longer time than just reheating the old solder.