iPod's 'killing' right side ear buds

[krissel]

QUOTE

It appears that in at least some cases, the manifestation of this issue results in permanent damage to the attached right earphone. In other words, sound is degraded or completely lost when the ostensibly damaged headphones are connected to an audio device other than the iPod. Also, when new earphones are attached to some afflicted iPods, the right channel works well; this indicates that the problem does not indicate failure of right-channel sound output from the iPod itself.

We are still in the initial stages of positing theories regarding the cause(s) of this issue, but some hypotheses include:

    * The construction of the female mini-jack receptacle on various iPods is such that the right channel section of the male audio jack is more prone to some type of damage. The tip of a male audio jack is generally used for left channel sound, while the thicker part of the jack beneath the tip is used for left-channel sound. (See this diagram on Wikipedia for a visual representation). It is possible that the right-channel section of the audio jack is receiving some sort of adverse contact from iPods, causing this issue.
    * Undue pressure on one side of the earphone jack causes strain, and eventual right-channel failure.
    * Sound delivery to the right channel differs from delivery to the left channel, resulting in blown or otherwise damaged right earphones.

 

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070305104744613

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jack_plug.png

[Gregg]

Solution: switch ears! Pretty simple.

(Move the earphones, not the ears.)

[()]

By the time all the iPop people reach 45, they won't even care about that.  They'll be more concerned about the fact they can't hear at all.

[snuffysbluff]

QUOTE

The tip of a male audio jack is generally used for left channel sound, while the thicker part of the jack beneath the tip is used for left-channel sound.

The fix seems pretty obvious to me.

[krissel]

Yeah, Gary, I noticed that typo.  

[Gregg]

I think that just deepens the doo doo.

The right channel blows, even though it isn't used. Funny!

[Xairbusdriver]

Despite the type, the fact is that's the standard audio jack design, three contacts, one 'common', one right, one left. Been around since before headphones, even. The problem is either in a badly designed headphone, provided by Apple, which cannot accept the 'normal' current or a badly designed iPod right audio channel, provided by Apple, which occasionally has power spikes. Either way, Apple needs to fix it.

I assume that the comments about the 'design' are trying to suggest is that the internal contacts in the iPod can sometimes touch the 'wrong' contacts of the headphone jack. That's nothing new and it is not an excuse for the loss of one side if the headphone output.