Fixing the broken right driver/no sound on my AKG K7XX headphones

My trusty old AKG K7XX headphones recently developed a fault where the right driver would crackle, and I'd get periods of no sound.

This would have been a great excuse for an upgrade, but when they were working, they were fine.

My cable was fine, so I decided to open it up and find out what the issue was.

The issue

The issue turned out to be a broken wire where it is soldered onto a pole, which then connects to the driver. 

The wire is very high-gauge and thin, so it's not surprising that it broke off.  

How to fix the AKG K7XX headphones' broken driver wire

This isn't a professional repair guide, but it's how I repaired mine, so it might be useful to someone. 

This fix likely also works on other K7 ranges, such as the AKG K712. 

Follow at your own risk :)

1. Remove the right grille 

The right grille can be removed by rotating it anticlockwise.

I used a plastic toothpick and some downward pressure with my thumb while turning it.

Obviously, don't poke anything in it too far, as you could damage something.

2. Remove the right side cover

The right cover is held in with two small Phillips screws and two clips (you can't see these yet).

Remove the two screws:

Then, to remove the cover, pull towards you whilst lightly squeezing it on the sides.

This will release the clips, and the cover should come off.

Ensure the headstrap bars are straight and don't pull too hard, or you may break the clips!

You should then have the two parts removed.

(I also cleaned these parts after, as they had got a bit grim)

3. Fixing the broken wire

There was just enough wire left for me to strip it and reuse it. 

I did a very poor job of stripping the wire with my sidesnips and took way too much off. I couldn't fit my wire strippers in there. But there isn't anything metal in there, so I just left the long bare part.

I then tinned the wire with some (rubbish) lead-free solder.

There was a fair bit of solder on the pole, so I just left it there.

Then all I did was solder the wire back onto the pole,

Again, I did a pretty poor job of this, but it was a solid enough joint, and the factory soldering isn't great either, to be honest!

4. Putting them back together

To put them back together, it's just the reverse of putting the cover on, putting in the two screws and putting the grille back on in a clockwise motion.

And they're fixed!

That fixed them for me, and they've been working perfectly since.

I hope this helps someone :)