Why Are My Headphones Crackling? – How To Fix It

You probably can’t remember a time when you’ve put on your headphones and hadn’t immediately heard some crackling or static coming through the earpieces. What you’re experiencing is a pretty common problem, and you’re probably not imagining it. You can usually pinpoint the source of the problem to one of three things: a bad connection between your headphones and your music-playing device, a problem with the earpiece itself, or the way you’re wearing them.

If your headphones produce crackling noises, there are a few easy things you can do to fix them. First, check your audio source to make sure the connection isn’t faulty, and make sure the volume is turned up. If it’s your headphones that are at fault, make sure you aren’t putting too much stress on the cable by tying it too tightly or by wrapping it around your player or MP3 player. If you are using earbuds, check them for damage or dirt inside the earbud.

Causes of static in headphones

There are a few things that cause static in the earpieces of headphones, including:

1. Attenuation of tiny speaker magnets

Your headphone’s speakers contain tiny magnets that produce sound. Because these magnets near the end of the speakers are so far away from your ears, they tend to attract many dust and debris. The result is static in your earbuds. To prevent this problem, you can blow out any excess dust from around your earbuds with a dry cloth.

2. Generating a voltage differential between speakers and earpieces

Because the speakers on your headphones are so far away from your ear, the surrounding air acts as a capacitor. An electron flow causes the static through the air as a result of this voltage differential. The higher you turn your music volume up, and the lower you keep it at other times, the more likely you’ll hear static in your headphones.

3. A badly made or damaged connection

When you plug your headphones into your music player, you may feel a brief electrical current when you plug it in. This is because a device that isn’t connected properly to the headphones sends a tiny amount of electricity to them. If this happens too often, you may start to notice static in the earpieces of your headphones. To fix this problem, reconnect the wires from your music player to your headphones and turn on some music.

How to fix headphone static

There are a few ways you can make your headphones less susceptible to static, including:

1. Wiping your headphones out with a cloth and dryer sheet

If you’re dealing with fairly simple static, try blowing some dryer sheets into the earpiece of your headphones. The dryer sheets cling to dust particles and eliminate them, which will prevent too much wind from entering the earpiece. This will, in turn, keep your earbuds from generating many static charges in the first place.

2. Use headphones with noise cancellation
   Headphones with active noise cancellation technology send a counter-signal to your earpiece that’s out of synchronization with the disruptive electrical signals in the air. The result is much less static in your headphones and music that sounds much more present. As well, your voice will sound significantly lower.
3. Adjust the placement of headphones on your head

A lot of headphone static is caused by improper placement on your head, so move them around until you get a better fit. Also, make sure that your headphones touch your head instead of the cord. This will help keep the electricity surging through the air from creating as many static noises in your headphones.

4. Turn down the volume on your MP3 player

If you aren’t using noise-canceling headphones, you can reduce a lot of static by turning down the volume on your MP3 player or another music source. The lower you set it, the less likely it is that wind and other random air movements will cause static on your headphones.

References

https://www.head-fi.org/t/652034/why-are-my-headphones-crackling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H1ffzRtKqw

http://travelquill.com/2014/05/08/high-tech-headsets-are-noise-canceling/

FIXING CRACKLING SOUND FROM HEADPHONES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU6lCY2sR8A

FIXING CRACKLING SOUND FROM SOUND GUYS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcbUEs-kJBo

http://www.headphonereviewer.com/howto-fix-crackling-sound-from-your-headphones/

http://www.headphonereviewer. com/static-in-headphones-howdo-i-fix-it/

https://www.soundguys.com/staticynoise/

http://www.xoundreviews.com/can-staticynoise-from-headphones.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphone_static

http://www.headphonersupport.com/?p=3221

https://discussions.apple .com/thread/5944603?start=0&tstart=0

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000160.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMfITjy2KJw

https://www.howtogeek.com/217452/how-to-deal-with-headphone-static

http://fixmyheadphones.org/static-crackliness.shtml

http://www.headphonesarefantastic.com/why-you-hear-static-on-your-earphone/

http://www.wirelessears.com/blog/videocaster3tetheredeck/truebitsandstatic

http://lifehacker.com/fixing-crackling-soundtracks -from-headphones-2008026830