Sennheiser 558 cord ripped out of my PC case, damaged the port, what now?

[The Droogs]

I built a gaming rig in a Fractal Design R4 case, and bought the Sennheiser 558s, which I foam modded. I plugged them into my PC case's built-in audio port, and absolutely LOVED the sound. And I never had to turn the volume up more than about 65% to max (it was loud there).

Then my golden retriever darted by, and snagged the headphone cord, which ripped it out of the audio port on my case, and that longer works. So I plugged them directly into the motherboard (ASRock Z97 Fatal1ty Killer), but the volume has to be cranked up to max to get anywhere, and I really want it cranked up more (the way it was when I could plug it into the case). I'm baffled as to what's going on with that, since the port on the case just plugs into the motherboard, so I dunno why the sound and volume are different.

Anyway, would an amplifier fix this? Or should I get a sound card? Or replace the case? I'm not a pro audiophile. I just want my sound back the way it was, nice and crisp, without having to max out the slider.

 

[ssddx]

generally the front jacks will be louder than the rear as the front are meant to drive headphones so are more highly amped while the rear are meant to go to powered pc speakers which are better not on a highly amped signal. of course certain boards could have highly amped rear headphone jacks as well but this is typical.

yes, an amplifier or soundcard would work however the cheaper option may be to just replace the 3.5mm jack in your case front panel. you can contact fractal about it - i could not find it on the usa site however this i think http/www.fractal-design-shop.de/index.php?a=217 is what you would need to replace (the front panel circuit board, not actually the front cover on the case). its a board that contains all the front panel devices and gets screwed into place under the front panel. this should fix your issue.

or, it may be possible to not buy anything but fix the port instead. if you broke the tip off inside the jack it may be able to be removed. if you broke the jack loose from the board it may be able to be soldered back in place

 

[shotgunz]

I hope you weren't using their bulky 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor. It makes the jack very susceptible to getting damaged since it creates a lever. Try finding a 6.3mm to 3.5mm cable adaptor.

 

[ssddx]

^ agreed. the 1/4 to 1/8 (6.3 to 3.5mm) solid adapters place alot of strain on jacks. the cable adapters are much better at reducing strain.