Using a magnet near audio cable

[mbrand]

I was wondering if there was a way of having a magnet near an audio cable without having any interferance maybe by using a sheild.

My idea was to have a magnet to replace the 3.5mm audio jack in a headphone cable and port so that it would magnetically attach.

Is this possible?

 

[Averagesupernova]

What makes you think a magnet will interfere?

 

[mbrand]

I need to do some testing but I think due to the sound waves, the magnet will interrupt them when placed nearby which messes up the audio or diminishes the audio quality

 

[berkeman]

I was wondering if there was a way of having a magnet near an audio cable without having any interferance maybe by using a sheild.

My idea was to have a magnet to replace the 3.5mm audio jack in a headphone cable and port so that it would magnetically attach.

Is this possible?

I need to do some testing but I think due to the sound waves, the magnet will interrupt them when placed nearby which messes up the audio or diminishes the audio quality

It's not the proximity of the magnet to the cable that could be an issue, it's the proximity of the connector magnet to the speaker magnets and voice coils in the headphones.

If you put another permanent magnet near the permanent magnet and voice coil in the speakers in the headphones, the extra magnetic field could have several bad effects on the operation of the voice coil.

But, if you are using this connector magnet to hold the cable to the headphones, you would make the magnet in a horseshoe shape (or similar), so that when it attaches to the ferrous metal piece on the headphones, its magnetic path is closed, so that none of its magnetic field leaks out to get into the voice coil assembly.

BTW, if you hold the cable on the headphones with just a magnet, how are you planning on making the electrical connections?

 

[sophiecentaur]

BTW, if you hold the cable on the headphones with just a magnet, how are you planning on making the electrical connections?

Apple manage it very well with their recent power book / mac book (?) mains connector. A very smart design which just pulls off harmlessly when stressed too much. It would be particularly useful for a smart phone / ipod for which a normal jack is very unsuitable and vulnerable (for a clumsy sod like me, anyway).