Does anyone make their own headphones?

[kctess5]

I would be building everything myself. I started out in much more circuit design intensive fields like microcontrollers and high power lighting so the audio circuits with the supersized components don't really phase me

[Antoinel]

Originally Posted by ODougbo

We used to hot glue little speakers in our motorcycle helmets, they sounded great.

I like the approach of ODougbo. I bolted a pair of 4'' wide-band speakers to a bicycle helmet via wood offsets. Heavy weight relative to common headphones from their big magnets. Not pretty either ! I drove them with a transconductance power amp. They sound great. Pictures are attached; front and side views. The woodframe allows for bolting other speakers instead; like the automotive Boston Acoustics SE75 4'' by 6" speaker. It is a two way design. They too sounded great; especially articulate in the mid to high end.

[Antoinel]

Please go to the thread " A headphone Transconductance Amp for a change!". It shows a practical circuit [Headphone001.pdf] which I used to drive the bicycle helmet headphones. Loudspeakers behave differently when driven by the common voltage source amp of low output impedance versus a current source or transconductance amp of high output impedance. The website www.firstwatt.com has articles by Mr. Pass which discusses them.

[Antoinel]

This thread has gone stale. Its time to stir it up. After all, diyAudio is about projects by fanatics [me], for fanatics [y'all].

[Antoinel]

Chances R you have an idle bicycle safety helmet. Let's build a pair of high fidelity headphones with/on it!. I have such a helmet made by Bell. Bell [its maker] and dB sound pressure are an accidental coincidence here. I had bought for this simple project two 4" Die Cast Aluminum Cone Woofers [both were on sale for $20] from MCM Electronics; Part # 55-3853. The specifications for this wideband driver are at www.mcmelectronics.com. Noteworthy is its frequency response of 60 Hz to 15 KHz. Here are several reasons to assemble this headphone:

• A strong rival for commercial headphones. Why not? After all, one normally puts such drivers in boxes, and drives them with diy or exotic amplifiers and then exhales whao, ooh, aah; what great sound. Their sound in this [headphones] application is [expected] to be better than that in boxes. Close to the ear; meaning a trivial cone excursion = high linearity = or low distortion, and no interferference by the walls of the listening room. We all strive for this high fidelity outcome in our builds regardless of the contraption
• Any diyAudio project must eventually make sound and reproduce music. Here it is. Your diy amplifier will drive a real loudspeaker.
• I use the helmet headphones to assess my diy amplifiers and simultaneously enjoy music. I hear everything.
• This build does no require a knowledge of acoustics and electronics. Just bolt the drivers to the helmet. Ensure symmetry around your head and ears.
• Wideband drivers up to 8" are useable in this application. I used a pair of 8" Radio Shack drivers with concentric whizzers. Worked great.
• The reproduced music from the helmet headphones is outside one's head [3D] unlike that reproduced with standard headphones which maybe be flat and in one's head. IMHO; step aside Grado and STAX!

I'll send in a forthcoming post a picture of my head in the helmet headphones which I described in two earlier posts. Surprisingly, I found that a transconductance amplifier was more suited to drive them than a classical voltage source amplifier.

Best regards

[chinsettawong]

I make my own electrostatic headphones.

Has anybody made an ELS headphone?

Wachara C.

[kctess5]

Haha thats a great pic.

The thing I immediately think of though is that most headphones produce bass by pressurizing the small volume between the ear and headphone. Basically the same concept as cabin gain in a room or car. Without that seal the bass wouldn't be as good.

It seems that if you found a way to make a seal you could use much smaller drivers, like 3"-4" fostex drivers that would have a much improved high range while still producing just as much if not more bass.

The frequency response of a driver infinite baffle is going to be practically meaningless on the low end. What I mean is that driver you mentioned with 60hz - 15000hz range would actually produce muuuucccch more bass with a seal, I would guess easily down to 15Hz or lower. This is why you can hear bass from tiny ear buds with resonant frequencies in the hundreds.

I'd be tempted to get a pair of over the ear hearing protection sort of headphone type things and mount a 3" tang band driver in it making sure to get a good seal. The things you mentioned earlier about low excursion and distortion would all be true

[geraldfryjr]

Here is some links to my little compact driver,


Material for ESL

Material for ESL

and,

Has anybody made an ELS headphone?

They had good bass just holding them up to my ear !!
This can have a response as high as 50Khz or better !!!
jer

[Antoinel]

Originally Posted by chinsettawong

I make my own electrostatic headphones.

Has anybody made an ELS headphone?

Wachara C.

I commend you on your expertise to assemble such a delicate and precise transducer. Meticulous, and patient are some of the strong points of your personality.

[Antoinel]

Originally Posted by geraldfryjr

Here is some links to my little compact driver,


Material for ESL

Material for ESL

and,

Has anybody made an ELS headphone?

They had good bass just holding them up to my ear !!
This can have a response as high as 50Khz or better !!!
jer

I commend you on expertise. Working with sub-millimeter distances demands accuracy and a very patient person.