DIY Headphone

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I searched around for this and didn't find much so please correct me if I've glared over something.

Is there such a thing as a DIY headphone? I've seen 1-2 designs for electrostatic headphones, but is there any dynamic designs or anything electrostatic I'm missing?
 
i'm going to try various 2" and 3" loudspeaker drivers to make some hi-fi DIY headphones and compare them with high-end headphones like AKG701, Sony SA5000, Shure E4's, and Etymotics. I've heard a lot of them so I have good foundation for comparison. I don't know very much about DIY headphones since it's hard to find information, but would like to find out! I expect to have to build some kind of equilization circuit, and I expect the completed headphone to be larger and heavier than commercial headphones. I might have to use speaker amps like a Tripath, I don't know.

Focus will be on sound quality above all else. Anyway, is there an inherent disadvantage as to using speaker drivers in headphones? I find that most of the commercial headphones "suck" when compared to hi-end speakers, even the expensive ones can't match my DIY speakers when it comes to accurate reproduction. I want to see just what headphones are capable of, maybe I have to try many new ideas but I'll find something!

So any tips or advice for me? My thoughts is that I should try the hi-vi 3" and then the aura 2" and 3"
 
Uhh you are going to loose in comfort catagory..... You know you have to be able to wear headphones....

Also those speakers, at least from what I remmeber, would be crap. I do not say crap because of their ability to produce sound, but their sensitivty is way to low for a driver of that size, to function in such a near field operation. They will get loud way to fast once you start cranking to hear any thing. The sheer size of the drivers will have the sound trying to go around your head vs. in your ear. Also with their sensitivity and general much bigger design, they will not be very accurate at in ear volumes, the control of the vc against the magnet will be poor at such low amplifcation levels to not ruin your hearing.

Here is what I suggest.... Buy a pair of known to be decent Grado's that have potential, as well as a popular aftermarket modding scene. Toss those crap stock every thing but the drivers and design your own entire headset off of them incorperating every thing from the DIY modding scene, all new connection wires of high quality. You could end up making a comfortable pair of Grado's!
 
Yeah I know portability and comfort are difficult to acheive with a DIY design using speaker drivers. So I've given up on those issues altogether and will instead focus on the sound. For the volume thing, I think you are right, but it shouldn't be too hard to find ways to fix that. I can build a customized amplifier for it no problem. Ironically I just sold my Grado SR225's because I thought my other headphones sounded better. The thing about headphones is that I think pretty much all of them are too expensive for what you are getting, i don't know how the market works but the markup price seems as bad as for commercial speakers. so ordering replacement drivers from Sennheiser or AKG is too expensive an option for me. speaker drivers seem much cheaper, so are they really ill-suited to be used in headphones besides the weight issue (which can be reduced, but not to typical headphone weight)?

i am also considering placing it farther from the ears so that it can go through the head-related transfer function and sound more accurate. the main problem with headphones is that recordings are designed for speakers, so is there any advice on how i can correct for this? my goal is to make accurate headphones.
 
Wow I just tried the Hi-Vi 3" as open-back headphones and they sound amazing! they are so transparent-sounding and clear coming out of my sonic impact t-amp! just wait till i do the equalization! they are heavy and dual-monopoles btw, but they can be debucked to be much lighter.

i put them about 2 inches from the ear to avoid it sounding like a headphone and it actually sounds like my DIY speakers (both uses rigid aluminum cones). the bass impact is phonominal and the best part is that these drivers are like $9 each. when they're done i'm going to ask some regulars on head-fi for some impressions on them. once i get these to be reference headphones i will post the final design.
 
the thing i need to tweak is the bass, everything else is the way i want them to be. the bass is slightly boomy, still better than most of the commercial heapdhones out there, but i don't like boomy bass. would making it a closed headphone solve that problem?
 
OK, so I decide that the hi-vi 3" is on the heavy side, even debucked. Maybe I should go for a 2" like the Auras. I briefly tried the new Jordans with excellent results, but had to sell due to the exorbitant pricing on those drivers. Anyone have any advice on how to build the headphone chamber? Open or closed? Distance to ear?

Currently I'm thinking of superaurals that go around the ear, and have some distance between the drivers and ear to make it more speaker-like. Remember, I'm trying to create a reference headphone as a guide for my future speaker projects. I remember Linkwitz tried to do this with commercial headphones, I've tried this route and now I think that it won't work due to the high nonlinear distortion of commercial headphone drivers (hence the brightness). And I don't like surpassing the external ear either. Also trying to get good bass performance (I hear that the upcoming Shure E500 in-ears will have excellent bass performance despite its super-small drivers, so I know it's definately possible with 2" drivers).

So... I want to make my own reference headphones, and need to find suitable drivers. I don't care whether it's powered from headphone amp or power amp. I don't want the drivers to be too expensive, but I do have the money so if there's a compelling reason to go with expensive drivers then so be it. If it works out I'll post the schematics/plans online.
 
dnsey said:
You're not the first to try this idea.
I have a magazine from the 1960s, when any headphones were still quite expensive, with an article describing DIY phones made from loudspeakers and plastic flowerpots!:D

Hahah. Incidentally one of my prototypes for testing were also flowerpots! I did however discover that the shape of the chamber and the material used that a big impact on the sound.

So far in my testing my best results have been an open headphone with free-air between the ears and the driver. Obviously there will be insane sound leakage (as bad as Grados), but sound quality is very good. Just need more suggestions.
 
Puggie said:
I think it was Jecklin Floats where the headphones were rigid and sat on your head with the drivers an inch or so off your head.

not great for jogging or down the gym!

http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/archive/perl/90_printreview.htm


Ooooo... very interesting! In all my years at head-fi I've never come across these cool headphones. My current prototypes look very much like the Jecklin Floats! Sorta like a dynamic driver version of it. The Floats are electrostatics right?
 
Related to the floats, check out the Ergo's. I have heard them once, the Ergo 2 I believe, and they sounded pretty good, but I didnt have much time with them, and it was quite loud. For their huge size, they dont isolate much ;). I believe there were also a couple versions of the Jecklin Floats, so there are dynamic and electrostatic versions out there, though I could be wrong on that.
 
music soothes the savage beast
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I wonder if I could call up Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic and just order some replacement drivers because I have a "blown" pair I got off ebay?

hi bjackson and others, i have two pairs of high quality headphone drivers removed out of old tandberg headphones
if anyone is interested in puting it into the suitable housing or replace blown sennheiser, i will send them for shiping
 
The AKG K1000 is an open backed dynamic headphone where the speakers sit quite a distance from your head. They also fold out a bit, so that the sound comes from the 'front'. They are absolutely ridiculous looking, but sound great.

To be honest, DIY headphones is a tough challenge. I've had the opportunity to hear some of the best headphone/amp combinations money can buy, and they are a tough act to follow. Headphones use custom drivers, very carefully engineered enclosures (when working with that small of a space, every cubic centimeter counts), and have high demands.

Don't let that stop you, though! You'll learn a lot by doing it, and will end up with some fun headphones, for sure.

As to the head related transfer functions issue, visit the http://www.head-fi.org forum, there are some experts there, and a huge archive of information about these effects.

I built a headphone amp a while back that included a filter that took the left channel, applied a low-pass filter to it, applied a slight frequency dependent delay, and attenuated it, then mixed it into the right channel. The same was done to a copy of the right channel. The filter was settable in intensity, depending on the situation. The intent was to emulate the head related transfer of sound, the low frequencies radiating through your head, the high frequencies radiating around your head, and the related delay and attenuation.

Unfortunately, I made the amp a long time ago, and no longer have the schematics. However, similar filters are talked about all the time over on head-fi.

The filter worked very well. It was very subtle on the lowest setting, but if you left it on for a while, then clicked it off, the music sounded flat all of a sudden. Likewise, if you closed your eyes, laid back, and then clicked on the filter, the sound image lept out in front of you. It was a very strange, but pleasant, psychoacoustic effect.

Headroom (http://www.headphone.com) sells headphone amps with their version of a HRTE filter that sounds very good, they've done a lot of research on it, and the filter is a very subtle but effective way of eliminating the 'in the head' feeling you get from headphones. Ideally you'd implement it in the headphone amplifier, rather than the headphones, so you'd be working with line level signals, instead of full power signals.

Anyway, hope this helps! Good luck on your project, and let us know what you find out. I was playing with some Hi-Vi 3" drivers the other day, holding them up like headphones, and it did sound pretty good. Of course, they are way too heavy for actual use, as you found, but it was a fun experiment.

peace,
sam
 
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