Had a crazy idea... Thought I would run it by you guys in here and see if it sounds like an interesting project.
Horn cabinet, like over at frugal-horn... maybe modeled on the Dalek or the Metronome
Sized for a desktop application (for a PC), and using headphone drivers... over ear, or similar, not IEC drivers.
Am I just completely loopy, or does this sound do-able?
Horn cabinet, like over at frugal-horn... maybe modeled on the Dalek or the Metronome
Sized for a desktop application (for a PC), and using headphone drivers... over ear, or similar, not IEC drivers.
Am I just completely loopy, or does this sound do-able?
Plausible. Over the ear headphones are basically like a horned compression driver if you factor in the ear canal. I have some Sony Extra bass that sound really good, just keep it low decibels to protect from hearing loss.
As for running the headphone through a horn, those little peizos that came with the vintage electronics playsets I had as a kid are similar. One issue is the membranes are very delicate, and running them as compression drivers at well beyond a reasonable line level might cook or physically destroy them.
But if the headphones were junked anyway, give it a shot and let us know...
As for running the headphone through a horn, those little peizos that came with the vintage electronics playsets I had as a kid are similar. One issue is the membranes are very delicate, and running them as compression drivers at well beyond a reasonable line level might cook or physically destroy them.
But if the headphones were junked anyway, give it a shot and let us know...
Let's build one!
I find myself listening to audiobooks on tablets a lot lately. The tiny internal speaker is adequate but far from fidelity. Yes, I have (and can use) headphones, but I like the comfort of lying down and listening to the narrator.
I am sure this has been done, but I'd like to make a small horn that would be powered only from the headphone out of a typical tablet. I am aware that external amplifiers, speakers, etc. are sold. None of those are allowed!
I want a fun and cheap (?) DIY project, probably built with xrk971 foam board technoogy 🙂 Could build a pair of them for stereo, but first effort would be a single horn. Can I pair the L & R outs from a headphone out to run a mono?
Biggest issue is what sort of itty-bitty driver am I going to use? I have no idea. Something like this "pillow speaker"; could it be mounted in a horn?
3.5mm Pillow Portable Sale White Mini Hot New Universal Speaker Tablet | eBay
Obviously I don't expect huge performance, nor full range. But I'm willing to bet that nice sound could be had from a tiny driver and a 12" to 24" square horn mouth.
I find myself listening to audiobooks on tablets a lot lately. The tiny internal speaker is adequate but far from fidelity. Yes, I have (and can use) headphones, but I like the comfort of lying down and listening to the narrator.
I am sure this has been done, but I'd like to make a small horn that would be powered only from the headphone out of a typical tablet. I am aware that external amplifiers, speakers, etc. are sold. None of those are allowed!
I want a fun and cheap (?) DIY project, probably built with xrk971 foam board technoogy 🙂 Could build a pair of them for stereo, but first effort would be a single horn. Can I pair the L & R outs from a headphone out to run a mono?
Biggest issue is what sort of itty-bitty driver am I going to use? I have no idea. Something like this "pillow speaker"; could it be mounted in a horn?
3.5mm Pillow Portable Sale White Mini Hot New Universal Speaker Tablet | eBay
Obviously I don't expect huge performance, nor full range. But I'm willing to bet that nice sound could be had from a tiny driver and a 12" to 24" square horn mouth.
Last edited:
Full range drivers smaller than 3 inches are not very popular around here because they don't produce much bass. Good full range drivers start with the 3 inch Fostex FF85wk and Alpair 5.2 . For desktop you build a Lance or a Bloodhound from each of these drivers. I don't see many Bloodhounds being built. What desktop speaker could possibly be better? Perhaps we should all get together and have a Bloodhound building contest.
I started out with headphone drivers in cardboard and paper front horns. First a simple cone, then I wanted something that looked like a grammophone and read into the subject, found an article at BD-Design, only the best! and made my first tractrix. Headphone drivers are tiny, a limitation. But so much fun. A car speaker (philips 5" with whizzer I think) was a great compromise in size, performance, ruggedness. Worked best in a pair of 200Hz straight tractrix horns, but that's not fullrange and not desktop friendly.
This idea would likely violate my "cheap" constraint, but here goes: might a "normal" compression driver (and your choice of horn) work? Logic: yes, most compression drivers are not rated even into the midrange, but on the other hand, if fed by a flea power amp, no risk of damage (?) But will a CD give output at 100 Hz? Maybe not.
100 Hz? No - not without a huge horn. There are some compression drivers meant more for public address than music that could get you down into the 300Hz range, but the horns still has to be large.
The idea of headphone drivers is fun. Will be nice to see what you come up with.
The idea of headphone drivers is fun. Will be nice to see what you come up with.
The Lance and Bloodhound recommendations I made above will do what you want but the drivers are a bit expensive. You could also build a Redeye which uses a much less expensive driver and still provide impressive bass for such a small design. Building a pair of Redeyes would be a pretty cheap project.
If I have my Sennheiser or Fostex headphones plugged into the laptop and sitting on the table, they can get surprisingly loud. Meaning I can hear voices clearly. With a little help from a box or a back loaded horn, that might be enough.
You could try a passive version
Passive Speaker – Photography Complete | Rob Ives
and here's a video of it in action
His Master’s Microphone | Rob Ives
Passive Speaker – Photography Complete | Rob Ives
and here's a video of it in action
His Master’s Microphone | Rob Ives
I ordered one of the $0.99 pillow speakers for experimentation. To do a "real" horn, I guess it is possible. However, I was hoping to avoid spending more on the speaker than the tablet costs 🙂
I've been wanting to do something-something with headphones and other items I have around here. Problem is time. I'm pretty sure this is my 1st 2-day weekend in 10 months & lots of other things to resolve 1st.
This post will simply allow me to weigh in with frankenspeaker later.
In the meantime - as inscribed on LZ II LP - Do What Thou Wilt.
This post will simply allow me to weigh in with frankenspeaker later.
In the meantime - as inscribed on LZ II LP - Do What Thou Wilt.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.