[WIP] Custom Headphones Design (with new pics !!)
Aug 29, 2012 at 9:49 PM Post #18 of 19
Have you considered a headband consisting of a flexible band below a rigid band? As a reference, look at the AKG K702. I've found this to be extremely comfortable.
 
I've never gotten any diy headband to be comfortable by any other method.
 
Jun 27, 2013 at 9:22 PM Post #19 of 19
Hey guys
Sorry for the delay, but I'm still thinking about this project.
 
@dude_500 : not really, design wise, it's not my cup of tea, but who knows what the future might bring. 
 
I don't have a pic handy, but I did some tests a couple months ago for the headband. I layered 5 sheets of oak veneer and glued them on a form. After drying overnight, I had a rough 1st version of a diy plywood headband, a bit too flexible but this technic might work. I'm thinking about layering a thin sheet of steel make it sturdier, but I've never annealed & hardened metal before.
 
This afternoon, I decided to test something.
A few weeks ago, I dropped my Sol Republic headphones and one of the drivers got damaged, the membrane started to "pop out" of the magnet slot. So I replaced the drivers with the Sawafujis.
 
Old Drivers

 

 
They seem to be kind of molded into the padding retaining plastic clippy thing. Once you remove them, they might become useless because of the broken plastic.

 
This bump in the housing is just a recess to allow room for the jack input. Grinded it with a dremel.

 
And this is the result. You can see the metal pins of the jack connector.

 

 
All Done. No damping, nothing, just the drivers in the Sol Republic housing.

 
Been making sound with those all day long. I'm getting the same kind of sq as the Kanen mod with sheep wool damping. I need to test them more and with better gear (still don't have any DAC etc...). I'll also go to a local audiophile shop in a few days, waiting for them to receive some Grado SR80i to test, I'll bring those and give it a listen there.
One thing interesting is that it confirms that my custom design might work. I was afraid the flat back would do weird things to the sound, whereas the Kanen is more of a half sphere, but those got a pretty good bass response. I might be getting a drop in mids. Everything sounds pretty clear to me but I need to test it more.
 
As usual, I'll keep you posted.
 

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