[Steve Dave]

grado drivers have great mids, especially good for listening to audiobooks. Well worth the upgrade cost.



judging from the photos, larger drivers can be mounted behind the baffle (hot glue), it doesn't have to be the exact same size as stock driver.

Koss SportaPro drivers have 44mm OD at the flange, main body is 40mm; ~$20
https://www.amazon.com/Koss-155475-...eywords=koss+sporta+pro&qid=1653756839&sr=8-2

Koss KTXPRO1 is the same size, and about the same price.
https://www.amazon.com/Koss-KTXPRO1-Titanium-Portable-Headphones/dp/B00007056H/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UY7NBS9RDK3L&keywords=koss+ktxpro1&qid=1653756915&sprefix=koss+ktxpro1,aps,282&sr=8-1

Sporta and KTX both have 60 ohm drivers, basically the same except the diaphragm, Sporta diaphragm is non-coated, KTX is titanium-coated. Resolution/detail level is about the same, the KTX sound is a bit more bright/energetic, but can (more easily) lead to listening fatigue. Sporta is more easy-listening.

overall, the i/eGrado driver has the best price/performance ratio.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
The Sync drivers are clipped into a kind of cage, no room to go bigger than 40mm without cutting which I'd really like to avoid, first time and all.

Gotta say, the SportaPros are too tempting, only to break apart.
Like the idea of that swivel headband, may have to add them to my ever growing list of future purchases.......thanks.

 

[goodfidelity]

Hi Guys!
This is my first post.

I just upgradet a Shoei NXR helmet with some new speakers, fresh cheap china stuff 40mm.
Even if it was way better then the Scala Rider speakers from before, it was still not good enough.

I used to have 50mm speakers (also some kind of China stuff) in my old helmet, and when i compared the new 40mm to the 50mm speakers it was WAY difference in bottom end. I could hear all the way down towards 30hz with the 50mm but the 40mm faded out around 70hz. (i was running youtube video with headphone test sounds).

I tried a pair of Porta PRO, but they didnt deliver any bass at all in this configuration. Sound became very thin an noisy.

So now my question to you guys in this thread:
Is there any special model of 40mm speakers that you can recommend, that will give "ok" sound performance in mid and high, but very very rich bass?
Since it is in a motorcycle helmet, there is not much room for the "box" around the speaker. It is basically mounted in a 3D printed holder that i did, that fits the original hole in the helmet.

image of the 3D printed holder inside helmet

(speakers i used was 40mm on the outside diameter, not the cone / membrane)

I read through alot of info here, about wool speakers and other stuff. Still i didnt get a very good idea of what would be the best possible solution for my application, due to the fact that there is no box behind the speaker.

Any input would be nice, sorry for hojacking your thread but seems we were on similar track with upgrade. When i get premission i might post my own thread about this and UL some images of the result.

Thanks guys!

//GF

 

[Steve Dave]

Hi goodfidelity,

Unfortunately I can't help you, still waiting on parts from China.
Learned that 'Cainiao Standard - SG Air' is not not the one to go for right now, 5 weeks handed to airline and counting.
The drivers got here in the usual 10-14 days via Ali Standard though, only tested resistance so far.

 

[goodfidelity]

Hi goodfidelity,

Unfortunately I can't help you, still waiting on parts from China.
Learned that 'Cainiao Standard - SG Air' is not not the one to go for right now, 5 weeks handed to airline and counting.
The drivers got here in the usual 10-14 days via Ali Standard though, only tested resistance so far.

Ok!

Thanks for sharing.

Let us know how it turns out when you solder them.

Interesting to see how different drivers perform.

//GF

 

[Paul WB5AGF]

Hello Steve;

I'm in the midst of a somewhat similar project ... trying to get a pair of Sony MDR-V600 Headphones (which get pretty bad press) to sound half-way decent.

I bought the MDR-V600s off eBay for just a few Dollars because the right driver was blown. I'd been wanting to learn something of the ins-and-outs of headphone design and thought that having a pair sitting on the work bench would be a good way to become motivated.

I bought a pair of headphone drivers off eBay (advertised as being replacements for the MDR-V6 and MDR-7506) and they finally arrived a couple of days ago. They fit into the MDR-V600s with no problem and didn't sound too bad immediately after I put the ear-pieces back together and put on the Geekria ear pads I'd purchased (seems like I'm spending a lot of time waiting for things to arrive in the mail).

Now I'm working to learn how to tame the over-abundant bass response (mid-range seems OK and treble may be a bit on the bright side). From what I've read the oh-so-nice Geekria ear pads may share at least some of the blame for the too strong bass as they seal against my head really well. My next step is going to see about blocking one of the ports (holes) in the body of the driver (all but one are blocked with felt) as my understanding is that should reduce the driver's ability to generate bass frequencies.

Try one thing .... then try something else ...

Regards;

Paul in Texas

 

[goodfidelity]

Hey Paul!

I just build some 40mm drop in speakers to my SHOEI NXR Helmet.
It has a standard mount to fit some speakers and i tried 3 different models from aliexpress. I am sure same models are on e-bay.
I bought cheaper model speakers, from like 5 USD -> 15 USD.

I tried these 3 models:
1. like 5$ - mid bass - not so pronounced around speech frequency area
Aliexpress 40mm speaker, cheap kind.
2. like 15$ - very weak bass - very pronounced around speech frequency area
Aliexpress 40mm speaker, larger membrane and thin suspension ring
3. like 15$ - stronger bass - pronounced around speech frequency area
Aliexpress 40mm speaker, smaller membrande and larger suspension ring

The third model seems to be knockoff or OEM for this speaker:
aiaiai speaker

I liked number 3 the best, because inside the helmet the bass really is missing.
However maybe you would prefer the number 2 speaker here.

I would be happy if you could supply the link to your 40mm speaker that had TO MUCH BASS as that might be a candidate for my project.

Thanks!

I used some video on Youtube to compare the spakers, and i mounted one of each kind as reference on different side, and just went through frequency respons sweep to se how they compar. Using the brain as the comparison tool.
youtube headphone test video

Pls keep me updated on what model you found!

//GF

 

[Paul WB5AGF]

The headphone drivers (to retrofit into the Sony MDR-V600 Headphones) I purchased off eBay are :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/252162897466?var=550999205336

I (strongly) suspect that the MDR-V600 earpiece housings are the reason for the excess bass.

In reading about these Sony headphones : MDR-V6 .... MDR-V600 ..... and MDR-7506 (still in production) what I read was that the MDR-V6 was well thought of ... then Sony decided to replace it with the MDR-V600 .... and almost everything I've read about it talks about the 'boomy bass' .... then Sony came out with the MDR-7506 .... which has (now) been very popular for years.

If you look at the mechanical side of those three headphones ... the MDR-V6 and MDR-7505 appear to have the same physical design. The MDR-V600 tried to go with a different design ... and it does not seem to have been a success.

The MDR-V6 and (current production) MDR-7506 are both well thought of. It is generally felt that the MDR-V6 had the 'flatter' frequency response whereas the MDR-7506 is a bit 'brighter' (it has slight humps in the frequency response both at bass and treble). The fact that the two headphones appear to share the exact same physical design makes one wonder what 'tweaks' are in the earpieces to give the slight variations in frequency response between the two ?

The MDR-V600 has a noticeably different mechanical design than that of the MDR-V6 and MDR-7506. Its (the MDR-V600) earpiece has an 'egg' shape for the body (where the ear pad fits over) whereas the MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 are round. (Getting the Geekria ear pads over the ear pieces of the MDR-V600 is a real chore).

- Paul

 

[Steve Dave]

Sorry I've not posted my results sooner but unfortunately they weren't all that I'd hoped for and not sure how much use they'll be.
I won't post pictures of me installing the drivers as they are a mess, my soldering skills are terrible.

New drivers;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003960324978.html

Sound wise the new drivers are much warmer than the old ones but there is still no bass reverberation (sub bass?), they just don't seem to shift any air in the ear cup.
Whether that's solely down to the drivers or the sealed ear cups I don't know.

Anyway they are better for isolated audiobook, radio and TV/Movie listening but still not musical earphones.

Not all negative though as I didn't spend much and I've learned quite a bit for next time.

Thanks for everyone's input.