[drummerben04]

Okay, their are plenty materials to go with also a lot of people mixing materials, for instance cement and wood, plastic, metal, even 3D printing now with Mr. Speakers. My question would be, what materials brings the most open sound well keeping a closed headphone design. Mr. speakers 3D printed plastic headphones are said to sound really really good. Does wood sound just as good? Thanks!

 

[barbadread]

I've seen wood used in many builds but also aluminum ( http://www.head-fi.org/t/611982/the-stratokosster-a-closed-diy-headphone-based-on-the-koss-ksc-75-driver-and-grado-cup-design ) and it's all claimed to have different characteristics.
 
Materials are important for their resonant qualities but I think you will find that most headphones are constructed with some sort of dampening material inside. Either felt, acoustic foam or some sort of loose fibre wool. It's used for tuning your phones to get the frequency response curve you want. This combined with the size and shape of the baffle behind the membrane and last but definitely not the least: the position of the speaker membrane in relation to your ear canal.
 
Sorry I can't give you any more basis for the choice of cup materials but if you find yourself with the "wrong" material after completing your build, I think you can nudge your phones in the right way using these parameters.

 

[barbadread]

Here is a thread discussing cup tuning and materials:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592921/cup-tuning-basics

 

[drummerben04]

Awesome link, so it's not just wood. If you choose wood it comes down to what type of wood to get which is well explained in that thread. Also one note to mention is wood does have a tendency to crack over time I've seen. What I've learned is finish affects the sound quality too. Raw wood sounds too organic and it needs to be refined a little with finish. Metal sounds too artificial and it needs some finish to give it some character.

Thanks for the help! Really it's just trial and error. Looks like I will have to make multiple shaped versions of multiple types of wood to see which one I prefer. In that link thought you posted is that an opened headphone design only. I want to make a closed headphone with a big soundstage. It's hard to do but can be done. Mr Speakers alpha dog is example and the creator has inspired me to make my own.

 

[barbadread]

I have to admit that I'm not sure of exactly what creates an open sound stage in a headphone at all. When it comes to closed designs, the areas you seem to gain the most from is a tighter, more defined bass, better presence and a more detailed sound in general, possibly due to better isolation from surrounding noises.
 
Do you have any tricks up your sleeve for altering the sound stage?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Although you are going with a closed design, you could still potentially use concepts from open headphones. This only applies to planar magnetics, but I heard that removing the rear magnet can eliminate reflections. The size and shape of the ear cups can expand the soundstage. Breathable foamed aluminum can also contribute to an open sound. No matter what you do, it's going to require a good amount of experimentation.

 

[barbadread]

Wait, what? Actually just removing the magnet furthest away from the ear? I've been giving this some thought because I'd like to make my own planar magnetic drivers someday. I think the concept with the "sandwich" arrangement is that if you use only one magnet, the field lines of the permanent magnets won't be perpendicular to that of the conductors. Correct me if I'm wrong here. I think the principle with the "epsilon" layout of planars is that conductors are arranged in lines and there are very long magnets creating very long, almost straight field lines that are also arranged in alternating polarities. I'm still a bit confused about this but I think these are the reasons that those drivers work with magnets on one side only.
So how would one with a spiral conductor work with only one magnet...?
 
Don't get me wrong, if it does work, that's great news for me, takes be much closer to actually working something useable out!

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Wait, what? Actually just removing the magnet furthest away from the ear? I've been giving this some thought because I'd like to make my own planar magnetic drivers someday. I think the concept with the "sandwich" arrangement is that if you use only one magnet, the field lines of the permanent magnets won't be perpendicular to that of the conductors. Correct me if I'm wrong here. I think the principle with the "epsilon" layout of planars is that conductors are arranged in lines and there are very long magnets creating very long, almost straight field lines that are also arranged in alternating polarities. I'm still a bit confused about this but I think these are the reasons that those drivers work with magnets on one side only.
So how would one with a spiral conductor work with only one magnet...?
 
Don't get me wrong, if it does work, that's great news for me, takes be much closer to actually working something useable out!

 
I'm certainly no expert. You would have to ask the designers themselves.
 
At least one planar magnetic headphone does it this way, but it took over half a decade to create.

 

[barbadread]

"Unique custom made high power neodymium magnets with optimized slot pattern."
 
So it's multiple magnets arranged in a "slot pattern". That sounds suspiciously like the epsilon layout. Or at least something linear instead of spiral. If you look a bigger planar magnetic speakers they use that design. I've seen something similar being used in a HifiMan heaphone but with a sandwich design, maybe Abyss have found a way to do without one of the magnet assemblies? I still doubt this working on a spiral design though but I'd love to be proven wrong.
 
I've asked around a fair bit actually, response has been really low. If you have a tip on who I might talk to I'd love to hear it!
 
Sorry drummerben04 for taking your thread off topic!

 

[Music Alchemist]

  "Unique custom made high power neodymium magnets with optimized slot pattern."
 
So it's multiple magnets arranged in a "slot pattern". That sounds suspiciously like the epsilon layout. Or at least something linear instead of spiral. If you look a bigger planar magnetic speakers they use that design. I've seen something similar being used in a HifiMan heaphone but with a sandwich design, maybe Abyss have found a way to do without one of the magnet assemblies? I still doubt this working on a spiral design though but I'd love to be proven wrong.
 
I've asked around a fair bit actually, response has been really low. If you have a tip on who I might talk to I'd love to hear it!
 
Sorry drummerben04 for taking your thread off topic!

 
My best advice (for both of you) is to get in touch with the established headphone manufacturers themselves (along with those connected to them, such as former engineers and the like) to garner further insights into what methods could be employed to meet your goals. Of course, much of this information is in the proprietary business secrets category, but most of them should still be willing to have a general conversation with you.