Bluetooth headphone mod....

[Eagleboy]

I just got a set of Jensen WBB100 Bluetooth stereo headphones...

I just want to say first off, that it's awesome working around the shop without cords, and I can't image going to the darkroom in the fall without any cords getting in the way of my printing. I'd just have to mod the transmitter and headphones to rid myself of the lights (extraneous lights in the darkroom = a big no-no).

But, the sound is, well, Jensen. After gaining some Etymotic ER-6 IEMs and a pair of HD580's (with the 600 grills

), I don't know how much longer I can do with this.

So, my question is this: Would it be feasable to integrate the bluetooth hardware into a higher-end headphone? I'm thinking Grado or AKG at this point. Likely the impedance wouldn't be remotely similar, which I think would be the big hurdle. Constructing something to contain the new electronics is no problem for me, it's just the electrical stuff.

The only info I can find about the headphones are that they run on a 350mAH Li-Ion battery. I could likely find a better battery to run this off of if I need to integrate an amp circuit as well since the impedances likely won't match up (does anyone have any info on the possibility of a micro headphone-amp?).

Ideas? I won't have any money for a little while for this project, but I'm really looking to have a better listening experience while I'm working in the darkroom, since I'm in there for ~6-7 hours at a time, multiple times a week. I want to start compiling ideas and a shopping list now, so when I get the money I can just jump in and go for it.

Also, suggestions on cheaper-cans to try this on? I like the Sennheiser sound, but I don't mind branching out at all.

Thanks!
-Tom

 

[RedLeader]

sounds like it would be a HUGE pain, but unless all of the stuff is completely integrated you could probably remove the reciever. And that little battery could run the etys for a bit, but the 580...

 

[Eagleboy]

I have no plans of running the Ety's off of the Bluetooth receiver.... I essentially want an enclosed system inside a decent set of cans. Kinda like those doofy lookin' Sony "walkman" headphones that had the radio built in, but far less doofy lookin'.

And yeah I don't think that battery could drive anything on the level of the 580's... so does anybody have any info on micro-headphone amps? Anything I could make myself?

I have NO idea how integrated everything in these headphones is... I'm hoping not very. I don't want to open them up until I know I have enough money to buy a second pair if I screw up big time...

 

[go_vtec]

Wouldn't it be easier either buy a wireless phone or use a potable device and a good wired phone w/ wire clips? Small DAP like iPod Nano isn't too big and IEM or efficient phone can be driven directly by it. Frankly, what you saying may be possible, but not practical IMHO.

 

[Eagleboy]

I've been doing the wired w/clips thing for a while now. The wireless headphones are just... easier to move around with. I've been driving my Er-6 IEMs with my Creative Zen Touch quite well.

Also, you don't know me, but I prefer things that I do myself over anything else. I play Laser Challenge, and I only play with guns that I mod myself. I make my own guitars. I make my own shelves and boxes and other things that help out around the room. Point being, although it may not be practical, when I'm determined to do something I make every attempt to do it. I have these bluetooth headphones, and now I want better-sounding bluetooth headphones.

 

[Edwood]

Here's an off the shelf solution.

http://www.tekkeon.com/site/products-mytalker.php

Headphone plugs into this unit, you clip the unit to your shirt, closest to the collar of your shirt, which is where the microphone is located.

**EDIT. Oops. Doesn't look like you are looking for a cellphone function, only a wireless headphone adapter.

 

[Edwood]

Hmmmm. Perhaps a Bluetooth portable headphone amp is what you need.

 

[Fatality_]

You could strap a flash player to the headband of your phones

Would work reaaaally well.

 

[plonkersaurus]

Bluetooth isnt really fast enough to provide good quality audio.

The fastest bluetooth 2.0 devices with EDR maybe be with perfect signal as they have a data rate of 2.1Mbits per second but older devices that use bluetooth 1.1 and 1.2 have a data rate of 723kbits a second. PCM audio (wave) has a data rate of 1411kbits a second. This means the bluetooth headset will be sent compressed audio of some sort or just lower quality pcm so the quality will suffer...

Rarely do wireless devices reach their maximum data rate so the hardware you have probably sounds bad due to source as well as the headphones.

 

[milhouse6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Hmmmm. Perhaps a Bluetooth portable headphone amp is what you need.

It'd be nice if I could find one. Closest thing seems to be the Ten Technology naviPlay, but it's only compatible with iPod. Here's all I found.

An mp3 player taped to your forehead does a lousy job for late-night home theatre, btw...

 

[Eagleboy]

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...272&adid=17662

I bought these when the price was lower. So, I already have a Bluetooth 2.0 headphone set, and my goal is to use these to turn a nicer pair of headphones into bluetooth cans - or if I decide to get involved enough with the project, Bluetooth "enabled" cans (where I can plug a patch cord in to listen wired if I don't need the bluetooth).

The bluetooth does degrade the signal, but either way I'm going to hear what is there much differently through a different pair of headphones.

And Fatality_, lol there's no way I'm strapping a 20gb HDD player to my headband haha, nor do I have the cash to buy a flash player in addition to all this stuff for the project. I've also seen it done on hackaday.com, and it's a pretty weak mod IMO.

Does anyone know of a headphone amp that uses a REALLY small circuit that could possibly fit into an enclosure on the headphones? For now, this is the real hurdle, until I open up the bluetooth headphones and see what's waiting for me on the inside.

 

[Eagleboy]

Update - I just got enough money "afford" to take these headphones apart.

Upon popping off the drivers, I find that they are 32Ohm drivers, with a "60mW" tag on them as well. These are adequately driven by the amp that is built into these headphones.

The whole unit is powered by a very small 3.7V 350mW battery

My initial plan was to build a very small amp to power bigger headphones within the headphone casing - I don't know if this is a possibility now, because looking at the unit I cannot find a seperate amp unit. There are two circuit boards in the headphones...

One has a power switch, a jack to plug the charger into, the battery, and the board is labled "power". This board is located on the right side of the headphones. The driver that is on that side of the headphones, is actually simply routed to the other side - so, the left side sends the signal to both left and right drivers.

This other side in question, contains the microphone for the headphone's cell phone features, a blinking blue light signaling bluetooth connectivity, and the left driver.

The thin wire connecting the two sides is a Smorgasborg of connections - six leads alltogether. Two of the leads are for the right driver, routed from the left side. The other four seem to be power related - maybe two to the bluetooth adapter and two to the amp? It is impossible to tell what is going on in the left side (the side I suspect has both the Bluetooth adapter and the amp), as there is a layered circuit board... One circuit board is hard-wired on top of the larger circuit board. This daughterboard covers whatever I could have used to interpret the signal trail...



So, I suppose my next question is: Can you amplify an already amped signal? How much does doing this degrade the signal (I can deal with a little bit of signal degradation... nothing too serious).

If this isn't recommended, can I have a few ~30 Ohm headphones recommended to me so I can just simply throw the bluetooth components in there? I currently own Senn 580's w/ 600 grills, and Etymotic ER6. I have no true preference for headphones yet, so I'm open to pretty much anything. As long as somebody can honestly recommend them to me, I'll look into it. So long as they're less than $100 used...

EDIT: I see the ATH-ES7 are 30ohm cans... Does anybody have any experience with these?

Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[spinrite]

all these connections i think you could choke yourself to death with all the wiring

 

[spraggih]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milhouse6 It'd be nice if I could find one. Closest thing seems to be the Ten Technology naviPlay, but it's only compatible with iPod. Here's all I found. An mp3 player taped to your forehead does a lousy job for late-night home theatre, btw...

This sounds really cool - sounds like (no pun intended) it would work with any headphones as the transmitter and receiver are separate components versus integrated into a headphone.

Ten Technology naviPlay: Designed specifically for the Apple iPod, this is a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver (called a "remote") set but no headphones. Instead, users plug their own headphones into the remote pack, which also sports an internal microphone for voice application/mobile phone connectivity. The remote has buttons for Power/Play and a multi-function "Navi" button for controlling volume, track navigation, and call answer.

naviPlay's transmitter pack clips onto the iPod and is incompatible with other audio players. One advantage to the iPod customization is that the track navigation controls on the remote work. Although the transmitter and receiver are paired, they can be unpaired so that each can communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Ten Technology markets the naviPlay as a wireless product for headphones, powered speakers and other applications requiring wireless connectivity (such as connecting an iPod to a home stereo system).

Other specs: The audio codec is SBC. LiPolymer batteries power the remote and transmitter up to 8 hours (4-hour charge time). The packaging has an AC adapter and FireWire charging cable. The remote weighs 46 gr. MSRP $239 US.

 

[Eagleboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spraggih This sounds really cool - sounds like (no pun intended) it would work with any headphones as the transmitter and receiver are separate components versus integrated into a headphone. Ten Technology naviPlay: Designed specifically for the Apple iPod, this is a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver (called a "remote") set but no headphones. Instead, users plug their own headphones into the remote pack, which also sports an internal microphone for voice application/mobile phone connectivity. The remote has buttons for Power/Play and a multi-function "Navi" button for controlling volume, track navigation, and call answer. naviPlay's transmitter pack clips onto the iPod and is incompatible with other audio players. One advantage to the iPod customization is that the track navigation controls on the remote work. Although the transmitter and receiver are paired, they can be unpaired so that each can communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Ten Technology markets the naviPlay as a wireless product for headphones, powered speakers and other applications requiring wireless connectivity (such as connecting an iPod to a home stereo system). Other specs: The audio codec is SBC. LiPolymer batteries power the remote and transmitter up to 8 hours (4-hour charge time). The packaging has an AC adapter and FireWire charging cable. The remote weighs 46 gr. MSRP $239 US.

At this point, why wouldn't you just carry around your iPod? You still have wires, you still have a boxy unit to put in your pocket, and you still have a wire that leads from the 'phones to the unit. Way cheaper and more logical to just carry around your iPod...

The point of bluetooth is to remove wires. What's the point of getting a wireless system that has wires dangling around all over the place?