Cone and Driver Stiffening Using Spray Paint

[marone]

1) I won't be responsible if you destroy your $2,000 headphones.

That said: One way that I have found to increase the detail of cheaper drivers is to spray them with a clear-coat, clear acrylic, spray paint.

By 'cheaper drivers' I refer to $2 midrange drivers in cheap-o bookshelf boxes, or the bottom of the line ChiFi headphones.

Anything that sounds good such as a SuperLux or better, this would likely destroy the driver.

But for the cheapest of paper cones, this kludge seems to increase the SQ.

Take caution as the surrounds 'pucker' and do not take kindly to the treatment. Cones and dust caps seem 'OK'. Don't get it on the tweeter, midrange only. Cover with paper whilst spraying.

Even the $15 Chinese brand midranges do not need this treatment and I have not used it on them, but for those cheaper than $15 it works wonders. Those very cheap, yellow or coal grey paper cones in lowfi boomboxes and such.

Again, if you spray paint your LCD-2's, it's not my fault.

 

[wakibaki]

Fantastic!!! I wonder why manufacturers don't do stuff like that before they send products out???

w

 

[DingoSmuggler]

Fantastic!!! I wonder why manufacturers don't do stuff like that before they send products out???

w

its quite common for decent manufacturers to treat their driver cone/diaphragms, just not on the most el cheapo stuff

 

[marone]

Yes, and even the $10 mid ranges I have in a project don't require this. I suppose if I bought some $400 Fostex that the $10 mids would get the treatment but I like how those mids sound with the $25 tweeter and $10 xo. Some things that can be done are as with hps - caulking to seal enclosures tight, resonance modification on the spider to dampen, wading to fill with cotton/fibrefill, and so on. Glue and caulk are good for sealing, clear lacquer works also as well on the drivers. Ceramic drivers, in effect, do this by coating the cone with a ceramic material as a stiffener.

It's interesting as the SQ affect seems to be more treble and brighter, but that's likely just increased upper mid-range below the xo point (5551 on this box with a passive one-cap 4.7uf pass filter). So spraying the mid-range increased the high end. For a cost of something like one cent.

Hmm. Maybe I can take those mids and make my own headphones with them...hmmmmmm.