[Thomasr]

As I've mentioned in other threads, my main listening station is in the same (open concept) room as my kitchen, so my beautiful headphone collection is 40 feet away from the stove and all the associated cooking fumes, etc.


The only headphones that I feel really emotional about are my SASH Tres, so rather then keeping them out in the open, I've been keeping them in a Tupperware container.


Needless to say, Ive been wanting something more presentable looking, and while it's not quite completely done, I've finally got this project to a point where I'm ready to show it off.

Rather than getting into exotic (and costly) woods, I stuck to maple ply and red oak for this prototype box.



Pro tip: a $30 kids play tent and $20 lazy susan from IKEA make an excellent spray booth when applying lacquer.


Test fitting the satin cradle. In hindsight, there are some design changes I'd make in future iterations.






A tray inside the glass case, for keeping the cable tidy. I also cut a notch at the bottom of the door so I can leave the cable plugged into my amp if desired.


A drawer outside the glass case, for extra pads and earcups, etc.



Choice of USB or battery power for the lights. In retrospect, trying to get sufficient light out of 20mW LEDs - even multiples - was a silly choice. I've ordered some 1W chip bulbs from Aliexpress and I'll swap those in when they arrive.

So that's it folks. A few details (door handles and magnetic catches, maybe some brush seals around the doors to keep dust out) remain, but I'm 99% ready to put this bad boy in his new home.

 

[HWB3]

Beautiful. I thought that the kid's play tent was going to be part of it. I'm like well it was good up until that part. Lol.

 

[Thomasr]

Beautiful. I thought that the kid's play tent was going to be part of it. I'm like well it was good up until that part. Lol.

Personally I would love to see the name IKEA comes up with for a headphone tent, but know it's going to have umlauts and extra consonants.

 

[Thomasr]

So I have some friends and family saying I should consider "going pro" with this idea and turn these cabinets into a commercial offering. And while I'm somewhat skeptical about the economics here, I guess there's no harm in doing some research and exploring the viability.

But first things first: @mods, how would I go about doing some market research here on Head-Fi while staying on the right side of forum guidelines? Can I create things like polls to gauge interest, or does that immediately turn me into a "member of the trade"?

 

[Philimon]

I dont think its a problem to research / poll for interest. Add a poll to this thread and change title to let people know youre looking for feedback on potential commercial product. Once you start selling though then I think it’s MOT title and limitations.

Feedback from moi (i can be more specific):
- too big and ugly
- cool for diy but not paying or using even for free
- needs to be airtight otherwise dust
- prob cheaper and better options online or local ikea

 

[Thomasr]

I dont think its a problem to research / poll for interest. Add a poll to this thread and change title to let people know youre looking for feedback on potential commercial product. Once you start selling though then I think it’s MOT title and limitations.

Feedback from moi (i can be more specific):
- too big and ugly
- cool for diy but not paying or using even for free
- needs to be airtight otherwise dust
- prob cheaper and better options online or local ikea

Thanks for the honest feedback - I appreciate it.

 

[Philimon]

Thanks for the honest feedback - I appreciate it.

No problem.

I live in a small apartment so the cabinet would take up way too much real estate for a single headphone. If the cabinet doubled as a media stand for amp+dac+laptop then maybe could justify.

I dont care for the dark staining of the wood. I prefer lighter colors in general. The cabinet looks like furniture my parents mightve had.

Well done though, I cant make that.

I cant imagine this being easy and cheap enough to produce to be competitively priced. Not to mention shipping costs.

Id want a minimalist clear display case with dust protection. Otherwise Ill just continue to store headphones in their original packaging hidden away in the bedroom closet.

 

[Thomasr]

No problem.

I live in a small apartment so the cabinet would take up way too much real estate for a single headphone. If the cabinet doubled as a media stand for amp+dac+laptop then maybe could justify.

I dont care for the dark staining of the wood. I prefer lighter colors in general. The cabinet looks like furniture my parents mightve had.

Well done though, I cant make that.

I cant imagine this being easy and cheap enough to produce to be competitively priced. Not to mention shipping costs.

Id want a minimalist clear display case with dust protection. Otherwise Ill just continue to store headphones in their original packaging hidden away in the bedroom closet.

All fair points.

FWIW I'm imagining this being the sort of thing where I offer buyers their choice of wood stain, satin lining, and LED colours ... but in terms of the overall design I'd need (at least initially) to have one consistent playbook that I repeat for each order. If I offered a basic option and an ornate option and a modern option and an art-deco option, then a large case, medium case, small case, etc. etc. I'd drown in complexity, especially considering cost and reproducibility factors as you mention. I'm never going to compete with IKEA, nor would I want to - making stuff like this is a labour of love and the attention to detail is where I get my satisfaction.

I guess I've just seen one too many threads here on Head-Fi where people are keeping their headphones hidden away in the original boxes, Pelican cases, or something similar. And while this "does the trick" I suppose, two big disadvantages spring to mind:

1. It's a small-but-repetitive pain in the *** to retrieve a headphone from its protective case, connect the cables, settle in for a listening session, then do it all in reverse once you're done. I literally listen to my SASH Tres less because they're not as readily available, and that's a bloody shame because they have such a gorgeous sound
2. A nice pair of headphones is a work of art. These things deserve to be seen, not locked away in a black ABS case whenever they aren't on your head

I guess I'll see where this goes. I have time on my hands right now so I might make another unit just to lock in all the design improvements that have come up through this process. Further community feedback is welcome.

 

[chezzer]

Really nice work, good luck

 

[Thomasr]

All right Head-Fi community, what colour should I go with for my next build? I'm thinking navy blue should be a nice complement to the metallic copper accent bands.

 

[Brandfuchs]

I don't know why, but when I first see the purple lighting combined with such a classical cabinet, my first impression is that ‘is it some kind of magical artifacts from the Harry Potter or Wizarding World universe?' (I mean no offense)
Just found this combination quite unique and intriguing! Nice work!

 

[Thomasr]

I don't know why, but when I first see the purple lighting combined with such a classical cabinet, my first impression is that ‘is it some kind of magical artifacts from the Harry Potter or Wizarding World universe?' (I mean no offense)
Just found this combination quite unique and intriguing! Nice work!

I never noticed that until you mentioned it but yeah, you're right: according to colour theory in graphic design (which I used to do professionally many years ago) purple and gold are what's known as a "magical" colour scheme. I must have been channelling my inner Gandalf when I reached for those LEDs.

 

[Thomasr]

Thanks everyone for your ongoing feedback and poll responses. For those who voted "not a fan of this execution" I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you'd prefer to see instead (and thanks @Philimon for your detailed feedback already).

Feel free to PM me if you'd rather not chime in here.

 

[Brandfuchs]

Some may think it's a bit wasteful to have such a large cabinet for just one headphone. I mean, some people may own multiple headphones, like those from Beyer, Senn, etc.. If the cabinet in this size can only accommodate one, it might take up too much space (though I think placing the most important one in this box would look really nice, like susvara or forth lolz)

Anyway, I think customization is a rather important aspect, maybe you should let users to decide on details like the colour of the lights inside, and if possible, customizing the size and inside layout might also be a good option. But I assume this would make it a lot more difficult to build.

 

[Thomasr]

If the cabinet in this size can only accommodate one, it might take up too much space (though I think placing the most important one in this box would look really nice, like susvara or forth lolz

That was my thinking too: people with multiple sets of phones would probably rotate a "favourite" pair into this cabinet.

That said, in the future I might consider making multi-phone cabinets if there's interest/demand.

maybe you should let users to decide on details like the colour of the lights inside, and if possible, customizing the size and inside layout might also be a good option.

Yup, stain colour, LED colour(s), and satin lining colour would be customizable.

I'm also planning to add some cool features (air filtration and humidity control!) to the next unit. Stay tuned.