DIY Earbuds
Nov 12, 2019 at 8:39 AM Post #1,171 of 4,683
In the meantime for that 11.11, I decided to get another 130 ohm beryllium but with metal covers instead of generic black plastic (hopefully a bit better sub-bass presence with these kind of covers), and a pair of 500 ohm beryllium drivers, I'm curious :)

i built another one with new metal covers;
first noticed thing out of the box is a little boomy midbass and less airy presentation as a result.. but didn't try it with the same cable; it's maybe because of the cable differences.. with a neutral or somewhat cold source it can be shine though..

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Nov 12, 2019 at 9:14 AM Post #1,172 of 4,683
Any impressions on these drivers? Compared to others in the price range, for example detail levels, sound sig etc?
I'm looking for nice quality low impedance (32-64ohm) 15.4mm speakers. I tried some other drivers in the 3-4usd range with very good results, so I'm planning to try some in the 4-10usd range. Steel mesh is good point for me because I have some shells that dont work with the bigger plastic covers, but sound quality is my priority.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954897746.html ( New mx500 steel mesh 32ohm )
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000220039317.html ( Titanium membrane 64ohm )
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000053569225.html ( Titanium Film 32ohm )
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000312685982.html ( Steel mesh 32ohm 110dB )
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000272216678.html ( 32ohm 98.5dB clear sound)
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 7:59 AM Post #1,174 of 4,683
The Dunu Alpha 1 has both a Dynamic and BA driver and sound great
 
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Nov 15, 2019 at 5:41 PM Post #1,177 of 4,683
Has anyone experimented with “open back” shell mods? (like ms16) For example, drilling a large hole in the back of a wooden shell. Will it work and provide new sound characteristics or it would just ruin the whole thing? Of course I would put some kind of metal mesh and foam on the hole-
 
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Nov 20, 2019 at 11:01 AM Post #1,178 of 4,683
Can you recommend any techniques to remove the coating from earbud wires? I opened up a bud and I accidentally tore the cable apart where it was soldered to the speaker. So the end of the cable is coated (not silver but colored) now. I read that I should dip it into flux then heat it up, but I don't have flux. Any other options for cleaning these thin fragile cables?
 
Nov 20, 2019 at 2:27 PM Post #1,179 of 4,683
Can you recommend any techniques to remove the coating from earbud wires? I opened up a bud and I accidentally tore the cable apart where it was soldered to the speaker. So the end of the cable is coated (not silver but colored) now. I read that I should dip it into flux then heat it up, but I don't have flux. Any other options for cleaning these thin fragile cables?

I do have some liquid flux, to use on tricky soldering projects.
Since you don't have any, there are several suggestions here - https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/53028/how-to-remove-enamel-from-wire
 
Nov 20, 2019 at 4:08 PM Post #1,180 of 4,683
I do have some liquid flux, to use on tricky soldering projects.
Since you don't have any, there are several suggestions here - https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/53028/how-to-remove-enamel-from-wire
Thanks, I've seen this page while on research. I might try simply heating up the cable with soldering iron, I don't think the other options are feasible in my case. I just a bit hesitant as this is a bit dirty method, I don't want to hinder sound quality by creating residue on the cable. Maybe the easiest option is to just buy flux or flux-core solder, but these are very cheap cables not sure if they worth the effort. (stock cable of Qian69 and SR2 16ohm)
 
Nov 21, 2019 at 4:34 AM Post #1,181 of 4,683
i built another one with new metal covers;
first noticed thing out of the box is a little boomy midbass and less airy presentation as a result.. but didn't try it with the same cable; it's maybe because of the cable differences.. with a neutral or somewhat cold source it can be shine though..

Interesting to see that covers may such affect the overall sound presentation. I will check this point too as I will (hopefully) receive my drivers in a few days.
For now I'm still very pleased with the version with standard MX500 black plastic covers.
 
Nov 21, 2019 at 4:41 AM Post #1,182 of 4,683
Thanks, I've seen this page while on research. I might try simply heating up the cable with soldering iron, I don't think the other options are feasible in my case. I just a bit hesitant as this is a bit dirty method, I don't want to hinder sound quality by creating residue on the cable. Maybe the easiest option is to just buy flux or flux-core solder, but these are very cheap cables not sure if they worth the effort. (stock cable of Qian69 and SR2 16ohm)

I'm now using THIS TK83 flux pen, very good flux pen, recommended :)

s-l500.jpg
 
Nov 25, 2019 at 8:29 AM Post #1,183 of 4,683
Long time I did not made some DIY so yesterday I choosed to finally check and open one of my two pairs of Edifier H180 :D

The good news is that it perfectly fits MX500 drivers type (basically 15.4mm). It almost snap (depending of the drivers covers) (@robar fyi).
I unsoldered one of my mods (the wood shells with the PET 32ohm drivers) to get back the drivers for this new mod.

The cable used on Edifier H180 is basic/standard entry level OFC (I puted it in my backups cables just in case) and decided to also undo my MX760 project to retrieve the copper cable that I generally use in my best mods.

The drivers are not very difficult to remove but seriously needs attention (I killed one driver trying to dismantle), because the covers are really a cover of the drivers themselves, meaning that if you try opening H180 you will directly face the coil, so beware.With some tools you can gently pull out the glued drivers from the plastic shells. As I killed one driver, I had much fun before killing the other one, to plug the cable in a DAP and put at almost max volume listening some heavy bass tracks, it was interesting to see how coils are moving from the magnet, it's like a woofer on its own, it was funny experience, lol, then I killed it to retrive the H180 shells :)

The holes in the H180 acts like MX500 ones, they have basic cotton tuning that we can find easily on them. As they were completely glued, I decided to gently remove everything, from the cotton to the glue for cleaner result (not in the photos) and put a brand new coton tuning in the shells.
I also removed the stock cotton tuning from the 32 ohm PET drivers and place white thin ones (as seen in the photo) and assembly everything back.
The fit on these shells coupled with these drivers remembers me the Docomo PK2 mod. They are very close.

The result is stunning! bass is just incredible, near the level of Smabat ST-10, like a subwoofer system, I'm impressed.
Sound is yet warm but with some slight V presentation, with very good details and overall clarity. Soundstage not the biggest but very intimate.
Probably my yet best DIY for electronic musics pair ever made! I enjoy it a lot for now :)

Here is some photos I took during the mod :

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Nov 25, 2019 at 9:34 AM Post #1,184 of 4,683
Long time I did not made some DIY so yesterday I choosed to finally check and open one of my two pairs of Edifier H180 :D
The good news is that it perfectly fits MX500 drivers type (basically 15.4mm). It almost snap (depending of the drivers covers) (@robar fyi).

Looks really nice, thanks for the mention :) I'm planning to buy a cheap bud with this shell, after I completed my other projects. there are some 1-3usd listings which would be nice donors haha. I'm waiting for DP100 and wooden shells, plus I disassembled Qian69 too for the shell. (the driver died in the process unfortunately, and metal clamps stuck in the stem so it's not an easy process) I bought some drivers too, and I'll make a detailed post about the results after I received and built everything :) For the time being, I really enjoy the N50 build, it's like the mx760 build on steroids, more transparent, larger soundstage, bigger bass, crispier highs, more engaging in every way. Actually I'm planning to move the mx760 drivers to the DP100 or Qian69 shells, I think it has a lot of potential and the mx760 shell is the main culprit in my opinion, even the fit is not ideal for me. (even in this shell it sounds like an improved Qian69 to me, but I think a bigger shell would make it even better, like deeper bass, smoother 4-5khz, more transparent etc) Will you experiment with the mx760 driver further, like putting it in other shells like the wooden one etc? My theory is that it's originally designed for dp100 shells, and the bundled mx760 shell was just the seller's idea or convenience.
 
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Nov 25, 2019 at 10:01 AM Post #1,185 of 4,683
Looks really nice, thanks for the mention :) I'm planning to buy a cheap bud with this shell, after I completed my other projects. there are some 1-3usd listings which would be nice donors haha. I'm waiting for DP100 and wooden shells, plus I disassembled Qian69 too for the shell. (the driver died in the process unfortunately, and metal clamps stuck in the stem so it's not an easy process) I bought some drivers too, and I'll make a detailed post about the results after I received and built everything :) For the time being, I really enjoy the N50 build, it's like the mx760 build on steroids, more transparent, larger soundstage, bigger bass, crispier highs, more engaging in every way. Actually I'm planning to move the mx760 drivers to the DP100 or Qian69 shells, I think it has a lot of potential and the mx760 shell is the main culprit in my opinion, even the fit is not ideal for me. (even in this shell it sounds like an improved Qian69 to me, but I think a bigger shell would make it even better, like deeper bass, smoother 4-5khz, more transparent etc) Will you experiment with the mx760 driver further, like putting it in other shells like the wooden one etc? My theory is that it's originally designed for dp100 shells, and the bundled mx760 shell was just the seller's idea or convenience.
Your welcome :)
If mx760 drivers snaps in those H180 shells, that would be a dream of comfort I would say. I will check this in the next few days :)
I will try them in my few other mixed/exotic shells collection (wood, metal, etc) and stay you tuned.
 

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