The planar drivers are still a little expensive for my builds
DIY Earbuds
- Thread starter gwompki
- Start date
slappypete
100+ Head-Fier
Do you know where to get them?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32953543325.html
This is the "BIG Brother"
Three impedance variants (120/150/300ohm) ?ST-10S
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Themilkman46290
1000+ Head-Fier
Just got the ti 64ohm for around $15, they are still burning in but so far, I like them a lot, better sub bass then the 32ohm n52 drivers and greater highs then the 600ohm before tuning, also got my 500ohm, it's nearly identical to the 600ohm but slightly more sub bass before tuning. Gonna let it all burn in before tuning, so far really happy with the 64ohm, it doesn't have the depth or sub bass of the 400,500,600ohm drivers but I feel with tuning it and right shells they might compete
assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
Built another MMCX bud today, I've been slacking on it.
Ordered these 14.mm 32ohm drivers Xmas eve from Chitty on AE. Balanced sound according to them.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32230887418.html
I've had a pair of PK shells that came with my PK1 (red) 150ohm drivers and a pair of MMCX sockets... that I ordered August last year.
Cut the shells down with a small hobby hacksaw (6-8" blade) and smoothed down with a fine file then edges with a diamond file. Used a 2.5mm drill bit and M3 x .5mm tap... ordered September last year (after I had the MMCX connectors to measure).
Came out pretty good. Sounded relatively balanced for the 10 seconds I listened without foams, before putting them on burn-in.
Finally had a chance to listen to these drivers a little more in depth. Balanced sound, rolled off sub-bass. Doesn't really do anything great but also isn't bad.
Doesn't quite have the clarity of others but not badly muffled either. Just slightly veiled.
I'd put it on par with a mid-grade bud (3 of 5).
The PK1 red film still is the best 14.8mm driver I've tried thus far.
I may try these next.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32978993535.html
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I revived my NSC MX760 build from last year (the blue shell one with white speaker, which is very similar to N50), and tried out new techniques that I've learnt recently. Fortunately I could improve the sound noticeably and now it's pretty sweet. I opened the bass port plus drilled one another vent on the side and also changed the tuning completely. Now it's quite balanced and neutral with quite good bass for a small shell + midcentric speaker, it can actually compete with average mx500 shell builds in my opinion. The upper mid brightness vanished and the bass got more depth and weight while remaining very clean and tight. It's too bad that the shell is not the perfect fit for my ears, the sharp edge start to hurt in about an hour and it is more prone to getting loose than dp100 for example. I'll try to address this problem and then post in more detail with pictures.
If I remember correctly, @subwoof3r has this speaker. It's said to be a midcentric one, lacking bass especially.
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assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
Actually, you were the one to point them out.
Anyone tried these drivers? This looks like low impedance diy flagship material for 14.8mm builds.. I have a collection of empty 14.8mm shells and I plan to build something nice with them next year. It would be nice to skip directly to the really good stuff, this is why I'm interested
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32978993535.html
Since they said 64 ohm voice coil, instead of 64 ohm impedance that @subwoof3r thought it may be mid centric.
I almost reached the buy button several weeks ago but the only thing that made me stop is the word "voice" coilI generally don't have much hope on drivers that have this word from sellers as they are good for voice only but not generally bassy, but who know!
But @HungryPanda said they have decent bass and sound good so I added them to my AE wishlist.
Oops yes you're right sorry! I mixed up this with the 15.4mm 150ohm one which looks very similar and that's what subwoof3r has. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32979025026.html I concluded that this probably lacks bass similarly by reading reviews on ali and ditched the idea of buying it. (expensive for me to just experiment) But I'm sure it performs very well on the mids/highs area and might be a good investment if 14.8mm is a priority.
edit: The listing itself says "balanced clear version" as well, which means it's midcentric / vocal centric. Maybe it would be better to ask the seller about the tuning, NSC responds quite quickly to these kinds of questions in my experience. If you get this titanium 14.8, let us know how it sounds, I'm curious! Would love to build a good full sounding bud with 14.8mm shell. (I have a couple, like the z-sound, also some pk and lg ones too with no good speakers)
What I'm really interested in at the moment is this one I posted few days ago, I have to use a lot of willpower to not order one immediately
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000741710087.html
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assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
I messaged NSC, waiting to hear back. I'll let you know if I ever get and build them. Currently they are out of 2 vent PK shells in black, so until those are available again, I probably won't order.
As far as good drivers, those 150ohm PK1 red film are the best DIY 14.8mm drivers I've come across. Better sounding than my legit Yuin PK2 buds, it's nearing or in the same SQ realm as my Ourart ACG (w/more bass in comparison) and the Smabat ST-10 (less bass in comparison). Better than I recall the EBX being, but the EBX was too bright and fatiguing for me.
assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
Heard back from NSC Audio Store. "The driver is 3 way balanced type" So not vocal or mid centric, but balanced across lows, mids & highs.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32978993535.html
N55 should IMO lend itself to good control & clarity.
Now gotta wait until I find a worthy shell. Hmmm.
Thanks for letting us know! In my experience 3-way balanced usually means a smooth organic signature with moderate roll off on both ends. I wouldn't expect too much bass just a typical earbud level, (esp. because its 14.8mm) the main selling point could be midrange performance, resolution etc.
I disassembled my Faaeal Z-sound today, which has steel mesh 14.8mm speakers as well. Interestingly it's cover doesn't snap on most 14.8mm shells, it's way larger inside than regular PK for example, but still smaller than 15mm. However the B40 speaker snap on this shell quite well, will try to build something usable with it. I'm not super familiar with compatiblity among different 14.8mm speakers/shell, but maybe this n55 is a bit larger as well. Maybe bell shaped shells are the way to go that usually go with steel mesh covers already
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assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
The press fit stem that I drilled and tapped on these K's LBB had too much of a chance of pulling apart when disconnecting the MMCX cables IMO. Even though I use tools to disconnect. Popped them back apart and added some epoxy for additional strength.
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