[furyossa]

These small bell-shaped shells look nice, I wanted something like a Bell LB for a while. It's sad we can't buy shells like that separately for a good price. The Mrice you posted is quite cheap as well, for less than 5usd it's quite affordable even for the shell itself. I'm a bit concerned that it might utilize the "grey zone 15mm" standard which doesn't fit any generic speakers we can buy, I have a bunch of those sitting in a box already. But if it works with standard speakers then it's a great find for modding!

By the way, here is a nice looking 14.8mm metal shell, does anyone know which cover would fit with it? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000220132187.html

If I recall correctly, those cheapo bell-shaped earpod-style metal buds can be used with PK speakers, but the stem falls out easily and additional vents are necessary, so not very ideal. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32894965305.html

Also, switching to 15.4mm land, has anyone tried to use Headroom MS16 shell for DIY builds? I like the look and form factor of it, probably the stock speaker has to be destroyed, but for 4.5usd it's not that big of a deal. I guess the stem is just cheaply glued in there so that's an area that would need some kind of reinforcement. With drill mods, maybe even the RY04 shell could be saved.

TOPK earbuds looks nice. You can always replace metal steam with rubber one like this.
I use some spare rubber tails for plugs.

Read this post for MS16

 

[robar]

TOPK earbuds looks nice. You can always replace metal steam with rubber one like this.
I use some spare rubber tails for plugs.

Read this post for MS16

Thanks I'll look into these rubber tails! Maybe even the rubber stems that come with wood shells could be used with a bit more drilling. Could you elaborate a bit more on the MS16 shell? I'm not sure how to read the illustration. Do you have a picture? I'll grab the topk shell from the box and take some pics if you're interested. I only have dead SR2 speakers so I cant comment about the sound much, probably needs vents on the back. The original speaker had to be destroyed in order to free up the shell

 

[furyossa]

Thanks I'll look into these rubber tails! Maybe even the rubber stems that come with wood shells could be used with a bit more drilling. Could you elaborate a bit more on the MS16 shell? I'm not sure how to read the illustration. Do you have a picture? I'll grab the topk shell from the box and take some pics if you're interested. I only have dead SR2 speakers so I cant comment about the sound much, probably needs vents on the back. The original speaker had to be destroyed in order to free up the shell

On the left you can see inside of the original shell. This cascading profile muffles the sound. On the right is modded shell. I used file tool to trim this "staircase" shape but
but I didn't get much open sound. It's not worth it

 

[robar]

@furyossa Thanks, probably I'll skip that one then! But for some reason the ms16 always come back to intrigue me, no matter how many times I was told that it's not worth it haha. Maybe I have to experience it for myself to finally get peace lol.
I really hope the shells I ordered from NSC will arrive soon, I really cant wait to build some new stuff with alternative shells.

Here is the topk shell, it's very simple and the back grille is just decoration, so almost no airflow to the outside by default. The inside surface is smooth. I put two different kinds of covers on them which fit well. A bit glue would be necessary, because there is no snap, only friction, but overall the diameter is really close. One of the stems came loose, probably some glue would fix it as well. I'm not sure what potential these have (if any), but for about 3usd sale price it can be a nice little project to explore.
I had to completely destroy the original speaker, literally tearing apart the cover with screwdriver and utility knife

This is a dead speaker from Chitty's SR2 by the way, the other one was salvaged from a mobile phone bud. Both are 14.8mm I suppose. Cable is from a white vido just for reference.

 

[furyossa]

@furyossa Thanks, probably I'll skip that one then! But for some reason the ms16 always come back to intrigue me, no matter how many times I was told that it's not worth it haha. Maybe I have to experience it for myself to finally get peace lol.
I really hope the shells I ordered from NSC will arrive soon, I really cant wait to build some new stuff with alternative shells.

Here is the topk shell, it's very simple and the back grille is just decoration, so almost no airflow to the outside by default. The inside surface is smooth. I put two different kinds of covers on them which fit well. A bit glue would be necessary, because there is no snap, only friction, but overall the diameter is really close. One of the stems came loose, probably some glue would fix it as well. I'm not sure what potential these have (if any), but for about 3usd sale price it can be a nice little project to explore.
I had to completely destroy the original speaker, literally tearing apart the cover with screwdriver and utility knife

This is a dead speaker from Chitty's SR2 by the way, the other one was salvaged from a mobile phone bud. Both are 14.8mm I suppose. Cable is from a white vido just for reference.

I bought ms16 because I thought it was a similar shell as the HE150pro model but I was wrong. This shell block back sound wave and airflow are very bad.
Believe me, skip this one. BGVP DX5 has a similar problem. DX5 has DLC driver but when the inner cavity is bad then even a good driver sounds bad.

Shell is beautiful. I can't believe that vent is fake. This is my favorite shape of the shell because it provides comfort and good airflow, with the vent of course.
Try to remove back grille without damage with needle and tweezers. Use "heavy-duty" thing and drill hole (1.5mm is good) and put back grill or try rivet maybe.
You can try shrink tube over the meta stems in the upper area which goes inside shell holes for a better sealing.

 

[assassin10000]

These small bell-shaped shells look nice, I wanted something like a Bell LB for a while. It's sad we can't buy shells like that separately for a good price. The Mrice you posted is quite cheap as well, for less than 5usd it's quite affordable even for the shell itself. I'm a bit concerned that it might utilize the "grey zone 15mm" standard which doesn't fit any generic speakers we can buy, I have a bunch of those sitting in a box already. But if it works with standard speakers then it's a great find for modding!

By the way, here is a nice looking 14.8mm metal shell, does anyone know which cover would fit with it? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000220132187.html

If I recall correctly, those cheapo bell-shaped earpod-style metal buds can be used with PK speakers, but the stem falls out easily and additional vents are necessary, so not very ideal. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32894965305.html

Also, switching to 15.4mm land, has anyone tried to use Headroom MS16 shell for DIY builds? I like the look and form factor of it, probably the stock speaker has to be destroyed, but for 4.5usd it's not that big of a deal. I guess the stem is just cheaply glued in there so that's an area that would need some kind of reinforcement. With drill mods, maybe even the RY04 shell could be saved.

Well it may be worth a shot. Not sure how accurate their measurement was lol.


Those metal shells may require transplanting drivers into the cover provided.

The size of cable hole is optimal to pass standard mmcx connector. Probably is the same on E100A. Is this metal shell on E100A or plastic?

The smaller M3 or the larger M4 one?

 

[furyossa]

Well it may be worth a shot. Not sure how accurate their measurement was lol.


Those metal shells may require transplanting drivers into the cover provided.




The smaller M3 or the larger M4 one?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000090574521.html

 

[assassin10000]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000090574521.html

M3 thread ones, the smaller size . Thanks.

 

[robar]

I bought ms16 because I thought it was a similar shell as the HE150pro model but I was wrong. This shell block back sound wave and airflow are very bad.
Believe me, skip this one. BGVP DX5 has a similar problem. DX5 has DLC driver but when the inner cavity is bad then even a good driver sounds bad.

Shell is beautiful. I can't believe that vent is fake. This is my favorite shape of the shell because it provides comfort and good airflow, with the vent of course.
Try to remove back grille without damage with needle and tweezers. Use "heavy-duty" thing and drill hole (1.5mm is good) and put back grill or try rivet maybe.
You can try shrink tube over the meta stems in the upper area which goes inside shell holes for a better sealing.

Thanks, very interesting! I was planning to build something with the Topk more than half a year now, I just don't have proper speakers sadly. But I have glue and more drills on the way so I'll have the proper tools at last. I'm not really comfortable with buying a big set of PK2 speakers blindly, with owning only 2-3 very so-so shells that might be compatible. If I could buy only 1-2 pairs I would probably order right away.

However I'm more and more intrigued by this new design, which externally looks like a better implementation of the B40 speaker. This has twice as much, and larger “slits” or “bass vents” compared to the B40 which has only a very tiny one. I usually give more faith to new models anyway, I generally have good experience with them. I suppose this should be something similar to N50/N52 speakers, which is already a significant improvement over the B40 or any other cheap 14.8mm earbud I've heard. Or at the very least, the same as B40 just with more bass lol. I think this type of cover will be compatible with the 1-vent PK shell (like the sets of 5 sold on Ali, or maybe even the B40) and the Faaeal Z-sound shell, but not the original PK or other smaller shells that are built for PK2-type speakers.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000930280442.html (by the way it's only 3.9usd if you follow the store)

And here is my pic of the B40 speaker from last year
https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10377194_thumb.jpg

Shipping is really slow and my country's postal service is quite messed up at the moment so I'll wait with additional orders. Anyone tried the new 32ohm titanium speakers by the way? Like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000741710087.html

 

[assassin10000]

Thanks, very interesting! I was planning to build something with the Topk more than half a year now, I just don't have proper speakers sadly. But I have glue and more drills on the way so I'll have the proper tools at last. I'm not really comfortable with buying a big set of PK2 speakers blindly, with owning only 2-3 very so-so shells that might be compatible. If I could buy only 1-2 pairs I would probably order right away.

However I'm more and more intrigued by this new design, which externally looks like a better implementation of the B40 speaker. This has twice as much, and larger “slits” or “bass vents” compared to the B40 which has only a very tiny one. I usually give more faith to new models anyway, I generally have good experience with them. I suppose this should be something similar to N50/N52 speakers, which is already a significant improvement over the B40 or any other cheap 14.8mm earbud I've heard. Or at the very least, the same as B40 just with more bass lol. I think this type of cover will be compatible with the 1-vent PK shell (like the sets of 5 sold on Ali, or maybe even the B40) and the Faaeal Z-sound shell, but not the original PK or other smaller shells that are built for PK2-type speakers.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000930280442.html (by the way it's only 3.9usd if you follow the store)

And here is my pic of the B40 speaker from last year
https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10377194_thumb.jpg

Shipping is really slow and my country's postal service is quite messed up at the moment so I'll wait with additional orders. Anyone tried the new 32ohm titanium speakers by the way? Like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000741710087.html

Yeah, those look almost identical to the b40 drivers. Except the dot is on the opposite side.

I would say those are the same housing and face as the 15mm shells. Like the ones I just got.
https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/11232405.jpg



I just checked fitment of 3 of 4 14.8mm drivers I have on hand against those 15mm shells. Looks like the chitty 32ohm wire mesh drivers will fit. With some minor modification, I'll need to file or sand down the opening so there isn't an air gap.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32230887418.html

 

[furyossa]

Thanks, very interesting! I was planning to build something with the Topk more than half a year now, I just don't have proper speakers sadly. But I have glue and more drills on the way so I'll have the proper tools at last. I'm not really comfortable with buying a big set of PK2 speakers blindly, with owning only 2-3 very so-so shells that might be compatible. If I could buy only 1-2 pairs I would probably order right away.

However I'm more and more intrigued by this new design, which externally looks like a better implementation of the B40 speaker. This has twice as much, and larger “slits” or “bass vents” compared to the B40 which has only a very tiny one. I usually give more faith to new models anyway, I generally have good experience with them. I suppose this should be something similar to N50/N52 speakers, which is already a significant improvement over the B40 or any other cheap 14.8mm earbud I've heard. Or at the very least, the same as B40 just with more bass lol. I think this type of cover will be compatible with the 1-vent PK shell (like the sets of 5 sold on Ali, or maybe even the B40) and the Faaeal Z-sound shell, but not the original PK or other smaller shells that are built for PK2-type speakers.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000930280442.html (by the way it's only 3.9usd if you follow the store)

And here is my pic of the B40 speaker from last year
https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10377194_thumb.jpg

Shipping is really slow and my country's postal service is quite messed up at the moment so I'll wait with additional orders. Anyone tried the new 32ohm titanium speakers by the way? Like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000741710087.html

My last order was in late December, but a few things did not arrive at all.
Right now Ali does not deliver most goods to my country. That PK driver currently costs $3.9+ $142 via DHL.
I'll wait for the summer sale, maybe things will go back to normal.
I plan to order Seahf 150ohm, HE150 for modding, some 10mm and 8mm drivers for small earbuds and some custom parts for DIY cables.
In the meantime, Sony MDR-570LP has caught my attention a lot. An ideal pair for MMCX mod I hope Sony didn't use glue from RY Audio Store on this model

If you get the chance to catch a discount, try to buy a PK1 red coat. For me this currently the best DIY 14.8 driver on Ali.
It is interesting that it really behaves better in a plastic shell than in a metal one, probably because of Docomo shells. Who knows

 

[robar]

Yeah, those look almost identical to the b40 drivers. Except the dot is on the opposite side.

I would say those are the same housing and face as the 15mm shells. Like the ones I just got.
https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/11232405.jpg



I just checked fitment of 3 of 4 14.8mm drivers I have on hand against those 15mm shells. Looks like the chitty 32ohm wire mesh drivers will fit. With some minor modification, I'll need to file or sand down the opening so there isn't an air gap.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32230887418.html

Interesting! Yes I noticed that in the product description those speakers are next to the 1-vent PK shells, so those will definitely work together.
Compared to the B40, the vents ("notches" in the metal part, at the edges) on this speaker are bigger and also there is two instead of one, so I think the sound should have more bass and more energy.

But I would definitely not call these or the 1-vent PK shells 15mm, because I do have real ~15mm earbuds and their covers are way too big even for the B40 shell, completely different stuff.
In this new vs old PK situation, I think that only the shape of the cover/shell is different, this new design needs a deeper cover with much more friction, while the more traditional type only needs a small groove.

Usually the cheapest generic buds uses the "grey zone diameter", I take pics if you're interested. For me "grey zone" or ~15mm is a particular case of an earbud, where it's physically impossible to put any 14.8mm speaker on the shell, and similarly impossible to put the earbud's speaker on a 15.4mm shell. Sometimes these are explicitly listed as 15mm, this is why I call them that way. But it's really confusing and honestly not worth it to investigate imho

The diameter refers to the raw speakers's size (membrane) and not the cover's, this is why different covers not match up even if the speakers are listed as 14.8mm. But you could probably interchange the speakers because the inner groove that keeps the driver inside is the same. This compatibility thing is especially confusing at 14.8mm because the covers and shells have very big variation and they mostly rely on friction only (not snapping),so the actual shape matter much more, while 15.4mm is much more standardized.

EDIT: So I tried to put the Z-sound speaker (steel mesh 14.8mm) on a bunch of different shells, and they snap on to the traditional PK (salvaged from Chitty's SR2 16ohm earbud) but too shallow for the B40. The funny thing is, that the B40 cover snaps on to the Z-sound shell just fine. It"s too loose with the Topk but glue would help. It's really hit or miss. Based on this, I think your steel mesh speaker should snap on to the Z-sound and the oldschool 2-vent PK shells, it's a shame they're not sold separately.

 

[assassin10000]

If you get the chance to catch a discount, try to buy a PK1 red coat. For me this currently the best DIY 14.8 driver on Ali.
It is interesting that it really behaves better in a plastic shell than in a metal one, probably because of Docomo shells. Who knows

Agreed. It is a really good sounding driver.

I had the opposite experience lol, it sounded better in the modded brass shells I have than the 2 vent PK shell it came with. Probably due to the much larger internal volume and tuning. I used some cotton inside as well as tuning the vent holes with 3m micropore tape.

Interesting! Yes I noticed that in the product description those speakers are next to the 1-vent PK shells, so those will definitely work together.
Compared to the B40, the vents ("notches" in the metal part, at the edges) on this speaker are bigger and also there is two instead of one, so I think the sound should have more bass and more energy.

But I would definitely not call these or the 1-vent PK shells 15mm, because I do have real ~15mm earbuds and their covers are way too big even for the B40 shell, completely different stuff.
In this new vs old PK situation, I think that only the shape of the cover/shell is different, this new design needs a deeper cover with much more friction, while the more traditional type only needs a small groove.

Usually the cheapest generic buds uses the "grey zone diameter", I take pics if you're interested. For me "grey zone" or ~15mm is a particular case of an earbud, where it's physically impossible to put any 14.8mm speaker on the shell, and similarly impossible to put the earbud's speaker on a 15.4mm shell. Sometimes these are explicitly listed as 15mm, this is why I call them that way. But it's really confusing and honestly not worth it to investigate imho

The diameter refers to the raw speakers's size (membrane) and not the cover's, this is why different covers not match up even if the speakers are listed as 14.8mm. But you could probably interchange the speakers because the inner groove that keeps the driver inside is the same. This compatibility thing is especially confusing at 14.8mm because the covers and shells have very big variation and they mostly rely on friction only (not snapping),so the actual shape matter much more, while 15.4mm is much more standardized.

EDIT: So I tried to put the Z-sound speaker (steel mesh 14.8mm) on a bunch of different shells, and they snap on to the traditional PK (salvaged from SR2 16ohm) but too shallow for the B40. The funny thing is, that the B40 cover snaps on to the Z-sound shell just fine. It"s too loose with the Topk but glue would help. It's really hit or miss. Based on this, I think your steel mesh speaker should snap on to the Z-sound and the oldschool 2-vent PK shells, it's a shame they're not sold separately.

Checked these 1 vent pk style shells some more. Same deeper cover and 16.7mm O.D. as the b40's when installed.





Took a few minutes with a small fine metal file I have and made them fit the wire mesh drivers properly.




Thanks for checking the Z-sound shells.

 

[furyossa]

MX500 15.4mm plastic cover has a bit smaller diameter than a metal mesh cover. So only "gray-zone" shells that I bought (10 pairs) and I can't use it with 15.4mm driver
is this model from Chitty's store. I also brock some covers of damaged drivers trying to put them on this unusual shell.
This shell is perfect for M3 MMCX connectors but I don't recommend this model.

I had the opposite experience lol, it sounded better in the modded brass shells I have than the 2 vent PK shell it came with. Probably due to the much larger internal volume and tuning. I used some cotton inside as well as tuning the vent holes with 3m micropore tape.

Yup, I also had a bad experience with PK shell but not with Docomo's. Wierd

 

[robar]

MX500 15.4mm plastic cover has a bit smaller diameter than a metal mesh cover. So only "gray-zone" shells that I bought (10 pairs) and I can't use with 15.4mm driver
is this model from Chitty's store. I also brock some covers of damaged drivers trying to put them on this unusual shell.
This shell is perfect for M3 MMCX connectors but I don't recommend this model.

Interesting, I have this shell from RY4C and I can put any kind of mx500 speaker on it. (but plastic mx500 is definitely harder to snap) It actually uses plastic cover in RY's model. Sound was bad, so I went bananas and drilled the heck out of it. It would have been possible to save it but I drilled at wrong places because the RY glue was so strong that I had to drill first and pop out the speaker through it with a screwdriver lol I also don't recommend these shells, stock venting is terrible, hard to drill new vents because the layout is weird, so overall most other 15.4mm shells are simply better.
I also have a mystery 15.4mm shell by the way, namely the metal blue mx760 from NSC. It only accepts the speaker that came with it (which uses dp100 cover). Any other kind of speaker just doesn't fit in, even if I transplant it to the same kind of white dp100 cover (tried with vido). Something inside always gets in the way, very weird.

About your earlier post, aah, headphone modding? I've been wanting to make an ultra portable closed headphone mod as well for a long time I'm not familiar with that Sony, how do you plan to mod it? I personally plan to buy a cheap collapsible set with decent build quality and 40mm drivers, and upgrade the hell out of it. I made little experiments with cheap leftover stuff, and it is definitely possible to achieve a big improvement simply by swapping the driver to a better one, but I stuck at how to tune small closed headphones. I'm not sure what to do with dark/muddy sound, I don't want to convert it to open because I would like to use these as a street/office set