SuperMAG
100+ Head-Fier
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- Apr 1, 2016
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Means I have to experiment. Will see tomorrow.
DIY Earbuds
- Thread starter gwompki
- Start date
biocomplex
New Head-Fier
I guess i will share a bit of my experience with aliexpress DIY in form-factor of earbuds. In some sense it will look like a rating of my taste. For information i prefer balanced sound with a bit low range accent, and overall it can be compared to 7hz timeless (yes they are in-ear design but nerveless they have very nice balance and can be used as some kind of standart in low-mid segment).
First of all i will say few worlds about size of drivers - 15.4 will sound almost always better than 14.8 and more smaller ones, physics are here, especially considering open form factor.
Second about case - i came to a conclusion that wooden case are way to go if you want the best results in sound quality, but they do need a bit of tuning that comes in simple adding of some extra holes, since in my subjective experience all drivers started to make drastic change in signature when problem with driver breathing is solved, and secondly they make it convenient for over ear type of wearing.
For example my current choice https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001818686149.html
And now about drivers.
My current favorite is
They have most balanced and melodic sound signature of all that will talk about latter. Lows are good, at the point that they literally do have bass compared to a competition. mids and highs are there were you want them to be without disturbing peaks or unnecessary sinking. They were found quite accidentally, in search of "this time it will definitely be totl..." when i bought a 150 ohm smabat st-10s in a golden case, at that time there was no end for my disappointment, they sounded just bad, especially it was strange that almost all of reviewers were saying that they are good... my first idea was that smabat used a bad driver in a wonderful case, and then just throw them at distant box for future experiments. Then some forum member again wrote quite a paise about drivers used in st-10s, that made me think that i wasn't quite rigorous about them, and after installing those driver in wooden case i was pleasantly surprised, my purchase had some meaning, i found them! at least for now ... but! they weren't able to live long, after some modding membrane just fall off, and after making quite a research on ali it showed me that smabat driver costs at least few time more than exactly the same analog but with a bit smaller impedance, and what more they do sound better then smabat... PS adding some other drivers in st-10s case i came to a conclusion that case is just rubbish, nothing to add.
OK. next one is
Quite a new driver, has nice balance, mids and highs are pleasant, but bass is just nominal, you understand that composition has lows in that moment but drivers just weren't able to play them at adequate level. Have no peaks or other unpleasant characteristics.
Next
They were favorite for few years. Decent balance, normal mids, highs have a bit of peakiness but mostly it wasn't a problem, bass again just nominal. Nothing to add.
Next
People were strongly praising them here so after receiving them from ali I just didn't get the point, they sound quite similar to 130ohm beryllium driver by signature but have less resolution in all range.
Next are a bit hyped ones
Well, they really shine in mid and high range, very clean, detailed, but at expense of lows, i guess engineers moved bass quite far away so that you can fully focus on mids and highs. But still very narrowly focused driver.
nExt
Well if you want to make a bet with some in-ear earphone fanatic that earbuds will never have same amount of bass then here you are! They will make them cry in despair and run if they still can after receiving low range shockwave in their ears.
As a matter of fact those drivers are very dark, huge amount of bass, and of course at expence of mids and highs. Thats it.
Next is honorary mention 14.8mm
Yes, they sound very good, almost top lvl, but only if you have small ear canal or will constantly push them deep in ears, since they can provide considerably low sound pressure, unfortunately increasing volume makes them lose their detalization.
and just mention so that you will not lose some money trying to buy them ))
they are no go X))
And of course DISCLAIMER: everything written here is my extremely subjective opinion.
Small add-on:
15.4MM Earphones Speaker Unit DLC Carbon Nano Tube Diaphragm MX500 Flat Earbuds DIY Drivers 32 Ohm
They have a very sharp V-shaped character with fairly detailed treble and nice bass, but they have too much midrange rollover for my liking.
First of all i will say few worlds about size of drivers - 15.4 will sound almost always better than 14.8 and more smaller ones, physics are here, especially considering open form factor.
Second about case - i came to a conclusion that wooden case are way to go if you want the best results in sound quality, but they do need a bit of tuning that comes in simple adding of some extra holes, since in my subjective experience all drivers started to make drastic change in signature when problem with driver breathing is solved, and secondly they make it convenient for over ear type of wearing.
For example my current choice https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001818686149.html
And now about drivers.
My current favorite is
15.4MM 64 Ohm Composited Titanium Headphone Drivers Flat Headphone DIY for MX500 Speaker Unit 120dB/W
can be found at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004043819762.html
They have most balanced and melodic sound signature of all that will talk about latter. Lows are good, at the point that they literally do have bass compared to a competition. mids and highs are there were you want them to be without disturbing peaks or unnecessary sinking. They were found quite accidentally, in search of "this time it will definitely be totl..." when i bought a 150 ohm smabat st-10s in a golden case, at that time there was no end for my disappointment, they sounded just bad, especially it was strange that almost all of reviewers were saying that they are good... my first idea was that smabat used a bad driver in a wonderful case, and then just throw them at distant box for future experiments. Then some forum member again wrote quite a paise about drivers used in st-10s, that made me think that i wasn't quite rigorous about them, and after installing those driver in wooden case i was pleasantly surprised, my purchase had some meaning, i found them! at least for now ... but! they weren't able to live long, after some modding membrane just fall off, and after making quite a research on ali it showed me that smabat driver costs at least few time more than exactly the same analog but with a bit smaller impedance, and what more they do sound better then smabat... PS adding some other drivers in st-10s case i came to a conclusion that case is just rubbish, nothing to add.
OK. next one is
15.4mm Speaker Unit Gold Membrane Unit DIY Headphone Accessories 32ohms 2pcs
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004257087342.html
Quite a new driver, has nice balance, mids and highs are pleasant, but bass is just nominal, you understand that composition has lows in that moment but drivers just weren't able to play them at adequate level. Have no peaks or other unpleasant characteristics.
Next
15.4mm 130 ohm Headphone HiFi Loudspeakers Beryllium Speaker unit for MX500 DIY with Shell Cases 108dB/W
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004287405390.html
They were favorite for few years. Decent balance, normal mids, highs have a bit of peakiness but mostly it wasn't a problem, bass again just nominal. Nothing to add.
Next
15.4MM 400 ohm High Impedance Headphone Speaker Unit for MX500 Pure Vocal Headphone Loudspeaker DIY 102dB/W
People were strongly praising them here so after receiving them from ali I just didn't get the point, they sound quite similar to 130ohm beryllium driver by signature but have less resolution in all range.
Next are a bit hyped ones
LCP Diaphragm Driver 15.4mm MX500 Speaker Strong Magnetic Magnet Unit 32ohm Flat Earphones Driver
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004262668459.html
Well, they really shine in mid and high range, very clean, detailed, but at expense of lows, i guess engineers moved bass quite far away so that you can fully focus on mids and highs. But still very narrowly focused driver.
nExt
15.4mm 600 ohm Beryllium Flat Headphone Speakers High Frequency Driver Unit Speakers for MX500 DIY
Well if you want to make a bet with some in-ear earphone fanatic that earbuds will never have same amount of bass then here you are! They will make them cry in despair and run if they still can after receiving low range shockwave in their ears.
As a matter of fact those drivers are very dark, huge amount of bass, and of course at expence of mids and highs. Thats it.
Next is honorary mention 14.8mm
original YUIN pk1 red film 150ohm speaker unit fever earphones disassemble 2pcs
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2034991204.html
Yes, they sound very good, almost top lvl, but only if you have small ear canal or will constantly push them deep in ears, since they can provide considerably low sound pressure, unfortunately increasing volume makes them lose their detalization.
and just mention so that you will not lose some money trying to buy them ))
15.4mm Earphones Speaker Unit High-end PET Diaphragm 32 Ohm
they are no go X))
And of course DISCLAIMER: everything written here is my extremely subjective opinion.
Small add-on:
15.4MM Earphones Speaker Unit DLC Carbon Nano Tube Diaphragm MX500 Flat Earbuds DIY Drivers 32 Ohm
They have a very sharp V-shaped character with fairly detailed treble and nice bass, but they have too much midrange rollover for my liking.
Last edited:
Gifting
Head-Fier
Even though it is your subjective opinion, this write up was really useful! I’ve had the wooden shells and 64 Ohm Comp Ti drivers in my cart for a while. I’ll order them now. Got to try them out! Thanks!I guess i will share a bit of my experience with aliexpress DIY in form-factor of earbuds. In some sense it will look like a rating of my taste. For information i prefer balanced sound with a bit low range accent, and overall it can be compared to 7hz timeless (yes they are in-ear design but nerveless they have very nice balance and can be used as some kind of standart in low-mid segment).
First of all i will say few worlds about size of drivers - 15.4 will sound almost always better than 14.8 and more smaller ones, physics are here, especially considering open form factor.
Second about case - i came to a conclusion that wooden case are way to go if you want the best results in sound quality, but they do need a bit of tuning that comes in simple adding of some extra holes, since in my subjective experience all drivers started to make drastic change in signature when problem with driver breathing is solved, and secondly they make it convenient for over ear type of wearing.
For example my current choice https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001818686149.html
And now about drivers.
My current favorite is
15.4MM 64 Ohm Composited Titanium Headphone Drivers Flat Headphone DIY for MX500 Speaker Unit 120dB/W
can be found at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004043819762.html
They have most balanced and melodic sound signature of all that will talk about latter. Lows are good, at the point that they literally do have bass compared to a competition. mids and highs are there were you want them to be without disturbing peaks or unnecessary sinking. They were found quite accidentally, in search of "this time it will definitely be totl..." when i bought a 150 ohm smabat st-10s in a golden case, at that time there was no end for my disappointment, they sounded just bad, especially it was strange that almost all of reviewers were saying that they are good... my first idea was that smabat used a bad driver in a wonderful case, and then just throw them at distant box for future experiments. Then some forum member again wrote quite a paise about drivers used in st-10s, that made me think that i wasn't quite rigorous about them, and after installing those driver in wooden case i was pleasantly surprised, my purchase had some meaning, i found them! at least for now ... but! they weren't able to live long, after some modding membrane just fall off, and after making quite a research on ali it showed me that smabat driver costs at least few time more than exactly the same analog but with a bit smaller impedance, and what more they do sound better then smabat... PS adding some other drivers in st-10s case i came to a conclusion that case is just rubbish, nothing to add.
OK. next one is
15.4mm Speaker Unit Gold Membrane Unit DIY Headphone Accessories 32ohms 2pcs
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004257087342.html
Quite a new driver, has nice balance, mids and highs are pleasant, but bass is just nominal, you understand that composition has lows in that moment but drivers just weren't able to play them at adequate level. Have no peaks or other unpleasant characteristics.
Next
15.4mm 130 ohm Headphone HiFi Loudspeakers Beryllium Speaker unit for MX500 DIY with Shell Cases 108dB/W
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004287405390.html
They were favorite for few years. Decent balance, normal mids, highs have a bit of peakiness but mostly it wasn't a problem, bass again just nominal. Nothing to add.
Next
15.4MM 400 ohm High Impedance Headphone Speaker Unit for MX500 Pure Vocal Headphone Loudspeaker DIY 102dB/W
People were strongly praising them here so after receiving them from ali I just didn't get the point, they sound quite similar to 130ohm beryllium driver by signature but have less resolution in all range.
Next are a bit hyped ones
LCP Diaphragm Driver 15.4mm MX500 Speaker Strong Magnetic Magnet Unit 32ohm Flat Earphones Driver
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004262668459.html
Well, they really shine in mid and high range, very clean, detailed, but at expense of lows, i guess engineers moved bass quite far away so that you can fully focus on mids and highs. But still very narrowly focused driver.
nExt
15.4mm 600 ohm Beryllium Flat Headphone Speakers High Frequency Driver Unit Speakers for MX500 DIY
Well if you want to make a bet with some in-ear earphone fanatic that earbuds will never have same amount of bass then here you are! They will make them cry in despair and run if they still can after receiving low range shockwave in their ears.
As a matter of fact those drivers are very dark, huge amount of bass, and of course at expence of mids and highs. Thats it.
Next is honorary mention 14.8mm
original YUIN pk1 red film 150ohm speaker unit fever earphones disassemble 2pcs
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2034991204.html
Yes, they sound very good, almost top lvl, but only if you have small ear canal or will constantly push them deep in ears, since they can provide considerably low sound pressure, unfortunately increasing volume makes them lose their detalization.
and just mention so that you will not lose some money trying to buy them ))
15.4mm Earphones Speaker Unit High-end PET Diaphragm 32 Ohm
they are no go X))
And of course DISCLAIMER: everything written here is my extremely subjective opinion.
BotByte
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2010
- Posts
- 2,305
- Likes
- 172
Thanks for the write up, especially on drivers I haven't tried. Really good stuff.
If you haven't, I'd recommend trying different tunings of air. Wood shells can be more closed off compared to MX500s or other shells.
No wonder the 64comp-ti are at the top of your list. They certainly have some of the best expansion and overall pleasing sound. I think you'd also like the 300DLC as their bass surpasses the 64comp-ti in reach and depth by a small margin, but they are dark bastards as stock.
130berry is actually my and my wife's favorite driver. Might be my tuning in a metal shell with quite a lot of air, but they deliver everything I need, just doesn't hit the same 'stupid level' of sub-bass. I also prefer having some sparkle as they set themselves apart from other drivers that way. Certainly worth working the tuning.
Odd you say the 600ohm is dark. I find them very warm, and compared to everything else I have, they have the best timbre in mids and highs and mid-bass. Certainly my tuning in a normal MX500 shell with air through the port is the reason why they're like that.
If you're up for some tuning fun, 64 full-ti 'black dot' drivers can get really close to 64comp-ti, with extra warmth when given a lot of air. They're the poster child of rivet modding.
Consider also trying the 300CNT (or 32CNT) if you haven't yet...
Last edited:
lucasrepolho
New Head-Fier
Just purchased the 600ohm Beryllium and a few other drivers to try out, and since I'm splurging on the drivers this time, these will be my first earbuds with actually nice cables 
By the way, a few months ago I built a few earbuds with these drivers and they sounded pretty nice, so I'll share some info here:
By the way, a few months ago I built a few earbuds with these drivers and they sounded pretty nice, so I'll share some info here:
- 64ohms (not sure about the material)
- Stock MX500 shell:
- These sounded very warm, so there's not a lot of detail, but it's very comfortable to use for longer periods of time, and they have just enough bass for me to not miss it. It's very natural sounding and the mids/highs were never too much. Tonality-wise, I'd compare it with the Sennheiser HD598.
- Modified MX500 shell:
- Afterwards, I built another earbud with these drivers, but drilled a vent hole the size of an IEM dampening filter at the top of the MX500 shell and left it empty, that made them sound a bit more spacious and brought the mids and highs a bit closer, it's a damn good driver without a lot of modifications on an MX500 shell!
- The earbud with the stock MX500 shell became my most used earbuds for quite a while
- Stock MX500 shell:
- 150ohms, bass version (not sure about the material)
- Stock MX500 shell:
- These drivers had a lot more punch than the 64ohms, but that came at the expense of a slightly more fatiguing listening experience. I find that often vocals are far from me, so I find myself listening to these at higher volumes than I should, a lot of times. The detailing for most instruments is excellent, even though it sounds artificial sometimes. Fixing that would make these one of my favorite earbuds, easily.
- I had another pair of these, but I ended up breaking the voice coil while making some mods in the shell
I intended to put some very light dampening on the bass port, and make a vent hole just like I did on the 64ohms above. - I plan on getting the Vocal version eventually as well, but I'm moving onto other drivers for now.
- Bold isn't working properly for some reason, the entire paragraph is bold after saving the edits lol ^
- Stock MX500 shell:
Last edited:
chavez
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
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No one knows which Vido's are real. I have both versions and sound differs because of the shell material. Get the 'old' Vido's. Black or red shell.
(Black and red shells also have best sound when building DIY buds… transparent shells are of a different material and they resnonate much more)
No doubt they will be the vidos from 2012.
There is no doubt about it because they are from the same shop but have a separate page for the 2022 edition, the classic is marked and the driver's side is black.
chavez
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Posts
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- 316
I see, thank you!
Yeah that's what I'd like to know where to find them
Jogawag already responded, first link are the good Vido's. You can also try a 2022 one, i have green variant, but ive not listened to it much.
Last edited:
silverszi
100+ Head-Fier
Anyone here know of good 0.8mm OD cables I can use in PKs? I have a preference of matte cables I think and the only two shell colors are black and white so I'd like it to match.
Fourier transformer
Head-Fier
yes very important the cable color
silverszi
100+ Head-Fier
the color is important im doing it for looks and softness
the impedance doesn't matter (much) as long as its consistent in this case.
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