DIY Earbuds

[jeejack]

awhile back, I had a few projects ready to go (replacing the broken cable from a yincrow and trying my first mmcx mx500 build w/ a 120 bery) and posting the results but some life things happened, so they are in the ever growing backlog of things. also, got new gear, a JM21 which has both unbalanced and balanced inputs and could output up to 300 ohm. so with the countdown to tariffs, I made a few buys recently:

• 300 ohm https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255...t_main.15.5a881802tO0sHP&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
• 150 ohm https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255...st_main.9.5a881802tO0sHP&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
• 18 ohm https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...t_main.14.5a881802tO0sHP&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
• link for 120 bery https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...t_main.20.5a881802tO0sHP&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

3 of the 4 drivers are going into mx500 shells and one in a headset made for the gameboy.

does anyone have any experiences trying out these drivers regarding the sound signatures?

The weakest on the list is the 18ohm driver which has nothing special about it. I put it in a metal shell and I can say that it is very ok now.
120 and 150 ohm are very good drivers and easy to tune.
300 ohm is another story... with good tuning it becomes midscentric with very good highs and mids and a moderate (enough) bass

 

[atlatl]

The weakest on the list is the 18ohm driver which has nothing special about it. I put it in a metal shell and I can say that it is very ok now.
120 and 150 ohm are very good drivers and easy to tune.
300 ohm is another story... with good tuning it becomes midscentric with very good highs and mids and a moderate (enough) bass

thx! the 18 ohm is for curiosity and wanting to check out buds of all different resistances. they will go into these shells which is an inspiration from a post I read about the og gameboy earbuds. funny enough, the 3rd party GBA shells seem to be an aesthetic inspiration for the current Fiio JF11. The JF11s are def nothing special but the GBA buds are pretty terrible ootb. also, are either mmcx or straight cable replacement more preferable? can it add to the tuning of a mod?

View attachment s-l1600 (1).webp

 

[Eduardiofilo]

120 and 150 ohm are very good drivers and easy to tune

Of course... when they are available

 

[jeejack]

Of course... when they are available

Yes, but we allready have the 120 ohm drivers. The 150 ohm are still available (150 BG)

 

[droenald]

thx! the 18 ohm is for curiosity and wanting to check out buds of all different resistances. they will go into these shells which is an inspiration from a post I read about the og gameboy earbuds. funny enough, the 3rd party GBA shells seem to be an aesthetic inspiration for the current Fiio JF11. The JF11s are def nothing special but the GBA buds are pretty terrible ootb. also, are either mmcx or straight cable replacement more preferable? can it add to the tuning of a mod?

Here the link to the cheap RY shop cables:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_Eug257q
I love those! They are sturdy, have a nice low profile plug and don't weigh as much as others. Much better comfort than buds with mmcx and heavy cable. Let's face it most mmcx cables are superheavy and try to look fancy, even if they're kind of cheap.
Mmcx only works well for me with assymetric buds that are meant for over ear wearing. Ymmv.
Apart from the tuning paper, do you also have tuning foam and horseshoe foams in your shopping cart? horseshoe foam goes typically in the shell, but it is not forbidden to use it on the back of the driver! Get the mixed density option.
Tuning foam is the foamy variant of the tuning paper that goes typically on the back of the driver. Again, it is also not forbidden to use it inside the shell.
Good luck!

 

[atlatl]

Here the link to the cheap RY shop cables:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_Eug257q
I love those! They are sturdy, have a nice low profile plug and don't weigh as much as others. Much better comfort than buds with mmcx and heavy cable. Let's face it most mmcx cables are superheavy and try to look fancy, even if they're kind of cheap.
Mmcx only works well for me with assymetric buds that are meant for over ear wearing. Ymmv.
Apart from the tuning paper, do you also have tuning foam and horseshoe foams in your shopping cart? horseshoe foam goes typically in the shell, but it is not forbidden to use it on the back of the driver! Get the mixed density option.
Tuning foam is the foamy variant of the tuning paper that goes typically on the back of the driver. Again, it is also not forbidden to use it inside the shell.
Good luck!

RY cables are a solid choice, use them for my car aux and mmcx audio gear. Tho, after recently getting the Faaeal copper mmcx and removing the molded ear hook sleeve, that cable has been my daily driver. I even replaced my 2pin SPC cable with Faaeal too; just copper sounds better for me as I've developed a preference for smoother *highs.

the RY4S mx500 shells came with horseshoe foams but I will definitely get mixed densities and foams!

 

[tOMZY]

After trying the Yincrow X6, I fell in love with earbuds again after a 25-year break. I’m a small-scale maker (I craft wooden headphone stands), obsessed with wood, so I’d love to make my own wooden earbud shells and fit them with high-quality drivers.
I’ve been diligently reading this thread from the first post for a whole week and have only gotten through a third of it (I am on page 125 right now). Anyway, I want to thank all the veterans of this thread - thank you for sharing your knowledge, I learned a lot.

 

[BCool]

My 3-D printable MX-500 models are now on Makerworld for anyone to play around with:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/1374701-zf-500-flathead-earbud-shell-mx500-copy#profileId-1422082

 

[tOMZY]

Thanks a alot!

 

[droenald]

@atlatl and @tOMZY how are you guys progressing? Anyone build their first set?
Highly recommend doing @mt877 s destiny build. To try and see how it goes with the soldering. The driver comes in a set of 10 drivers, is cheap but good and if you burn up a driver which can happen as a beginner it also won't hurt as much as with more expensive drivers as you'll have spares.
Other reasons are:
1.) it sounds great
2.) this is a really good sounding set
3.) I think you'll rather enjoy it's sound
I guess if you guys are based in the US you are out of luck and your project has come to a sudden halt because of the tarriffs...

 

[tOMZY]

@atlatl and @tOMZY how are you guys progressing? Anyone build their first set?

Thanks for asking! Well, the Destiny build will be my first try, however the drivers and all the other stuff is still on the way. Had to buy the soldering station and multimeter as well. Shipping from Aliexpress has been pretty slow lately.

I guess if you guys are based in the US you are out of luck and your project has come to a sudden halt because of the tarriffs...

Luckily I am from Europe (Lithuania), so no problem there. At least yet...

 

[Stevehamny]

@atlatl and @tOMZY how are you guys progressing? Anyone build their first set?
Highly recommend doing @mt877 s destiny build. To try and see how it goes with the soldering. The driver comes in a set of 10 drivers, is cheap but good and if you burn up a driver which can happen as a beginner it also won't hurt as much as with more expensive drivers as you'll have spares.
Other reasons are:
1.) it sounds great
2.) this is a really good sounding set
3.) I think you'll rather enjoy it's sound
I guess if you guys are based in the US you are out of luck and your project has come to a sudden halt because of the tarriffs...

I ordered the drivers just in time, i.e. before the entire hobby got effectively shut down (at least in the US). @mt877's Artiste Nightingale is a daily driver, perfectly tuned for my small ensemble classical and jazz, so I knew that the Destiny would be a just-for-the-hell-of-it bud that's not really appropriate for most of my listening... But this thing turns out to be surprisingly versatile, and absolutely wonderful on those rare times when I need some more bass quantity.

It's a dark fudge brownie when you want a break from Rice Krispies treats.

(And by the way, I have some extra drivers if anyone in the US wants me to pop a pair in the mail. Just DM me!)

 

[droenald]

But this thing turns out to be surprisingly versatile, and absolutely wonderful on those rare times when I need some more bass quantity.

"Some" more bass quantity.
Destiny and Nightingale are pretty much polar opposites. Good to have diversity!

Thanks for asking! Well, the Destiny build will be my first try, however the drivers and all the other stuff is still on the way. Had to buy the soldering station and multimeter as well. Shipping from Aliexpress has been pretty slow lately.

Cool!
By the way: @ttorbic sells his Lrey W03 pro on the classiefieds for 45 quid. This is a handcrafted wooden earbud from a Thai maker. Might be interesting for you to check how the competition builds wooden buds, as this is what you are set out to do. On top you get an earbud that may or may not sound to your liking.
If you dont like it, @fooltoque
Retuned their W03. They posted about it here in the DIY thread. You could try hitting them up via DM for tuning tips, maybe they react. My brief conversation with them was really nice! Or just try retuning it yourself, then you also learn something.

 

[tOMZY]

By the way: @ttorbic sells his Lrey W03 pro on the classiefieds for 45 quid. This is a handcrafted wooden earbud from a Thai maker.

Well, after the Brexit things got way more complicated and expensive. Also, I am pretty sure, there's some cheap driver inside so after having read the whole DIY thread, I almost lost interest in buying new buds. Of course, it's good thing I have a bunch of them for comparison to my future builds.

 

[droenald]

Well, after the Brexit things got way more complicated and expensive. Also, I am pretty sure, there's some cheap driver inside so after having read the whole DIY thread, I almost lost interest in buying new buds. Of course, it's good thing I have a bunch of them for comparison to my future builds.

Honestly the price of a driver does often not correlate with the sound quality. Some cheap drivers are awesome and some expensive ones are not so great at all. My experience so far with the more expensive drivers with high ohmage is that they are very hard to tune compared to the cheaper ones!
Also give the HB1 some more time, I suggest to use it exclusively for a day or two to get adjusted to the dark signature. A dark tuned bad driver will always sound congested and muffled, the better drivers can resolve the low end and the transition area between bass and lower mids much better, so a dark signature can also be wonderfully detailed, enveloping and rich sounding! I believe the driver in your HB1 in fact not to be cheap. If you buy driver, that shell and the cable seperately you might even have to pay more than you did for the assembled bud. So you actually made a good purchase either way!

@jeejack : I might try the 130r bery suggestion you posted. I transplanted th 68r driver elsewhere... So the shell is free and luckily has the mmcx already soldered.
By the way, is there another shop on Aliexpress than XinYue and NSCAudio where we can get supplies like horseshoe foams, cables and stuff?
I am desperately looking for low density horseshoes, and I'd also like to get the Huayunxin ones. I believe all their stuff to be great quality!