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!