Finding good low budget headphone drivers on aliexpress
May 21, 2019 at 4:46 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

mcmillant

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Hi, my Grado sr60e just broken, and i looking for a new drivers to replace to its old case with some cable mods to make it cool again!!!. Can you give me some advices about Headphone drive which hear almost shame sound characteristic of my grado ? My budget is only around 20$ and my location very near China so aliexpress or taobao is a good retail to find
Thnks you all <3
 
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Jun 29, 2019 at 4:41 AM Post #3 of 13
I tried these ones, and I like them:
https://www.digikey.co.nz/products/en?keywords=‎HPD-40N16PET00-32-ND‎
I have Grado 325e and other than using these drivers in a closed design, I didn't feel they are inferior in any way, that I could pick up, to the Grados. It appears that they are suitable for open designs as well, at least according to the theory (the Q factor).
Make sure you check the diameter you need.
 
Jul 15, 2019 at 2:26 PM Post #5 of 13
These guys in China have some interesting options. I don't like that they use manfacturers' names, then say 'style' as you scroll down. When you forgive that, the drivers look pretty interesting.

https://www.earphonediylabs.com/

I ordered the Beyer-style drivers, then cancelled the order. They refunded me right away, no questions asked. I'm going to eventually start a diy with their stuff when I have the time.
 
Jul 15, 2019 at 3:01 PM Post #6 of 13
Oh....you may have hurt me with that link.......rabbit hole..............this could be bad




These guys in China have some interesting options. I don't like that they use manfacturers' names, then say 'style' as you scroll down. When you forgive that, the drivers look pretty interesting.

https://www.earphonediylabs.com/

I ordered the Beyer-style drivers, then cancelled the order. They refunded me right away, no questions asked. I'm going to eventually start a diy with their stuff when I have the time.
 
Jul 21, 2019 at 5:48 AM Post #9 of 13
I tried these ones, and I like them:
https://www.digikey.co.nz/products/en?keywords=‎HPD-40N16PET00-32-ND‎
I have Grado 325e and other than using these drivers in a closed design, I didn't feel they are inferior in any way, that I could pick up, to the Grados. It appears that they are suitable for open designs as well, at least according to the theory (the Q factor).
Make sure you check the diameter you need.

I just purchased the 50mm from the same manufacturer
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=HPD-50N25PR00-32‎

Unlike this picture, the spec sheet shows a paper surface with plastic surround. I lost a driver in my dt770, and decided to play around with these. Any advice?
 
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Jul 21, 2019 at 6:29 AM Post #10 of 13
I just purchased the 50mm from the same manufacturer
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=HPD-50N25PR00-32‎

Unlike this picture, the spec sheet shows a paper surface with plastic surround. I lost a driver in my dt770, and decided to play around with these. Any advice?

I'm not sure on the kind of advice you are after. I haven't played with that driver and never listened to a dt770. Digikey got the photo wrong but that's OK. The driver is suitable for both open (like the DT770) and closed design. The DT770 being open you probably don't need to do much, if anything to get the most of the drivers. The closed designs do need some tuning like the cup volume, holes at the back of the cup and/or in the baffle, things like these. One thing you can try, only if you feel strongly that there's too much sound imbalance (bass relative to treble) is to open/close the holes on the back paper around the magnet. More holes = more bass, although, again, in an open design the effect seems to be less pronounced than in a closed design. Even a pen is good enough to pierce the paper. Be careful not to pierce too far as to pierce the membrane. If you need to, cover the holes with some sticky tape or something. They'll most likely sound different - how different and how you'll feel about that, you'll see, but they should be good quality. They are being used by some companies in their many hundreds $ worth of headphones.
 
Jul 21, 2019 at 6:55 AM Post #11 of 13
I'm not sure on the kind of advice you are after. I haven't played with that driver and never listened to a dt770. Digikey got the photo wrong but that's OK. The driver is suitable for both open (like the DT770) and closed design. The DT770 being open you probably don't need to do much, if anything to get the most of the drivers. The closed designs do need some tuning like the cup volume, holes at the back of the cup and/or in the baffle, things like these. One thing you can try, only if you feel strongly that there's too much sound imbalance (bass relative to treble) is to open/close the holes on the back paper around the magnet. More holes = more bass, although, again, in an open design the effect seems to be less pronounced than in a closed design. Even a pen is good enough to pierce the paper. Be careful not to pierce too far as to pierce the membrane. If you need to, cover the holes with some sticky tape or something. They'll most likely sound different - how different and how you'll feel about that, you'll see, but they should be good quality. They are being used by some companies in their many hundreds $ worth of headphones.

All good advice, just the kind of stuff I'm looking for. I'm pretty familiar with basic speaker design, but fairly new to headphone tuning.

Btw, the 770 is closed back, 880 'semi open', 990 open back. I just plugged the hole the last owner drilled to mod to split cable, so I have no qualms adding holes to the cups, if that helps.
 
Jul 21, 2019 at 7:13 AM Post #12 of 13
It looks like there are all sorts of DT770, some open, I just googled. Well then, if needed, try and identify the holes they've already provided in the cup and/or baffle and play with those too. Blu tack or something like that works.
BTW, Digikey sells them as one piece, so for a pair you order two. That was a surprise for me.
 
Jul 21, 2019 at 2:51 PM Post #13 of 13
It looks like there are all sorts of DT770, some open, I just googled. Well then, if needed, try and identify the holes they've already provided in the cup and/or baffle and play with those too. Blu tack or something like that works.
BTW, Digikey sells them as one piece, so for a pair you order two. That was a surprise for me.

Thanks for the warning, I did order two.

I've never found a dt770 open backed from Beyer, perhaps a mod, tho. There are different versions of dt770, but they all have closed backs, and all use the same 45mm driver. Different impedences are offered in dt770; 32, 80, 250 ohm. But, to my knowledge, dt770 always means closed back. It's specifically marketed as an isolating studio monitor, and very popular with DJ's. The dt880 and dt990 look almost exactly the same as the dt770, they are the open versions. I tried to find something open on google, but couldn't.
 
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