[DeliciousTea]

You might check out some of the DIY mod threads that have been floating around.  You could probably throw a variation of the Stratokosster together for fairly cheap and have a head-fi approved DIY pair of headphones to boot.  The information in the T50RP threads is based around a specific orthodynamic driver, but much of the information on damping, enclosure, seal, etc. is fairly universal when designing a DIY headphone.
 
Stratokosster (KSC75 mod)
http://www.head-fi.org/t/611982/the-stratokosster-a-closed-diy-headphone-based-on-the-koss-ksc-75-driver-and-grado-cup-design
 
Thunderpants (T50RP mod) by Smeggy
http://www.head-fi.org/t/501773/thunderpants
 
Summary of T50RP mod links
http://www.head-fi.org/a/fostex-t50rp-modification-summary-links-wiki
 
Incremental modifications guide for T50RP
http://www.head-fi.org/t/618659/fostex-t50rp-incremental-mods-and-measurements
 
Old thread about finding drivers for DIY phones
http://www.head-fi.org/t/596348/buying-drivers-for-diy-headphones

 

[ujamerstand]

Those specs are unimportant. What's important is the driver's frequency response and distortion values. You'll probably have to measure those yourself.

 

[akiroz]

Quote:

Those specs are unimportant. What's important is the driver's frequency response and distortion values. You'll probably have to measure those yourself.

This. and transient (impulse) response.

 

[hochopeper]

Quote:

Those specs are unimportant. What's important is the driver's frequency response and distortion values. You'll probably have to measure those yourself.

The OP has asked how to work out a headphones power requirements because of concern about battery life, how exactly do you think freq response and distortion relate to battery life?!

 

[hochopeper]

Quote:

this be any better?:

1. 40mm neodymium driver

1. Impedance: 32Ω
2. Sensitivity: 114dB S.P.L at 1kHz
3. Frequency response: 20 to 20kHz
4. Maximum power input: 150mW

This will certainly be better for battery life of your devices, you'll need to test and measure in-situ freq response to understand whether they make your 20-16kHz requirements.

 

[akiroz]

Quote:

The OP has asked how to work out a headphones power requirements because of concern about battery life, how exactly do you think freq response and distortion relate to battery life?!

If you do some simple maths, you'll find out that the power consumption of headphones is NEGLIGIBLE compared to whatever you're playing out of. 

 

[hochopeper]

Quote:

If you do some simple maths, you'll find out that the power consumption of headphones is NEGLIGIBLE compared to whatever you're playing out of. 

I know this. The OP clearly didn't and was willing to select any speaker as long as he could fit it in his headphone design. 

 

[ujamerstand]

Quote:

The OP has asked how to work out a headphones power requirements because of concern about battery life, how exactly do you think freq response and distortion relate to battery life?!

 
OP clearly asked if those specs = good sounding driver.
 
Quote:

i found the answer to my question. ok so, if i had two speakers with neodymium magnets, 50mm Mylar Drivers, 32 Ohms Impedance, a Sensitivity of 108dB at 1kHz, and a frequency response of  20 to 20,000Hz sound good if the speakers were floating in the air?

 

[hochopeper]

Quote:

 
OP clearly asked if those specs = good sounding driver.
 

My point is no-one had answered his earlier question about battery life which from the way I was reading his posts in this thread was more important than ultimate fidelity.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

 
OP clearly asked if those specs = good sounding driver.
 

yes and my point was that the response in the headphone not relate terribly well to the published spec in isolation, the spec outlined in the datasheet will match when the testing conditions are replicated, to within specified tolerances, IF theyve done their job properly. its a specification to base your modelling on, not something that is likely to be replicated in the headphone without serious testing. the effect of the headphone on battery life is not to be discounted either. if you build with 32ohm highly efficient and often quite boring drivers sure they are efficient, however even the efficiency in the cup cannot be taken for granted to be the same as in isolation, especially if its a closed back design
 
crap headphones can easily be made out of great drivers, just like with speakers. not as much so since theres no crossover in most cases, just ask the thunderpants crew, which btw is a perfect example of a headphone that will have profound effect on the battery life of the player its used with.

 

[Nixon]

Quote:

Old thread about finding drivers for DIY phones
http://www.head-fi.org/t/596348/buying-drivers-for-diy-headphones

Hehe, my old thread. Ended up ordering a set of the Kobitones from Mouser. Tested them out and the sound suprisingly good for $5. Doubt they'd be suitable for Beats-esque cans though as they're a bit of a person to drive at 600 ohms.

 

[DeliciousTea]

Quote:

Hehe, my old thread. Ended up ordering a set of the Kobitones from Mouser. Tested them out and the sound suprisingly good for $5. Doubt they'd be suitable for Beats-esque cans though as they're a bit of a person to drive at 600 ohms.

 
What kind of enclosure did you end up throwing them into?  I was almost inspired to give those drivers a try after stumbling onto your thread awhile ago and now I might just have to.

 

[Nixon]

Not actually put them in an enclosure yet. Did the very scientific test of wiring them up and putting them in a pair of Grado foam pads and giving them a listen. Just finished designing the enclosures and should be building them within the next few weeks. 

 

[builder bob]

Quote:

I think you've underestimated the intellectual ability of some of the real headphone manufacturers (ie those that are not putting stickers of 'By Dre' on the side). 
 
It might pay to understand the science of audio reproduction a bit better before arbitrarily selecting a shape and material for your headphones, let alone driver selection.
 
A good introduction to the science is - Audio Transducers by Geddes and he's put a good portion of it up in pdf format on his forum - http://www.geddes-audio.com/forum/content.php?44-A-complete-listing-of-chapters-in-pdf-format&s=637bad28f30ae72e992afbe2219978f0 [Note, he assumes a high level of math / physics knowledge, its not easy reading]
 
You might have picked the wrong forum if you're primarily aiming to sell your custom headphones to the same market that buy b34ts. If it was as easy as: greeting card speaker+some foam+art knife+paper mache then collecting $600 from every sucker on the street then I would hate to think what someone who spends years learning the science and doing real R&D could charge for headphones.
 
For example, what shape would the 'cone' have that you're pushing the sound into?

thanks for posting that link i've started reading it. i don't know how quickly they should expand but i was thinking kind of like a mega phone.
Quote:

You will need to know how loud you want to hear the music(?) along with impedance and sensitivity to decide that. You will need to decide if your intended sources will produce sufficient current and voltage to drive the speaker properly also.
My earlier suggestions were based on understanding that you wanted a headphone that sounded better (more accurate) than beats, your current design process will not reliably achieve that.
In summary:
- arts and crafts is easy
- engineering a headphone, not so easy

what kind of tool would i use to find about impedance and sensitivty? i only know the basics of acoustics
Quote:

Wow! Paper mache and greeting card speakers? Inventive. 

 
If you're looking to take this further, imo you should keep it simple. That chimney ported parabolic delayed reflection system you've got cooking sounds overly complicated which with high probability will lead to poor sound and headaches, I think. Have you heard of Ultrasone's S-Logic? Maybe take a look at the concept and design. Audio Technica drivers might be expensive, and that's if you can get your hands on any real quantity. Chinese manufacturers produce ribbon tweeters meant for 2 and 3-way speaker setups for stupid cheap, I've seen. Maybe you can contact one and get them to create a small batch of 100 units in a dipole configuration? Something that goes down to 1500-2000Hz in a free air setup can probably be tuned for full range once you've got a sealed ear chamber. If it goes lower it might be even better, but tweeters that go down to 700Hz or so can be on the large size which might not be suitable for your application. As a warning these ribbon tweeters would have to be driven via speaker taps most likely. You couldn't just use an iPod. 
 
Doesn't Parts Express sell headphone elements?
 
Good luck!

 
i can't find headphones speakers there
Quote:

@bob
you really can't tell by those specs alone.
Get both of them, and do some R&D.

i would if i didn't have to order a minimum of 500 sets. what should i look for?

 

[builder bob]

woops, i missed this whole page, geuss i didn't notice the page 3 button

. i'll read threw what you guys of said and i'll try and answer the questions. the link to the sonny site has no information, just numbers.