[Hoywin]

So... here I am, my very first post at Head-fi.org. as for an introduction I can begin by saying that my english is far from any good, as I am from Norway, and rarely speak or write any english at all, so please bear with me
 
Anyways: I am planning to make myself a pair of headphones, and as the topic implies i could need some help.
 
Firstly, so that you guys can get a little insight into my thoughts I can begin with what i have planned up until now.
I want to make them retro/vintage i regards of design, with mainly materials like wood, metal and leather, rather than plastic and such.  I`m also going for a square design at the cups, as it will be a lot easier to make. As for the headband I`m going for a mechanical solution similar to what you can find in the Icemat Siberian, or in what I can tell, some of the AKG models.
 
I`m also going to angle the drivers a little bit, somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees, just to focus up the soundstage. ( I have a pair of sennheiser 595`s, and i`ve grown a little fond of these, including the angle
 
I have made a little sketch in google sketchup, that might help you to understand what im making:
 


 
These sketches are, as you can see, extremely rough.
 
and then for the questions:
 
Open/closed:
I really don`t know, what is the easiest to screw up? 
 
Materials: What kind of wood should I use, MDF plates - to eliminate resonance, or maybe som kind of resonant solid wood, ( like in guitars) spruce? 
 
Drivers: as for the moment i have some icemat siberian drivers, and a pair of Senn HD 410 SL drivers (which I really dont want to destroy), and also some 40mm drivers that was in a pair of Wesc(a swedish brand similar to scullcandy, I dont think the drivers are to bad, but the outer casing was crap.) What do you think? should I use what i have, or maybe buy something on the 2.hand market?
 
earpads: i guess i will have to sew them myself,  will probably go for some kind of brownish leather.
 
 
cable: I want a 6.3mm jack (1,4"?-unsure of the non-metric measurements) and a ~1,5 m cable, I`d also like it to be in a Y-configuration.I also want it to be in the same style as the rest of the headphones, or at least look a little exclusive,
- I`m okey with an soldering iron, so I could make them myself, but where can i find some proper cables?
 
 
 
- I guess that was all for now, looking forward to this
 

 

[darkswordsman17]

For wood, I would probably recommend going with something fairly light. You can always add other material to lessen resonance. Just remember that wood and metal can weigh a lot and that you're gonna have this hanging on your head.
 
As for open or closed its up to you, but you might make them open back and then make it so you can put something on the back, maybe make several pieces that offer varying levels between open and closed (and maybe even one that offers "deep cup" for extra bass). This way you can adjust it to what sound you want whenever you want.
 
A note for the pads is that you might want to make them asymmeterical so that the back part (the part behind your ear) is quite a bit thicker than the front so that you get proper seal and it will help with the angling of the drivers. Basically make it inverse of the wood so that with the pads on it seems square.

 

[Hoywin]

 
Thanks for the reply
 
All of your suggestions is now accounted for in the new schematics
 
- As for the development, I have now made some models of the earcups in cupboard, so that I could experiment with various sizes and dimensions. I`ve also created some concept art in Photoshop (just ignore the headband, as i just copied it off an akg-headphone.)

 
Also: I`found some cool metal mesh lying around, so I guess I`m going for an open design