[Puranti]

Wow looks comfy and stylish !

 

[Saintkeat]

This is another unbelievable piece of work.
 
I would certainly love to have a listen some day. Heck I can't read electrical diagrams else I'd try my hand at building the amp and have you make me one

 

[bcg27]

They look really good. No offense to your other work, which is also really impressive and I'm sure sound great, but these look much more professional and polished than your previous efforts.

 

[Hennyo]

Wachara
 
Can't wait to get underway. =) KGSSHV is about 1/4 paid for so far, headphones are to be CNC'd early January once the ET/EE guys are back from Christmas break. I hope to be done mid-January with a set (or two).
 
Been reading you diya thread, (really helped button up 'loose ends' questions) as well as the 'sr-009 problem' thread, and a couple other threads, including this one where you make your headphones. Thanks for sharing this art, friend. It's fun to see your progression as you literally blast along with ideas.
 
Also, congrats on your T2!

In-credible.
 
Thanks does not justify it. Keep researching!
 
Btw, can you send me instruction on how to make your version of a precise mylar stretcher? Or even better yet, do you have an old stretcher lying around you would'nt mind to ship to me? (I'll pay for the worth of the stetcher, of course. Has your adhesive from 3 M 77 adhesive changed?
 
 
For anyone interested, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120664289524&ru=http://search.ebay.com:80/120664289524_W0QQfviZ1
 
I've found reliable source for spacer pcb; for .5mm, .58mm, and .6/.64 mm's. They are a tiny bit expensive, but for spacer application they are rare and totally worth it.
 
 
 

 

[chinsettawong]

Hi Hennyo,
 
Glad to hear that you're making some progresses.  About stretcher, it's nice to have one, but you don't really need one - unless you want to go into commercial.
 
I actually don't use it.  In my last pair, I simply stretch Mylar using tapes.  I use synthetic rubber glue (contact cement) for gluing the diaphragm to the spacer.  It is the best type of glue for gluing Mylar, IMO.
 
Good luck with your build.  Please keep us update with your progress.
 
Wachara C.
 

 

[notloc]

Okay, joined the forum just for this thread
 
I have been interested in building my own electrostatic headphones for a while (most of my information coming from this page: http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/showfile.php?file=radford1_prj.htm )
 
Well since I first started playing with the idea, I've increased rapidly in electronics experience, and I've got some new manufacturing ability as well. I recently built myself a 3D printer and figured it would make these much easier to make (Like your CNC does)
 
Here's the idea I'd like to contribute: Since the part that seemed to be hard for most folks is the PCB stuff, why not just let a real PCB house make the boards for you? There are two shops in China that will give you 10 5cm x 5cm PCBs for $10USD, or 10 10cm x 10cm for $25. I believe they'll even route the outside and everything.
 
The only hurdle is you'll need to use a PCB CAD package that can output the Gerber files they use. This is something I can do if there is an interest.
 
It seems like you guys all have amps and need the drivers. I think I can do the drivers, but I don't have a suitable amp yet. I'm playing with trying to design an all solid state (maybe class D even) amp for these things. It will be good practice in an area of electrical engineering I don't get to play with much.
 
One other question: It occurred to me that space blankets (aluminized mylar/polyester) might be good for the diaphragm as it's tough, cheap, and already has an electrically conductive coating on it. Any thoughts?
 
It may be worth noting that I probably have far lower audio standards than most folks here. If it's better than my beloved $50 Sony earbuds, I'll be pretty happy.
 
Chinsettawong, great work! It's inspiring! Thanks everyone else for keeping the discussion going, it's been very informative to me.

 

[livewire]

Quote:

 
 
One other question: It occurred to me that space blankets (aluminized mylar/polyester) might be good for the diaphragm as it's tough, cheap, and already has an electrically conductive coating on it. Any thoughts?
 


 

 
The aluminum on them has too low of a resistance to work well, also the mylar in question is most likely too thick.
A coating with a resistance in the megohm range is needed along with a thin film mylar, between 6 microns and (ideally) 1.4 microns thick.
0.9 microns has been used as well but is more difficult to work with.
 
What I would like to see is a DIY step by step instruction on how to make these along with parts list and sources.
These threads (here and at DIY Audio) have most of the info needed, but things are rather nebulous and not organized for a beginner to this discipline.

 

[chinsettawong]

Hi Notloc,
 
You can certainly work with a professional PCB maker, and I'm sure that the quality of their work will be much superior than mine.  However, I do not want you to restrict yourself on just using PCB as a material for making stators and spacers.  The website you post a link to is one of the websites that I learn to make these headphones from.  It certainly has given a lot of ideas on how the phones are made.  Look around your house, and you might find a lot of things that you can use to make.
 
I can post my design if you want to.
 
I'm extremely interested in making a 3d printer.  Can you recommend me a good design?  How do you like yours? 
 
Wachara C.
 
 

 

[chinsettawong]

Hi Livewire,
 
It will just be a redundant for me to post a step by step on how to make the electrostatic headphones.  The website Notloc posted a link to has given a very detail step by step procedure.  If I will write a procedure, it will be very similar to that.
 
I will post my designs for your reference.  It might be quite difficult to make an exact pair if you don't have a CNC machine though.
 
Wachara C.
 
 

 

[chinsettawong]

Well, I just checked my earlier posts, and I've actually posted my design on http://www.head-fi.org/t/498292/my-diy-electrostatic-headphones/180 .
 
The hole size is 2 mm.  The trick is to etch out most of the unneeded copper.  This really helps the phones to produce treble a lot easier.  However, you might want to do some experiment with it.  It's pretty much similar to comparing the SR007 and SR009.  If you like a lot of treble, etch the copper.  If you don't, you can just leave it there.
 
Another thing that I like to say is that I don't use graphite powder to coat the diaphragm, because it is very difficult to make a good and even coating.  I use a permanent antistatic solution.  It is very easy to apply and has been very stable regardless of humidity.
 
Oh, aluminized Mylar is certainly usable.  To prevent a quick discharge, you can series higher value resistors to the bias voltage.  Instead of a few mega ohm, try using 100 to 500 mega ohm.
 
Let me know if you want more information.
 
Wachara C.

 

[spritzer]

We have even discussed making a DIY electrostatic headphone kit in the past with fabbed PCB stators, coating, mylar and a cable to be fitted in some production headphones but it simply isn't feasible.  Same thing with the reworked and fully balanced Stax diffuse field EQ, simply too hard to DIY for the masses. 

 

[bcg27]

Quote:

We have even discussed making a DIY electrostatic headphone kit in the past with fabbed PCB stators, coating, mylar and a cable to be fitted in some production headphones but it simply isn't feasible.  Same thing with the reworked and fully balanced Stax diffuse field EQ, simply too hard to DIY for the masses. 

I'd sign up for that

 

[ujamerstand]

Birgir, you know I'm all up for the diffuse field EQ.

 

[chinsettawong]

Quote:

We have even discussed making a DIY electrostatic headphone kit in the past with fabbed PCB stators, coating, mylar and a cable to be fitted in some production headphones but it simply isn't feasible.  Same thing with the reworked and fully balanced Stax diffuse field EQ, simply too hard to DIY for the masses. 

Hi Birgir,
 
To DIY a pair of headphones for personal use, I think the difficulty isn't that much.  But, yes, if you want to go commercial or making a kit for the mass, it's another story.
 
I have no idea what a fully balanced Stax diffuse field EQ is.  Could you kindly explain?
 
Wachara C.
 

 

[schorsch]

Let's have a look,