[jon126]

A few requests for the community

1. If a builder would post a supplies and tools list, that'd be great. I can make a rough list from the original instructions, but I know I'd miss stuff without actually having built the headphones.

2. If somebody who builds this could also post a price list of what it actually took them to build it. It seems pretty reasonable: ~$150 fostex, ~$100 3D printing, ~$60 pads, ~$25 cable connectors, ~$90 cable, ~$100? Misc parts/foam/etc.

3. How difficult is the assembly/soldering/tuning/etc? For the large majority of us, this will be our first complete DIY headphone.

4. How to finish the cups? I know my 3D print jobs look like crap right off the printer. I have no idea what MrSpeakers is doing to their cups, but they look awesome.

5. Are these possible in PLA, or is ABS the only good option?

6. How good do they sound? Are they close to actual MrSpeakers built Alphas? How about measurements?

 
A video of the entire process would be great for the newbies as well.  Just a suggestion.

 

[bigro]

Woke up this morning to find a text from rmoody " Dan has Opened Sourced the Alpha Dogs."
I Almost fell out of the bed with as much excitement one can have at 4:00 AM
Started reading the thread and got bummed about the 3D printer that I do not have.
Saw the Links for the 3d Printed parts. and did a little fist pump
Priced out parts
Went to FleaBay saw a NIB T40 RPmk3 for about $30 Cheaper than Amazon.
Accidentally Hit the Buy it now button...
Texted rmoody with excitement. Then realized its 5:30 am and He is on Vacation. Great.  I owe him beer now.
 
 
This is really cool. I was looking at the Fostex Cans a few months ago because the Alpha series were built on them but punked out. The Ether C's I have heard are Amazing so I after mods this turn out to be half of what the ethers are I will be pleased. I am really excited.I can Imagine My wifes face when she asks what I want for Xmas and I send her link to some random 3D printed parts. 

 

[Dr Jekyll]

A video of the entire process would be great for the newbies as well.  Just a suggestion.

Definitely. Might boost my confidence in making my own.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Dan,
 
Your generous gift of open sourcing your Alpha Dogs to the head-fi community is HUGE!  You have given everyone the opportunity to build, custom tune, and enjoy a truly wonderful headphone. But wait, there's more! You even made it easier by providing detailed "How To" guides with links to PDFs, STL files at Shapeways for those of us without a 3D printer, and answering numerous follow-up questions. To quote Beck, "WOW!"
 
Anyone who uses what you've provided (at no charge!) should send you a personal "thank you" note sweetened with a little something extra like a box of Sees Candy, a bottle of wine, an Amazon gift certificate, etc. I know, I know...you Don't expect anything but, still, when someone does something nice for you, you should do something nice for them, too.
 
You are the epitome of my guiding principle: "Give More Than You Take." I sincerely hope that No One takes advantage of your creative designs, hard work, and amazing Gift for their personal profit.
 
Dan, you are The Best!
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

 

[bigro]

  Dan,
 
Your generous gift of open sourcing your Alpha Dogs to the head-fi community is HUGE!  You have given everyone the opportunity to build, custom tune, and enjoy a truly wonderful headphone. But wait, there's more! You even made it easier by providing detailed "How To" guides with links to PDFs, STL files at Shapeways for those of us without a 3D printer, and answering numerous follow-up questions. To quote Beck, "WOW!"
 
Anyone who uses what you've provided (at no charge!) should send you a personal "thank you" note sweetened with a little something extra like a box of Sees Candy, a bottle of wine, an Amazon gift certificate, etc. I know, I know...you Don't expect anything but, still, when someone does something nice for you, you should do something nice for them, too.
 
You are the epitome of my guiding principle: "Give More Than You Take." I sincerely hope that No One takes advantage of your creative designs, hard work, and amazing Gift for their personal profit.
 
Dan, you are The Best!
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

 
I have been reading on some of the Nelson Pass DIY Projects and This is right up that alley.  I am looking forward to what variations people come up with. Down the Rabbit Hole we go.

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

Anyone that does this, please make a youtube video and share it here, a step by step video would be helpful.

 

[PeterJensen]

+1 to what bluemonkeyflyer wrote.
 
Are there still plans to release the editable CAD files at some point? The .stl´s look great, but I believe I could use connectors that are much easier to get my hands on for a first experimental build, so I am looking to change the cups a little. That would be much easier with a CAD file compared to working directly on the .stl´s (fingers crossed for SolidWorks, but I will work with what I can get ).
 
Im definitely considering doing a video, but cant promise if or when I get the time at this point.

 

[thekorsen]

Just a thought, but would a wave guide benefit the fostex driver like it did for the ethers? Might be fun to experiment.

 

[rmoody]

Anyone else having issues with the STL files? The ones that are zipped are not unzipping, the one STL will not open on the STL viewer sites I have tried.

 

[PeterJensen]

  Anyone else having issues with the STL files? The ones that are zipped are not unzipping, the one STL will not open on the STL viewer sites I have tried.

Works fine here. Unzipped with windows build-in zip tool and opening fine in MeshLab.

 

[Insomnymous]

  Anyone else having issues with the STL files? The ones that are zipped are not unzipping, the one STL will not open on the STL viewer sites I have tried.

I'm not experiencing what you are, after downloading all of the files I was able to extract the three zip files, and then I was able to view all 4 of the STL files correctly using http://www.viewstl.com/
 
It sounds like the files you're downloading from the dropbox links aren't downloading correctly, try deleting cookies + cache from your web browser and re-downloading the files.

 

[rmoody]

  I'm not experiencing what you are, after downloading all of the files I was able to extract the three zip files, and then I was able to view all 4 of the STL files correctly using http://www.viewstl.com/
 
It sounds like the files you're downloading from the dropbox links aren't downloading correctly, try deleting cookies + cache from your web browser and re-downloading the files.

It was a short between the seat and the keyboard, I went back and did this weird thing called "clicking on the link". It worked.

 

[santiagoflores]

Thank you so much Dan, as BMF said this is huge.
 
Man, if I ever decide to spend more than 1K on a pair of headphones, I'll definitely give yours a chance first.

 

[rmoody]

Soo, have a buddy with a 3d printer. He's wondering if you printing the cups without support and what printer settings you may could provide us (layer height, support, fill density, etc). I know you said you would not be supporting the thread, but I figured I'd ask anyway. It could be helpful to many of us.

 

[rmoody]

Woo hoo, CFO approval for a pair of Fostex cans! My diabolical plan is working perfectly.