Orthodynamic Roundup

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markse /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I'm thinking I'd like to have a play with some of these SFI tweeters. Question is which ones? I measured the DC resistance of the units in my Eagle H4300s and it seems like one is faulty. One measures about 6ohms whilst the other closer to 8. One is lower output than the other unless it's my CD walkman that has a lower output on one channel. I see on ebay that there are 3 versions currently available- 4,8 and 32ohm. So I guess I'll get the 8s but what difference would the 32s make? I'm guessing they would be lower output but probably a bit easier for a portable to drive. What are you guys using in your experiments? Mark

the ones we use are the 32-ohm -- because they are the only ones with a vented back magnet.

extremely curious that the eagle has lower-impedance drivers.

 

[Faust2D]

Not sure if you seen this but YH-5M sold for about $150 on Yahoo japan. It was modded in a funny way as well.

 

[Duggeh]

Looks like someone put foam IEM tips on it, the original fittings press into the ear cave. $150, high or low, who can say, they never sell anywhere much.

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks like someone put foam IEM tips on it, the original fittings press into the ear cave. $150, high or low, who can say, they never sell anywhere much.

The original rubber tips look a lot like Stax tips, so I would image if you were fine with SR-001 these should be OK for you.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy My honorary orthos are getting a makeover They were in need of a spring clean and the foam inside was rotting so that's being replaced with some felt.

Thanks for the nostalgic (to me) photos, and be sparing with the felt or you'll impair this curious and wonderfully gawky headphone's surprising headstaging ability, as I found out myself.

Odd that Sony did some impairing of their own by letting all that unnecessary wiring hang down right behind the driver. It's easy enough to dress it out of the way, but, pfft, I mean...


Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj the ones we use are the 32-ohm -- because they are the only ones with a vented back magnet. extremely curious that the eagle has lower-impedance drivers.

It is odd. The SFI and Audio-Techie drivers are 32 ohms, but there are versions of the Echo H-16 going down to 16 ohms. Makes ya wonder.

In the SFI eBay listings, always look for the word BIPOLE.


.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif My honorary orthos are getting a makeover I'm recabling them with a Stax Gamma wire and making new wood housings for them tomorrow. They were in need of a spring clean and the foam inside was rotting so that's being replaced with some felt. I'm probably going to get some Beyerdynamic gelpads for them.

Am i the only guy (presumably orther than wualta) who thinks the original ECR-500 pads are just fine?

 

[wualta]

I'm not a ECR-500 pad-swapper for the simple reason that I don't have that many pads to swap, and I do like the sound of the ECR-500 as-is, but some adjustments to taste via earpad swap are certainly not out of the question.

I'm not sure what I'd recommend, since the bass is just about right the way it is... maybe velour pads, but they'd cost more than you paid for the headphone. I might line the baffle with some thin felt just to kill reflections..

Of course, anything we might learn from the ECR-500 would be directly applicable to our ongoing Ortho education.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not a ECR-500 pad-swapper for the simple reason that I don't have that many pads to swap, and I do like the sound of the ECR-500 as-is, but some adjustments to taste via earpad swap are certainly not out of the question. I'm not sure what I'd recommend, since the bass is just about right the way it is... maybe velour pads, but they'd cost more than you paid for the headphone. I might line the baffle with some thin felt just to kill reflections.. Of course, anything we might learn from the ECR-500 would be directly applicable to our ongoing Ortho education.

If the ECR-500 uses the same pads as the ECR-400 then Stax SR-5 pads are a near perfect match and avaialble. You could also try some SR-007 pads on there if in the mood...

 

[Vaughn]

Here is my humble offering to the SFI housing series...

The frame is, of course, Grado. I built Grado style housings for the drivers
from some 7/8" baltic birch I had on hand. Damping the back of the driver is
a 3/8" sandwich of 1/8" felt(from a hat) on the outsides with an 1/8"
layer of open cell foam between.

This shows the 1/16" aluminum baffle I used to clamp the driver to the housing. I sealed the baffle to the housing with a closed cell speaker gasket tape. I used an SR80 cable I had left over to wire it up.

I have recently owned both the Sennheiser HD-25 and the Audio Technica
ATH-ESW9 and I would say this bests them in most regards. There is a strange echo or resonance happening in the mids, but I have only tried this
damping arrangement. The bass is amazing. I don't think it will satisfy real bassheads but the ability of this driver to start and stop is stunning imho.
I've been listening to several tracks from more vocal oriented to electronica and I think orthos are the essence of prat!

edit; I forgot to mention.... I think the headphone pads I have are too thick, does anyone know of a source for the thinner style pads?

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaughn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here is my humble offering to the SFI housing series...

Wow! They're beautiful. I was thinking of making something similar using PVC pipes, but wood+aluminum is much much better. If there were cheap Grado-like headbands available, you could start a small business. I would definitely buy the cups+baffles.

 

[scompton]

Vaughn, what's the inside of the cup shaped like and how did you form them? Did you use a lathe, or drills?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow! They're beautiful. I was thinking of making something similar using PVC pipes, but wood+aluminum is much much better. If there were cheap Grado-like headbands available, you could start a small business. I would definitely buy the cups+baffles.

I too have been thinking of PVC pipe, but I wasn't sure how I would make it work. I've also been thinking about how to make a float, but really haven't come up with anything yet.

There are tons of cheap Grado-like headbands on eBay. Just do a search for vintage headphones. A lot of old radio headphones show up like this one

Vintage Clevite-Brush Headphones octagon CANS - eBay (item 320246660025 end time May-05-08 18:43:00 PDT)

I've been thinking about getting something like that to replace the headband for my T30. They sound great, but they don't sit well on my ears. If the ear cups can swivel a little, they'd be perfect.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I too have been thinking of PVC pipe, but I wasn't sure how I would make it work.

I have a couple of ideas, but have to check for available pipe sizes as they might be impossible to realize.

Quote:

There are tons of cheap Grado-like headbands on eBay. Just do a search for vintage headphones. A lot of old radio headphones show up like this one

I never see old headphones on the Italian ebay, but I might have to look harder. Or start checking chinese low-cost stores and electronics megastores around here for 10-euros headphones with the right headband.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaughn /img/forum/go_quote.gif edit; I forgot to mention.... I think the headphone pads I have are too thick, does anyone know of a source for the thinner style pads?

Yeah. Stax SR-X pads. They aint cheap.

 

[Vaughn]

thanks for the compliments...

I could describe the interior but a picture would be better

A pic of the baffle removed...

A pic of the driver removed showing stepped shelf it sits on and felt/foam sandwich underneath....

And a pic of the felt/foam sandwich removed showing back screen...

I plan on trying a dual driver arrangement next, similar to what Smeggy is working on.

edit; The interior cavity was drilled out with forstener bits on my drill press and the exterior was first roughed out with a band saw and then the profile sanded down with my upright belt sander.
Someday I will have a lathe and this sort of thing will be much easier

 

[ericj]

Vaughn, from your pictures, the driver is backwards - the woven fabric should be on the front.