[jonbmet]

Unfortunately, I'm 4 hours away from every Grado I own. I need to get back to Atlanta to grab a few pairs so I can take some measurements.

 

[wolfetan44]

Well, I am VERY excited. 

 

[Thedeviling]

Nice. With a set of beautiful woodies , some nice aluminum thumb screws and plaited cables.... Walaaaaa!!!
Great job in designing

 

[fleasbaby]

It looks beautiful...How would the cups be held in the rings?

 

[jonbmet]

It looks beautiful...How would the cups be held in the rings?

It sort of works like a drum clamp. If you look closely you can see a few slots through the aluminum pieces. What I imagine is that you put the arches around the cup....squeeze them together and then tighten the screw passing through all of them. Basically friction between the aluminum pieces and the wood would hold the cups in place.
 
Would it be enough friction? I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure it would work well. The friction coefficient changes depending on the cup material and finish. With a high enough coefficient it's not going to move. Some rubber trim on the edges of what I'm calling the "arches" would do the trick for sure. Just need to source some trim that'll work.
 

 
I'm debating adding a thumbscrew type tensioning system (almost like a hose clamp) to the design, but it would be very easy to crack wood cups with this sort of system....

 

[wje]

The design looks good.  There was an item that I noticed, which is something I normally look for in a head band as most offer the feature.  There is usually an ability to slightly swivel the cups as they are mounted on the headband a few degrees either way.  Since our head shapes and ear angles are all different, this done to allow that small, precise adjustments for fit and allow for greater comfort.  In the image below, I've added some green arrows the designate the slight swivel capability.
 
 

 

[austonia]

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[Rauliki]

This looks so great that I would buy two!

 

[jonbmet]

I think I have a way of adding swivel like you've described. Let me brainstorm it today. If you can recommend some headphones that do what your describing well that would help too.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

  The design looks good.  There was an item that I noticed, which is something I normally look for in a head band as most offer the feature.  There is usually an ability to slightly swivel the cups as they are mounted on the headband a few degrees either way.  Since our head shapes and ear angles are all different, this done to allow that small, precise adjustments for fit and allow for greater comfort.  In the image below, I've added some green arrows the designate the slight swivel capability.
 
 

 
In addition to lateral swivel capability, vertical swivel is also important. For example, I had an ATH-W3000anv and ATH-W1000X on loan for a while. They swivel from side to side but they do not swivel vertically. I could never get a complete seal because the pads would not conform to the shape of my head, leaving a gap at the bottom of each ear pad. This resulted in discomfort and loss of bass. 

 

[jeffrocc]

Full swiveling is indeed essential. It is what makes the GRADO design time honored, simple yet elegant. The simplicity is the key ingredient here. Your design is really awesome, of this there is no doubt, but as you strive to achieve the necessary functioning will it not complicate ( and thus increase costs) of your design?

 

[jonbmet]

Yes, more complicated will mean a higher cost. I also agree with the sentiment that what makes Grados good are their simplicity. I'd like to stay with that "design philosophy".
 
That being said, most headphones have plastic gimbals and need to be a one-size-fits-all. Because this is sheet metal you should be able to bend the gimbals the same you would with a stock Grado headband to get it to fit just right. It might only fit one person, but is that really an issue?

 

[Levictus]

Still have some hardware to pick out. Was going to go all out and over design it with many machining operations, etc....and then realized I could do something cool almost entirely out of sheet metal. So I went in the sheet metal direction. Since everything can be water jetted, burned, or lasered it shouldn't cost much more than the cost of the metal itself. Need to find some cool aluminum thumbscrews and a few other odds and ends. Anyway, below is a design I modeled up tonight. Any feedback / suggestions are appreciated.

Looks great! I love the outside the box thinking... Keep up the good work!

 

[austonia]

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[jonbmet]

I assume the sr100 is yours? At least for the next three hours.