Some questions about how drivers for open headphones work

[ginetto61]

The cup volume surrounding, grill and middle disc still covers 80% from outside air. 

 
Thanks a lot !  i have understood now much better !  

So the cup even if open load the driver.  Good !
I like very much indeed the simplicity of the Grado headphones and honestly i understand why they have so many supporters.
Honestly if i had to clone something i would try with the Grado concept ... they are marvellous especially the models with the Al cups.
I remember a guy proud owner of a pair of HP1000 ... what a beauty !
Now i have understood ... i was misunderstanding the situation completely 
Thanks again. 
 

Test it out your experiment and report the conclusion, then we know.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreymorrison/2013/11/02/open-back-vs-closed-back-headphones/

 
yes i will try to do something.  I am already trembling for the soldering.  It is an extremely delicate operations indeed.
The risk of damaging the diaphragm with the heat for me is very high.  But i have dissassembled the HPs so i have to try anyway
 

 
If i will not destroy all i will report for sure 
But at this point my test is useless.   I was wrong completely. 
I will try to put them together .. with their cups of course 

Thanks again,  gino 

 

[Music818]

   
Thanks a lot !  i have understood now much better !  

So the cup even if open load the driver.  Good !
I like very much indeed the simplicity of the Grado headphones and honestly i understand why they have so many supporters.
Honestly if i had to clone something i would try with the Grado concept ... they are marvellous especially the models with the Al cups.
I remember a guy proud owner of a pair of HP1000 ... what a beauty !
Now i have understood ... i was misunderstanding the situation completely 
Thanks again. 
 
 
yes i will try to do something.  I am already trembling for the soldering.  It is an extremely delicate operations indeed.
The risk of damaging the diaphragm with the heat for me is very high.  But i have dissassembled the HPs so i have to try anyway
 

 
If i will not destroy all i will report for sure 
But at this point my test is useless.   I was wrong completely. 
I will try to put them together .. with their cups of course 

Thanks again,  gino 

 
Your solder-iron seems to have no temperature control. So, be careful not to solder the driver's solder pad for more than 2-3 seconds. Otherwise the voice coil will burn out. Good luck!

 

[ginetto61]

Your solder-iron seems to have no temperature control. So, be careful not to solder the driver's solder pad for more than 2-3 seconds. Otherwise the voice coil will burn out. Good luck!

 
Hi and thanks a lot again for the very valuable advice.  I think that this only issue will stop me from further DIY projects. 

These drivers are too much delicate for my very heavy hands.
Actually mi intention was to preserve a short piece of the original cable and solder an xlr plug to it, without having to mess with the drivers
But the wire inside the cable are so tiny that is impossible for me.  They also seem enameled ?  
I am very very sad because i believe completely in the benefit of a very good wiring.  I think that better wires can do a difference.
I would not expect silver wire, but even just the wire inside a usb cable ... are those that expensive ?
Thanks a lot again.  My dream stops here. 

Kind regards, gino  

 

 

[Music818]

   
Hi and thanks a lot again for the very valuable advice.  I think that this only issue will stop me from further DIY projects. 

These drivers are too much delicate for my very heavy hands.
Actually mi intention was to preserve a short piece of the original cable and solder an xlr plug to it, without having to mess with the drivers
But the wire inside the cable are so tiny that is impossible for me.  They also seem enameled ?  
I am very very sad because i believe completely in the benefit of a very good wiring.  I think that better wires can do a difference.
I would not expect silver wire, but even just the wire inside a usb cable ... are those that expensive ?
Thanks a lot again.  My dream stops here. 

Kind regards, gino  

 

Just for your information. Nearly most of the driver inside the headphone use enameled wire. Soldering of the enameled wire is very simple, like you add the solder to the other wires. Have some solder on your solder-rion tip, touch the enameled wire with the melted solder on the solder-iron tip. Wait a few seconds and you'll see the solder has melted into the enameled wire. That's it.
If the wire already connected to the driver and to play safe, you can use a fan to blow the driver's solder pad such that the heat can dissipate at the driver side.

 

[cdsa35000]

Watch this clumpsy guy can do it too:
[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6BMEDrqLDE[/VIDEO]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=headphone+soldering
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=learn+soldering

 

[ginetto61]

  Just for your information. Nearly most of the driver inside the headphone use enameled wire. Soldering of the enameled wire is very simple, like you add the solder to the other wires.
Have some solder on your solder-rion tip, touch the enameled wire with the melted solder on the solder-iron tip. Wait a few seconds and you'll see the solder has melted into the enameled wire. That's it.
If the wire already connected to the driver and to play safe, you can use a fan to blow the driver's solder pad such that the heat can dissipate at the driver side.

 
Hi and thanks a lot for the very helpful advice.  You mean the most of the HPs are wired internally with enameled wires ?  good to know.
Good idea that of the fan in any case.
I was thinking also another thing.
If i put the solder on the wire to be soldered to the driver (it will be a stranded wire of a mic mini-cable) when i will solder the wire to the driver contacts the wire itself should work as a heatsink ?
I mean ... the really bad thing should be to put directly the solder on the contacts.  In that way all the heat will be transferred to the driver coil without any cooling effect.
I have already a good alloy with 2% Ag ... with a quite low melting point.
These cheap drivers are good.  They sound good.  And better wired they could sound even better.
Then a mic cable of good quality with a stereo plug on one hand and a xlr on the other can be an excellent extension cord.  That i have already done with really great result.
I prefer the construction of my extension cable (Canare  l-2t2s mic cable terminated with Neutrik jack and xlr) to the  Grado original ...
I bought the Canare because a guy told me that the national Italian broadcasting company was using it in their studios. You should see the construction of the shield.
Anyway i think i will buy also a new soldering iron with T control.
I am about to mod many other with a XLR out.   A little like AKG style.
Thanks a lot again,  gino 

 

[ginetto61]

Watch this clumpsy guy can do it too:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=headphone+soldering
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=learn+soldering

 
Hi and thanks a lot for the very interesting video
I think that the teacher should have spent some more words about the tools and operating conditions, like best solder alloy, best soldering iron and optimal soldering T
I understand now how delicate is the process.
What surprised me is how thin are the hook-up wires inside the cups ... really a thin hair.  And this puzzles me a little.
If we look at mic cables, they are designed to carry a signal with a current of how much ? some microA ?
In the HPs we have currents of the order of milliA ... one thousand times more.
Then if i look to mic cable i see equivalent AWG of up to 21 for the star-quad types !!!!
USB cables, for instance, are often AWG 28/24  with 28 for the data and 24 for the power.
I think that a very good quality AWG 28 wire for an HP would be perfect ... or 26 like i was advised.
I am sure a thicker cable will give a perceptible boost to the sound ... i am sure of this.
Thanks a lot again,  gino