[jcwyly]

Damn.... 2 months into a used pair and now the left channel has been cutting out on me. Hopefully it's just the cable... Anything I should know about cracking these open to check the solder?

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Damn.... 2 months into a used pair and now the left channel has been cutting out on me. Hopefully it's just the cable... Anything I should know about cracking these open to check the solder?

I would first check the TRS connections.

There's probably only 4 wood screws holding the baffle to the cup.

Be careful separating the baffles from the cups, depending on how much slack there is for the wires.

 

[tmuka]

I've been digesting this thread and am grateful for the wealth of info shared here by smeggy and others!

I'm inspired to embark on a Thunderpants build of my own. I do have an old craftsman lathe, but it doesn't have a chuck with jaws, so I decided to experiment with using my router instead to mill the basic shape.

I used my diy circle jig router plate






My test in this pine 2x6 was a success, I learned a few things in the process, and am excited to buy some hardwood from the cutoffs bin at Woodcraft next week to try. Hopefully some mahogany or blackwood or rosewood or something.

I set the router to cut 4 1/4 outer diameter thinking I'd sand to the final size, but I got such a smooth finish from my carbide spiral bit I'm going to just go for the finished size and worry about a lip later...

Hope you enjoy the pics!

 

[tmuka]

I guess I missed that this thread hasn't been active for a few years... Oh well I did see some wood cups in the T50rp mods thread, but this feels more appropriate here. I'm don't know what kind of wood I ended up with here, I suspect maybe it's a younger Honduran mahogany or something based on the open grain pores. It was decently nice to work anyway!

 

[tmuka]

Getting closer! Sanded with 60, 80, 120 grit tonight, then wiped it down with some water and took this pic with it still wet... Mogami mini and canare star quad cable coming tomorrow for me to braid or wire up how I decide I like it...

I'm not experienced with wood finishing, going to have to figure that out next...

 

[sbradley02]

I have found wipe on poly (in the gloss level of your choice) to be very easy to use and provides a great finish. I would tend to go up to at least 220 grit paper first, higher if you want gloss.

 

[tmuka]

  I have found wipe on poly (in the gloss level of your choice) to be very easy to use and provides a great finish. I would tend to go up to at least 220 grit paper first, higher if you want gloss.

Excellent, thanks for the tip!  Yesterday I got them sanded down with 220, 320, 400 grit and applied a few coats of stain.  They're looking really pretty when wet.  I didn't find any wood pore filler at the big box store, so i think i'll just end up building up the poly finish with a handful of coats... it's super easy to coat now how i have them mounted on my drill (it's like a makeshift variable speed lathe).  I'll post pics from my phone in a minute...

 

[tmuka]

some cable work awaiting heat shrink Y. also figuring out how i'm going to seal the headphone cup cable hole. probably silicone or hot glue...

 

[tmuka]

I realized I never posted a completed pic of my "Thunderpants" build...

I'm really happy with how they look and feel. I still need to do some learning on how to tweak and tune the frequency response. Right now they're sounding more V shaped than i'd like with recessed mids. Being a guitar player, the fast mids is one of my favorite parts of the stock T50RP, so hopefully I can get that back without resorting to going back to the stock cups! Any tips from the pros here?

 

[funch]

Very nice. Mine also have a V signature. They use ABS pipe caps for the cups, so I call mine 'Plastic Pantz'.

 

[capnjack]

I know I’m super-late to the party, but after reading through the thread for advice here are my Vibrolabs Maplepants. The cups/gimbals arrived this afternoon and this is just a dry-fit. Tuning the cups and soldering will be starting at the weekend

 

[capnjack]

the finished item

 

[gazzamongo]

They look fantastic. Id like to diy a pair also, but couldn't find any detailed sketches or pictures showing how the cups are made. Not even info of the rear chamber volume behind the driver. Did you just experiment and make adjustments from there ?

 

[capnjack]

They look fantastic. Id like to diy a pair also, but couldn't find any detailed sketches or pictures showing how the cups are made. Not even info of the rear chamber volume behind the driver. Did you just experiment and make adjustments from there ?

Take a look at this website, it’s where I got my kit from. He’s doing some fantastic stuff on there https://www.vibrolabs.com/fostex-cups/maple

 

[gazzamongo]

Nice , takes the guesswork out of the process prices seem fair enough too. Thanks.