Buy the metal bow from Beyerdynamic. It´s cheap and durable. This one i wouldn´t print.
Tofty's DIY Headphones - 3D Printed
- Thread starter Tofty
- Start date
I'm constantly coming across new, really nice DIY headphone builds that put my efforts to shame. This hobby will always be a learning curve, especially since I know far too little about acoustic tuning currently.
The headband issue is an ongoing one and probably the thing that I still have the most work to do on (mechanically speaking anyway).
While I've been avoiding using one for my scratch built headphones; printed plastic headbands do work, but can't flex anywhere near as much as a metal band, so their design needs to be more closely tailored to the individual. This is fine for DIY projects generally, but does mean that such solutions aren't as useful for the community at large.
My end goal would be to come up with a metal band solution that pretty much anyone could fabricate with minimal tools. Something that uses just a straight pieces of steel rod, in an easily available diameter, as the spring could be a neat option.
How do they sound? I'm afraid I cannot say whether angled drivers improve sound or not. Without making an identical set with flat drivers and comparing them; I have no confidence in confirming their efficacy. High-end manufacturers often angle their drivers, so there is likely something to it.
Thanks for the link. That is a very long, yet interesting thread. I'll start working through it.
I really like that pad design. I haven't tried using TPU filament, but it looks really useful.
Last edited:
Ferdous
New Head-Fier
Thanks. Tbh, personally I don’t want to. But the lack of budget options made me think that way.
That’s the last stage. If you could get that right you’ll have the capability of being a manufacturer...
May I ask how are you currently fabricating the headbands?
So my first two headphone designs used a headband I salvaged from some scrap headphones I got a joblot of. These would have gone to waste otherwise, but they didn't end up working very well.
The headband I designed for my third set of headphones (the one with the wooden ear cups) is made up of 4 stainless steel hoops that would need to be bent into shape, which are then clamped at either end.
My DIY Borealis headphones will use the Beyerdynamic headband, as I'm interested to try it out.
From what I said earlier about making a headband out of straight metal rod; I had a play around and came up with this very early concept:
The concept is that the headband can just be made from printed parts and easily sourced 3mm stainless steel rod (or titanium, as it's springier), cut to length.
The plastic parts take almost no load when the headband is being worn, as the rods rest on each other.
This unfinished version is missing some important components and the rods currently need to have threaded ends for them to be retained by the knurled blind nuts, but I plan to refine the design over the following days/weeks. I hope to replace the nuts with grub/set screws to help retain the rods in place.
The headband I designed for my third set of headphones (the one with the wooden ear cups) is made up of 4 stainless steel hoops that would need to be bent into shape, which are then clamped at either end.
My DIY Borealis headphones will use the Beyerdynamic headband, as I'm interested to try it out.
From what I said earlier about making a headband out of straight metal rod; I had a play around and came up with this very early concept:
The concept is that the headband can just be made from printed parts and easily sourced 3mm stainless steel rod (or titanium, as it's springier), cut to length.
The plastic parts take almost no load when the headband is being worn, as the rods rest on each other.
This unfinished version is missing some important components and the rods currently need to have threaded ends for them to be retained by the knurled blind nuts, but I plan to refine the design over the following days/weeks. I hope to replace the nuts with grub/set screws to help retain the rods in place.
I think I've mostly finished my DIY headband design:
This can be made from many materials, but I suspect 303 Stainless Steel, Grade 5 Titanium and Carbon Fibre will be the most suitable, as they are all suitably springy.
This current design uses just under a metre of rod in total.
The rods will be held in place using UNC 4-40 x 1/8" grub/set screws. M3x3mm screws would also work, but I prefer the courser thread of the imperial screws.
If the band ends up flexing too much I might consider adding one or possibly two more rods to the middle span, to stiffen that area up have most of the flexing occur at the sides.
The headband is a slightly modified copy of "GiraffeMetropolis' Audeze LCD Headphone Strap" on Thingiverse and it's meant to be printed using TPU rubber filament.
A screw-less headband attachment method may be a better option, as it could stretch over some posts.
There are two holes in the end blocks to allows tension on the slideable adjuster tubes to be added and adjusted, using a grub/set screw (very much a work in progress though).
So far I've printed all the plastic parts, but I'm waiting for some titanium and carbon fibre rod to test it all with.
Files are up of Thingiverse.
This can be made from many materials, but I suspect 303 Stainless Steel, Grade 5 Titanium and Carbon Fibre will be the most suitable, as they are all suitably springy.
This current design uses just under a metre of rod in total.
The rods will be held in place using UNC 4-40 x 1/8" grub/set screws. M3x3mm screws would also work, but I prefer the courser thread of the imperial screws.
If the band ends up flexing too much I might consider adding one or possibly two more rods to the middle span, to stiffen that area up have most of the flexing occur at the sides.
The headband is a slightly modified copy of "GiraffeMetropolis' Audeze LCD Headphone Strap" on Thingiverse and it's meant to be printed using TPU rubber filament.
A screw-less headband attachment method may be a better option, as it could stretch over some posts.
There are two holes in the end blocks to allows tension on the slideable adjuster tubes to be added and adjusted, using a grub/set screw (very much a work in progress though).
So far I've printed all the plastic parts, but I'm waiting for some titanium and carbon fibre rod to test it all with.
Files are up of Thingiverse.
Last edited:
My DIY Borealis headphones are now finished and building the new headband is coming along. I'll get some photos over the weekend, when I can finally enjoy some natural light again.
However, here is a simple project I finished a while ago:
An MMCX Connector Mod for the Koss Porta Pro headphones.
I got this pair with a faulty cable, so decided to mod them instead of a straight cable swap.
Removeable cables makes everything classier after all. I just wish these were the black versions, not this baby blue colour.
MMCX connectors and an earphone cable made the most sense, although I had to cut off the stiff shaped sheathing on the over-ear part of the cable, just before the MMCX connectors.
The printed housing is taller than the original, but it doesn't foul on the headband when they're being worn.
The screws used are M2x6mm button heads. They screw straight into the pre-existing holes on the driver back and don't require the holes to be drilled or tapped.
The model of the printed part is available on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5124026
However, here is a simple project I finished a while ago:
An MMCX Connector Mod for the Koss Porta Pro headphones.
I got this pair with a faulty cable, so decided to mod them instead of a straight cable swap.
Removeable cables makes everything classier after all. I just wish these were the black versions, not this baby blue colour.
MMCX connectors and an earphone cable made the most sense, although I had to cut off the stiff shaped sheathing on the over-ear part of the cable, just before the MMCX connectors.
The printed housing is taller than the original, but it doesn't foul on the headband when they're being worn.
The screws used are M2x6mm button heads. They screw straight into the pre-existing holes on the driver back and don't require the holes to be drilled or tapped.
The model of the printed part is available on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5124026
Last edited:
As promised; here are some photos of my finished DIY Borealis headphones project:
The biggest failing is the operation of the swivels. There isn't enough resistance in any of the rotating parts to stop it all flopping around and my swivel limit parts do not work at all.
The mini XLR 4 pin connectors are wired as:
1 - Left +
2 - Left -
3 - Right +
4 - Right -
I believe this is the same layout as used on Audeze headphones, but I'm not completely sure.
The Beyerdynamic DT770/990 headband is narrower than I would have expected and I'm not a huge fan of the results here.
The earpads I'm using certainly don't help this issue, but they just look over stretched.
The headband does work, but in this guise (using titanium rod) it's not as flexible as I'd hoped. The rods could be cut to different lengths to allow the headband to be tailored for specific head sizes, but I was aiming for more of a one size fits all solution, so it's back to the drawing board.
I have some carbon fibre rod to try also, but in 3mm it may also be a bit too stiff.
The rubbery TPU filament works quite well for headbands, so that's something I will be using going forward.
The swivel limits on my DIY Borealis headphones didn't work at all, so I came up with a more solid solution. It's overly bulky, but it does work.
After seeing IvanDrago's latest design, which reminded me of the Sony Qualia Q10 MDR1, MDR-SA5000, MDR-MA900 and MDR-F1 headphones, I thought about making my own entirely open headphones. This is what I've come up with so far.
The biggest failing is the operation of the swivels. There isn't enough resistance in any of the rotating parts to stop it all flopping around and my swivel limit parts do not work at all.
The mini XLR 4 pin connectors are wired as:
1 - Left +
2 - Left -
3 - Right +
4 - Right -
I believe this is the same layout as used on Audeze headphones, but I'm not completely sure.
The Beyerdynamic DT770/990 headband is narrower than I would have expected and I'm not a huge fan of the results here.
The earpads I'm using certainly don't help this issue, but they just look over stretched.
The headband does work, but in this guise (using titanium rod) it's not as flexible as I'd hoped. The rods could be cut to different lengths to allow the headband to be tailored for specific head sizes, but I was aiming for more of a one size fits all solution, so it's back to the drawing board.
I have some carbon fibre rod to try also, but in 3mm it may also be a bit too stiff.
The rubbery TPU filament works quite well for headbands, so that's something I will be using going forward.
The swivel limits on my DIY Borealis headphones didn't work at all, so I came up with a more solid solution. It's overly bulky, but it does work.
After seeing IvanDrago's latest design, which reminded me of the Sony Qualia Q10 MDR1, MDR-SA5000, MDR-MA900 and MDR-F1 headphones, I thought about making my own entirely open headphones. This is what I've come up with so far.
Last edited:
joeydgraffix
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Posts
- 175
- Likes
- 39
These are incredible! How much time do those pieces take to me?
I want to buy a 3d printer so bad but the printing speed seems sooooooooooo slooooowwww
I want to buy a 3d printer so bad but the printing speed seems sooooooooooo slooooowwww
Loving the look of the industrial design. Subbed for updates 
Thanks.
It's hard to know exactly how long it took to print then assemble everything, not least because my printer keeps lying as to how long it claims each print will take.
I'd estimate that printing all the parts for the DIY Borealis took around 20 hours. Assembly was probably another 7 hours.
The 3D printer I use isn't the fastest, but I'm usually being held up with parts in transit from far-flung places, so the time it takes to print stuff doesn't feel too egregious.
Loving the look of the industrial design. Subbed for updates
Thanks, plenty more to come. My next project will be redesigning my wooden cupped headphone design, using what I've learned from the DIY Borealis and my headband. Then I want to work on a highly adaptable set of headphones that will allow the quick changing of different tuning features. This should help me learn how to tune headphones, at least on a basic level.
Ferdous
New Head-Fier
Sorry for my dumb question, but where does the springiness comes from? It just looks like a solid structure...As promised; here are some photos of my finished DIY Borealis headphones project:
The biggest failing is the operation of the swivels. There isn't enough resistance in any of the rotating parts to stop it all flopping around and my swivel limit parts do not work at all.
The mini XLR 4 pin connectors are wired as:
1 - Left +
2 - Left -
3 - Right +
4 - Right -
I believe this is the same layout as used on Audeze headphones, but I'm not completely sure.
The Beyerdynamic DT770/990 headband is narrower than I would have expected and I'm not a huge fan of the results here.
The earpads I'm using certainly don't help this issue, but they just look over stretched.
The headband does work, but in this guise (using titanium rod) it's not as flexible as I'd hoped. The rods could be cut to different lengths to allow the headband to be tailored for specific head sizes, but I was aiming for more of a one size fits all solution, so it's back to the drawing board.
I have some carbon fibre rod to try also, but in 3mm it may also be a bit too stiff.
The rubbery TPU filament works quite well for headbands, so that's something I will be using going forward.
The swivel limits on my DIY Borealis headphones didn't work at all, so I came up with a more solid solution. It's overly bulky, but it does work.
After seeing IvanDrago's latest design, which reminded me of the Sony Qualia Q10, MDR SA5000 and MDR-MA900 headphones, I thought about making my own entirely open headphones. This is what I've come up with so far.
For my headband that's made of metal rods; the springiness comes from the flexing of the rods themselves.
They work out to be quite a bit stiffer than I'd hoped, but having just finished the build shown in the last picture; the headband is just about useable.
I need to look at this again with thinner pieces of rod and/or different materials. The issue being that 2mm and 3mm rod is easily available, while 2.5mm rod, which would probably be the best option, isn't easily sourced.
This is broadly just a design exercise in utilizing basic non-headphone specific materials, that pretty much anyone could find and that can be assembled using nothing other than simple hand tools.
There are many ways to achieve this and I'd be interested in how others may approach the problem.
As an aside I saw some interesting DIY Headphones on Reddit. These have a simple, yet well though out design and the headband is made of printed plastic.
Last edited:
jason41987
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2012
- Posts
- 262
- Likes
- 21
I really like seeing projects like this. It would be cool to get more people into this and maybe open source some tested materials, in fills, geometry, baffling, damping, pad types and drivers to come up with some some valid DIY headphone solutions. My thoughts on this are that the headband is always, ALWAYS going to be a weak point, because this is a structure that needs to function as something of a spring to apply clamp. Seems scavenging the headband off something else may be the best solution, and then just focusing on the cups themselves to achieve the sound you want.
Thanks Jason. I agree that an open-source community project like that would be really cool. I suppose that's what I'm sort of aiming for, but I have an awfully long way to go.
The headband is the hardest part of any headphone design to get right and it does make sense to just source that part, but Ferdous has reminded me that there are people interested in this kind of stuff who live on the other side of the world, so I need to be more mindful of making any non printed parts as ubiquitous as possible and that probably means avoiding any specific headband, either from a donor or as a replacement part, which may not be easily available in certain territories.
My most recent headphone design (No. 6), which is almost completely built now, uses a printed plastic headband which is working out well, so hopefully it will make a decent base for others to work from.
There will be a proper post about this pair very soon (design no. 5), but here's a sneak peek for now:
The headband is the hardest part of any headphone design to get right and it does make sense to just source that part, but Ferdous has reminded me that there are people interested in this kind of stuff who live on the other side of the world, so I need to be more mindful of making any non printed parts as ubiquitous as possible and that probably means avoiding any specific headband, either from a donor or as a replacement part, which may not be easily available in certain territories.
My most recent headphone design (No. 6), which is almost completely built now, uses a printed plastic headband which is working out well, so hopefully it will make a decent base for others to work from.
There will be a proper post about this pair very soon (design no. 5), but here's a sneak peek for now:
jason41987
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2012
- Posts
- 262
- Likes
- 21
What if the headband was inflexible, but there was a hinge before the yoke (similar to what an M50X has), and there was some kind of metal spring used to keep inward tension on them to apply clamp? Like a torsion spring, or some elastic on the inside surface. I wonder if a suspension strap mounted to the yoke could use the weight of the headphones to apply clamp as well. If so, then the band itself could be designed in a stronger way since it wouldn't need to flex? Or perhaps there's some kind of simple DIY solution for a headband outside of 3D printing that is still easy to make.
Users who are viewing this thread
