[Centigonal]

So the reason I found this site was that the cables in my trusty HD202s had given out, along with the left half of the headband.
 
However, I figure, "It's a good pair of drivers/cups," and I think that it'd be neat to get my hands dirty and try fixing them. Hopefully, I end up with something that's just as good or better than the HD202s I started with.
 
This is what I have:

 
This is what I plan to do to it:

1. New cables
2. New headband
3. Single entry (Oh, how I hate the two-wires thing!)
4. fancy new cups?

 
These are the major obstacles in my path:

1. I know next to nothing about headphone DIY!  
   
     I can, however, solder and drill reasonably well.
2. These 'phones go for ~$20, so it'd probably be easier to just buy a new pair. Hopefully, I can do this without exceeding the headphones' price by too much.

 
Help, suggestions, or any other kind of reply is greatly appreciated! 

 

[nullstring]

Honestly, these headphones aren't worth the $20 you paid for them.
 
I'd say get some nicer headphones and toss these in the trash.

 

[earfanatic]

Okay, I tried to imagine what You're up to. Let's say that You want to do this and do not "kill" a pricey pair of headphones. Thats okay.
But personally I agree in that You can have better than that.
 
To be honest I tried those and can not say they worth the money and effort. Head-room list the phones as very good value but im sure they mean "in the cheap way".
You could pick up at least a PX100. That's a miracle compared to the HD202.
 
But it is up to You.
 
About diy-ing:
First You have to found good materials. Headphones are not just soldering and drilling. You need some leather and foam to make a headband pillow, and an ear cushion. Those can make every headphone better.
The plastic parts can be replaced with some (laser cutted) metal that You can "texture" with different polishing materials and a drill. That will look reasonably good.
Then You have to found a way to attach the headphones itself. It can be a bit tricky. You may remake the shell too. That can be made by wood for example.
 
These are definitely not 20 bucks or Euros. Rather 120 or more.
Think about it. You can do magic with good material. But it has costs.
If Your material is not worth it, You spending Your money for nothing.
 
I hope I was not only disappointing but helpful.

 

[Centigonal]

Thanks for the replies! 

 
On reflection, I realize that my thread starter could be misleading. I actually ended up buying some JVC HA-RX900s after the HD202s died. They're pretty neat!
 
The reason why I want to fix up my HD202s is not to make some "sweet listening cans," but instead to get some practice and experience with the whole headphone modding thing, without fear of breaking anything, so that I can tackle more ambitious projects later.

 

[civilmonkey]

Quote:

The reason why I want to fix up my HD202s is not to make some "sweet listening cans," but instead to get some practice and experience with the whole headphone modding thing, without fear of breaking anything, so that I can tackle more ambitious projects later.

If you want to stay cheap and practice use cheap materials then.  Maybe braid some generic copper and practice a) braiding, b) sleeving, c) making nice y spilts in the headphone cable, d) terminating the cable nicely, etc.... 
 

 

[Centigonal]

Quote:

Quote:

If you want to stay cheap and practice use cheap materials then.  Maybe braid some generic copper and practice a) braiding, b) sleeving, c) making nice y spilts in the headphone cable, d) terminating the cable nicely, etc.... 
 

Yep. That sounds good. Cheap copper wire is a given, although I'm not too fond of dual-entry cables, so I might just skip the Y split.
Any idea what I could do about the headband, though?
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

You can get in over your head (bad pun intended) modding headphones. Don't spend too much - you'll never get your money out. And modding everything will take a lot longer than you think.

I'd just recable them. It'd be good practice and you'll make them functional again.

If you want to start from scratch, maybe get a pair of iGrados for $40 or so. The drivers are the same as in the SR-60, which isn't terribly different from the drivers in a SR-225. They have potential. Lots of people have made wooden cups for Grado drivers - you'll find plenty of information here. From there, you can make the headband and other bits. The payoff would be greater than modding these. Put in the time and you might end up with something similar to the much more expensive Grados.

 

[earfanatic]

One time I knew a shoemaker and asked if he has any leftover leather in various color. He gave me a bag full of smaller and bigger sheet of leather.
Since then I made lot's of thing with those like PC mouse mod (replaced exterior rubber coating), headphone headband pillow, I even repaired the sofa.

 
It is easy to work with as You can glue it with Pattex Palmatex easily! Sawing is a bit harder, I used pliers to hold the needle.
Visit a shoemaker and ask for some leftover leather to practice, then You can make cool and unique things later.
 
About the headband pad: I took some Armacell - Armaflex (tube insulation foam) from work, it is quite soft and durable. I cut the shape I wanted and drew the outline to a sheet of leather.
Then I simply glued the leather covering to the foam. That's it. It looked awesome. Then You can choose various methods to attach the pad to the headband.