[jiggler]

It seems that all anyone builds is headphone amps - no sources and no headphones. I know there are exceptions to this generalization but why does it seem to be true? Is it because headphone amps are the only thing most people can build without an extraordinary amount of tools and skills? Is it because headphones and sources are already better than what one could reasonably DIY?

I think it is odd that in the pursuit of audio perfection, most do not attempt these other components. Variations on the DIY headphone amp are pretty well exhausted - these other components would offer a new sources for development.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

i belive it's beacause headphones we have are alreay beyone what DIY can do, but of course, we still mod headphones to make them better

 

[KTpG]

I have been considering making some headphones... just haven't been able to think up a nice, good looking, comfortable design. Know what drivers to try out, though. Mouser sells some 600-ohm 50mm drivers for $6 a piece, was it?

 

[guzzler]

as for sources, to get together all the necessary stuff for say a CD player would be an absolute nightmare, let alone programming and calibrating the thing to actually work!

g

 

[Squalish]

Amps are quite easy to make in comparison to sources.

CDPs, even DIY kits, are mostly prefabbed at the factory. Constructing a working transport out of a laser and a servo just isn't probable. The electronics involved in getting a usable signal out of it are sometimes modified, and there are several mildly popular DIY transports.

The DAC is the next most popular thing to modify/build after amps, and while I can't find a consensus on the most popular types (most people that build them seem to have enough knowledge to do it on their own), many have built them. It can be a complicated project, but probably doable for most people who have a moderate amount of experience building amps.

Headphones... From the R&D to the fabrication to tolerences to the drivers, headphones are difficult to DIY well. I can't remember a dynamic DIY project, though a few have done DIY electrostatics.

Check out DIYAudio for more discussion on DIY DACs and transports.

 

[KR...]

I am also shocked that no one has made their own source. I say this since I know a few have made DACs. So how hard would it be to take a cheap CD-ROM drive, mod the holy piss out of it and put them both is a big beautiful case? Someone should at least try. I do know that most people here are not hardcore DIYers and just use other people's ideas and designs instead of creating there own from the ground up, but there are a few that do. So go for it!

 

[guzzler]

as i said, half the problem (if not most) is in writing the software to handle error correction, positoning of the laser, buffering the input, handling TOC etc... its seriously complicated stuff and can have just as great an impact at the hardware used...

g

 

[guzzler]

forgot to add... there is a thread over on HeadWize regards making a mini MP3 player, looks like pretty good stuff if it ever comes off!

g

 

[jeffreyj]

Quote:

Originally posted by guzzler forgot to add... there is a thread over on HeadWize regards making a mini MP3 player, looks like pretty good stuff if it ever comes off! g

And an excellent thread it is! That's some hardcore stuff those blokes are working on... to bad it's for an mp3 player?!

Ah, well. It's doable, and not nearly so mindnumbingly complicated and tedious as writing your own error-correction code to burn onto an EEPROM that costs more than a transport assembly, surplus!

The real problem with source devices is the precision required for the mechanics, though. Unless you have a very good multi-axis CNC mill to make parts for you, you aren't going to be able to build mechanical parts with anywhere near the precision required. It's far more practical for the average, much less advanced, tinkerer to make a precision circuit than it is to make a simple linear bearing.

Hell, even making a good record player would be a tough task, and that's about the simplest source device going (next to an AM radio, that is).

 

[yejun]

there's an project in headwize to diy electrostatic headphone.
i don't think it's possible to diy dynamic headphone.

 

[ADS]

I'm currently on summer vacation after my Freshman year at Northwestern University. One of the first classes I get to take when I get back involves the design and construction of a CD player.

I'll tell you all how it turns out (probably huge caps all over the place) Here's the course description link: http://www.ece.northwestern.edu/courses/202.html

I'll make sure to post plenty of pics when I'm done.

 

[binary_digit]

build an MP3 Player http://headwize2.powerpill.org/ubb/s...=4066&fdays=20

aos Portable DAC is http://headwize2.powerpill.org/projects/ifkovic_prj.htm


aos website
http://members.shaw.ca/ifkovic/article1/

 

[crxy_sasquatch]

well I think the reason people buy cd players instead of making them is that it'll probably be cheaper to buy one instead of making one. And not only would you have nightmares of the bagfull of parts, but you'll also need to figure out how the cd will operate mechanically.