# Possible to make your own headphones?



## Mr Mat

What exactly would I need besides wiring, and headphone speakers and ear cups?


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## vantt1

You'll also need the headband. What's gonna hold those earcups together?


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## Mr Mat

Where can I get some really good headphone speakers though?


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## wakibaki

...and a headband, some connectors, wire cutters, strippers, soldering iron, solder...

...oh, and some basic idea of what you're doing. Headphones are not that difficult to make, but headphones that sound good may not be that easy. You can have open back or completely closed or something in between. You can have over-ear, on-ear or in-ear.

Good luck.

W


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## nikongod

At the risk of discouraging you, by the time you have made a nice DIY headphone you could have bought a nice commercial one. Often for the same amount of cash, and no time investment.
  
 By all means, try if you are interested in the challenge, but if this is any attempt to save money (since these threads often are) - it is not a good way to do that.


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## vantt1

mr mat said:


> Where can I get some really good headphone speakers though?


 
 From another high-end headphone. It's very difficult to buy good drivers on their own.
  


wakibaki said:


> ...and a headband, some connectors, wire cutters, strippers, soldering iron, solder...
> 
> ...oh, and some basic idea of what you're doing. Headphones are not that difficult to make, but headphones that sound good may not be that easy. You can have open back or completely closed or something in between. You can have over-ear, on-ear or in-ear.
> 
> ...


 
This is why I only mod headphones, and don't make them from scratch. I might though, with a pair of earmuffs designed to be used on construction sites and the like.
  


nikongod said:


> At the risk of discouraging you, by the time you have made a nice DIY headphone you could have bought a nice commercial one. Often for the same amount of cash, and no time investment.
> 
> By all means, try if you are interested in the challenge, but if this is any attempt to save money (since these threads often are) - it is not a good way to do that.


 
 I think DIY'ing your own headphone isn't to save money. It's the process of making one, then admiring the finished product that really counts.


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## nikongod

vantt1 said:


> I think DIY'ing your own headphone isn't to save money. It's the process of making one, then admiring the finished product that really counts.


 
  
 I agree with you. 
 But there are many people who don't.


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## vantt1

nikongod said:


> I agree with you.
> But there are many people who don't.


 
  
 Yes, I'm guessing the OP also agrees with me; that's why they asked this question on the DIY forums. 
  
 It's the same thing with DIY amps - why build one when you could just buy one? It's not a matter of who agrees with whom, it's a matter of answering a question.
  
 The question was "What exactly would I need besides wiring, and headphone speakers and ear cups?", not "Who agrees with me that there is more to DIY than saving money with the expense of time?"


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## kramer5150

Theres some really resourceful builds in this thread here, as well as links to driver elements.
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/690682/the-non-grado-driver-grado-thread


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## nikongod

vantt1 said:


> Yes, I'm guessing the OP also agrees with me; that's why they asked this question on the DIY forums.


 
  
 I'm not making that assumption. People build stuff for all sorts of reasons. 
  
 If you are correct in your assumption that the OP is motivated by an interest to build and learn and willing to put up with the challenges associated with that then the OP should absolutely build and learn. Exactly like I said in my first post in this thread. You can scroll up to where you quoted it. 
 If you are incorrect in your assumption and the OP was motivated by a desire to save some money in the quest for nice headphones his quest was in error and you have made yourself a fool. 
   
 Quote:


vantt1 said:


> It's the same thing with DIY amps - why build one when you could just buy one?


 
  
 Not really the same at all. 
  
 DIYers often build amps that are nicer* than what commercial builders build. 
 DIYers often build amps using designs that are not available commercially. 
 When you consider that over time the newer and better* DIY amp designs push the state of the art in this hobby forwards it should be clear that DIY is one of the best ways to make a better amp.  
  
 DIY headphones nicer* than commercial headphones? With the exception of aesthetic criteria - not so often at any cost. 
 DIY headphones built using driver designs not available commercially? Almost never. 
 When you consider that over time the VAST majority of improvements made to headphone design have come from large commercial operations, one really begins to wonder why anyone would ever build a DIY headphone.** 
  
 *While there is quite a lot of room for argument about what nicer or better means, lets just say it means what the designer/builder wants it to mean. Kind of vague, I know, but I'm lumping dozens of things with clearly different goals together here. 
  
 ** Well, only an idiot would wonder. There is that indomitable drive to try to improve things that some people have. Sometimes it is expressed in the effort of designing a better amp, sometimes it is expressed in the effort of designing a better headphone. At one time some of those big companies were 1 guy in a garage trying to build a better microphone... So, yea, try it.


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## vantt1

kramer5150 said:


> Theres some really resourceful builds in this thread here, as well as links to driver elements.
> http://www.head-fi.org/t/690682/the-non-grado-driver-grado-thread


 
 Seems like a great starting point! As it turns out, the mystery 40 mm drivers that I installed into my Beats Executives are in fact the Conrad 40 mm ones. 








  
 Now those Conrads are in a pair of TDK NC400s because the original drivers in it were unbalanced, i.e. one side was louder than the other.


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