# ClieOS's Random DIY Build Thread - [Updated: Aug 26th, 22] - Planar Magnetic Earbud DIY V3



## ClieOS (Aug 25, 2022)

From time to time I make / mod cable and build different small audio stuffs for fun. Figure this will be the place where I post the related pictures and project updates.

NOTICE: I take no responsibility for any action and result you take or suffer by following any guide I posted in this thread. Do it at your own risk!


*Content*

2.5mm Balanced Cable: Post 1 (below)
OTG cable for iFi's xDSD: Post 3
Etymotic clone build: Post 4
Final clone build: Post 5
Sony MH1C MMCX mod: Post 9
2.5mm balanced female to 3.5mm single-ended adapter: Post 18
2.5mm balanced female to 3.5mm balanced adapter: Post 22
AKG prototype earbud DIY: Post 28
Planar magnetic earbud: Post 30
1MORE H1707 MMCX adapter: Post 45
Koss KSC75 Pro TWS: Post 47
TWS Earbud Mod: Post 70
Planar magnetic earbud DIY V2: Post 74
Mono Aiwa Mod: Post 74
OTG cable for smartphone: Post 81
Stardust Memory Post 83
iFi Go Blu Antenna Swap Post 98
Planar Magnetic Earbud DIY V3 Post 106

*Upcoming Project*
Alessandro MS1 driver fix


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KZ recently start making some silver plated copper balanced 2.5mm cable for their own IEM that seems to be of fairly good quality, so I decided to use them to make my own short cable with Etymotic mmcx connectors. It is indeed a very good quality cable - seems like every strands of the conductor cores are individually sealed and have to burn them off with high heat in order to get proper connection.




Always want to make my own pure silver cable - got some 5N silver 4 cores cable recently so I gave it a go - with Connoisseur 2.5mm plug on one end and transparent mmcx connectors on the other. Quite happy with how it cames out.


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## seanc6441

I guess I'll post my creations once I make some mmcx cables for mmcx buds I'm making.

Nice cables btw, look premium and well built.


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## ClieOS (Feb 3, 2019)

A recently completed project - building a super small OTG connecting cable for FiiO M6 and iFi xDSD.

I started by using an actual right angled OTG cable, cut off half of it and rewired it with an USB-A female socket. Then the next idea was to find an suitable Type-C DIY connector that supports OTG (*which needs to have certain resistors on certain pins) while switched to a 4 cores ribbon wire in order to further decrease the overall size. The result is well but the plastic housing remains fairly intrusive - so the natural last step is to build another one, but with most of the plastic housing removed / shorten and re-glued back together. This is probably the smallest it will ever get. I can remove the housing all together and instead use soft-rubber mold (i.e. Sugru) to further decrease the size, but I reckon it won't look nearly as neat nor significantly small than it is now.

After-thought: very much want to invest in a small 3D printer in the future. Will definitely make the whore process easier.


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## ClieOS (Feb 5, 2019)

My First CNY project: recreating the Etymotic ER4 with a DIY kit I found on Taobao.




The DIY kit comes with the main metal housing (silver), the dock (gold) and the mmcx socket (which can be screwed off for easier access). The other required parts that are not part of the kit are the BA drivers themselves (Knowles ED29689 x 2), a couple of Knowless green filter (equal to Eymotic ER4 filter) and some wire (Estron wire in this case).




First step is to take the mmcx socket out and soldering in the wire, then put the sockets back into the dock ad soldering the BA driver up. To make sure mmcx socket will not unscrew itself in the future, it might be a good idea to put some sealant / glue to suecure it in place at this stage.




Put the BA driver into the right position - making sure the BA is pointing dead center to the main housing's nozzle. Compact the wire so them will not obstruct the housing. Once you are happy with the positioning, it is a good idea to put some glue around the BA driver as well as around the wire to permanently affixed the whole assembly. 




Put some reusable putty glue (in this case, UHU tac ProPower) around the BA nozzle in order to create an air tight seal between the BA nozzle and the main housing nozzle. Don't do this and you will lose some SPL and a slight change in sound signature. I reckon dense foam can be used as well, though I don't have any at hand at the moment. Attention: make sure the BA nozzle is well clear of putty glue!




Seal the dock assembly into the the main housing with some glue. Put in the green filter - it might be a bit loose and want to fell out off the nozzle. My solution is to use a tiny bit low strength glue (*designed to increase join's stiffness on plastic models / action figures) to hold them in place, but the glue is not strong enough that stop me from removing the filter if it needs to be exchanged in the future. This particular cable above is configured for ER4S sound with built-in 100 ohm resistors, plus a balanced 2.5mm plug.

*Afterthought: *Overall the build is a success - it has the classic ER4S sound signature. Later measurement reveals it has some very minor and totally ignorable frequency mismatch from 20Hz~12kHz, but significant mismatch above 12kHz. After a few more tests, I concluded that the problem is probably due to the BA driver themselves (which is not that uncommon). So the correct thing to so will be to buy more BA driver at the first place and match them up before building - then again, that will turn out to be quite wasteful. I guess this is part of the risk of building your own IEM from a DIY kit. However, I do not actually able to hear any noticeable channel mismatch myself, which kinda in a way fix the problem for me - I guess my hearing isn't as good as it used to be so most of my upper hearing isn't sensitive enough to tell the mismatch apart.


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Built another cable for ES100's balanced output with the leftover parts from previous KZ cable build. This time with a common mmcx connector so I can use this cable with other IEM.


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## ClieOS

My second and last CNY IEM build with another Taobao build kit, this time is (somewhat) a Final clone. The kit itself comes with 2 pairs of eartips, the main Final look-alike housing, screwed-on mmcx socket, 2 metal filter, 2 BA adapter 'rings' and a couple of thin wires. This particular kit  will fit smaller, newer generation BA driver. The BA driver I choose are the Knowles RAB-32063 (RBA-32257 was recommended on Taobao as well). The reason to use this particular BA is because it was suggested in the forum  that it could very well be the driver used on the newer Etymotic ER4SR (where 32257 for ER4XR). Early Knowles promotional material said "Knowles series RAB produces a rich, full-range sound in a small physical size. Three sound profiles fulfill a wide range of earphone designs, including hybrids : 32063 with balanced sound, 32257 with warm, precise bass, and 32033 with open vent for custom response tuning." 



 
One of the first thing to notice is that the kit doesn't have any way to use standard small IEM filter, and the 2 metal disk filter might not have the right impedance I want - but it just so happened that I have quite a few leftover filter from previous project so I will have to experiment to find the right filter for the best possible sound.



 
The adapter rings are actually just a little smaller than the housing, so it fits very loosely inside. I have the adapter rings glued to the BA first, then soldered the BA with the adapter to the mmcx socket. The soldered BA with adapter ring can still slide in and out the main body easily. Note that the mmcx socket doesn't take high heat very well. You might destroy the socket if you stick your soldering iron there for too long.



 
There are two ways to go about this: you can either affix the adapter ring with the BA in place first, then screw the mmcx socket on, or you can screw the mmcx socket in first, then glue the adapter ring with BA in the housing. I pick the first way because it is easier to adjust the adapter position that way while I was waiting for the super glue to dry out. The second way will have much less margin for error.



 
If you decided to pick the same way I did, take note that it will be a good idea to twist the socket counterclockwise (4~5 times) before screwing it in, that way when the socket is screwed in (which is clockwise), the cable will unwind itself. internally. You can see on the above picture that the adapter ring on the main body as well as the BA nozzle on the center - note that when you position the ring, it should sit just a tiny bit below the opening so you have the right spacing left for the filter.



 
The finished product. This particular cable is the first balanced cable I made for my ER4SR a long time ago, but it kind of gives the right look with the Final clone housing.

*Afterthought: *Another good build as the kit is simple on its design and the BA I got have no mismatch this time. However, the first thing I notice is that this particular BA (RAB-32063) is most likely not the same BA used on ER4SR. The telltale sign is that the spec on the datasheet doesn't quite match up with ER4SR. The actual listening when the IEM is finished reaffirmed my suspicion  - this particular IEM is a bit on the warm and smooth side, and adding more acoustic impedance (thicker filter) only makes it warmer sounding. The only way to make the IEM more neutral is to increase the (electrical) impedance by using resistor adapter. However, the increase of treble comes at a cost of bass roll off, which the IEM does not have a lot to begin with. Even after all the adjustment, the measured FR curve still look nothing like the ER4SR - so my conclusion is that the ER4SR uses a different driver, and quite possibly a custom tuned one. However, don't get me wrong about this particular BA not sounding like classic Ety as a completely bad thing - it isn't. In fact, the finished IEM actually is quite good sounding. I would think most people, except for basshead, will probably enjoy this IEM as it is. The BA driver itself actually sounds quite good even without any filter, but I ended up using a metal mesh (which is the 2nd least dense / lowest acoustic impedance of all the filter I have) to give it a slightly better lower end, then switch to a large tri-flange .to decrease the warmness / thickness of the overall presentation. On hindsight, I can see why RBA-32257 is recommended to be used with this particular kit as it will give it a more satisfying bass response. But for a Ety-head like myself, I don't mind the leaner bass at all.


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## dhruvmeena96

ClieOS said:


> My First CNY project: recreating the Etymotic ER4 with a DIY kit I found on Taobao.
> 
> 
> The DIY kit comes with the main metal housing (silver), the dock (gold) and the mmcx socket (which can be screwed off for easier access). The other required parts that are not part of the kit are the BA drivers themselves (Knowles ED29689 x 2), a couple of Knowless green filter (equal to Eymotic ER4 filter) and some wire (Estron wire in this case).
> ...


Well you missed a 20ohm resistor.

ED29689 is a low impedance driver on DCR(3.75ohms) and source voltage can effect high frequency imbalance.

Etymotic measures at 23.75ohm DCR
So you should have added a 20ohm resistor in series to fix treble imbalance

RAB driver is slightly normal impedance and doesn't have wild fluctuations like ED

Etymotic ER4SR uses proprietary Knowles ED32885 which is based on ED29689 but have linear impedance, higher resistance, great air loading and very low distortion compared to old ety er4s

But, if you are happy with your build, then there is no problem. Self creations sounds better because of hardworking and effort


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## ClieOS

dhruvmeena96 said:


> Well you missed a 20ohm resistor.



Well, you missed the part where I mentioned I am using a cable with built-in 100 ohm resistor to give it a 4S configuration. I don't like the 20 ohm 4P configuration nearly as much, and treble imbalance can't be fixed by inline resistors.


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## dhruvmeena96

ClieOS said:


> Well, you missed the part where I mentioned I am using a cable with built-in 100 ohm resistor to give it a 4S configuration. I don't like the 20 ohm 4P configuration nearly as much, and treble imbalance can't be fixed by inline resistors.


Ohhh sorry my wrong, I didn't see that

Treble imbalance becomes less apparent to ears due to electrical damping
They remain there in measurements. Just less annoying due to low dB
I know ety took hand matched drivers

Still, a very good project


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## ClieOS (Feb 24, 2019)

Here is another quick project - reterminating the Sony MH1C with MMCX socket. This is of course nothing new as it has been somewhat done in the forum by other member before, but I thought I'll approach this with a different angle, by integrating the MMCX socket directly into the IEM strain relief instead of just another mod to the cable.

To get thing started, if you haven't read about @luisdent MH1C's recabling guide, you should, as most of what I've done here on the beginning is very similar to his: HERE.

What tools you need if you follow my method:
1) Small needle nose pier
2) small flat head wire cutter
3) Heat gun
4) Glue (more on that)
5) This wires (Estron IEM cable for me)
6) MMCX socket





Disassembling the MH1C follows the same basic procedure as described on Luis' guide with one one exception: I use my heat gun (the blue one in the picture) to heat only the metal housing while holding it on its strain relief (*try avoiding any direct heat to the strain relief as much as you can). Check periodically by using the needle nose pier - grab it on the IEM nozzle with the pier (*caution: the metal housing will be *HOT*) and hold on to the strain relief with you figures, twist the housing slightly until you feel you can move it around. That means the glue inside has been loosen by the heat. If you can't move it, then continue to heat up the metal housing by the heat gun till you can twist the housing. Once the glue is loosen, separating the metal housing from the strain relief is pretty much the same as Luis' guide, but using the flat head wire cutter to insert into the groove of the housing and hold it secure in place, then pull the metal housing out by the needle nose pier. Note that you want to do this quickly so the metal housing won't cool off too much, which will make the internal glue sticky again.





Here is how it looks where the IEM is taken apart. Note that there are mesh filter right on the driver itself (or on the inside of the metal housing if it didn't come out with the driver). The driver is actually glued to the front with the mesh filter. Inside the nozzle is the foam damper, which is a common practice for Sony's IEM instead of using paper / fabric filter. Depend on which version of MH1 you have, there might be white paper like fabric filter or mesh filter on the opening of the nozzle as well.





Here is what I am going to do that is kinda different from everyone else - by sticking the MMCX socket directly into the strain relief.





Before we actually put the MMCX socket inm we need to solder in some wires. I am using Estron wires here.





To make sure the MMCX socket won't come out easily, I put some glue on the inside of the strain relief. This particular glue is the Chinese made E8000 that is commonly used for gluing IEM and earbuds housing together. It has decent holding power but more importantly it remains flexible after cured. The downside is that it will take a few hours for the E8000 to cure. If you can't or don't want to use this glue, UHU might work as well. You don't want to using super glue here as it will get harden and brittle when it is cured.





Have the driver soldered in and tested for sound.





Glue the driver back to the metal housing first, then glue the strain relief back. Make sure you don't block the air vent on the strain relief. DONE.

*Afterthought*: This particular mod is aimed for maximum simplicity. Gluing the MMCX socket into the strain relief by logic is not nearly as durable and strong as putting the MMCX socket on the cable itself or completely replacing the cable all together. It is however visually more impressive. The downside of this mod is that you must use it with care, especially if you have tight fitting MMCX plug. If you are not careful enough, you might end up ripping the socket out of the strain relief when removing the plug. But if you are careful enough, it shouldn't be too much of an issue, especially if you don't change cable frequently.


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## waynes world

ClieOS said:


> Here is another quick project - reterminating the Sony MH1C with MMCX socket. This is of course nothing new as it has been somewhat done in the forum by other member before, but I thought I'll approach this with a different angle, by integrating the MMCX socket directly into the IEM strain relief instead of just another mod to the cable.
> 
> To get thing started, if you haven't read about @luisdent MH1C's recabling guide, you should, as most of what I've done here on the beginning is very similar to his: HERE.
> 
> ...



Awesome.


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## Makahl (Feb 26, 2019)

ClieOS said:


> Put the BA driver into the right position - making sure the BA is pointing dead center to the main housing's nozzle. Compact the wire so them will not obstruct the housing. Once you are happy with the positioning, it is a good idea to put some glue around the BA driver as well as around the wire to permanently affixed the whole assembly.



Congrats, really nice job!

I just remembered I made a simpler version using RAB-32257 last year, using this project:
https://www.poyotex.com/post/146190057398
https://make.dmm.com/item/523966/ (really friendly design)

But kind of off-topic, how does the black 3-flange compares to the transparent ones from Ety? Is there a huge difference? I need to buy new sets and they're considerable cheaper considering the shipping from the USA compared to China.


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## ClieOS

Makahl said:


> But kind of off-topic, how does the black 3-flange compares to the transparent ones from Ety? Is there a huge difference? I need to buy new sets and they're considerable cheaper considering the shipping from the USA compared to China.



The particular pair of black tri-flange are coming from the Hifiman RE800's accessories kit, but it is the common type found on many places. The physical different is mainly on the internal opening, where these are larger than the actual Ety's (or Shure's) tri-flange. Typical Ety's tri-flange has a ~1.6mm bore diameter, while these have a ~3mm bore diameter. As a result, these black tri-flange tend to sound slightly less focus / more open than Ety's. However, the overall signature is still there. If you are not the kind that has to stick to the exact same sound, I'll say the black tri-flange is a decent alternative.


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## dhruvmeena96

@ClieOS can you tell the tube lenght from nozzle/spout of BA to the damper in ETY mod


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## ClieOS (Mar 2, 2019)

dhruvmeena96 said:


> @ClieOS can you tell the tube lenght from nozzle/spout of BA to the damper in ETY mod



That particular metal housing  has the exact size as the actual ER4 series, so I'll say about 6mm, give or take 0.5mm.


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## dhruvmeena96

ClieOS said:


> That particular metal housing  has the exact size as the actual ER4 series, so I'll say about 6mm, give or take 0.5mm.


i was going to make quad ED29689 iem
where the pair of ED are connected in series and then the "series'd" driver are parallel
and two driver will be sharing the same tubing(6mm).

and a 50ohms added resistance Vishay MELF


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## ClieOS

dhruvmeena96 said:


> i was going to make quad ED29689 iem
> where the pair of ED are connected in series and then the "series'd" driver are parallel
> and two driver will be sharing the same tubing(6mm).
> 
> and a 50ohms added resistance Vishay MELF



Interesting. BA are sometime put in parallel to increase the SPL, though I don't know putting the same driver in series will affect the FR curve or not.


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## dhruvmeena96

ClieOS said:


> Interesting. BA are sometime put in parallel to increase the SPL, though I don't know putting the same driver in series will affect the FR curve or not.


Series a pair of ED and stick it roof to roof(BA roof)

Then take these two set of series'd driver and parallel them

It makes the BA behave the same load as amp, but becomes phase Flat and all driver works only 25% only. This makes distortion values drop by a magnitude of 4(distortion/4).

And since BA is less powered compared to single BA setup, it is able to extend more in bass and treble extension .

And this is without changing SQ.
canalworks cw-l05qd2 did same thing with sonion and named it driver voltage divider. It was reviewed as etymotic on steroids in neutrality

ED just reacts better and is near to etymotic response


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## ClieOS

Another quick project: I have been using FiiO 2.5mm balanced female to 3.5mm single-ended male adapter for awhile now and the wires are slowly turning green. I know it won't affect the SQ but I am a little OCD that way so i thought it is the perfect excuse to make my own adapter - especially since I have a few inches of wires left from previous balanced cable project that is simply too short for anything else.





FiiO adapter cable on the top. Mine on the bottom.


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## castleofargh

ClieOS said:


> Another quick project: I have been using FiiO 2.5mm balanced female to 3.5mm single-ended male adapter for awhile now and the wires are slowly turning green. I know it won't affect the SQ but I am a little OCD that way so i thought it is the perfect excuse to make my own adapter - especially since I have a few inches of wires left from previous balanced cable project that is simply too short for anything else.
> 
> 
> FiiO adapter cable on the top. Mine on the bottom.


dumb question of the day, why use straight plugs on LODs?


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## ClieOS

castleofargh said:


> dumb question of the day, why use straight plugs on LODs?



Err... it is not a L(ine) O(ut) D(ock)s? This adapter converts my balanced headphone with 2.5mm TRRS plug back to normal 3.5mm TRS single-ended configuration - I don't really have a strong preference for straight or right-angled plug, as long as it is small - and DIY / solder-able right-angled plug usually are not small.


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## iFi audio

That's super cool stuff you're doing here, Amos!


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## ClieOS (Mar 15, 2019)

Just built another adapter cable (the one below) - this time a 2.5mm balanced to a 3.5mm balanced so I can take advantage of the S-Balanced output on iFi xDSD.


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## HungryPanda

ClieOS said:


> Just built another adapter cable - this time a 2.5mm balanced to a 3.5mm balanced so I can take advantage of the S-Balanced output on iFi xDSD.


 Very nice


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## iFi audio

@Currawong So... when exactly are you starting your own cable manufacture  ?


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## Currawong

iFi audio said:


> That's super cool stuff you're doing here, Amos!





iFi audio said:


> @Currawong So... when exactly are you starting your own cable manufacture  ?



I think you have confused me (Amos) with ClieOS.


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## iFi audio

Currawong said:


> I think you have confused me (Amos) with ClieOS.



Yes! That's what happes when one writes instead of going to bed! Sorry!


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## ClieOS

This is kinda funny


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## ClieOS

Long story short - I got this pair of 14.2mm dynamic transducer a few months ago as gift from a small DIY earbuds maker. According to him, these belong to a small sampling batch of prototype some AKG engineers ordered from a Chinese OEM. As far as earbuds' driver go, these are actually on the smaller side of things. The only housing that will fit them will be Apple's, either older iBuds or the newer earpods. Between them, my preference goes to the iBuds' style housing as they tends to sound better than earpod style housing to me (*the off-axial nature of earpod is a treble killer IMO). Anyway, I didn't able to find the suitable iBuds' housing at the time so I just forgot about these drivers till recently as I come across some old 2nd hand iBuds' housing that already has their old driver removed. The build itself is simple, just pop in the new driver, solder the wires and glue the front grill back to the housing. Upon listening, I realize these supposedly AKG prototype driver really love an open design and the iBud's housing just doesn't do them justice. Putting them in any housing really kills of the fantastic air they have. So I mod'ed the iBud housing a little by widening the air vents (*2 out the 5) a little to increase air flow. The result is good but I can tell there are still room for improvement. With the right, purposely built housing, I reckon there might be another 20% of SQ improvement, In any case, even as it is, this earbub is probably very close to what I'll consider as 2nd tier level of SQ. I wonder if AKG actually going to make an earbud out of these?


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## iFi audio

Thes earbuds could seriously blow away some Apple fans.


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## ClieOS (May 5, 2019)

As far as I know there has not been any attempt to build an earbud such as this - one with planar magnetic transducer. I know we have seen some IEM with planar drivers (among others types) but earbud is simply too out of fashion for anything but a normal dynamic driver, This particular pair of planar come from the same OEM factory that recently makes the **** MT100 and Toneking BL1. Some of these bare drivers was sold on Taobao as well as Aliexpress, which is where I got mine. You don't really find planar driver of this size (or most of any size really) and thus the rarity costs money, almost $120 for a pair to be exact. The diameter of the driver is 14.2mm, which seems to be fairly normal when compared to dynamic driver. But given it is a planar driver, it is actually far larger than similar dynamic transducer of the same diameter. To find a suitable housing has became the first major obstacle. I have managed to source a rather large wooden housing that is meant for 15mm driver.

Parts Requirement:
1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
2) Large wooden housing x2
3) Small rotary tool, i,e,. Dremel and small wood working bits
4) Normal soldering supply
5) Glue. In this case, the E8000, UV cured glue as well as thin 3M double sided tape.





You can tell from the picture above that the planar driver has a pancake / sandwich structure (silver for the front and blue for the back. front grill is covered by mesh while back vent is covered by paper, there are also 4 small holes on the size that allows air to move around - more on these small holes later). The wooden housing already has mmmcx socket permanently attched and a small vent hole can is just next to the mmcx socket.




Because of the rather flat structure of the planar driver, it won't fit into the wooden housing . You can see the unmoded housing on the right and the moded housing on the left - some wood has to be removed to make room for the driver as well as the screws that stick out of the driver. This is where the oversized housing comes in handy as it still has plenty of 'meat' that you can trim away without causing any problem.





A great deal of experiement had went into the tuning to get the 'right sound' - remember that these driver are tuned for IEM housing, so putting them into earbud housing unavoidably created a long list of problems - mainly the earbuds just do not sound anywhere decent. After numerous trial and error, I figure out the driver needs two things: First, a completely sealed back chamber and 2nd, tons of acoustic impedance on the front.

Without the sealed back chamber, bass is almost completely gone (even with just a tiny hole). So the small vent next to the mmcx socket is sealed off by UV glued, a small piece of foam was placed n the back chamber in hope to reduce resonance. Then the 4 small hole that connect the front to the back is sealed off as well (you can see the 4 tiny heavy Y4 filters next to the white paper filter on the driver's back vent)

To increase acoustic impedance, a large piece of foam (*same kind on foam pad) is used to cover the whole front grill of the driver. The UV glue is used to sealed off all the vent holes on the front face plate of the wooden housing except for the center hole. A heavy filter (the type normally used on IEM's nozzle) was glued over the center hole to further increase the acoustic impedance.

Lastly, two layers of thin 3M double sided tape is cut and glue to the side of the planar driver, then affixed into the wooden face plate. I am avoiding liquid glue here because there might be a risk of them running in between the sandwich of the driver. The driver is also slightly smaller than the housing's inner diameter, so a little bit of tape helps to fill in the gap. Once affixed, a little bit of E8000 is used to fill in to the gap to make sure there won't be any air leak on the tape (*which I won't need to be worry of them running into the driver since the tape already has the edge mostly sealed up. Once the driver is sealed up, the wooden housing is glued together with the E8000.





Here is the finished earbuds, the first of its kind and I named it 'PE1', as in Planar Earbud One.





Here is a size comparison with MX500 style housing - Yes, it is not small by any measure.





The completed view

*Afterthought: *I'll call this project 75% successful. First of, the drives are tuned with IEM housing in mind and regardless of how much I try to compensate, it is simply not in its element. I know this because whenever I pressed the finished earbuds to my ears very tightly, the SQ immediately improves, and not by small margin. For now, even after all the things I have done to increase the acoustic impedance, the earbud still sound on the thin and bright side. I need to use double foam with a very controlled fit to order to achieve a seal good enough for a decent sound. Once the seal is loosen even sightly, SQ suffers. Beyond the fact that SQ is not optimized, the rest of the build is actually all good. I know early on that this will not be an easy build but the actual process is simpler than I have imagined. Most of the time really was spent on tuning for a decent sound. I felt I have done all I can with these planar drivers - as a proof of concept, putting planar into earbuds is definitely more than possible. In fact, it can be extremely good sounding if tuned right - by judging from all the tuning work I have done. We just need the right planar driver for the job.




Mod, measure, repeat - all to find the right sound.




This is what the final earbud sounds like. Almost a 2nd tier when the fit is right.


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## B9Scrambler

That's frickin' awesome.


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## HungryPanda

Quite a task you set yourself, bravo


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## iFi audio

We like where this is going


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## seanc6441

Amazing work, would an earclip system help keep it sealed enough?

Seems like it could work if the shell was a little smaller and very form fitting to the ear, and an earclip was keeping it at the correct angle. But there's a lot of speculation on my part.

Nonethless it's some achievement. Looks incredible too. Very nice housing.


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## ClieOS

seanc6441 said:


> Amazing work, would an earclip system help keep it sealed enough?
> 
> Seems like it could work if the shell was a little smaller and very form fitting to the ear, and an earclip was keeping it at the correct angle. But there's a lot of speculation on my part.
> 
> Nonethless it's some achievement. Looks incredible too. Very nice housing.



A headband probably works better than earclip - kinda remind me of the same situation with Stax SR002 before I got the new eartips - getting the best fit is everything.

Unfortunately smaller shell just won't accommodate the planar driver. Even a regular MX500 (which fit 15mm+ driver) is too small. This is mainly due to pancake size of the driver. Dynamic driver won't have this problem as the magnet they used are far smaller where the magnet used on planar usually need to be at least as big as the driver itself.


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## Firedrops

ClieOS said:


> As far as I know there has not been any attempt to build an earbud such as this - one with planar magnetic transducer. I know we have seen some IEM with planar drivers (among others types) but earbud is simply too out of fashion for anything but a normal dynamic driver, This particular pair of planar come from the same OEM factory that recently makes the **** MT100 and Toneking BL1. Some of these bare drivers was sold on Taobao as well as Aliexpress, which is where I got mine. You don't really find planar driver of this size (or most of any size really) and thus the rarity costs money, almost $120 for a pair to be exact. The diameter of the driver is 14.2mm, which seems to be fairly normal when compared to dynamic driver. But given it is a planar driver, it is actually far larger than similar dynamic transducer of the same diameter. To find a suitable housing has became the first major obstacle. I have managed to source a rather large wooden housing that is meant for 15mm driver.
> 
> Parts Requirement:
> 1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
> ...



Was this just driven from a standard Dac/Amp?


----------



## ClieOS

Firedrops said:


> Was this just driven from a standard Dac/Amp?



Not even a DAC/amp, but any DAP with decent output. The planar drivers are very efficient. Impedance is around 22ohm or so.


----------



## episiarch

I'm curious, have you tried to DIY a set of total wireless Etymotics? (Or is there already a suitable MMCX TW system that could just snap on?)


----------



## ericj

This sort of thing makes me wish i had a liquid resin 3d printer, and maybe some sort of 3d scanner. I bet these drivers could be fitted in a custom canalphone.


----------



## ClieOS

episiarch said:


> I'm curious, have you tried to DIY a set of total wireless Etymotics? (Or is there already a suitable MMCX TW system that could just snap on?)



I am quite happy with my EarStudio ES100's balanced output to ER4SR, so I am not in hurry to turn it into a true wireless setup - but it shouldn't be hard. Just need to find a suitable true wireless setup to mod.



ericj said:


> This sort of thing makes me wish i had a liquid resin 3d printer, and maybe some sort of 3d scanner. I bet these drivers could be fitted in a custom canalphone.



There are already three IEM using these planar driver though.


----------



## Mouseman

Are those the same drivers that are in the iSines? Must not be, since those are open in the back....


----------



## dhruvmeena96

Mouseman said:


> Are those the same drivers that are in the iSines? Must not be, since those are open in the back....


Those are DIY driver and can be opened at back. Audeze drivers are bigger and unsymmetrical in shape with more surface area for diaphragm, to maximise the sound field


----------



## iFi audio

Mouseman said:


> Are those the same drivers that are in the iSines? Must not be, since those are open in the back....



Wouldn't this be a wee bit too easy  ?


----------



## ClieOS

Mouseman said:


> Are those the same drivers that are in the iSines? Must not be, since those are open in the back....



These are much smaller than the iSine driver - and these are open-back when used in IEM. I chose a close back design only because of how they sound in earbud housing. However, I know there are at least two DIYish planar IEM on Taobao that have iSine's size driver, but the drivers are not for sale independently and they are not particularly cheap for modding project.


----------



## ClieOS (May 26, 2019)

Long story short - I was asked by someone on whether or not I can build a balanced cable for 1MORE H1707 awhile ago. Though I ended up didn't build the cable as that person went for an alternative option, I did look into the possibility and got myself a pair of extended 2.5mm TRS plugs that are meant for Sennheiser HD700, but said to fit H1707 as well. I was planning to build an balanced cable out of them, but I thought an MMCX adapter design might be a more challenging. In any case, I don't own a H1707 nor planning of getting one, so this is really more of a proof of concept if anything else.






What you need:
1) HD700 2.5mm TRS extended adapter, a pair.
2) MMCX socket, short screw-on type, 1 pair
3) 2 pair of short wires, an inch or so each. I use Estron cable here.
4) Glue. I use UV glue here.
5) Soldering supply




First, solder the wires to the MMCX socket. Note that you can only use the 'short' version of this kind of socket as the long version will be too long for the 2.5mm TRS adapter.





This is the tricky bit - You need to put the nuts into the 2.5mm TRS housing, then try to screw the MMCX socket in until they are tight. It is actually not quite as easy as it seems as the nuts is just a tab smaller than the inner diameter of the housing, so it will want to free spinning around with the MMCX socket instead of trying to screw itself tight. Just know that it can be do - once it is tight, you want to affix them in place so they'll never come loose again.  use a tiny drop of UV glue on the inside. Becare not to use too much glue here.




This step is easy, just solder the wires to the 2.5TRS jack. It takes about 3 rotation to screw the TRS into the housing, so I twist the cable anti-clockwise first, then screw the TRS in which the wires to untwist themselves on the inside.




Done.




Here is how it looks with MMCX balanced cable.

*Afterthought*: This project looks simple enough, but the trick bit of securing the MMCX socket inside almost ruin one of the 2.5mm TRS jack. I were lucky that I have managed to salvage the parts and rebuild it again, otherwise the whole project will have to go into the bin. Given the difficulty, I am not sure I'll recommend others to try this - build a whole cable will be a lot easier.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Long story short - I was asked by someone on whether or not I can build a balanced cable for 1MORE H1707 awhile ago. Though I ended up didn't build the cable as that person went for an alternative option, I did look into the possibility and got myself a pair of extended 2.5mm TRS plugs that are meant for Sennheiser HD700, but said to fit H1707 as well. I was planning to build an balanced cable out of them, but I thought an MMCX adapter design might be a more challenging. In any case, I don't own a H1707 nor planning of getting one, so this is really more of a proof of concept if anything else.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Great work, useful! Thanks!


----------



## ClieOS (Sep 22, 2019)

Even since I saw the poor effort (picture below) from Koss trying to make Prota Pro into a Bluetooth headphone, I have the idea of making a version of mine. Of course, it won't be much of a point if I can't out-do Koss on this.





Seriously, anyone who can get himself/herself some BT cable from Aliexpress or Taobao and know how to solder can turn their own PP into what Koss is trying to sell you. Z.E.R.O tinkering involved, so is Koss.






What you need:
1) Koss Prota Pro (*see note 1)
2) TRN BT20 (better yet, get the newer BT20s) TWS adapter with MMCX pins.
3) 3D printed adapter + screws (*see note 2)
4) MMCX sockets, short varient
5) Some wires
6) Glue and soldering supply.

Note 1: It is actually a KSC75 Pro (KSC75 with Porta Pro head band). I do own a PP but I like my KSC75 Pro better. You don't need the 3D printed adapter if you do go with the PP. You just need to mod the MMCX socket onto the existing PP driver.

Note 2: More info here, please paid attention to what you'll need in the instruction. Credit to Kaworu Chang for designing the 3D adapter. If you don't have a 3D printer, try to find someone local that offers 3D printing service. I was able to find a guy to print me a couple of pairs for just a few dollars. I used hex screws in this case if it is not obvious to you, but you can use any type you want as long as it is M2x3.





First, remove the original cable from KSC75 drivers




Affix the MMCX socket onto the 3D adapter, solder in the wires. You might want to put some glue over the MMCX socket to make sure it will never get loose in the future. I use UV glue here.




I put just a tiny amount of super glue into the 3 holes on the KSC75 where the 3D adapter and the screws will go in, this way it will be more secured as you don't want the adapter coming out when you are trying to remove the cable from the MMCX socket.

At this point the KSC75 has bbecame cable-removable. Just connect it with a short MMCX cable and a BT adapter and you will get yourself basically a KSC75 wireless setup. However, we are not done just yet.





If you use a simple headband, such as the one from Monoprice, you probably doesn't need to do any moding. But with Prota Pro headband, a small section of plastic will need to be removed, as indicated by the red marking.




The trick here is not only to attach the BT20 to the KSC75, but also attach the KSC75 onto the headband upside-down.




This is the final product: KSC75 Pro TWS.




Here is how it look when used. Take that, Koss!

*Afterthought:* Dare I said I have done a better job than Koss?


----------



## HungryPanda

Awesome build @ClieOS


----------



## iFi audio

Agreed, great clever little build!


----------



## JaiSAn (Aug 27, 2019)

If only we all had friends with 3D printers.
Cost of printing the MMCX socket alone is well above the purchase price of $17 for a KSC75 from MassDrop which makes this mod a no_go. If the cable breaks simply buy another, or purchase a couple for spares as future replacements.
https://drop.com/?origin=/buy/massdrop-x-koss-ksc75x-on-ear-headphones 

If cost is not an issue then this is a great mod.
Thank you for the informative read.


----------



## iFi audio

JaiSAn said:


> Cost of printing the MMCX socket alone is well above the purchase price of $17 for a KSC75 from MassDrop which makes this mod a no_go. If the cable breaks simply buy another, or purchase a couple for spares as future replacements.



In the future this tech should be more accessible and in general better. We imagine 3D printing houses as common and affordable as regular printing comapnies today are. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking of ours...


----------



## ClieOS

JaiSAn said:


> If only we all had friends with 3D printers.
> Cost of printing the MMCX socket alone is well above the purchase price of $17 for a KSC75 from MassDrop which makes this mod a no_go. If the cable breaks simply buy another, or purchase a couple for spares as future replacements.
> https://drop.com/?origin=/buy/massdrop-x-koss-ksc75x-on-ear-headphones
> 
> ...



Well, the guy is not a friend per se. He just offer 3D printing service on a local online marketplace. I got 4 pairs from him for about $6. While the 3D adapter does help, you don't need it to do the mod. You can just glue the MMCX socket onto the stock bracket (*UV glue will probably be the best here). It won't look as nice but it should still work just as well.


----------



## JaiSAn (Sep 21, 2019)

Greetings all, I'm back again......after been chastised by a moderator for swearing at two idiot Trolls who were taking the 'biscuit'.

At first I gave up the idea of doing this mod after seeing the purchase price of the MMCX Female sockets (had to buy in bulk) then found a seller for a pair at a insignificant price.
(B) should be the correct MMCX Female sockets and nuts..... https://tinyurl.com/yyvqkps2
It took 32 days to arrive from Hong Kong ... talk about slow boat from China, literally speaking.
After ordering the sockets, I then ordered MMCX copper cables which arrived in less than two Weeks from a location not to my knowledge...  https://tinyurl.com/y3agew6k
So probably half way......the cable's ear hooks may need hair dryer straightening.
Off Topic: Purchased a USB-3 to 3.5mm (DAC) adapter after flimsy original broke. Am surprisingly please that it did actually made a difference to the output quality as I only purchased it for its build quality  https://tinyurl.com/y44qpfn4

After checking the original bracket, it seem to have insufficient interior space to fit the MMCX sockets with the nuts......I'll sort that in time somehow, probable pay to print brackets, grudgingly (as it has a minimum costs).

@ClieOS  One question, I measured the two 'spindles/protrusions' of the original brackets to be M2 x 5mm so am curious as to whether the M2 x 3mm bolts would be sufficiently long enough to secure the printed bracket to the driver housing efficiently ?


----------



## ClieOS

JaiSAn said:


> @ClieOS  One question, I measured the two 'spindles/protrusions' of the original brackets to be M2 x 5mm so am curious as to whether the M2 x 3mm bolts would be sufficiently long enough to secure the printed bracket to the driver housing efficiently ?



I followed the brackets' designer advice and used the M2x3, it works just fine. It won't have much grip on its own though, as you are meant to put just a tiny bit on glue on the hole to affix the screw.


----------



## JaiSAn

ClieOS said:


> I followed the brackets' designer advice and used the M2x3, it works just fine. It won't have much grip on its own though, as you are meant to put just a tiny bit on glue on the hole to affix the screw.


Then I too will follow suit....
Thank you for the most prompt reply.


----------



## JaiSAn

While searching for a local 3D print service, I came across this....3D printed headphone to house KOSS KSC75 drivers.
For those who doesn't like the ear-hooks or the openness of the Porta Pro, this may serve well especially if you own a 3D printer.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3502396


----------



## iFi audio

JaiSAn said:


> For those who doesn't like the ear-hooks or the openness of the Porta Pro, this may serve well especially if you own a 3D printer.
> https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3502396



Ulala, looks hot! In a good way!


----------



## JaiSAn

iFi audio said:


> Ulala, looks hot! In a good way!


......better be in a good way, otherwise I'll get the hose out.


----------



## iFi audio

JaiSAn said:


> ......better be in a good way, otherwise I'll get the hose out.



But of course!


----------



## JaiSAn

Found a Site where where I believe regular people with 3D printers register and print items for other people.
It loads the files to be printed and finds a Local partner to print it at low cost.
Mainstream 3D printing services charge a minimum fee with high postage costs which make them not feasible.

6 connector brackets & 6 grills for $12 all inclusive seems more than reasonable.
https://www.treatstock.com


----------



## iFi audio

JaiSAn said:


> 6 connector brackets & 6 grills for $12 all inclusive seems more than reasonable.
> https://www.treatstock.com



It does and the only question is about printing quality.


----------



## JaiSAn

@ClieOS  Thank you for giving incentive otherwise I would have given up modding the MMCX sockets.
The 3D printing will suffice, quality would most likely be better at 3 times the cost from mainstream printing services.

Here's the final result.
Sennheiser PX headband, HD414 foam pads, MMCX cables and version.2 3D printed grills.







...and the v.2 grill.


----------



## iFi audio

JaiSAn said:


> @ClieOS  Thank you for giving incentive otherwise I would have given up modding the MMCX sockets.
> The 3D printing will suffice, quality would most likely be better at 3 times the cost from mainstream printing services.
> 
> Here's the final result.
> ...



If there's a vintage gear contest in the future at HF, please use this pic and you'll get our vote easily!


----------



## JaiSAn

iFi audio said:


> If there's a vintage gear contest in the future at HF, please use this pic and you'll get our vote easily!


Thanks, much appreciated but....credit goes to the designer of the bracket & grill and those who provided encouragement with their modded headphones, I had given up the MMCX mod until I saw their handiwork..


----------



## ClieOS

Nice color combination!


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Nice color combination!



Funky, right  ?


----------



## MalinYamato

Great work guys. I am impressed. Why is Koss not replicating what you are doing or hire you as product developers?


----------



## d73b3e

ClieOS said:


> 2.5mm Balanced Cable: Post 1 (below)


An excuse if I was unable to find it anywhere but do you mind making an instruction for this short balanced cable?


----------



## ClieOS

d73b3e said:


> An excuse if I was unable to find it anywhere but do you mind making an instruction for this short balanced cable?



Not really sure if there really is any need for instruction - the most basic and difficult part of the cable is the ability to solder small part together. This is a skill that requires both learning and practice - Youtube has plenty of tutorial for that. Beyond that, MMCX plugs, 4 conductors wires, Y-splitter, 2.5mm plug and UV Glue are all obtainable via Amazon, eBay or AliExpress. Once you know how to solder, it is but a simple matter of putting them together.


----------



## ClieOS (Jul 20, 2020)

Sometime you do things because you can, and this is one of those time. I recent acquired the OE Audio WS-1 TWS adapter with 0.78mm pins connector, and I have been listening to mostly a pair of earbud that I have tuned myself but it is in MMCX - so I thought I just put an extra 0.78mm socket to the earbud in order for it to take both 0.78mm when I wanted to use the TWS adapter as well as MMCX when I wanted a wired connection.

It is a little crazy and I like it.


----------



## furyossa

ClieOS said:


> Sometime you do things because you can, and this is one of those time. I recent acquired the OE Audio WS-1 TWS adapter with 0.78mm pins connector, and I have been listening to mostly a pair of earbud that I have tuned myself but it is in MMCX - so I thought I just put an extra 0.78mm socket to the earbud in order for it to take both 0.78mm when I wanted to use the TWS adapter as well as MMCX when I wanted a wired connection.
> 
> It is a little crazy and I like it.


Yup. It's a little crazy 
The idea is so cool. Maybe if the "neck" of the earbuds is a bit shorter then will look like IEM-Earbud hybrid shell.
Anyway... nice works man


----------



## Vannak

ClieOS said:


> Sometime you do things because you can, and this is one of those time. I recent acquired the OE Audio WS-1 TWS adapter with 0.78mm pins connector, and I have been listening to mostly a pair of earbud that I have tuned myself but it is in MMCX - so I thought I just put an extra 0.78mm socket to the earbud in order for it to take both 0.78mm when I wanted to use the TWS adapter as well as MMCX when I wanted a wired connection.
> 
> It is a little crazy and I like it.


Wow


----------



## iFi audio

Vannak said:


> Wow



Wow indeed


----------



## ClieOS (Mar 16, 2021)

It has been almost 2 year ago that I challenged myself to fit a planar magnetic transducer into an earbud shell. The result, while good, can only be considered as 75% successful because of fit and sound. After all these time, I thought it is time to give it another go - with the same $120 planar magnetic transducer sourced from Aliexpress, but with a more ear-friendly shell - a MX500 type shell to be exact.

Parts Requirement:
1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
2) Transparent MX500 shell
3) Small rotary tool, i,e,. Dremel and small and small sanding bits
4) Normal soldering supply
5) Glue. In this case, the E8000, UV cured glue as well as thin 3M double sided tape.









As you can see, the 14.2mm transducer can fit into the front plate of the MX500 shell (*typically housing 15.6mm transducer) without any issue, but the back chamber will required heavy modification. Basically, all the side vents of the back chamber need to be sealed off with UV glue, then all the extra bit of plastic surrounding the back vents need to be sanded off until the planar magnetic transducer can fit completely inside with the front plate closed. While difficult, it is not impossible - though do be careful not to over-sand and penetrate the wall of the shell.





Lastly, the back vent of the shell is opened up (*many MX500 shell has a vent structure in the back but it is actually fully closed) to replaced the closed side vent. MMCX socket is fitted and soldered to the transducer. The transducer's side is fitted with double-sided tape to secured it into the back chamber, then the front plated is glued to the shell with E8000. Before the transducer is sealed in, the paper filter on the back of the transducer is moved to the front of the transducer to act as dampening filter / tuning.

*Afterthought*:  As it stands, I'll call this a 90% success. First, fit has been dramatically improved from the wooden shell I used before. The new version required less critical fit to get a good sound out - which means I can use it more like a regular MX500 style earbuds which looser fit doesn't affecting SQ. Secondly, SQ has also improved as the new tuning has a more forgiving and relaxing sound than the old tuning. On its own, It is still a bit on the thin and bright side of presentation. With a bit of bass boost using EQ however, it sound rather balanced and neutral - definitely not something for bass-head, but otherwise a second to top-tier contender. The reason I called this a 90% success is because it does need the bass EQ to sound great, and I felt that I have pushed this particular transducer to its limit as far as an earbuds' transducer goes. To really address its weakness in bass, it will either be re-tuned as a driver or have a dedicated 2nd dynamic bass driver for a hybrid configuration.


----------------------


I found this particular unfinished old Aiwa earbud on Taobao - as far as I can tell, the driver is supposed to be used as mono headset, possibly as an accessory for portable radio and such. Since it is meant to be used as mono headset, there is no left / right side - so the easy part is just buy two of them and re-cable them for a stereo earbuds setup, but I take it one step further and re-terminate them into MMCX.

Parts Requirement:
1) Old Aiwa driver x2
2) Small rotary tool, i,e,. Dremel and small sanding bits
3) Thin MMCX socket x2, plus a bit of wires (Estron wires in my case)
4) Normal soldering supply
5) Heat gun









The front plate is glued fairly tight to the main chamber, but a bit of gentle warming from a heat gun will loosen it up. The housing is on the smaller size of thing so the cable exit needs to be widen up with a small rotary drill / sanding it order for it to fit a *small* MMCX socket. The tiny piece of foam on the vent is close to perish, so I replace them as well, using nozzle filter that normally meant for IEM. Without any filter / foam, the earbud will sounds to mid-centric. It can be tuned to a very neutral'ish sound by fully sealing the vent, though I opted for something closer to the original warmish tuning. The rest is pretty easy - just solder the MMCX socket to the driver, then glue them back together









*Afterthought*: I have never listened to any of those legendary old Aiwa earbuds before, so I have no idea how this particular pair compared them. But for the $20 or so I spent for parts cost, I reckon this pair of Aiwa doesn't sound too bad, though I won't go rushing out to recommend it to everyone either. One problem I did run into when I re-terminating the earbuds is that first two drivers I used have an slightly non-matching mid-range that I only found out after MMCX conversion. So I ended up re-terminating one more driver to create a matching pair (which means I have one extra driver wasted). As this was originally used as mono headset, matching is really a non-issue. But for converting to stereo setup, matching is a must and therefore you should get extra drivers as spare just in case of you ever want to do the same re-termination.


----------



## WoodyLuvr

ClieOS said:


> It has been almost 2 year ago that I challenged myself to fit a planar magnetic transducer into an earbud shell. The result, while good, can only be considered as 75% successful because of fit and sound. After all these time, I thought it is time to give it another go - with the same $120 planar magnetic transducer sourced from Aliexpress, but with a more ear-friendly shell - a MX500 type shell to be exact.
> 
> Parts Requirement:
> 1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
> ...


Simply wow! Extraordinary build there mate. Keep them coming. Cheers.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> It has been almost 2 year ago that I challenged myself to fit a planar magnetic transducer into an earbud shell. The result, while good, can only be considered as 75% successful because of fit and sound. After all these time, I thought it is time to give it another go - with the same $120 planar magnetic transducer sourced from Aliexpress, but with a more ear-friendly shell - a MX500 type shell to be exact.
> 
> Parts Requirement:
> 1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
> ...



That's very impressive what you did there! Honestly! Keep it up


----------



## mochill

Interested


----------



## iFi audio

mochill said:


> Interested



Tiny planars served in earbud enclosures surely are interesting


----------



## mochill

I thought of the idea when I saw it ,but glad to see someone doing it . I bet we can do est as well


----------



## iFi audio

mochill said:


> I thought of the idea when I saw it ,but glad to see someone doing it . I bet we can do est as well



Considering how regular planars sound like, if planar earbuds turn into a commercial product one day, I'll be the first one to try it out.


----------



## ClieOS (Apr 15, 2021)

This is basically another take of the previous iFi xDSD's OTG cable build - instead of Type C to (female) USB-A however, this is a Type-C-to-Type-C OTG cable intended for the ever more popular Type-C audio adapter for smartphone.

Tools and parts needed:
1) Two Type-C OTG connector ***
2) Short length of 4 cores ribbon cable
3) Basic modding / soldering supply.

*** Note that not all Type-C connector out there support OTG function. You need to get the one specifically mentioned to support OTG. Also, you can use one OTG connector and one non-OTG connector to make an one-way cable, but here I choose to make it two-way. Last but not least - These Type-C connector should be 4 pins, meant for USB 2.0 compatibility.






Actual modding is pretty simple, just solder the connector together with the ribbon cable (V to V, D+ to D+, D- to D-, G to G)






How much cable length you want depends largely on the distance you want to position the audio adapter to your source. I'll recommend just make it slightly longer than the minimum.






The outer case is cut short in the middle to make them as minimalistic as possible, then glued together with super glue and B7000 (*headphone glue, mostly for filling in the cavity between the outer case and the Type-C connector). Note that the cable will be the weakest part of the assembly so care must be taken in use, i.e. not to pull on the cable when removing the OTG cable. This cable is meant to be used with the Type-C adapter semi-permanently double-taped to the back of the source, so flexibility isn't critical.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> This is basically another take of the previous iFi xDSD's OTG cable build - instead of Type C to (female) USB-A however, this is a Type-C-to-Type-C OTG cable intended for the ever more popular Type-C audio adapter for smartphone.



It looks fabulous!


----------



## ClieOS (Jul 14, 2021)

First, I have been enjoying MoonDrop's Stardust (otherwise known as SSR) for awhile now. Secondly, I am a big fan of Etymotic ER4S and I am a big fan of TWS IEM, but ER4S is not exactly TWS-able even with an TWS adapter due to its long barrel shape. Stardust kinda fill in that gap for me to use with TWS adapter as it has a somewhat neutral'ish sound and the right shape, but it is not really Etymotic flat per se. So the idea of transforming a Starduct to ER4S via a driver-swap has been in my mind for awhile - that is, taking the dynamic driver out and putting a Knowles ED29689 (*same driver in ER4S) in while trying to getting it to sound as close to ER4S as possible. I call this new IEM the Stardust Memory (SDM)

Tools and parts needed:
1) Moondrop Stardust
2) Knowles ED-29689 balanced armature driver x 2  (*matched pair, if you can find them that way)
3) Balanced armature adapters x 2 （*found on TB)
4) 100 ohm Vashay CMF50 resistor x 2
5) Estron Linum internal wires
6) Knowles green filter x 2
7) UV and B-7000 headphone glue
8) Basic modding / soldering supply. 
9) Heat gun
10) Hex tool Torx T6










The first step is to dissemble the Stardust. Remove the screw with Torx T6 hex tool. The shell is glued quite tightly so a bit of heating to loosen up the glue with a heat gun will helps a lot. Pry tool helps as well. There are some white foam glue surrounding the driver - it can be removed easily with any shape tool. Note the driver has a beryllium (*poison in certain form) coated diaphragm, so please handle with care. Once the white foam is removed, the 0.78mm socket (also glued down) can be pried up. Then by pulling the 0.78mm socket out with the wires still connected to the driver, the whole assembly can be removed from the housing. Once the whole assembly is out, desolder the wires from the 0.78mm socket. Clean up the housing and remove the filter from nozzle.





Next step is to prep the BA adapter by shorten it to the nozzle length is around 9.3mm (similar to that of ER4S nozzle) The base of the adapter (*red arrow) needed to be files down in order for it to fit securely inside the housing as well. Note that the adapter's nozzle will be acentric to the housing's nozzle, but a bit of heat from the heat glue and a little bending will fix the issue. Then the adapter is secured into the housing nozzle with a combination of UV and B-7000 headphone glue.













The side opening on the housing's nozzle can be sealed off with some UV glue. The is a dust filter on the inside that needed to be taken out first. 





Now the wiring as well as the resistor can be soldered in. Please note the positive / hot and negative / ground terminals on the 0.78mm socket - the (+) trinomial is facing to the back of the head while the (-) terminal is facing forward when the housing is in the ear. Also note that on the picture below, I solder the 100ohm Vishay CMF50 100ohm resistor to the + terminal of the 0.78mm socket as well as to the ED-29689 positive terminal. This will end up getting a sound that has a reversed polarity. To get the correct polarity, the resistor should connect to ED-29689's negative terminal.





Once both sides have been soldered, you can fit the Knowle4s green filter into the nozzle. They should fit right in without any modification. Now the face plate as well as the screw can go back in. Also, don't forget to pout a tiny bit of glue underneath the 0.78mm socket to secure it in place





If done correctly, the Stardust Memory should look almost identical to the original Stardust and can't be tell apart without looking at the nozzle.












SD = Stardust (measured with CP100)
SDM = Stardust Memory
CP100 = Spinfit CP100 eartips
CP230 = Spinfit CP230 eartips

*Afterthought*: as far replicating ER4S into a Stardust housing, you can see on the measured FR curve above that it is not really a complete success, notably on the upper mid-range to (especially) treble. But as far as creating a fairly flat and clean sounding IEM to be used with TWS adapter, it is definitely well worth the effort. Due to the shape of the nozzle, different eartips also seems to influence the upper mid to treble response by a lot, so it will still need more experiment with different eartips for finetuning. But as far as wired usage, I like the Spinfit CP100 with SDM the most. With TWS adapter (*OE Audio WS-1 in this case) however, the CP230 seems to complement it the best. Also, a little bit of EQ to compensate for the treble can push it closer to that of ER4S. On hindsight, perhaps 75ohm or 50ohm resistor can be used for a slightly warmer sound. For now, I am happy for what it is.


----------



## furyossa

Amazing work, man. Can you suggest some good resistors for DD?


----------



## ClieOS

furyossa said:


> Amazing work, man. Can you suggest some good resistors for DD?


Vishay CMF50, mentioned above, is a pretty good choice. If you prefer something more in regular size (*CMF50 is smaller in general), CMF55 is a well received choice for audio use as well. If you want something in the SMD range, thin firm is usually preferred.


----------



## furyossa

ClieOS said:


> Vishay CMF50, mentioned above, is a pretty good choice. If you prefer something more in regular size (*CMF50 is smaller in general), CMF55 is a well received choice for audio use as well. If you want something in the SMD range, thin firm is usually preferred.


Thanks. I will check them out. I know that ShoonTH use resistors for their buds and I don't see any proper example how to use it with DD.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> First, I have been enjoying MoonDrop's Stardust (otherwise known as SSR) for awhile now. Secondly, I am a big fan of Etymotic ER4S and I am a big fan of TWS IEM, but ER4S is not exactly TWS-able even with an TWS adapter due to its long barrel shape. Stardust kinda fill in that gap for me to use with TWS adapter as it has a somewhat neutral'ish sound and the right shape, but it is not really Etymotic flat per se. So the idea of transforming a Starduct to ER4S via a driver-swap has been in my mind for awhile - that is, taking the dynamic driver out and putting a Knowles ED29689 (*same driver in ER4S) in while trying to getting it to sound as close to ER4S as possible. I call this new IEM the Stardust Memory (SDM)
> 
> Tools and parts needed:
> 1) Moondrop Stardust
> ...



Lovely work, keep 'em coming


----------



## Wasaabi

ClieOS said:


> As far as I know there has not been any attempt to build an earbud such as this - one with planar magnetic transducer. I know we have seen some IEM with planar drivers (among others types) but earbud is simply too out of fashion for anything but a normal dynamic driver, This particular pair of planar come from the same OEM factory that recently makes the **** MT100 and Toneking BL1. Some of these bare drivers was sold on Taobao as well as Aliexpress, which is where I got mine. You don't really find planar driver of this size (or most of any size really) and thus the rarity costs money, almost $120 for a pair to be exact. The diameter of the driver is 14.2mm, which seems to be fairly normal when compared to dynamic driver. But given it is a planar driver, it is actually far larger than similar dynamic transducer of the same diameter. To find a suitable housing has became the first major obstacle. I have managed to source a rather large wooden housing that is meant for 15mm driver.
> 
> Parts Requirement:
> 1) 14.2mm planar magnetic driver x2
> ...


If you can wear an artificial ear model on the measuring instrument, the curve will be much correct.


----------



## castleofargh

ClieOS said:


> Next step is to prep the BA adapter by shorten it to the nozzle length is around 9.3mm (similar to that of ER4S nozzle)


I'm late but curious. 
Did you test the impact of the nozzle length on FR with the tips sitting at the same place on the coupler? 
As this shell would clearly not go as deep as an er4, the ear canal gain would be different(not that it matters too much given that we all have different ear canal length). something we seem to see, not too clearly at the first resonance freq, but more obviously at the second around 8-10kHz. 
I don't know if the nozzle acts as a second resonator(first to me being the ear canal) for tuning, or if it somehow adds up with the ear canal as one tube(probably not)? In which case a shorter nozzle tube might push the bump back closer to 10kHz?


----------



## ClieOS

castleofargh said:


> I'm late but curious.
> Did you test the impact of the nozzle length on FR with the tips sitting at the same place on the coupler?
> As this shell would clearly not go as deep as an er4, the ear canal gain would be different(not that it matters too much given that we all have different ear canal length). something we seem to see, not too clearly at the first resonance freq, but more obviously at the second around 8-10kHz.
> I don't know if the nozzle acts as a second resonator(first to me being the ear canal) for tuning, or if it somehow adds up with the ear canal as one tube(probably not)? In which case a shorter nozzle tube might push the bump back closer to 10kHz?



The reason of the nozzle length is to keep the distance between the filter / damper and the BA driver as close to the original as possible. Test by others had shown the distance is crucial to getting the right sound out of the BA. The other crucial factor is the eartips bore size / length and how deep it sits in the ear canal, which unfortunately can't be alter due to the the nature of the metal housing. The problem is the large diameter of the outer nozzle that change how the width of the eartips as well as how deep it can go into the ear. To remedy this to an extend, the best thing to do is to try different eartips design in order to get as close to the original as possible. But to be completely accurate is just imposibiel.


----------



## IEMbiker

You inspire me to build my own ER4 and Evo replica from ER73S BA.  Thanks.


----------



## ClieOS

Those old HF3/5/iM716 drivers look mighty fine.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Those old HF3/5/iM716 drivers look mighty fine.



Wait, aren't those the ones in old Etymotic's IEMs?


----------



## ClieOS

iFi audio said:


> Wait, aren't those the ones in old Etymotic's IEMs?


Yep, but the BA drivers weren't not available in the market back in the days and all we know is that they were OEMed in China. I guess some sellers in China finally find a few NOS for sale.


----------



## iFi audio (Apr 5, 2022)

ClieOS said:


> Yep, but the BA drivers weren't not available in the market back in the days



Yes, I remember how it was back in the day of Westone 3, UE Triple.fi and Etys when armature drivers were pure unobtanium.


----------



## shoui catemoji

@ClieOS when making an ER4 clone, does the space between the BA and the nozzle impact the sound a lot? 
In the original ER4S and the new ones the BA is right up against the nozzle with the "stub" of the BA going in the nozzle. While the YU9 ER4 clone's BA doesn't seem to be placed this way, but does it sound different?


----------



## ClieOS

shoui catemoji said:


> @ClieOS when making an ER4 clone, does the space between the BA and the nozzle impact the sound a lot?
> In the original ER4S and the new ones the BA is right up against the nozzle with the "stub" of the BA going in the nozzle. While the YU9 ER4 clone's BA doesn't seem to be placed this way, but does it sound different?



The nozzle length (from BA's spout to filter) and diameter are important to keep the original sound. YU9's ER4 clone, as far as I can tell, is pretty close to the original. Besides, I do believe YU9 did take measurement to ensure that.


----------



## ClieOS (Jul 27, 2022)

Despite being a very expensive BT adapter, It is somewhat of a known issue among a few 1st batch iFi Go Blu users that it doesn't have a particularly good Bluetooth range, especially when using LDAC codec. Quite often, distortion or disconnection can happen with only a meter or two away, or simply just putting the BT adapter on the other side of the pocket from the smartphone. iFi, though knows about the issue as it has been reported by multiple first batch users, never does acknowledge the issue officially nor provide any remedy. Report however had been made that, for those who returned their first batch Go Blu due to various reasons and got a replacement from 2nd batch, the range issue seems to have been fixed secretly (*allegedly). But for those of us who can't return our 1st batch Go Blu due to various circumstances, it would seen that we are stuck with a less-than-fully-useful BT adapter - and that is exactly my situation. To address the issue, I decided to do a antenna swap by replacing the original chip antenna used in the Go Blu with something hopefully much better. *Warning: **This will most definitely void your warranty! *iFi Go Blu dissembled 


Tools and parts needed:
1) iFi Go Blu 1st batch with weak BT range
2) Abracon ACAG0801-2450-T chip antenna
3) Basic soldering supply
4) Basic smartphone disassembling tool








The Go Blu's metal faceplate can be removed by lightly prying it away from the main body as it is double=glued only on the lower part. Once removed, you will find two screws that needed to be removed to take the housing apart.




The battery is also double-glued to the PCB and can be removed by careful prying it up.




Disconnect the battery once it is lifted up, removed the two button on each side, then remove the two screws near the Type-C connector. Once the screws are removed, the PCB can be lifted up from the top, near the headphone sockets. The dial can be detached once the PCB comes out.




Located on the under side of the PCB, near where the dial is supposed to be and opposite to where the Xbass / Xspace button, is the chip antenna. It is the only white component on the PCB so it is easily recognizable, measuring 9.5mm x 2mm x 1mm. I can't tell which brand or model of chip antenna it is as it doesn't have any marking on it, but searching for chip antenna that fits the dimension and build has resulted in several candidates that have either 1dBi or 2dBi gain. In order to maximize the chance of improving the odd that the new antenna will outperform the original antenna, i picked the Abracon ACAG0801-2450-T as it has an exceptional high gain of 7.3dBi while won't cause any fit issue (8mm x 1mm x 1mm). You can find this chip antenna on either element14 or Mouser.




The ideal way to desolder such a large component will be the use of hot air station. But if you don't have access to one, the next easiest way to use low melt solder, and that's how I did it. Check out youtube if you want to know how to use low melt solder for desoldering.




Clean up the low melt solder with wick and solder the new antenna in place. Though the new antenna is shorter (8mm vs. 9.5mm), it should still just about fit. Take note of the direction. Finally, reassemble the Go Blu.

Here are the RSSI test I did before and after antenna swap with FiiO BTR7 as reference. Lower (less negative) is better and the three number were taken with both devices (1) about 2 inches away from the smartphone, (2) about 2 meters away and (3) about 5 meters away with wall in-between.

Before:
FiiO BTR7 -37 -68 -75
iFi Go Blu -39 -78 -93

After:
FiiO BTR7 -40 -69 -85
iFi Go Blu -33 -67 -81

From the 'before' test, we can tell the original Go Blu suffered a huge drop in signal strength just 2 meters away (*10dB = 10 times of difference). The 'after' test clearly shows vast improvement with Go Blu even outperforming BTR7 on all range. All and all, the antenna swap is an resounding success that allow the 1st batch Go Blu to finally perform as it should have been.

Afterthought: Regardless of how or why the 1st batch Go Blu suffered from weak BT range, I think the placement of the chip antenna on the PCB itself is not helping. It is on the under side of the PCB, which means (1) many user are likely going to place it right against their body, (2) the PCB's ground plane, (3) the big metal piece on the housing, (4) the mostly metal volume dial as well as (5) the metal button next to the antenna are all boxing the antenna in and obstructing the wireless signal path.


----------



## rwelles

ClieOS said:


> (*10dB = 100 times of difference)


Great write-up!! If I wasn't such a putz at soldering on my Gen1 device. 

Apologies if I misunderstood this stat. I always was under the impression that 10 dB=x10, 20 dB=x100, and 30 dB=x1,000. I'm thinking audio, did you mean something different?


----------



## ClieOS

rwelles said:


> Great write-up!! If I wasn't such a putz at soldering on my Gen1 device.
> 
> Apologies if I misunderstood this stat. I always was under the impression that 10 dB=x10, 20 dB=x100, and 30 dB=x1,000. I'm thinking audio, did you mean something different?


You are right, I slipped in an extra zero by mistake. Corrected.


----------



## marekm

ClieOS said:


> Despite being a very expensive BT adapter, It is somewhat of a known issue among a few 1st batch iFi Go Blu users that it doesn't have a particularly good Bluetooth range, especially when using LDAC codec. Quite often, distortion or disconnection can happen with only a meter or two away, or simply just putting the BT adapter on the other side of the pocket from the smartphone. iFi, though knows about the issue as it has been reported by multiple first batch users, never does acknowledge the issue officially nor provide any remedy. Report however had been made that, for those who returned their first batch Go Blu due to various reasons and got a replacement from 2nd batch, the range issue seems to have been fixed secretly (*allegedly). But for those of us who can't return our 1st batch Go Blu due to various circumstances, it would seen that we are stuck with a less-than-fully-useful BT adapter - and that is exactly my situation. To address the issue, I decided to do a antenna swap by replacing the original chip antenna used in the Go Blu with something hopefully much better. *Warning: **This will most definitely void your warranty! *iFi Go Blu dissembled


I understand that your intention was do help. And some may indeed benefit from the writeup. 

But above all, You have just demonstrated, how pathetic iFi Audio is.


----------



## ClieOS

Mistake is made all the time, and I do believe we as consumer will be better served in the long run if manufacturer can learn and keep improving.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Despite being a very expensive BT adapter, It is somewhat of a known issue among a few 1st batch iFi Go Blu users that it doesn't have a particularly good Bluetooth range, especially when using LDAC codec. Quite often, distortion or disconnection can happen with only a meter or two away, or simply just putting the BT adapter on the other side of the pocket from the smartphone. iFi, though knows about the issue as it has been reported by multiple first batch users, never does acknowledge the issue officially nor provide any remedy. Report however had been made that, for those who returned their first batch Go Blu due to various reasons and got a replacement from 2nd batch, the range issue seems to have been fixed secretly (*allegedly). But for those of us who can't return our 1st batch Go Blu due to various circumstances, it would seen that we are stuck with a less-than-fully-useful BT adapter - and that is exactly my situation. To address the issue, I decided to do a antenna swap by replacing the original chip antenna used in the Go Blu with something hopefully much better. *Warning: **This will most definitely void your warranty! *iFi Go Blu dissembled
> 
> 
> Tools and parts needed:
> ...



Wow, that's an awesome and useful tutorial, thanks a lot @ClieOS !


----------



## ClieOS

Preview: Planar magnetic earbud DIY V3


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Preview: Planar magnetic earbud DIY V3



Well, how does it sound like  ?


----------



## ClieOS (Aug 26, 2022)

One of the biggest problem facing my previous two planar magnetic driver earbuds build is the selection of suitable housing. The fact the planar speaker is much thicker means regular housing either doesn't fit or sounds less-than-optimum if it fits. This time around however, I think finally find a winning combination with the new generation of 14.2mm planar magnetic speaker and an old school reversed mounted earbud made by Cresyn a long time ago.

Tools and parts needed:
1) 14.2mm 2nd gen planar magnetic transducer x 2
2) Cresyn reversed mounted earbud x 1
3) IEM internal wires  / Linum IEM wires x 2
4) 3.3mm MMCX socket x 2
5) Acoustic dampening papers
6) Some good quality earbud foam pad
6) Rotary tool with sanding bit
7) Soldering iron and supply
8) UV glue and superglue

The planar driver is the newer generation of 14.2mm transducer that has a better build quality than the first gen I have used in the past two build. It comes in two version: black and transparent body. As far as I can tell, black version comes out first and it was used on several Chinese IEM. The transparent one comes later and believed to be used on Campfire Supermoon. As far as I can tell, both version should be fairly equal in SQ if not near identical (* will need to measured to confirm). The major difference is the black version will have a white dot marking on the flex PCB to indicates positive terminal but the transparent will not have any marking at all. Just for your reference, I marked out the positive terminal on the transparent version in the picture below - it is the side of the larger contact pad under the housing. Note that it can be on different side on the two speaker or it can be on the same side. You must check to be sure. They can be found on Aliexpress and Taobao. I got mine from Taobao for about US$60 minus shipping.

The old school earbuds with the reversed mounted driver is OEMed by Cresyn  of S.Korea. There are several versions over time, but this one I used is the most common one to be found. You can find it on Aliexpress and Taobao as well. I got mine for US$6 a pair. I'll suggest you get at least two pairs as they are a bit fragile.

Two items that are specific to the build are the 3.3mm MMCX socket and dampening papers. The MMCX socket can be found on this Taobao store, while dampening paper is from this Taobao store. The 'stem' on the housing is not particularly big and thus most MMCX will be either twoo big or too small to fit securely. I found that the 3.3mm MMCX socket is by far the best choice. Same goes for the dampening papers - you can try other alternative, but I find the one I recommend works out really well.









The Cresyn earbuds' backplate can be easily pop out by prying with a shape tool (i.e. razor blade) carefully. It is press-fitted. The original transducer then can be removed, along with the wiring and strain relief. Next you will find there is thin sheet of foam on the inside that cover 4 vent holes on the housing. It will very likely fragile and going to crumble by any light touch so it should be removed as cleanly as possible. Underneath the thin foam sheet there should be a rounded foam pad near the faceplate - we will need to use it again so just take it out for now and keep it safe. The 4 large vent holes (*red arrow in picture) that were originally covered by the foam sheet will need to be completely sealed off - I used UV glue for this  There is another hole left ashen the strain relief was removed  - it should be sealed off as well, but only after the MMCX socket was installed.





The planar magnetic transducer is actually slightly largest than the cavity in the housing, plus there are a few plastic pieces that stop the transducer from going in. You will need to grind them off and enlarge the cavity, but be careful not to over grind it. If you do it correctly, the planar transducer will fit into the space tightly and won't required any glue to hold it. Once the grinding has finished, solder the wires to the MMCX socket and install them onto the housing with maybe a bit of superglue. Because the fitting between the transducer and the housing will be very tight, you will need to use very thin but strong wire between the transducer and MMCX socket. Linum wires that is meant for IEM internal wiring will be perfect for this job. Once the MMCX is installed, be sure to seal off the last hole near the MMCX socket. I used UV glue for this.





If you get the same dampening papers set from the Taobao store I linked above, you will get 5 different sheets. What we are interested are however just the light dampening paper (*white in the picture below) and the mid dampening paper (*dotted in the picture below). You will also need to have some extra earbud foam pad as well. Any regular foam pad will do - but given foam pad will degrade with time, it is better to start with high quality one. I used foam pad from VE, but I reckon Hiegi might work just as well.





To put the earbud back together: first, put the original rounded foam taken from the inside back to its original position (near the faceplate). Second, cut the mid dampening paper to slightly larger than the round foam and insert it just after the rounded foam. Lastly, cut a foam pad to a little small than the rounded foam and insert it after the dampening foam. The three layers sandwich goes like: (front) - original rounded foam - mid dampening foam - foam pad - (back) planar transducer.

Unlike the original reversed mounted dynamic driver, The planar transducer will be mounted facing the front direction. As you can see in the picture below, the wiring will need to be squeezed between the housing and the transducer. You can grind just a tiny groove in the housing just so the wires won't get squeezed too much, but make sure you don't over grind it as we still want some tightness to make sure air won't vent out to the back chamber easily.

For the back chamber, we will cut the white dampening paper to fit on the whole backplate, then follows by a similar trimmed foam pad (*orange in picture below). Now you can press the backplate back to the housing and the build is completed.






Note. All the foam materials and dampening paper are to provide the right acoustic impedance on the front and back to achieve the desired sound / FR curve. While my preference is described in the build, you can certainly play with different materials and configuration to find the best combination to your taste. It is also important to note that the front chamber mush be fully sealed on all the vent in order for the planar transducer to sound right. If not, it will sound very bass lean and possibly overly bright.

*Afterthought*:  The best part about this build is that I finally built an planar magnetic earbud that required almost no fitting compensation to sound 'right;. It means it fit as well as it sounds just like a normal earbud even if you have no idea what driver it is using. Given it is still a planar driver, the bass quantity is still not quite up to the same level of a dynamic driver, especially near the sub-bass region. For most part however, I am happy with it on the fact that I am not a bass head to begin with., On the major plus side - the planar driver has some of the best resolution and upper extension that you will ever find on any earbud. The earbud itself is not difficult to drive at all, but with the right source (or a bit of bass boost if you desire), it can approach (or at least pretty close to) the level of an ToTL earbud. All and all, this build is 100% successful.


----------



## o0genesis0o

ClieOS said:


> One of the biggest problem facing my previous two planar magnetic driver earbuds build is the selection of suitable housing. The fact the planar speaker is much thicker means regular housing either doesn't fit or sounds less-than-optimum if it fits. This time around however, I think finally find a winning combination with the new generation of 14.2mm planar magnetic speaker and an old school reversed mounted earbud made by Cresyn a long time ago.
> 
> Tools and parts needed:
> 1) 14.2mm 2nd gen planar magnetic transducer x 2
> ...



Excellent! I wish I am somewhere nearby so I can have a try. Learned quite a bit from reading this post.



ClieOS said:


> The transparent one comes later and beloved to be used on Campfire Supermoon


Really? I have a hunch that this is the case but never been able to confirm. People praise the resolution of this supermoon IEM, saying it outperforms Andromeda, yet disagree when I say S12 (same driver?) is at least as resolving as Andromeda in A/B tests


----------



## iFi audio

o0genesis0o said:


> when I say S12 (same driver?)



If I may ask, you think that it's the same driver as in Letshuoer?


----------



## o0genesis0o (Aug 26, 2022)

iFi audio said:


> If I may ask, you think that it's the same driver as in Letshuoer?



Oh wow, can't believe that I would interact with iFi account directly one day  Missed the chance to buy the HipDac + E3000 combo when I started. Still salty about that. I'm not in the market for any audio source soon, but hope that you guys would have something fun when I need to upgrade my gear.

Anyhow, about the driver thing. I would emphasise that that it is just my hunch, and I definitely I don't go around CFA threads and accuse CFA of using same driver as cheaper IEMs. I'm not saying that it is exactly the same driver either, but could be from the same manufacturer with the current wave of 14mm planars, possibly customised. My hunch is based on (1) similar driver size (14mm ish), (2) convenient release time, (3) sound impressions from early listeners, and (4) impressive technical performance of S12 after retuning with micropore tapes.

Even if it is the same or similar driver, it's not that bad of a deal, since CFA seems to be the first to be able to stuff a planar into a custom shell.

Edit: btw, look at that graph of supermoon universal demo. Looks a bit familiar to me.


----------



## iFi audio

o0genesis0o said:


> Oh wow, can't believe that I would interact with iFi account directly one day



Not that difficult to be honest, we're all over the place 



o0genesis0o said:


> Missed the chance to buy the HipDac + E3000 combo when I started. Still salty about that



Yup, was a good deal and these products work well as a team. 



o0genesis0o said:


> Anyhow, about the driver thing. I would emphasise that that it is just my hunch, and I definitely I don't go around CFA threads and accuse CFA of using same driver as cheaper IEMs. I'm not saying that it is exactly the same driver either, but could be from the same manufacturer with the current wave of 14mm planars, possibly customised. My hunch is based on (1) similar driver size (14mm ish), (2) convenient release time, (3) sound impressions from early listeners, and (4) impressive technical performance of S12 after retuning with micropore tapes.
> 
> Even if it is the same or similar driver, it's not that bad of a deal, since CFA seems to be the first to be able to stuff a planar into a custom shell.
> 
> Edit: btw, look at that graph of supermoon universal demo. Looks a bit familiar to me.



Thanks for the insight, it's always interesting to read how this forum's users connect dots or are onto something. Thanks again. I look forward to hearing Supermoon


----------



## ClieOS

There is a joke talked among a few very well connected audiophiles in China - that's if you drop a bomb and destroy a certain small town in Guangzhou that is only a few miles wide, you will basically destroy 70% of all the headphone businesses in the world as the majority of headphone brands are either OEM'ed or at least sourced their parts from a few dozen of companies there.


----------



## iFi audio (Aug 31, 2022)

ClieOS said:


> There is a joke talked among a few very well connected audiophiles in China - that's if you drop a bomb and destroy a certain small town in Guangzhou that is only a few miles wide, you will basically destroy 70% of all the headphone businesses in the world as the majority of headphone brands are either OEM'ed or at least sourced their parts from a few dozen of companies there.



We have the same joke about one specific early flight from Manchester to Munich just before the annual Hi-End event there. That plane is always full with the industry people, so if it crashes (hopefully not!) a fair share of UK's audio sector is no more. That's just a joke of course, but I understand exactly what you mean


----------



## ClieOS

Second attempt with black transducer.




Finished. Haven't measured it yet, but the basic sound signature is close enough that I'll say both black and transparent transducer can be used interchangeably.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Second attempt with black transducer.
> 
> 
> Finished. Haven't measured it yet, but the basic sound signature is close enough that I'll say both black and transparent transducer can be used interchangeably.



But you do know that you never cease to amaze us all here, right  ?


----------



## sofastreamer

great job as always!
fingers crossed, there will be a massproduction planar earbud anytime soon for those of us, without any soldering skills...


----------



## ClieOS

I might actually make a very limited run of it next month depends on how busy I'll be, likely less than 5 pairs.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> I might actually make a very limited run of it next month depends on how busy I'll be, likely less than 5 pairs.



I look forward to seeing how that effort turns out., Good luck!


----------



## silverszi

I don't remember who said it and when but the fact that cheaper planar iems exist means planar earbud r&d should become cheaper.


----------



## iFi audio

silverszi said:


> I don't remember who said it and when but the fact that cheaper planar iems exist means planar earbud r&d should become cheaper.



Planar IEMs and earbuds ultimately are different products in spite of the same tech inside, so I'm not entirely sure that one would make the other more affordable because of that. But I might be worng on this one


----------



## ClieOS

Just about finish on gathering all the parts.


----------



## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Just about finish on gathering all the parts.



Looking good, it seems that you have pretty much everything to build these


----------



## ClieOS

Most difficult part completed.


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## castleofargh

guys, it's CGI! Soldering joints this small are like birds, they aren't real.


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## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Most difficult part completed.



OK, that's legit impressive. I can imagine how small these soldering joints are. Kudos, great work and it looks tidy!


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## ClieOS

Done.

Pretty amazing sounding, if I say so myself.


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## WoodyLuvr (Oct 25, 2022)

ClieOS said:


> Done.
> 
> Pretty amazing sounding, if I say so myself.


Bravo sir! Amazing stuff happening here!

If you don't mind giving one, a brief signature description would be awesome. Are they overly bright and/or sibilant? Bass decent?


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## ValSuki

ClieOS said:


> Done.
> 
> Pretty amazing sounding, if I say so myself.


Hey Clie, I know we don't know eachother but seeing your dedication and push with this planar bud, using your own tuning methods is incredibly inspiring!!! Absolutely love what you are doing, and I hope planar buds pick up with people trying their own methods more soon. I may pick up the project again with my own twist, but bless you for doing this. Very wonderful.


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## ClieOS

WoodyLuvr said:


> Bravo sir! Amazing stuff happening here!
> 
> If you don't mind giving one, a brief signature description would be awesome. Are they overly bright and/or sibilant? Bass decent?



I refined the build process which in turn alter the sound signature a little bit - I will describe it right now as very well balanced and resolving. Just a small pinch of EQ  in the sub-bass region (*a few dB under100Hz)and it is pretty much perfect for me.



ValSuki said:


> Hey Clie, I know we don't know eachother but seeing your dedication and push with this planar bud, using your own tuning methods is incredibly inspiring!!! Absolutely love what you are doing, and I hope planar buds pick up with people trying their own methods more soon. I may pick up the project again with my own twist, but bless you for doing this. Very wonderful.


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## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> I refined the build process which in turn alter the sound signature a little bit - I will describe it right now as very well balanced and resolving. Just a small pinch of EQ in the sub-bass region (*a few dB under100Hz)and it is pretty much perfect for me.



Excellent job good sir! If you could compare your creation to some IEMs, what would it be? As in, which IEMs to you sound the closest to these DIY earbuds?


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## ClieOS

iFi audio said:


> Excellent job good sir! If you could compare your creation to some IEMs, what would it be? As in, which IEMs to you sound the closest to these DIY earbuds?


Haven't really paid any attention to IEM for years now. But as far as sound signature goes, I'll say it is pretty close to in between Etymotic ER4XR and ER4SR.


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## o0genesis0o

ClieOS said:


> Done.
> 
> Pretty amazing sounding, if I say so myself.


How can one get their hands on one of these babies? I imagine these beauties would cost quite a lot

Edit: hopefully any owner of these would have an IEC711 coupler. Really love to see their measurements.


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## ClieOS

o0genesis0o said:


> How can one get their hands on one of these babies? I imagine these beauties would cost quite a lot
> 
> Edit: hopefully any owner of these would have an IEC711 coupler. Really love to see their measurements.


Not cheap for sure, as parts cost alone is already much higher than most earbuds. However, the final price is still comparable to most ToTL earbuds. Each pair will come with its own FR graph actually. If you want more details, send me an email (*address is hidden in the last part of 'about' section in my profile)


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## FranQL

The price of planar DIY drivers are outrageously expensive today, IMO they are inflated in price, but, without a doubt, I will make this wonderful mod as soon as the price is more reasonable compared to the DIY drivers DD that I consider TOLT,

Excellent work, excellent.


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## iFi audio

ClieOS said:


> Haven't really paid any attention to IEM for years now. But as far as sound signature goes, I'll say it is pretty close to in between Etymotic ER4XR and ER4SR.



OK, so linearity, articulation and spaciousness over meat, warmth and roundness. If that's the case, that's a good choice


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## ian91

Just posting to congratulate you on your hard work here. Pioneering at its finest! I look forward to hearing impressions.


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## iFi audio

ian91 said:


> I look forward to hearing impressions.



Same here, it's a very ambitious non-mainstream project and it's very cool seeing how it comest to life. I hope that I'll be able to hear these earbuds one day.


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## ValSuki

Well well well, look at that, its the planar buds!

Bass:
Limp bass, but can be helped with eq'ing it up a notch. Don't expect any slam, though its nice with EQ!

Mids:
Pretty good! Theyre clear and vocals aren't distant or anything, nice and enjoyable.

Treble:
Somehow clie managed to tame these VERY well, and I applaud him for it. I was expecting a bit of sibalence but nothing here! Its clear and extends very well. Now there are timbre issues and with some things not being as well presented, but it should definitely not be an issue for many.

Techs are really good too, i forgot to add that here but these do staging pretty nice.

I didn't want to be critical because this is literally the first of its kind to the public, but I have to say, clie you did a wonderful job here! I plan to take these to canjam 2023 london with a few other buds of mine to my friends, so I can get more impressions on these lovely things.


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