DiY Headphones

[infernoprime]

Hello

I have built the body of my headset but there are a few things I don't quite understand and need some input on. And yes I already thought about buying another pair of headphones but I really don't want or need to so please just drop that.

I am asking because I am looking for some speakers my size limit is about 66mm but I had purchased some and noticed I could not feel any thumping from the bass. Found out The frequency was to high 350hz so I believe that's why I could hear no bass.

Concerning the Resonant Frequency can the speaker play anything below that Frequency?

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello

I have built the body of my headset but there are a few things I don't quite understand and need some input on. And yes I already thought about buying another pair of headphones but I really don't want or need to so please just drop that.

I am asking because I am looking for some speakers my size limit is about 66mm but I had purchased some and noticed I could not feel any thumping from the bass. Found out The frequency was to high 350hz so I believe that's why I could hear no bass.

Concerning the Resonant Frequency can the speaker play anything below that Frequency?

Generally a speaker will not play below Fs, and usually only to a little above Fs. However there is an exception for some midrange and tweeters that are very low Q and can be driven below Fs. The two examples I are can think of are midrange units by ATC and also Volt, that can be driven below Fs.

However, a headphone transducer does not radiate into free space, but is in an acoustic tunnel coupled by a small volume of air to the eardrum.

Headphone design is a black art, with manufacturers keeping their cards very close to the chest.

Headphone transducers are not speakers in the true sense, and design parameters substantially different. I do not know how Fs and Q relate to bass extension in headphone transducers. I do know there is damping employed that would not be applied to speakers designed to radiate in free air.

If you are using small speakers and adapting them to headphone use, I doubt the endeavor would be successful.

We have never had anyone before posting about building their own headphones. I personally have never considered the prospect. I am not aware of much published research in this area. The manufacturers must do it extensively, but I think keep the information proprietary and under lock and key so to speak.

I did note that a size of 42 to 44 mm was considered optimal for headphone diaphragm diameter. Yours are substantially larger than that.

 

[lovinthehd]

First time I can think of a mention of diy headphones....altho easier than IEMs I suppose My first thought was how the heck do you source drivers? Do any of the major headphone guys sell such?

 

[TLS Guy]

First time I can think of a mention of diy headphones....altho easier than IEMs I suppose My first thought was how the heck do you source drivers? Do any of the major headphone guys sell such?

Dayton Audio do offer a headphone transducer, but Q is 0.66 and Fs 137 Hz. According to the spec. sheet, bass output cuts off at the Fs of 137 Hz. So that is not much good.

 

[infernoprime]

Generally a speaker will not play below Fs, and usually only to a little above Fs. However there is an exception for some midrange and tweeters that are very low Q and can be driven below Fs. The two examples I are can think of are midrange units by ATC and also Volt, that can be driven below Fs.

However, a headphone transducer does not radiate into free space, but is in an acoustic tunnel coupled by a small volume of air to the eardrum.

Headphone design is a black art, with manufacturers keeping their cards very close to the chest.

Headphone transducers are not speakers in the true sense, and design parameters substantially different. I do not know how Fs and Q relate to bass extension in headphone transducers. I do know there is damping employed that would not be applied to speakers designed to radiate in free air.

If you are using small speakers and adapting them to headphone use, I doubt the endeavor would be successful.

We have never had anyone before posting about building their own headphones. I personally have never considered the prospect. I am not aware of much published research in this area. The manufacturers must do it extensively, but I think keep the information proprietary and under lock and key so to speak.

I did note that a size of 42 to 44 mm was considered optimal for headphone diaphragm diameter. Yours are substantially larger than that.

I really appreciate you guys not hassling me about this and educating me on this topic it really is heartwarming.

I am noticing when looking at other speakers something called a self-resonant frequency is that the frequency that it would naturally vibrate at or it's limit it cannot go below? Sorry if you already covered that I am just new to all the terms and I want to be sure I understand this correctly.

A good example was a speaker I was looking at said it had a Self Resonant Frequency of 350hz but said it could play frequencies from 0hz to 20kHz.

 

[TLS Guy]

I really appreciate you guys not hassling me about this and educating me on this topic it really is heartwarming.

I am noticing when looking at other speakers something called a self-resonant frequency is that the frequency that it would naturally vibrate at or it's limit it cannot go below? Sorry if you already covered that I am just new to all the terms and I want to be sure I understand this correctly.

A good example was a speaker I was looking at said it had a Self Resonant Frequency of 350hz but said it could play frequencies from 0hz to 20kHz.

A lot of specs are meaningless, and the above is one such. Unless the spec. is bracketed with db limits, the spec. is a total waste of space and meaningless.
The speaker would almost certainly be at least 1000 db down at 1 Hz!

For a speaker in free air (ie room), then Fs is the lower limit of bass extension or very, very close to it. That is certainly true for woofers.

 

[slipperybidness]

Hello

I have built the body of my headset but there are a few things I don't quite understand and need some input on. And yes I already thought about buying another pair of headphones but I really don't want or need to so please just drop that.

I am asking because I am looking for some speakers my size limit is about 66mm but I had purchased some and noticed I could not feel any thumping from the bass. Found out The frequency was to high 350hz so I believe that's why I could hear no bass.

Concerning the Resonant Frequency can the speaker play anything below that Frequency?

All I've got to add is that I usually start my searches with parts-express, and the Dayton Audio mentioned by TLS is the house-brand for PE.

Home

www.parts-express.com

@TLS Guy
Any thoughts on the Tectonic Headphone BMR Driver?

Home

Tectonic TEBM35C02-6B 1-3/4" BMR Full-Range Headphone Driver 6 OhmsThe compact TEBM35C02-6/B 1-3/4" full-range BMR driver from Tectonic is perfect for nearfield applications that require flat and extended response with extremely wide dispersion capability. Its unique capabilities make this...

www.parts-express.com

Tectonic BMR drivers are the namesake for the Philharmonic BMR that we all admire.

EDIT--Scratch that BMR off the list, the description says "for off ear applications like VR helmets"

 

[TLS Guy]

The problem with this project is that headphone design is proprietary.

Trying to use a speaker designed to radiate into free air is pointless and failure of the project is certain and predictable.

An audio speaker is designed to radiate into free air.

A head phone is designed to have a seal around the ear. So it is a pure pressure transducer loading a small sealed space, and essentially is just pressurizing a very small air space, with no significant movement of air. So the design is totally different from an audio speaker.

I do know from what I could find that the pole piece of a headphone diaphragm and speaker have a totally different design.

The physics of the two are totally different. If you try and make an audio speaker work as a headphone driver, then the best you will get is a bad telephone.

I know the OP does not want to hear this, but he is wasting his time, as there are no good headphone transducers available to the DIY builder that I can find, only the poor one from Dayton.

 

[slipperybidness]

The problem with this project is that headphone design is proprietary.

Trying to use a speaker designed to radiate into free air is pointless and failure of the project is certain and predictable.

An audio speaker is designed to radiate into free air.

A head phone is designed to have a seal around the ear. So it is a pure pressure transducer loading a small sealed space, and essentially is just pressurizing a very small air space, with no significant movement of air. So the design is totally different from an audio speaker.

I do know from what I could find that the pole piece of a headphone diaphragm and speaker have a totally different design.

The physics of the two are totally different. If you try and make an audio speaker work as a headphone driver, then the best you will get is a bad telephone.

I know the OP does not want to hear this, but he is wasting his time, as there are no good headphone transducers available to the DIY builder that I can find, only the poor one from Dayton.

Would a DIY electrostat driver or similar tech be possible?

 

[TLS Guy]

Would a DIY electrostat driver or similar tech be possible?

I hate to recommend an electrostatic design, for DIY. You have to use such high voltages close to the head. I would be worried that it would deliver electroconvulsive therapy, rather than entertainment!

I did consider a planar magnetic approach, but I think the magnet system would have to be custom and expensive.

 

[lovinthehd]

@infernoprime curious as to what your headphones look like, tho, can you share a pic?

 

[infernoprime]

The problem with this project is that headphone design is proprietary.

Trying to use a speaker designed to radiate into free air is pointless and failure of the project is certain and predictable.

An audio speaker is designed to radiate into free air.

A head phone is designed to have a seal around the ear. So it is a pure pressure transducer loading a small sealed space, and essentially is just pressurizing a very small air space, with no significant movement of air. So the design is totally different from an audio speaker.

I do know from what I could find that the pole piece of a headphone diaphragm and speaker have a totally different design.

The physics of the two are totally different. If you try and make an audio speaker work as a headphone driver, then the best you will get is a bad telephone.

I know the OP does not want to hear this, but he is wasting his time, as there are no good headphone transducers available to the DIY builder that I can find, only the poor one from Dayton.

I appreciate your input but I have already found the headphone speakers I need. I just needed to make sure I understood that the Self Resonant frequency was something that was separate from the actual frequency range.

@infernoprime curious as to what your headphones look like, tho, can you share a pic?

I simply used some noise canceling earmuffs. I drilled holes ran wires to speakers and glued them in then added the plug also added some padding that came with the earmuffs. For me it works perfectly fine sound is good and I don't have to worry about it breaking unless speakers go bad, then all I have to do is replace them works great!

 

[milesquarepm]

Can I ask what the advantage of building your own headphones is??

~Thanks
www.milesquarepm.com