My new favorite headphones

Discussion in 'DIY' started by Woland, May 14, 2021.

  1. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    @nishan99 posted a few weeks ago about using his 3M x5a's with IEMs: Just got the 3M x5a ear muffs and holy shit!, I didn't expect them so smoke every ANC on the planet, and they do it naturally too!

    I thought I'd give them a try but ultimately didn't like the feel of using them with IEMs.

    [​IMG]


    On impulse, I decided to ditch IEMs and try using the drivers from a set of small, closed headphones - my Beyerdynamic DT51i's (link to Tyll's written review, and video review). My pair weren't in good shape because I'd salvaged some parts for my precious Beyerdynamic DT1350s. I was surprised how easy it was to get an awesome pair of noise insulating headphones from this combination.

    [​IMG]

    Now these are ugly -- Ananda ugly. I don't think any major headphone maker would make headphones this ugly deliberately, so they'll remain DIY. They'd be less ugly if made with one of the less bulky/less insulating earmuff versions. They're comfortable though, especially after stretching the headband a little.

    The DT51 drivers sit snugly, held in place by the foam inside the cups. I've left them in the Beyerdynamic housing, and may add additional padding to simulate the original acoustics. I cut a small hole for the cable and tied a knot for strain relief.

    [​IMG]


    What has surprised me is how often I am reaching for these headphones, often to replace my open-backed Focal Clears. When there's construction noise outside, they're great. When my spouse is watching TV, and I just want to escape the background noise, they're great. When the air conditioner is irritatingly loud or someone is talking nearby, I reach for these. Headphone forums dwell on relative noisefloors from equipment changes, and I'm finding reducing the noisefloor from the external world is also awesome. While these earmuffs are usually seen being used for protection against low-frequency sounds like construction noise, they're actually broad spectrum and most effective at 500Hz+ frequency blocking.


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    The passive isolation shown seems slightly ahead of the active + passive attenuation from a pair of XM4's. Additionally, my experience is active noise cancelling is only effective against some specific kinds of repetitive low-frequency sounds like engine noise, while the earmuff solution is more universal.

    [​IMG]
    Source: https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wh-1000xm4-review-38011/


    What stops noise getting in also stops noise getting out. I can listen at high volume, and there is no audible noise leakage. These are going to be my go-to pair for a couple of locations where I want to work uninterrupted and be considerate to my neighbors.

    All in all, a surprisingly great addition to my collection for the mighty cost of $25 and 10 minutes of handiwork.
     
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    Last edited: May 14, 2021
  2. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Cool I always wanted to put drivers into my earmuffs.
     
  3. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    I had been looking to get some closed headphones for noisy environments... there's really no comparison between them and serious ear muffs though, except for treble.

    [​IMG]
    source: X5A packaging and rtings.com

    For now, the flaw I'm encountering is piercing sibilance. That might be because I do not have the mesh of the original pads covering the drivers. Any suggestions about how to tame sibilance and otherwise refine the SQ would be appreciated.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2021
  4. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I wouldn’t think they would sound good like that because there is no baffle. So the backwave is uncontrolled and not being isolated or filtered from mixing with the front wave. That’s probably reducing lower frequencies and making upper frequencies stand out.

    creating a baffle gets complicated though.

    you could try some kind of dense fabric baffle that would at least restrict back wave wraparound. That would be better than nothing and maybe easier and more comfortable than a solid baffle.
     
  5. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    thanks @rhythmdevils

    The drivers are still mounted in the closed cups from the DT51's. The only thing not shifted into the muffs were the DT51 headband and the earpads. The DT51 cups now sit in the dense foam of the earmuffs, and that should absorb any backwave that makes it through the DT51 cups.

    I don't notice any obvious change to the frequency response, except for the sibilance.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2021
  6. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    A quick update on these:

    The high frequencies have been tamed with a few layers of tissue paper. I don't think they deserve the rave reviews from Inner Fidelity and Ken Rockwell, but the DT51 drivers are solid and enjoyable.

    [​IMG]

    I only reach for these when the world gets noisy. What noise gets through is hidden by music at low volume. Almost inevitably, when I take them off I am shocked at the amount of ambient noise in the world. I'm still very happy with them.
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2021
  7. Roderick

    Roderick Facebook Friend

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    I have done something similar with Bluetooth earmuffs. Problem with stock version was restricted volume and sound quality. Original drivers are very small, high impedance and inefficient. I suppose they used such drivers to limit the volume to what was required by EU regulations. At that time I worked at a poultry slaughterhouse as a meat inspector. Boring, dirty and NOISY job. I mainly listened to podcasts and I could barely hear anything over all the background noise.

    I replaced the stock drivers with 53mm takstar hi2050 drivers. Drivers with baffle were allmost the size of cup opening so I just stuffed those inside and earpad mechanism held it in place. With takstar drivers volume was increases alot and they did sound pretty "good" also. For actual music listening there is not enough bass because baffle is not connected to cups. So I can confirm what @rhythmdevils said about lack of proper baffle=reduced lower frequencies. For podcasts it was great. If one is not bothered by The bass issues this kind of driver transplant is easy way to increase volume on bluetooth earmuffs.

    Word of warning: If anyone tries something like this do not throw away any of the foam inside the cups. It is essential for blocking the outside noise and if you toss it the noise that gets inside the cups can start to reverb and things get really loud really quick.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
  8. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    I brought theae earmuffs on a long flight, and compared them to Sony active noise cancelling headphones.

    Both were equally effective at dampening engine noise. What's shown in the bar chart above matches the experience.

    The bar chart also shows the earmuffs are much more effective at dampening mid-frequencies. That was appreciated because there was a very annoying passenger grunting in a seat nearby. His grunts were fully silenced by the X5A's.

    When it comes to comfort, the active noise cancelling headphones are far ahead. They're lighter, with softer padding and less bulk.
     

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