any interest in a headphone kit?

[Doc B]

I just had a brainfart in the shower this morning for a rather unique headphone idea - unique enough that I'm not ready to share any details of how it would work. The product would probably be composed of the headphones and an amp designed specifically to work with their unique characteristics, but not with other headphones. 
Anyone interested in this kind of thing?

 

[rchristie]

This sounds far-out.  An amp - headphones pairing that sounds phenomenal when used together, but each on its own is unable to play with others?  Yes!  How could this possibly work?

 

[Grainger49]

Doc,

You have become Henry Kloss.  Although I am not sure that brainfart and shower should be in the same sentence.

 

[xcortes]

Sounds like a VERY cool idea.

 

[xcortes]

I'm sure you thoght it already but you could use a cheapo commercial headphone to modify. Even if only for the headset.

 

[grufti]

ok, but why?

The "headphone experience" is fairly well explored and forms a tight cluster with few outliers: in-ear, on-ear, over-ear, head-speaker.

Some of the outliers are interesting, the AKG K1000 comes to mind, Jecklin Float, some Stax models, ... but each of those has characteristics that limit its application.

I would be concerned that any non-standard headphone might run up against similar constraints: head fit, isolation, interaction with the surroundings.

....., but then again, if your brainfart breaks through a few of those constraints, please go for it!

 

[Wanderer]

The product would probably be composed of the headphones and an amp designed specifically to work with their unique characteristics, but not with other headphones. 
Anyone interested in this kind of thing?

As I used to listen to and enjoy STAX phones - which have similar amp married to 'phones set up - sure! 

However, with SeX, Crack and Quickie all with 'phones orientation are you over extenting yourself in one direction?   

 

[HF9]

I'm sure it would be a remarkable success if marketed through HeadFi. It's always nice to have new options out there.

 

[dbishopbliss]

Following the Bottlehead naming tradition you could call it "Head".

 

[Doc B]

I would be concerned that any non-standard headphone might run up against similar constraints: head fit, isolation, interaction with the surroundings.

....., but then again, if your brainfart breaks through a few of those constraints, please go for it!

 

[vladimirwolfe]

The shipping costs are going to be killer on that one Doc!

 

[glennn111]

Wow! Deja vu! Doc those are exactly the phones I pictured in my mind! lmao

 

[Doc B]

Just a quick update - I think I have come up with a fairly reasonable way to try this idea out. I have some potential "drivers in open back housings" on the way and some ear pads that will hopefully fit them. After spending a day looking for a reasonably priced off the shelf headband setup I think I have settled on stripping the muffs from a set of $35 David Clark ear muffs, which seem to use the same headband frame as their multi-hundred dollar, highly regarded aviation headsets. You can trick these out with sheepskin headband pads and other nifty bits, and presumably they are reasonably comfortable to wear for long periods of time. These prototype may be a bit on the heavy side as just the drivers in the housings look to weigh about 6 oz. each and both my K1000s and HD600s weigh about 10-11 oz. total. But there should be ways to trim the fat.

Once I have something assembled that can actually be worn we will start to evaluate the possibilities.

 

[JC]

I dunno, the ones in the picture still look mighty attractive; I bet they're more than 6 oz. per side, though!

 

[chrisby]

Doc,

You have become Henry Kloss.  Although I am not sure that brainfart and shower should be in the same sentence.

late to this thread, but provided one's alone (never a sure thing at casa Schmalle?) wouldn't the shower be the safest place?


Dan,  have fun with the "got head?" product, and remember the delicate balance between comfort and performance varies with the individual


I for one await with interest the product display photos

 

[Doc B]

Here's a quick webcam pic of my prototype headphone mockup. Obviously no cables attached yet, and the drivers are not yet installed in the cans. The head band is a little snug, but other than that they are pretty comfortable. Hope to have drivers in and a proper cabling/impedance matching setup complete this weekend - after I put the damned furnace fan back together. Then we start to find out if this idea is reasonable or completely loony.

 

[grufti]

This is yet another case of: "Honey you shrunk the headphones"! Look at Doc's earlier post in this thread and you'll know what I mean.

 

[Doc B]

Got the initial test set of drivers in the cans last night and hardwired some cable to them. We're in this crazy tool twilight zone right now, with half of my tools at the new unfinished office lab and half of them in the old lab at home. Did yesterday's work at the house lab so today I head for the office to finish the interface and hopefully give them a try.

 

[Doc B]

OK, they work. The precision of the assembly of the drivers is turning out to be critical, and I need to refine my technique to keep the driver from scraping on loud passages. But when the things are working right the bass is quite impressive. On one recording I was listening to today the rumble of the concert hall HVAC was quite audible. If I can get them to perform consistently I think they can outdo my HD600s in terms of resolution. Haven't AB'd with the K1000s yet.

 

[Wanderer]

Interesting....and in your experiment are you using the unique amp/driver circuit you mentioned?