I was wondering if theres any good deals on headphone parts out there? I thought it might be fun to build my own headphone from parts sourced from websites like aliexpress and sites like it. I figure i would need a headband. driver. cable. maybe some foam. pads. If i get a good enough driver i may be able to put together some really cool headphones
Yes, definetly possible.
From my little thinking effort, a list that was never aimed to be complete. Length and complexity are different things, so don’t let yoursellf be scared by that.
Step 1 - Parts
On the basis, a headphone is 4 pieces:
2 drivers, a headband and a cable
- Cables/wires are the easiest part to source.
- You can get replacement drivers from Sennheiser and many others.
- Earpads are broadly available, you definetly want to play arround with a lot of them
- Headband can be a bent piece of thin metal sheet or if you want to get more involved, steam-bend some wood. Wrap in beyerdynamic or any other brands cushion
- Connectors are easy aswell. Litteral thousands to pick from
Step 2 - Concept
To mount the cups, do as Hifiman does and just drill and bend sheet metal to shape.
Advice: Aluminium is 1/3 the weight of steel, but only 1/3 the strength. As it is also a pain in the ass to solder to, just use steel.
Step 3 - Fabrication
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A 3d-printer will have a learning curve to it, are rather cheap and clean though. On the downside, you need to learn some CAD-software.
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Resin + Fibre (glas/carbon/kevlar, etc.) is another option. Making the molds for it and getting the layering right is somewhat messy (wear a filter mask!)
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Wooden rings can be cut and stacked to form cups. With some turning or sanding you can get them nice and smooth. A lot less messy than resin… just dusty.
The rings can be sawed by hand, scroll saw, laser cutter, cnc-router, etc.
- CNC-machining from solid material. The learning curve is a steeper than 3d-printting, the machines are a LOT more expensive (for example pocket nc)
Step 4 - Assembly
According to your plan, put the thing together. No shame in admiting a failed concept and going back to the drawing board. Will give you a nice gallery of “do’s and don’ts” in the end 
Step 5 - Tuning
The hard part will be to have a chamber behind the driver membrane that lifts the low spots up and smooths of the peaks. Might be worth to experiment with open/closed/semi-open designs, add foam or closeing/ading holes. This will take a while! Probably as much time as getting a cup made.
I can help you with hand/power tool and resin work in a limited manner, am completly out of my depths with 3d printing and CNC though.
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Agreed. If I were to try building a headphone I would probably start with a T50rp mod or buy heavily discounted broken headphones on ebay and attempt to repair them in order to build my skills and confidence.
Well i found out that some of the headphones we’re buying for hundreds of dollars have drivers that only cost 20$ or something. So i was thinking what if i were to buy one of these drivers and get a cheap headphone and put the pieces together myself? I have building skills. and a lot of materials. I wondered what kind of headphone i could put together? I often suspected headphone companies were inflating the prices these headphones cost. What if i buy the driver find a cheap headphone and put it together myself? lol
You are mainly paying for the R&D for the headphone, not the cost of materials, but of course you can build and try your own with varying amounts of success. If you make a good one that’s when you start selling it online lol
yeah! then i’ll inflate the costs and become rich! muahahaha!
but yeah, maybe i could save some bucks lol
Found some 600 ohm drivers for 10$ each.
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Did you buy them?
i did not get around to it yet, and i doubt i will anytime soon. life has changed dramatically recently. have other priorities atm.