LHS - LED Headphone Stand

Modular WLED Headphone Stand

Elevate your desk setup with this custom 3D-printed headphone stand that perfectly blends functional design with vibrant smart lighting.

At the heart of the stand is a large, elegantly curved oval diffuser housing 29 addressable LEDs, providing a gorgeous, smooth glow. Down below, the textured base features a 7-LED underglow to light up your desk surface. You can even program that bottom segment to act as a battery indicator for your headphones! Both lighting zones are driven by a WLED-compatible board, giving you full control over colors, effects, and syncing.

Please note: This project requires basic soldering knowledge and experience. You will be making multiple delicate connections to small LED strips and a microcontroller, so if you are new to soldering, I recommend practicing on some scrap wires before tackling this build.

Your Print Files & Customizable Light Direction

The stand is designed to be highly modular, consisting of the following files: Top, top_cover, bottom, 7_led_guide, and bottom cover.

Depending on how you want your lighting to look, you have two options:

• For a dramatic wall wash: Print the top_cover just once and leave the rear of the oval open. This allows the central light to project onto the wall behind the stand, creating a stunning halo effect (as seen in the photos).

• For a more focused look: Print the top_cover twice. Use one for the front and one for the back. This directs the light mostly out the front, with just a subtle hint of backlight bleeding around the edges.

Bill of Materials

Electronics:

• 1x WLED-compatible microcontroller board

• 1x WS2812B LED strip (You will need 36 LEDs total: 29 for the top oval, 7 for the base)

• 1x 5V Power Supply (See note below)

• 1x USB cable (Make sure the connector matches your board)

• 1x 330 to 470 Ohm resistor (Highly recommended)

• 1x 1000uF capacitor (Highly recommended)

• Spool of wire (22 or 24 AWG stranded wire works best)

• Quick connectors or basic solder and heat shrink

Hardware:

• Acrylic glue (for joining the main body)

• Double-sided tape or hot glue (to secure the board and power supply inside)

Power Supply Note:
A 5V 2A supply will work if you only plan to use ambient color effects at low to medium brightness. However, 36 LEDs can draw just over 2 Amps at full brightness white. Because of this, a 5V 4A supply is highly recommended. It gives you enough headroom to run all the LEDs at full brightness without the power supply overheating or shutting down.

The Build Guide

This guide walks you through the exact interleaved order of soldering and assembly required to get everything routed correctly.

1. Prep the Main LED Strip
Solder your wires to the long LED strip (the 29-LED one). Remove the adhesive backing, then carefully place the strip around the inside of the oval on the Top part, aligning it with the cable channel. Once it is seated, pull your cables through the channel.

2. Glue the Main Body
With the top LEDs seated and the cables routed, insert the Top and bottom parts of the stand together. Use acrylic glue to secure their connection so the stand is sturdy and seamless.

3. Prep the Base LEDs
Take your 7-LED strip and solder the cables to it on both ends. Place these 7 LEDs onto the 7_led_guide so they lay perfectly flat, and pull the cables out toward the back of the tray.

4. Wire the Board (Data & Power)
Solder the data wire from your LED strips to the digital port on your WLED compatible board. For this build, we are using D4 for the data pin. This is where you will want to solder your 330 to 470 Ohm resistor inline between the board and the LED strip.
Next, connect the common positive (+) and negative (-) wires from the LED strips to your board, soldering your 1000uF capacitor across the + and - terminals (make sure the stripe on the capacitor goes to the negative side).
Crucial step: Before you solder these connections or attach your quick connectors, make sure you have already pulled your USB cable through the back hole of the stand.

5. Install the Base Tray
Insert the 7_led_guide into the bottom part of the stand. Take a moment to make sure it sits perfectly straight and flush.

6. Add the Bottom Diffuser
Insert the bottom cover into the base, again making sure it is straight.

7. Flash WLED
Plug in your WLED compatible board and upload the WLED firmware.

8. Install the Top Diffuser
Insert the top_cover (or covers, if you printed two). The best way to get it in without scratching or forcing it is to rotate it 90 degrees, slide it into the stand, and then rotate it back into your selected position.

Quick WLED Tip

Once you are connected to WLED, remember to set up your segments. Set Segment 0 to the first 29 LEDs (your top oval) and Segment 1 to the remaining 7 LEDs (your base). This allows you to control the top and bottom lighting independently!