Franken-Technicas

⚠ Warning ⚠
I'm not a sound engineer. I'm not even an engineer. This mod greatly affects the sound characteristics of the headphones. Do it at your own risk!

About

The history starts when the hinge on my M40Xs broke. I've used this hinge replacement, but it had some issues:

1. It did not restrain the spinning of the cup like the original did, so it was possible to twist off the wire inside
2. It tended to rub a lot in its socket, thus destroying itself

After replacing both of my hinges and the wire inside after it broke, an idea came to my head: Make completely custom headphones out of those!

The end result in my opinion is more comfortable, lighter and better covers the ears then the originals.

Key features

• Adjustable headband
• Adjustable cup tilt
• Unscrewable back for easy customization

Additional hardware

• Soldering iron
• Thin, 2 strand wire ~ 80 cm
• 8x M3 x 10 mm screw
• 2x M3 x 12 mm screw
• 4x M3 x 25 mm screw
• 2x M3 washer
• 2x M3 nut
• 2x M3 thumb nut
• Piece of cloth/leather for the head support

Printing tips

Headphone bodies

Suggested material: PLA or any other stiff material
Supports: Yes, I used organic supports

Clips

Suggested material: Something flexible like PETG, ABS or ASA
Supports: Not needed

Band

Suggested material: Something flexible like PETG, ABS or ASA
Supports: Snug
Perimeters: I used 6 to make the band solid ant the infill going in its strongest direction, as the band will bend a lot.

Head support

You can use any material you like. I used minky fabric I stole from my GF 😘
I recommend cutting a piece of paper to dimension, using it first in your headphones to see if it fits properly, resize it if needed and then use it as a template to cut the fabric.

The dimensions I went with are: 230 mm x 30 mm

About the sound

Because I know basically nothing about inner headphone design, the sound is changed when compared to the originals. I tuned them with an equalizer to make them sound good again, but someone more knowledgeable may remix this model or utilize the screw-on back feature to make them sound better.

How to assemble

Step 1: Unscrew the original drivers

To do that, take off the earpads, unscrew the 4 screws under them on each side.

Step 2: Unsolder the right driver

Unsolder the marked wires. Remember their colors!

Step 3: Unsolder the left driver with the jack

Unsolder the wires marked RG and R+.

Step 4: Unscrew the headphone jack

Unscrew the jack and keep the screws, as we will reuse them later. You should be able to take off the entire driver.

Step 5: Solder the new wire to the jack's PCB

Remember the colors used!

Step 6: Thread the wire through the left body

Step 7: Screw the M3x10mm screws through the driver plate

Screw the screw completely through the plate (not yet to the body). Keep screwing until you rip the threads the screw made. We don't want any resistance from the plastic here, so when we will be screwing it to the body, we will be able to feel when the screw is all the way down.

Step 8: Screw the plate to the body

Be careful not to rip the threads here! If you do that, you will need to print the part again! Use the screws from step 4 to screw in the PCB with the jack.

Step 9: Thread the wire through the right body and solder the right driver

Step 10: Screw in the right panel

Step 11: Screw the cover plates

Take note that the left one is reverse threaded!

Step 12: Drop the nuts in the nut holes and screw the bodies to the band

Don't tighten it fully, though! You need some wiggle room for adjustments!

Step 13: Attach the head support

Step 14: Add the clips

Add the guide clips first, then use the flat clips to hold the wire in place.

Step 15: Tuck the wires inside the cups and put on the earpads

Step 16: Adjust your strap height and cup angle

Tighten all the visible screws when the headphones sit nicely on your head :)

Sizes for tinkerers