Armored Soul
Head-Fier
So, I got a commission to mod the Heddphone with a new headband. I took the challenge and well, it required me to take apart the earcups. I couldn't find really anything on how to take apart the Heddphones so I decided to document a bit of the teardown. The headband itself won't be taken apart since I didn't need to nor did I feel like there was any point in doing so. The new headband will be posted as a separate post. Custom Heddphone Headband with Adjustable Clamp
I won't be giving any thoughts on the sound quality. Yes I did listen to it, but there are much better people to look towards when it comes to reviews of headphones.
Teardown requirements/tools:
Headband: Phillips head screwdriver
Earcups: Torx T8H Screwdriver
Thoughts
Note: Heddphone 2 seems to have fixed the majority of my complaints.
TLDR: Flimsy headband is also too small and uncomfortable. Earcups are built very well but are overkill in terms of their size.
The Headband:
The stock headband is a joke. Sure it's a mostly metal construction, but it's just bad. Very flimsy, especially where the yoke connects to the headband. It's also just small. The main reason why the person commissioned me to modify it is because the headband is just too small. For me, it just barely fit. I maxed out the headband's size. If it were just a few millimeters smaller, it just wouldn't fit at all. I wouldn't say I have a big head either. The headband is also just a terrible design for such a heavy headphone. No matter how much cushioning a headphone has, if the pressure isn't spread out large enough, it'll still be uncomfortable. And in this case, it has decent cushioning but the headband isn't wide enough to evenly spread out the very heavy weight of the drivers.
The Earcups:
The earcups are honestly kind of strange. They are built completely differently compared to headband. It's built well and extremely sturdy. I doubt you could damage the drivers by dropping the headphones unless you were dropping it from the top of a 2+ story building. Although I don't really understand why they made the earcups just so massive. I'd understand if it were closed back and you needed more space for better sound quality, but since the drivers itself is already really massive I don't see why it needs to be even larger. It's around 15-20mm of empty space between the grill and the drivers. (do tell me if I'm wrong and it helps with tuning the sound)
Anyway, now the earpads. Super plush and amazing. The way they're installed is quite different from other headphones as they use a string to help have the earpads stay in better. It works. Just a bit odd but that's all.
The AMT drivers are quite interesting. One minor problems that I have with them. They are encased in a thick aluminum shell. Pretty sure it's the reason why the headphones are so damn heavy. Shaving off 0.5-1mm everywhere would've have significantly decreased the weight without making it more fragile.
End result with the new 3D printed headband with an adjustable clamp vs old headband. The headband is very experimental but otherwise a massive improvement. Note stock headband was modded with a leather strap by the owner of the headphones.
Now to the teardown.
Removing the earcups. Just remove them like you do for any other headphone. It may seem difficult at first, but it'll come off easily once a bit of it is off. You'll notice that there is a string. Just remove it, reinstalling it is a piece of cake. Just wrap it back around and use your fingernail or something to push it back in.
Once you've removed the earpads, there is a piece of foam. It's secured with double sided tape. Just slowly remove the foam. After that, you'll see 8x screws. 4 outer screws and 4 screws hidden under the foam piece. They are TORX screws. I used a Torx T8H screwdriver to remove them. They are a bit stiff, but they can be removed. No glue or threadlock/loctite is used. I think they're M3x25mm Torx screws.
Screw measurements. Dunno if anyone needs them. M3x25mm Torx.
Next, just pop off the drivers from the back cover. That's about it. You can also then just pop off the back cover from the yoke. Putting the back cover back onto the yoke is a bit difficult. Easiest way is to just squeeze the yoke together, then just reinstall it.
I like closeup pictures. So here are closeup pictures.
Here is what the yoke looks like by itself.
The earcups themselves.
Driver size. 66x74mm
Anyways, hope this helps. I will be selling the headband later once it's ready.
Link to the headfi post of the custom headband: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/des...1-also-with-adjustable-clamping-force.970336/
I won't be giving any thoughts on the sound quality. Yes I did listen to it, but there are much better people to look towards when it comes to reviews of headphones.
Teardown requirements/tools:
Headband: Phillips head screwdriver
Earcups: Torx T8H Screwdriver
Thoughts
Note: Heddphone 2 seems to have fixed the majority of my complaints.
TLDR: Flimsy headband is also too small and uncomfortable. Earcups are built very well but are overkill in terms of their size.
The Headband:
The stock headband is a joke. Sure it's a mostly metal construction, but it's just bad. Very flimsy, especially where the yoke connects to the headband. It's also just small. The main reason why the person commissioned me to modify it is because the headband is just too small. For me, it just barely fit. I maxed out the headband's size. If it were just a few millimeters smaller, it just wouldn't fit at all. I wouldn't say I have a big head either. The headband is also just a terrible design for such a heavy headphone. No matter how much cushioning a headphone has, if the pressure isn't spread out large enough, it'll still be uncomfortable. And in this case, it has decent cushioning but the headband isn't wide enough to evenly spread out the very heavy weight of the drivers.
The Earcups:
The earcups are honestly kind of strange. They are built completely differently compared to headband. It's built well and extremely sturdy. I doubt you could damage the drivers by dropping the headphones unless you were dropping it from the top of a 2+ story building. Although I don't really understand why they made the earcups just so massive. I'd understand if it were closed back and you needed more space for better sound quality, but since the drivers itself is already really massive I don't see why it needs to be even larger. It's around 15-20mm of empty space between the grill and the drivers. (do tell me if I'm wrong and it helps with tuning the sound)
Anyway, now the earpads. Super plush and amazing. The way they're installed is quite different from other headphones as they use a string to help have the earpads stay in better. It works. Just a bit odd but that's all.
The AMT drivers are quite interesting. One minor problems that I have with them. They are encased in a thick aluminum shell. Pretty sure it's the reason why the headphones are so damn heavy. Shaving off 0.5-1mm everywhere would've have significantly decreased the weight without making it more fragile.
End result with the new 3D printed headband with an adjustable clamp vs old headband. The headband is very experimental but otherwise a massive improvement. Note stock headband was modded with a leather strap by the owner of the headphones.
Now to the teardown.
Removing the earcups. Just remove them like you do for any other headphone. It may seem difficult at first, but it'll come off easily once a bit of it is off. You'll notice that there is a string. Just remove it, reinstalling it is a piece of cake. Just wrap it back around and use your fingernail or something to push it back in.
Once you've removed the earpads, there is a piece of foam. It's secured with double sided tape. Just slowly remove the foam. After that, you'll see 8x screws. 4 outer screws and 4 screws hidden under the foam piece. They are TORX screws. I used a Torx T8H screwdriver to remove them. They are a bit stiff, but they can be removed. No glue or threadlock/loctite is used. I think they're M3x25mm Torx screws.
Screw measurements. Dunno if anyone needs them. M3x25mm Torx.
Next, just pop off the drivers from the back cover. That's about it. You can also then just pop off the back cover from the yoke. Putting the back cover back onto the yoke is a bit difficult. Easiest way is to just squeeze the yoke together, then just reinstall it.
I like closeup pictures. So here are closeup pictures.
Here is what the yoke looks like by itself.
The earcups themselves.
Driver size. 66x74mm
Anyways, hope this helps. I will be selling the headband later once it's ready.
Link to the headfi post of the custom headband: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/des...1-also-with-adjustable-clamping-force.970336/
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