PolarBearSequence t1_jdrcz5a wrote on March 26, 2023 at 4:17 PM

The Peerless by Tymphany 50mm drivers are pretty popular (and can be tuned to be good, like in the Aurorus Borealis). They’re also quite affordable (at around 10 bucks). Parts number is HPD-50N25PR00-32.

Ziffded OP t1_jdrgplh wrote on March 26, 2023 at 4:44 PM

Cool, I've seen those and looked into them I've just been put off by how good their price is. The Aurorus Borealis is an $800 headphone but you're saying the drivers are only $20! There has to be a downside somewhere for that price.

PolarBearSequence t1_jdriali wrote on March 26, 2023 at 4:55 PM

Not really a downside. It’s a pretty standard dynamic driver, and Tymphany is one of the largest driver producers in the world: those things get made by the thousands. I’d bet the production costs of HD 600 drivers are similarly low. Probably true for most dynamic headphones.

The hard part is not making a driver, but bringing its full potential out (by designing an enclosure, by dampening etc). A lot of headphones use the Peerless 50mm, but a lot of them don’t sound all that great.

Ziffded OP t1_jdruwny wrote on March 26, 2023 at 6:24 PM

I'll look into them more. I seen a couple custom builds that turned out pretty good so I might end up with these. Right now I'm bouncing in between customs with tymphanys or highly modded mrspeakers alpha dogs (Fostex T50RP)

PolarBearSequence t1_jds8e54 wrote on March 26, 2023 at 7:59 PM

They’re cheap enough that it’s worth trying out. Do both! I’m working on the MrSpeakers OpenAlpha build myself (once all parts arrive within the next weeks).

Ziffded OP t1_jdsmvte wrote on March 26, 2023 at 9:41 PM

Sounds good to me! Would you recommend I make open alpha first or a full custom? I feel like open alpha would be better to start with.

PolarBearSequence t1_jdud2o8 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 7:10 AM

I think I’d go for the OpenAlpha first. It’s a known design that is known to sound pretty good, and it’s easy to modify it a bit and experiment around. If you start with something custom, it may take a long time to see something that actually works well, so that may be worthwhile as a longer-term project.