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Hello good folks!
I'm an 18 year-old Norwegian designer/photographer who recently (this fall) launched my own clothing brand, called Polé Polé Clothing - focused mainly on big, bold prints on sweats, tees and such. But then, I suddenly got an idea for a headphone-design.
Here is the prototype I've gotten made (frame only): http://www.polepoleclothing.com/Wood-Head-Phones-Prototype
I'm currently working on getting these into production, finding people who can do the wooden frame, the packaging and of course - the speakers. I've managed to track down a couple of factories in China who say they can hook me up. All they need are specs, and they'll send me some samples. This is where I was hoping for your help.
What should the specs of these babies be? We're talking impedance, rate of power/max. input power and type of wire.
Now obviously, these are going to be fashion statements more than anything else. I'm aware that you won't be able to get supreme sound out of such a design. For me, the Koss Porta Pros are sort of a benchmark. If I can get anywhere near those, I'm more than happy.
When it comes to intended use, you've probably already guessed that the potential customers of these things will be hooking them up to their smartphones (probably iPhones, haha) or laptops 99,9% of the time. I'm looking for specs that'll let you play fairly loud on these type of devices, but blowing peoples eardrums out is not a goal. When it comes to max power, I obviously want them to be able to survive people crankin' the volume to max (on the mentioned devices).
I'm very much looking forward to hearing what you have to say! Every bit of feedback is deeply appreciated!
Best;
Anders Stai Fougner
PS: I'm aware that the specs do not determine the audio quality. I'll just have to stress to the manufacturers that quality is important, and see what they can come up with. But if you do have any tips on how to get the max quality, either with regards to the construction of the actual speaker, how to implement them into the frame, what type of foam to use or anything else, then please, let me know!
Follow Ups:
I'm glad she never saw an ad for those headphones during gift time!
First, I applaud your creativity and entrepreneurship.
I realize that comfort and practicality are not the primary concern here. However, I would suggest that there are 2 specific areas of concern that should be addressed if you are planning on selling these as more than just a limited run of design exercises.
1- You really should incorporate some adjust-ability in the width, not everyone's head is the same width. I know from experience as a professional wood worker that those miter joints are destined to break as people put them on and off their heads. Even if the joint is reinforced people tend to pull headphones apart as they put them on. Can you incorporate a hinged spring mechanism? If designed well it would be unobtrusive, say routed into the wood and nearly invisible. You also want some amount of clamping force to keep them on peoples heads.
2- You also need some vertical adjustment. Again, heads are all different sizes. As designed the actual speakers are not likely to sit on everyone's ears the same. A good way to do this might be a sling type pad that slides up and down the vertical members. You can see lots of example of this in other headphone designs. You may not want to compromise your design with something commonplace, but it works.
I used to work for a fairly famous furniture designer as one of his lead prototypers. The designer was also an artist and much of our work was ever destined to be on display in galleries. But, everything he designed had to be functional as if it would be used. In my experience we came up with some great collaborative designs. My role as the builder was to make some very aesthetically interesting ideas actually buildable and have some longevity to them. I've been to many furniture shows and seen some up and coming artists whose work I could tell just by looking at would fall apart. I've seen chairs that were never meant to be sat upon fall apart during parties because the guests did not realize they were display only. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate design for design's sake. But, in my opinion what really set the great dsigners apart was consideration of all aspects of the design including actual usefulness.
Just my 2 cants. Hope I am not offending you at all.
-Dogwan
What a great post. Good ideas and very valuable insight. Thank you very much!
If you rotated the drivers 45 degrees and made the speakers flush to the base they would make really cool computer speakers that you could mount on a monitor. Or make a balance with a place in the bottom to plug in an Ipod.
Your shirts are funny and creative. Good luck!
cocktail + sweet spot = fun and relaxation!
Thanks for posting and for the positive feedback!
I'm afraid I didn't totally follow though.. Are you suggesting that instead of making headphones, I should make speakers for laptops and/or smartphones/MP3-players?
I was just trying to add some function to your form. With the design I could see them draped over my monitor. Or on a table, balanced nicely. Though putting sound into an ear and into a room are 2 different functions. You could do both with a couple modifications. You would need 2 different speakers. And you would have to change the design or make it "moveable" in at least 1 and up to 3 places but that would take away from the simplicity and aesthetic.
cocktail + sweet spot = fun and relaxation!
Sweet idea, thanks!
Exactly how do these things rest on someone's head? They look like the most uncomfortable headphones I can imagine. Show us a picture of someone wearing this sculpture.
Better yet, find an old Tandberg veteran, and have them design some real headphones for you, and then stick to T-shirts.
But... But... I already have a store-deal for them?
Oh well. Guess I'll just give up on my goals and ambitions and go be angry on the internet instead.
PS: In a world where everything is streamlined and cushioned, these are raw and organic. So you're right, they're not very comfortable, nor are they meant to be. Idiot.
...I think only these guys would be happy with them:
Edits: 11/19/12
For most iDevices and MP3 player type devices, it's best to stay around 32 Ohms and keep the sensitivity in the 100 dB area. You don't want the devices having problems driving your headphones nor do you want them running out of steam when the user tries to get decent volume in an outside environment.
Thank you very much! Is sensitivity the same as rated or max. power?
Maximum input is the maximum electrical input, usually expressed in mW for headphones, that you can safely push through the headphones.
Sensitivity, usually expressed as dB/mW for headphones, is the volume you get out of the headphone's driver for a certain amount of electrical input. All else being equal, if you were to compare two different headphones by sending them the same signal at the same volume from an amp, the headphone with the higher sensitivity would appear to play louder (ie, more volume per the same input).
I see.
Well, the specs I need to provide the manufacturers with are impedance (got a suggestion there from an other user) and rated power/max. power.
Anyone got a suggestion for what max. power would be most suitable for my speakers?
Although I approve the entrepreneurship, if you dont understand these very basic parameters, you have the risk that your product will ultimately be of very bad quality if at all usable. It depends how you target your product of course.
I like the creativity though :-)
Very valid concern indeed! But I'm going to give it my best and see what I can come up with.
You would focus on 32 ohms impedance, sensitivity 110DB/V, 250mW max power. But 20% deviation from there would be totally acceptable, it is the sound that matters.
You may choose on-ear or over-ear speaker placement.
And open or closed design.
I think that comfort is most important, maybe beyond ultimate sound quality, and comfort will be a challenge with your design.
You may want to adapt a ready-made solution (speaker set), if your chinese supplier has some experience in this field.
Good luck
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