DIY Mod With Audio Technica M50's

[THE INTRANCER]

I'm in a bit of a quandary, of buying a new pair of headphones and repairing the ones I already have. The problem is that getting near identical parts for a headphone that honestly has pretty shit build quality, is not only difficult but will not actually solve the problems that exist for it, that is the M50's. They are 11 years old and had many repairs but with the left C-shape claw that holds the ear cup/drivers broken on one side, it means that the wire is free to snap at any time they are put down in the wrong way.

I've considered mounting the drivers in an alternate headphone casing which has proper side metal brackets that won't snap, that I can buy. Even cheap 7.1 surround sound headphones I've seen for £25 could possibly work, but it would mean ripping out an already working speaker system. Online on Amazon I've looked at these so building a hybrid pair of ATH M50's that will last is something I'm considering.

Mounting them in ear defenders is something else I've looked at also.

Alternately going down the path of literally, building a pair from scratch from nuts and bolts and pieces of metal.

The M50's basically need a complete, new headband. At £125 when I bought them, they were not cheap. I want to continue to use them, but I'm not prepared to buy another pair of them.

[BertKoor]

125 in 11 years
-> 11.36 per year
-> 0.95 per month
-> 0.03per day

Written off, so no loss...

The question though is how the drivers sound once transplanted. Different I guess... Better or worse? Gotta try it!

[THE INTRANCER]

125 in 11 years
-> 11.36 per year
-> 0.95 per month
-> 0.03per day

Written off, so no loss...

The question though is how the drivers sound once transplanted. Different I guess... Better or worse? Gotta try it!

Well, I decided to go for it and get the headphones I linked to in my post, and they will arrive by next Wednesday, or perhaps sooner as sometimes happens.

The driver size is 50mm which is 5mm more than the ATH M50's. I'm curious to test them as is before any modifications to them as reviews across the board are really positive. I do play FPS games so if they are really that good, I may just buy another pair to modify for the transplant of the M50's.

The 7.1's have the typical 20 Hz to 20 kHz driver frequency response. Driver sensitivity of 113 dB and driver impedance of 16 ohms.

The M50's have a 15 Hz - 28 kHz range, a sensitivity range of 99 dB, and a driver impedance of 38 ohms.

I've no idea if my hearing can notice a <5 Hz difference in frequency. A difference in a +8 kHz range difference is a possibility, although I'd guess only really through analytical metering. I typically add some bottom vie, EQ's in any case with my ATH M50's.

If I can rehouse the M50s in a better quality headphone and possibly add the 7.1 amp/soundcard feature to the M50s. It could be a cool headphone system. I looked at bluetooth featured headphones but I didn't need that.

[BertKoor]

Have the manufacturers specified whether that range is +/- 0.1 dB or +/- 10 dB?

[THE INTRANCER]

Have the manufacturers specified whether that range is +/- 0.1 dB or +/- 10 dB?

I don't know, but what that equates to I think is that the 7.1 headphones are capable of being much louder than the ATH M50s.