Introduction: DIY a Super Hi-Fi In-ear Earphone With Sennheiser IE800 Shell With B&O H5 6.5mm Drivers

About: www.earphonediylabs.com is an online store for earphone DIYers

"Sennheiser's original IE800 in-ear headphone was debuted five years ago, which was a super comfy, extremely open, natural sounding phone... It's designed and hand-made in Germany.... The new IE800 S features a single 7mm driver mounted in each ceramic ear piece; impedance is rated at 16 ohms. It comes with a rather deluxe looking real leather travel case. I like ... the injection-molded ceramic ear pieces looked snazzy in high gloss metallic grey, but the IE800 S' ear pieces are finished in a more subdued satin grey. Sennheiser isn't making any great claims about sonic differences between the two models, other than to say the IE800 S' 7mm drivers are redesigned. The IE800 S retails for $1,000, £870 and AU$1,600, while the original IE800 is still listed on Sennheiser's website at $800, £560 and AU$1,200." Quote from CNET which perfectly recap my mind. Can we DIYers hand-made it?

this build is a very interesting yet unique combination of Sennheiser IE800 ceramic shell with B&O H5 6.5mm drivers. The budget is very low cost effective to <$50.

see following reviews on B&O H5 earphone from headphonereview.com "how do they sound? Unsurprisingly considering the fact that this is B&O, they sound great. Let’s start with the bass, which is extremely strong and powerful. The headphones offer plenty of bass that should be enough for even mega-bass fans, and while some might find the amount of bass a little much, it generally sounds quite good here, especially on bass-heavy songs. It also adds a little extra oomph to non bass-heavy songs, like AC/DC’s Back In Black."

I'm a big fan of DIY earphones and headphones. see my other project at:

1. Build an “Aladdin's Lamp”, Gold Plated Copper In-ear Hi–Fi Earphone/Headphone

2. Black Walnut Wooden Shell Headphone With Hi–Fi 40 or 50mm Sennheiser Drivers

3. Build a Headphone With Beats Studio 2.0 Drivers

4. Build a Hi-Fi Headphone From Scratch

Step 1: Material List

You will meed a pair of Sennheiser IE800 shells (order from here), B&O H5 earphone 6.5mm dynamic drivers (order from here), a DIY earphone cable with a 3.5mm jack. I pickes one of same color and texture as IE800.

You will need simple tools like knife, soldering iron, glue. Note I used to recommend E8000, but this time the shell is ceramic and can not be glued by E8000. I used A/B glue instead.

Step 2: Install Dynamic Driver in Front Cover

I have introduced this in similar builds, where you can refer to Build an “Aladdin's Lamp”, Gold Plated Copper In-ear Hi–Fi Earphone/Headphone

1. Stick the buffer ring to the front cover of the driver

2. Glue the driver into the front cover. Be very careful not to left the glue over on either front or back of the driver.

3. Stick the anti-dust net to the front cover

E8000 glue is fine for this step.

Step 3: Wiring and Soldering

Still the same as my other builds, where you can refer to nnnnn.

as this driver is the smallest I have even used, soldering need to done extremly careful. And you shall fix it.in the vice clamp before soldering.

Step 4: Install the Backcover

Each back cover has 2 tiny holes. Put on the stainless steel bead, apply a tiny little bit glue. the caremic backcover is just shining and amazing!

Step 5: Test and Integration

The earphone shall work now and you may try it on you cellphone before integrate everything together.

Note, apply A/B glue instead E8000 between covers, and the joint with wires. also be advised that A/B glue is extremely stong, meaning once you glue it, there is mo way back. Test if the drivers working appropriatly before apply glue.

Step 6: Finalize and Enjoy

Press the shell for 20min to ensure air seal.And you can enjoy it now.

Here is my subjective feeling abot the sound.

1. the brightest mid and high frequnece I have ever heard, very close tothe style of my grado ms1.

2. solid bass and full of resilience, unlike Beats Stuido whose bass deep dives too much and lose control.