How to Make Cheap Headphones for Your Computer

This is how to make your old and possibly broken computer speakers to turn into something more useful to you.

Step 1: Gathering Equipment.

you will need:

Something to plug the headphones into for example an iPod, iPhone, iPad or computer.

Screw driver.

Alligator clips. (not needed)

Metal wire.

Any type of pliers.

Two old speaker's.

Scissors.

Two wires.

Solder. (optional)

Two long wires for headphone jack. (only if there is no long wire coming out of the old speakers)

Headphone jack.I used a 2 ring 3.5 mm stereo (TRS) headphone jack but problem with that is it has to be plugged in half way into the device and it can slip out easily. You could just get one from earphones but you would probably have to solder the wires together.

Step 2: Getting the Speakers.

Getting speakers shouldn't be hard because they are used a lot for devices and computers so chances are high that you would have a pair of old speakers laying around that's not needed.If you have some broken speakers but the speaker its self looks intact and fine then that means you have a possibility that it is just a loose wire inside the case and the speaker actually does work in fact that's what happened with my old speakers.

Undo all the the screws and everything needed to get to the speaker. When you get the speaker unattached to the case you will need to cut off the wire holding it in the speaker case but its a good idea to keep at least 2 cm lengths of wire connected to the speaker.

Step 3: Getting the Wire for the Headphone Jack.

Cut off the (long) wire connected to the back of the speaker case and strip both ends of the (long) wire.

Step 4: Attaching the Headphone Jack to the (long) Wire.

I used a 2 ring 3.5 mm stereo (TRS) headphone jack but problem with that is it has to be plugged in half way into the device and it can slip out easily. You could just get one from earphones but you would probably have to solder the wires together. Mine can unscrew which makes it a whole ton easier so i recommend this.

Now is to attach the wires (from the speaker) to the headphone jack just like the photo above, one wire for each terminal and screw on the headphone jack case.

Step 5: Testing the Speakers.

Strip the end of the wires on your speakers and attach alligator clips or wire to each speaker (negative and positive doesn't matter) then attach the (long) wire to one of the speakers and plug the headphone jack into your device of your choice. There is a video of it working for me below.

Step 6: Making the Metal Speaker Holder.

Cut a long piece of the metal wire off(probably longer than the one in this picture) Then bend it in half with your hands or pliers(depending on the thickness off the metal wire)Then bend it again but into a semi circle.My speakers have two screw holes where i can hook the wire into easily using pliers but if your's is different then you would have to find your own way to hook the metal wire to the speaker.Hook the metal wire onto each speaker at each side so it looks like headphones and MAKE SURE IT FITS YOUR HEAD AND IS INLINE WITH YOUR EARS.If there is any metal wire sticking out then cut it off with pliers.

Step 7: Attaching the Two Wires to the Speakers and the (long) Wire to the Speakers.

attach one wire to speaker 1 (any terminal) and wind the wire around the metal speaker holder all the way to speaker 2 and from there you need to cut the wire so that when you strip it, it will be able to connect to speaker 2. Now do the same with the other terminal on speaker 1 and 2 but this time wind it around the other half of the metal headphone holder.This makes it so that you can separate the two sides of the metal speaker holder to make it fit on your head more easily, make it more comfortable, stops the speakers from bouncing around so much and stops the headphones from sliding off your head when you look down. Attach the (long) wire to the two terminals on speaker 1 or 2 and now your done. I recommend wearing a hoodie while using this because the headphones do feel slightly weird against your ears and the metal speaker holder feels a little weird and irritating if you keep it in the same place on your head for a very long time. Below is a video of it working on the computer.