Basic Anatomy

Before taking apart all three pairs, I thought I should do a little research to make sure I know what's inside .

Here's what every basic pair should have:

If you didn't notice, that is a picture of an earphone not an earbud, but almost all the parts are the same except the transparent plastic cone (not-needed) and the front case (modified). The most important item in the picture are the wires. The wires are probably the most problematic part of any pair of earbuds, earphones, or headphones, because they're usually the first part to break. There's either a complete lack of sound when music is playing or a shortage of sound just from one earbud.  The second most important part is the magnet, because the circuit board is on the other side of it. The circuit board determines the sound quality, which is definitely one of my main focuses.

Gathering

Hey, it's been a while! Alright, so not too long ago I decided to get a few different types of earbuds to do some experimenting with, well, more like dissecting. I have gotten new pairs of earbuds: one that was custom-made with a cellphone, another from a nearby dollar store, and a third pair made and issued by MGM Grand Hotel. Of course, all three brands were initially made from factories somewhere, but what is it about their manufacturing that's makes the sound quality so different for each pair? Hopefully, taking each pair apart will give me just a little more insight on what I need to know.

Getting Started

Alright, it's been about three weeks since our projects officially began, and I need to figure out how I'm going to accomplish my goal. I know what I want to do, but I just don't know how to do it. So far, I've got a general knowledge of what you need to make a pair of earbuds, but I haven't gotten any further than that unfortunately. I keep searching the web for ways to make your own earphones, and barely any promising websites or tutorials show up. I'm frustrated. Especially since Google only seems to care about D.I.Y. headphones, but I'm sure asking around might help me find someone to help me out.

Why I Want To Make Earbuds

Music has always been a big part of my life. From listening to Hawaiian reggae mix-tapes in the car, playing  Michael Jackson  and Mariah Carey CD's while helping my mom clean up the living room, to attending my first concert back in 2006, which, was High School Musical: The Concert. But as the years went past, and I got older, I began to completely ignore my surroundings by plugging in and tuning out. In seventh grade, I realized that I had gone through about six pairs of earbuds in about a month. Some of the pairs I broke were cheap, whereas other pairs were over $70. That's when I came up with the idea of making my own earbuds that are affordable, long-lasting, and high quality.
        However, I thought my idea would remain as a simple possibility that I would just fantasize about, and never actually attempt. But now, I'm being challenged to turn my dream into a reality for my 20 Time project in English class. Although, I have absolutely no background with technology, and I may even be technologically challenged, I still want to try and make something out of an idea that's been lingering in my head for the past few years.

My Plan

Hi there! My name is Jyen-ai. It's pronounced like Jedi, but with the letter n. My blog centers around my 20 Time project, which is to create my own line of earbuds. First, let me explain my definition of earbuds. When I say, "earbuds," I don't just mean the noise-cancelling plastic cover that goes on top of your earphones. I mean the earphones themselves.  I plan on applying the 3.5 mm audio jack myself, creating the earphone cable, soldering the wires to the circuit board, designing the earbuds as a whole, then selling them for maybe $5-$6 a pair. Not too expensive, right?

         However, that's only what I have planned. I honestly don't know if I'll even be able to create one pair of earbuds from scratch, let alone create a whole line of them. Nevertheless, I'm going to try my hardest. No matter what happens by the end of the year, I will have certainly created something.