Apple Developing High-End Headphones With Interchangeable Parts

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple is developing over-ear wireless headphones with parts that can be swapped in and out, seeking to augment its AirPods business with a high-end audio product. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is working on at least two variations, including a premium version with leather-like fabrics and a fitness-focused model that uses lighter, breathable materials with small perforations. Prototypes of the headphones have a retro look with oval-shaped ear cups that swivel and a headband connected by thin, metal arms. The arms stem from the top of the ear cups rather than the sides.

The ear pads and headband padding attach to the frame of the headphones magnetically so they can be replaced by the user. That approach is similar to some headphones from Master & Dynamic and Bowers & Wilkins, though those models only have magnetic ear pads. Apple's more modular design will allow users to customize their headphones like they do with the Apple Watch. The design may also mean the same set of headphones would be convertible from comfort to fitness use and back again. Apple plans to use similar wireless-pairing and noise-cancellation tech in its upcoming headphones to what is already in the AirPods Pro. The company aims to unveil the product later this year, however complications during final development or from the Covid-19 pandemic could affect the timing and features again.

Battery

[alvinrod]

How funny is it going to be when you can swap out or change all of the parts with the exception of the battery?

Re:

[algaeman]

The battery is the product. The tiny bit of electronics attached is an accessory.

Strange that no-one else has done this...

[SuperKendall]

I'm not super into headphone culture, but I've never really seen a pair of headphones that could be adapted like this...

It seems like a really good idea, because a lot of choice in what headphones I use, comes down to how it feels on my head, mores than sound. Some earbuds, and over ear headphones, or just not comfortable. If I had several options for materials and kind of over-ear fit, I think I could find some option that would provide a really nice degree of comfort.

Would be interesting if you could op

Re:Strange that no-one else has done this...

[bhcompy]

Highend Sennheiser parts are almost all replaceable. My ~25y/o HD580s are more new than old. Drivers from the HD600(after they discontinued the HD580 drivers), new pads and cloth, new cable a number of times, etc etc.

Re: Strange that no-one else has done this...

[BAReFO0t]

Literally every actually professional (as opposed to Apple) headphone manufacturer offers this. Where do you think the got the idea from, what to do, to look(!) professional? :)

Ask the guys over at https://www.head-fi.org/forums... [head-fi.org]

Re:

[cayenne8]

I"m just hoping Apple doesn't try to use any "Beats" tech in these.....

Those things sound Gawdawful ........muddy sound that thumps...ugh.

Hopefully they have someone that really knows how to do high end drivers the right way.

Re:

[bhcompy]

The fact that they're replaceable/modular means that 3rd party "accessories" are something that any enterprising individual could create. A professional company probably really isn't interested in that kind of market research and production, because their customers don't give a shit about having neon green pads instead of black

Re:

[bhcompy]

Marketing to different crowds. You don't see engineers in the studio or doing live work using flashy Beats cans on the job(or audiophiles, for that matter, who Sennheiser and other high end brands also target)

Re:

[weilawei]

Here's the issue re: fancy looking professional gear, as I see it.

If the item is aimed at the professional market, it's going to optimize on performance at the expense of looks, because performance is often the make-or-break on a job. If the item is aimed at the consumer market, it's going to optimize on style, and performance will take a backseat. If you try to have style and performance, you have a somewhat niche market of professionals who work independently, or people with enough disposable income to af

Ok that explains high end, but where is mid-range

[SuperKendall]

If the item is aimed at the consumer market, it's going to optimize on style, and performance will take a backseat. If you try to have style and performance, you have a somewhat niche market of professionals who work independently,

Although I still think that these days with part manufacturing getting much easier, that even high end stuff could still provide some customization options with little effort, that would not compromise the quality of the product.

However to me it still does not explain why lower e

Re:Questions...

[CaptainLugnuts]

I worked with a lot of pro audio in the past. Here's the concerns I saw dealing with pros:
1. Durability. If a musician can beak it by dropping it or putting the volume too high, it's considered junk.
2. Sound quality. There's a reason NS-10 monitors are used throughout the pro industry. They sound bad, but they're a known quantity.
3. Cost. If terms one and two are satisified, it's not so important how much it costs.

Re:

[dfghjk]

Just like its's one thing to say you've never seen something and another to say that no one has ever done it.

"Professional headphones" focus on function, not aesthetics. Modular options the you suddenly think are compelling because of a report that Apple may offer it is not evidence that such thing actually matters to customers of serious audio equipment.

Anyone paying attention knows you will pump anything you think benefits Apple. A week ago you wouldn't even think of such features, yet now you argue the

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

Dead flat? Etymotic only claims response to 16 kHz for their best model, with no frequency response graph and no detailed specification.

Re:

[MrUnSocial]

In ISO 9001:2015, the requirement is called “Measurement Traceability” and calibration is a component of this requirement. It is written in such manner that your company needs to first decide if “measurement traceability” is a requirement that applies to your company. It is quite possible to have businesses where no measurement devices are used. If that is the case then you can deem the requirement as not applicable to the business.

Re:

[NoMoreACs]

Maybe if your manufacturing business doesn't have any machines or measurements to make, but that's a pretty rare shop in my experience.

You are confusing manufacturing test and calibration (and R&D) equipment traceability with finished goods traceability.

Re:

[divide overflow]

Replacing cosmetic items is easy to do, but changing on-ear pads with over-ear cups actually changes the headphones acoustically. It alters the response curves, changing the resonance of the airspace and the acoustic wave's interaction with the ear. That's why they design the earphones as a unit. You are better off getting a pair of earphones that were carefully designed for a particular configuration if you care about how they sound.

Re:

[SuperKendall]

That does make sense I guess, though I'm not sure it would make enough of a difference in mid-range audio quality to matter?

But maybe so...

Re:

[divide overflow]

Here's a link to a paper identifying just some of the design parameters that go into the design of headphones [salford.ac.uk]

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

Thanks for the citation, but the graphs are all blank.

Re:

[divide overflow]

It's so nice of you to take the time to read the referenced document. Good for you.

Here is a link to that same site for a version of that document in Microsoft Word format that I have confirmed has the graphs [salford.ac.uk].

Re:

[SuperKendall]

Thanks, a very interesting and readable paper!

Re:

[divide overflow]

Thanks, a very interesting and readable paper!

You are quite welcome.

Re:

[LynnwoodRooster]

Massively affects it. I spend half my life designing headphones for major brands - and the acoustics of on-versus-over ear headphones are phenomenal.

As is the seal. Having the headband coming out of the top may look good - but your tensioning is all kinds of fucked up. You need more tension at the bottom of your cups because your head tapers in; having it supported ONLY at the top means either a massive caliper pressure (force inward) to seal, or the bottom of the bigger cups will flare out and leak, me

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

I've tried to find a good set of modern headphones, and I'm frustrated by an almost complete industry-wide absence of frequency response plots. Are they really that hard to do, or is the industry hiding the lousy job they're doing making headphones? Yamaha provided frequency response for the YH-1000 circa 1983, and there does not seem to be much improvement in headphone design in 40 years.

Re:Questions...

[divide overflow]

This article from Inner/Fidelity [innerfidelity.com] does a fair job of answering your question.

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

Thank you very much. The article is very informative, giving responses at artificial eardrums for several high quality headphones, what an ideal response should look like, and the author's opinion of how the ideal response should be slightly modified for a more pleasant sound.

Re:

[LynnwoodRooster]

Here is the FR [periodicaudio.com] of a highly regarded (multiple-award-winning) in-ear headphone; does that make sense to you? Most consumers would look at that and say "ICK! It CAN'T sound good!" It's because the head and ear canal alter the frequency response of an external source. But don't worry - your wetware between your ears has learned to compensate for that. It really comes down to what a "good" plot looks like, and how it is quite different than what you'd measure from a speaker in free-air, with a free-air mic

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

Thanks. It makes sense, although the dropoff above 10 kHz seems excessive.

Many years ago I did some crude tests on 20 or 30 headphones using an electret microphone with a very flat frequency response. The microphone is very small, slightly larger than a pencil eraser. I placed the microphone between the headphone and my ear; the wires coming out were small enough not to cause much leakage. This seemed to produce reasonable results, although of course the technique could not be used for in-ear headphones. Th

Re:

[thegarbz]

or is the industry hiding the lousy job they're doing making headphones?

Just putting on and listening to a set of headphones rather than pretending you can gauge the quality from raw numbers should answer that question.

Re:

[ChrisMaple]

I've found that I can't trust my opinion of a headphone's sound in just a few minutes. It took several hours of listening to realize that Sennheiser's early open-air model had poor bass response and an unpleasant bump somewhere else in the frequency response. If I had seen a frequency response graph, I would have bought something else.

Re:

[cayenne8]

I've had a pair of Grado [gradolabs.com] SR80's for about 15 years now....replaced the padding once....

I've been very happy with these over the years, you might give them or their higher end ones a look.

Re:

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Sure you can replace parts, with the same kind.

But do you have different options for replacements?

I guess I've never seen the appeal (or need) of mixing and matching parts for a pair of headphones. Is that really a thing?

Re:

[Kitkoan]

You mean like an Astro Mod Kit?

https://www.astrogaming.com/en-us/products/accessories/mod-kits/mod-kit-a40.html#939-001522 [astrogaming.com]

Re:

[thegarbz]

I don't know what I'm talking about, and I don't pay attention to the industry, but OMG guys this must be new! So innovative. Apple will make squillizons

FTFY. Did I understand your post correctly?

Interchangeable parts

[backslashdot]

Didn't we figure out how to do that back in the civil war era?

Re:

[weilawei]

Yeah, and then we got wise and stopped doing that, because it's bad for repeat business. /s

Re:

[Nahor]

Didn't we figure out how to do that back in the civil war era?

The Frankenstein monster story is fictional, not a historical document

Re:

[drinkypoo]

Even Apple never stopped making replaceable parts, which are just parts which are machined to spec instead of to fit. What they stopped doing was making easily repairable devices. And it's likely that they will now simply make assemblies which are not as easily repairable as those from other vendors, but which snap together easily so that you can customize them. They will cost so much that you'll still WANT to repair them, though.

Oh, you mean interchangeable *decoration*!

[BAReFO0t]

How could I be so foolish, and expect swappable battery packs, swapping between a Bluetooth module for a cable module, or replacing the speakers with different kinds?

Sorry, I confused you for a hardware manufacturer for a second there, because you said "professional" and did not realize that obviously the suffix "-looking!" was implied!

Sadly, I must decline your kind offer of glass beads. I'm not into jewelry. A long time ago, I already bought a maturity(TM) package that came with a high-quality confidence(TM) module. :)

Re:

[dfghjk]

That was your mistake, everyone knows the suffix "-looking" is always implied when it comes to Apple products. Form over function every time.

Sennheiser

[bhcompy]

Sennheiser has been doing this forever. You pay a lot for headphones and you expect the ability to repair and replace. Glad Apple is finally catching on after charging Sennheiser like prices for highend stuff

Re:

[drinkypoo]

Yes, but they also discontinue parts. I had to cut down foams from another model in order to refoam my HD420s. Luckily I found a forum post which told me which ones were cheapest and the right thickness.

Re:

[bhcompy]

When you have a 35 year old model, some parts are going to be discontinued. The drivers in my HD580 (which I got in the mid 90s) were discontinued, but the successor model, the HD600, were usable replacements.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Yes, but they also discontinue parts.

And they also re-use parts. I'm genuinely surprised you had to cut down anything and didn't find an alternative from another model that would just fit. Most older Sennheisers look like Frankenstein's monster.

Mind you discontinuing something is a reality over time. Just saying they discontinue parts ignores just how long parts for semi decent equipment are still available. My first set of Senns (which I still have) were discontinued after being on the market for over 15 years, and even now if a driver or ear

Re:

[thegarbz]

Sennheiser has been doing this forever.

Everyone does.

How dare you?

[nospam007]

Using 'Apple' and 'interchangeable parts' in one sentence, what are you, an apostate?

Oh my

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

"The arms stem from the top of the ear cups rather than the sides."

Wow, the mind-bending level of innovation here is killing me. The TOP of the ear cups, did you hear that, kids?

Thing is, I already own a couple of pairs of headphones that have this radical design 'feature' so I guess I won't need to spend $699 for a pair from Apple.

IPx-7 washable

[spinitch]

A durable, cleanable first less virus concern, much higher on my priority list of features. Living priorities changing. Luxury products will be in low demand for quite sometime. Headsets good for distance, call instead of face 2 face.

Re:

[Khyber]

If you're that concerned, I could just build you a UVC LED disinfection light. A few minutes under it and your stuff is sterile, flip it over to get the other side.

Headphones? How about reapairable computers

[shubus]

As usual, Apple's got the cart before the horse.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Dongles

[rantrantrant]

Do the accessories include a big-ass dongle to connect them to your iPhone? We know how much Apple loves non-standard connections & dongles/adaptors, don't we?