DuoPhones (Headphones and Ear Protection in One!)

Make great noise cancelling headphones rivalling those pesky fragile expensive Beats by Dr. Dre for only $20! Read on...

1. Ear protection, costs between $10-$20. Peltor brand is kinda the best, it has a little rim that retains the speaker disc combo nicely.
2. Koss KSC75 headphones. Arguably the best headphones under $50. Costs $10. If you cannot get the Koss headphones, you can use any other good pair. Don't spend more than about $15.

Now you will need to disassemble the Koss headphones. (Note: I did not use Koss headphones for my original design because I was not able to get them. I used the black on ear headphones from a recent JetBlue flight instead. They sound great for a dollar and rival $20 Sonys. Therefore, I do not know exactly how to disassemble the Koss headphones. You may need to figure this out on your own. However, I recommend the Koss headphones for this project due to their sound quality and price. If you find and use a better pair, comment its name).
Remove the soft black part that goes on the ear and the silver back part. Save the soft black piece. You will be left with two small speakers each connected to a larger plastic disc.
Do not remove the speaker from the large plastic disc. Do not cut the wire that is connected to the disc/speaker combo. Next, we will be preparing the ear protection.

Gently remove the soft black ear cups from the ear protection. Hold the cup in the orientation it would be in when placed on the ear protection. Cut a shallow slit down the small side of the ear cup where shown by the red line in photo 2. Next, we will assemble the DuoPhones.

Secure the soft black piece you saved from step 2 onto the soeaker, using glue if necessary. This step adds to the comfort of the DuoPhones. Lay one disc/speaker combo from step 2 on the exposed foam in one side of the ear protection. This exposed foam area may need to have a small divot cut into it in order to flush mount the disc/speaker combo in the ear protection.
Replace the ear cup from step 3 onto the ear protection and be sure the slit is at the BOTTOM of the ear cup when you put it back on.
Run the wire coming from the disc/speaker combo through the slit so the wire hangs down when the DuoPhones are being worn on the head.
Repeat for the other side of the ear protection. Assembly of the DuoPhones is complete. Next, we will test the DuoPhones.

Plug the headphone jack into your sound source (phone, iPod, MP3 player, etc.) and enjoy being enveloped in your music! If it does not work, check all the connections and backtrack your steps. Good luck and Happy Listening:)
Comment a review!

1. Peltor brand ear protection is best, it has a little rim that retains the speaker unit nicely.

2. With some ear protection/speaker unit combos, you may be able to push the speaker unit through the circle in the ear cup without removing the cup from the ear protection.

3. The quality of your ear protection and headphones has a direct influence on the quality of the finished product.

4. Buy the biggest ear protection you can find for around $10. The large size will put more foam between you and outside noise and have better noise cancellation.

5. #4 goes for the headphones as well. Test many cheap pairs if possible before buying. Don't spend more than around $10.

6. Never use the DuoPhones in an area where you need to be completely aware of your surroundings (shooting a weapon, working in a machine shop, driving, etc.)

7. Feel free to decorate your DuoPhones with stickers, a cool paint scheme (sand the ear protection with moderate grit sandpaper and mask the ear cups, wires, and headband before painting), duct tape, etc. and share your image in the comments!

8. Do not blast your music for long periods of time as it may damage your ears or the speakers.