WS4 Backphone Modifications

OutdoorAdv

Bronze Member
Apr 16, 2013
2,457
3,350
East Coast - USA
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Detector(s) used
XP Deus,
GPX 4500,
Equinox 800,
AT Max
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I hardly ever use my WS4 backphones. Actually I used them on two hunts with the Deus, the first hunt I ever used the Deus and then last Thurs I gave them one more shot. Both times after a couple hours my ears were killing me where they hook over my ears. So, I've been using the puck adapter I made (http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/deus/481002-my-deus-ws4-universal-puck-adapter.html) for all my hunts. After last Thurs I had it with the backphones... they have great audio, but they are the most uncomfortable things on my ears ever.

So I googled around and I found a solution that I wanted to try. It involved removing the electronics from the backphones and putting them in a more comfortable ear phone casing.... then I keep the nice backphone audio, and have something comfortable to wear. The backphones only cost $20 so I could always replace them and they were just sitting in a drawer anyway.

The idea came from a post in another forum. I'm not allowed to post the link here, but if you google "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones", it is the 3rd link down in a UK forum.

I did some other research and found the housing for the very popular Deus headphones used these ear muffs. They were reviewed very highly on Amazon with 4.5 stars and at $22 with prime shipping, they arrived in 2 days. Amazon.com : Howard Leight by Honeywell Leightning L0F Ultraslim Folding Earmuff (R-01523) : Hunting Earmuffs : Home Improvement

I wont go into all the details since they are in the UK forum post "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones" but its pretty self explanatory. Take apart the WS4 backphones, desolder the existing connections and mount them into the Howard Leight ear muffs! If you have some drill bits, a hot glue gun and basic soldering experience, then this is a very simple project.

Here is my finished product and it took me about an hour to make.
IMG_20160527_125601193_HDR.jpg

The Howard Leight Ear Muffs from Amazon

IMG_20160527_110223463.jpgIMG_20160527_110232108.jpg

First I took a heavier gauge wire and fished it through the headband.

IMG_20160527_115030751.jpg

I took a piece of thin gauge spare wire I had off a old phone charger cord and taped it to the end of the wire to pull it through the headband.

IMG_20160527_115458793.jpg

I put the wire through the hole I drilled and punched a hole in the foam in the Howard Leight muffs and pushed it through. I put a dab of hot glue on the other side where the wire went through the hole I drilled to keep rain out.

IMG_20160527_120147697.jpg

I stripped and tinned (with my soldering iron) the new wire. I desoldered the existing wires and soldered the new one on. **Make sure you keep track of the colors of the wire. One is a darker color and the new phone charger cord had a white stripe on one of the wires. So I designated the white stripe wire to go where the darker wire went on the Deus speaker. That ensures that the polarity will remain the same**

IMG_20160527_120551845.jpg

I put a dab of hot glue to hold the wire on the back of the speaker. I put the original backphone foam back onto the speaker and it fit PERFECTLY under the lip of the plastic Howard Leight frame.

IMG_20160527_121106588.jpg

After putting the pads back on the Howard Leight muffs, it looked great!

IMG_20160531_095834717.jpg

The side with the puck adapter was a little more involved. But again, just keep the polarity correct and its simple... for me, I just had to solder the new wire with the while line to the darker Deus wire.
*This is the puck side before I desoldered the old Deus connections.*

IMG_20160527_121728340.jpg

This side had two wires and two holes. One wire came from the other speaker and the other wire went out to the puck adapter. They were just soldered onto the speaker just as the other side was.

IMG_20160527_124343267.jpg

To attach the puck adapter to the outside I first drilled a hole and used a screw before realizing I could plastic weld it on with my soldering iron :headbang: The backphone puck adapter has three feet on it. All I did was use my soldering iron to melt those feet and the Howard Leight phones and basically plastic welded it on there. It seems very strong and I already have two hunts with them and even dropped them on the puck adapter and my plastic welds held strong!

IMG_20160531_095738100.jpg

These things are super comfortable! It cost me $22 to make them (since I already owned the backphones). The Howard Leights are noise canceling so I could turn the volume down two notches on the WS4. I can hear the tones so great with them and I get the great quality of the ws4 backphone sound, but in a comfortable noise canceling housing.

IMG_20160531_095805404.jpg

I fully owe this idea to the UK Forum link from googling "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones". It was a cheap and simple solution and I didnt have to shell out a ton of $$ for one of the other Deus Headphones, and I get the backphone sound quality.

Hope this helps and someone decides to make a set. The only reason I would buy another set of WS4 Backphones for $20, would be to make another set of these things. :laughing7:
 

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Interesting, may give that a try.
 

Fortunately I find the backphones very comfortable but what a great solution for those who want a different fit without losing the crisp audio of the WS4'S or a replacement. Thanks for posting, especially the detailed assembly instructions which could come in handy for a DIY repair, also.
 

Fortunately I find the backphones very comfortable but what a great solution for those who want a different fit without losing the crisp audio of the WS4'S or a replacement. Thanks for posting, especially the detailed assembly instructions which could come in handy for a DIY repair, also.

I wanted to like them so bad :laughing7: It's funny, I've read people love them and people hate them. I bet its the shape of the ear or or head something. The whole idea of them is awesome since we know how much it sucks in 90 degree weather to have big headphones on. I have a set of earbuds I'll plug into the puck when its really hot out.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Brad
 

I've found if you wear the backphones and fold the back part down towards your spine, then the backphones are much more comfortable to wear.

Initiallythey hurt my ears at the point where plastic rests on top of ear until I figured out that little comfort trick.
 

I've found if you wear the backphones and fold the back part down towards your spine, then the backphones are much more comfortable to wear.

Initiallythey hurt my ears at the point where plastic rests on top of ear until I figured out that little comfort trick.

Too late, mine have been sacrificed :laughing7: Great tip though... that's the exact spot mine were hurting me. I might pick up another set of backphones for $20 at some point and give that a try. I did fiddle with them a bunch, so maybe my heads just shaped weird. ha Yesterday I ordered the Deus WS4 puck wristband... my plan is for those really hot days, I'll put the puck on my wrist and use earbuds. We'll see how that works out.
 

That's what I did (used the wrist band holder with the puck headphone adapter thingy) when I first got the Deus Lite setup (no control box) so that I could glance at the VDI #'s. Makes for a great minimalist setup when you don't want to risk losing the control box or want to keep it out of the elements. Since the headphones are tethered to your wrist, not the detector stem, its really not much different than just wearing the backphones if you keep your earbud cord dressed up and out of the way (e.g., you can run it up the sleeve of your shirt and up through the neck hole to keep it from dangling in your way during target reocovery).
 

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Here are mine that I made right after I got my Deus last year. Total cost was $34; $14 for Peltor Shotgunner hearing protectors, $20 for back phones. Below that is what I use where there is a lot of background noise and it''s too hot for the over ear headphones. I also still use my backphones when I want to hear what's going on around me. For anyone thinking of getting the Deus with the WS5, Don't do it. Because with the WS5 you have no options!
 

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Totally agree with you on the WS5's. Nice over the ear headphone mod. On the second configuration with the earbuds, did you purchase the headphone adapter thingy to provide the headphobe output jack for the earbuds?
 

Totally agree with you on the WS5's. Nice over the ear headphone mod. On the second configuration with the earbuds, did you purchase the headphone adapter thingy to provide the headphobe output jack for the earbuds?

Yes, you can purchase it direct from XP for $24, it's also available from other dealers online for a little less.
 

Well done. Brad. That's for sure a cheap and creative solution to the WS4 full size headphone question. :thumbsup:
 

Well done. Brad. That's for sure a cheap and creative solution to the WS4 full size headphone question. :thumbsup:

Thanks Keith! As you know, I love the versatility of the WS4 and with the puck adapter I made last fall, I have many headphone options now and I enjoy creating different ways to use the puck.

Also, I just got a FBD package in the mail today. Thanks a ton! Can't wait to try out the wrist band with some earbuds.
 

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I hardly ever use my WS4 backphones. Actually I used them on two hunts with the Deus, the first hunt I ever used the Deus and then last Thurs I gave them one more shot. Both times after a couple hours my ears were killing me where they hook over my ears. So, I've been using the puck adapter I made (http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/deus/481002-my-deus-ws4-universal-puck-adapter.html) for all my hunts. After last Thurs I had it with the backphones... they have great audio, but they are the most uncomfortable things on my ears ever.

So I googled around and I found a solution that I wanted to try. It involved removing the electronics from the backphones and putting them in a more comfortable ear phone casing.... then I keep the nice backphone audio, and have something comfortable to wear. The backphones only cost $20 so I could always replace them and they were just sitting in a drawer anyway.

The idea came from a post in another forum. I'm not allowed to post the link here, but if you google "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones", it is the 3rd link down in a UK forum.

I did some other research and found the housing for the very popular Deus headphones used these ear muffs. They were reviewed very highly on Amazon with 4.5 stars and at $22 with prime shipping, they arrived in 2 days. Amazon.com : Howard Leight by Honeywell Leightning L0F Ultraslim Folding Earmuff (R-01523) : Hunting Earmuffs : Home Improvement

I wont go into all the details since they are in the UK forum post "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones" but its pretty self explanatory. Take apart the WS4 backphones, desolder the existing connections and mount them into the Howard Leight ear muffs! If you have some drill bits, a hot glue gun and basic soldering experience, then this is a very simple project.

Here is my finished product and it took me about an hour to make.
View attachment 1319954

The Howard Leight Ear Muffs from Amazon

View attachment 1319945View attachment 1319946

First I took a heavier gauge wire and fished it through the headband.

View attachment 1319947

I took a piece of thin gauge spare wire I had off a old phone charger cord and taped it to the end of the wire to pull it through the headband.

View attachment 1319948

I put the wire through the hole I drilled and punched a hole in the foam in the Howard Leight muffs and pushed it through. I put a dab of hot glue on the other side where the wire went through the hole I drilled to keep rain out.

View attachment 1319949

I stripped and tinned (with my soldering iron) the new wire. I desoldered the existing wires and soldered the new one on. **Make sure you keep track of the colors of the wire. One is a darker color and the new phone charger cord had a white stripe on one of the wires. So I designated the white stripe wire to go where the darker wire went on the Deus speaker. That ensures that the polarity will remain the same**

View attachment 1319950

I put a dab of hot glue to hold the wire on the back of the speaker. I put the original backphone foam back onto the speaker and it fit PERFECTLY under the lip of the plastic Howard Leight frame.

View attachment 1319951

After putting the pads back on the Howard Leight muffs, it looked great!

View attachment 1319957

The side with the puck adapter was a little more involved. But again, just keep the polarity correct and its simple... for me, I just had to solder the new wire with the while line to the darker Deus wire.
*This is the puck side before I desoldered the old Deus connections.*

View attachment 1319952

This side had two wires and two holes. One wire came from the other speaker and the other wire went out to the puck adapter. They were just soldered onto the speaker just as the other side was.

View attachment 1319953

To attach the puck adapter to the outside I first drilled a hole and used a screw before realizing I could plastic weld it on with my soldering iron :headbang: The backphone puck adapter has three feet on it. All I did was use my soldering iron to melt those feet and the Howard Leight phones and basically plastic welded it on there. It seems very strong and I already have two hunts with them and even dropped them on the puck adapter and my plastic welds held strong!

View attachment 1319955

These things are super comfortable! It cost me $22 to make them (since I already owned the backphones). The Howard Leights are noise canceling so I could turn the volume down two notches on the WS4. I can hear the tones so great with them and I get the great quality of the ws4 backphone sound, but in a comfortable noise canceling housing.

View attachment 1319956

I fully owe this idea to the UK Forum link from googling "DIY XP Deus Wireless Headphones". It was a cheap and simple solution and I didnt have to shell out a ton of $$ for one of the other Deus Headphones, and I get the backphone sound quality.

Hope this helps and someone decides to make a set. The only reason I would buy another set of WS4 Backphones for $20, would be to make another set of these things. :laughing7:
 

Thanks for this walk through, after reading this I attempted the same mod with my backphones, turned out great, the only addition I made was to use Sugru (moldable silicone) to go around the puck mount to waterproof it.
 

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