These $100 Scrub Daddy headphones have better frequency response than some flagships

Reddit user pudjam667 (also a sound engineer) completed a project involving two Scrub Daddy sponges and a pair of 50 mm dynamic drivers. While the build looks to be more of a novelty and a gag at first glance, the data shows that the internal acoustics were handled with a lot of professional precision.

The assembly uses the porous structure of the sponges as a housing. To manage the sound signature, the creator added specific tuning materials within the earpads and directly onto the drivers. The goal was to move beyond a "build for show" and create something with legitimate audio utility.

Measurements taken with a GRAS 45CA test fixture (an industry standard for headphone analysis) revealed a frequency response that has many audiophiles genuinely surprised. The graphs show a flat bass response that the creator compared to the Hifiman HE1000 (curr. $949 on Amazon), which is a high-end planar magnetic model well-known for its clarity. The 50 mm dynamic drivers somehow managed to maintain a crisp sound despite the unusual casing.

Beyond the experiment itself, the project was intended to be a practical lesson for the engineer’s son. Afterward, they listed the unique unit on their website for $100 - the headphones sold almost instantly after the post racked up views on the r/headphones subreddit.

Members of the subreddit are calling this the "Scrub-woofer." While the porous nature of a kitchen sponge can lead to leaked frequencies and poor isolation, the internal damping seems to have mitigated these issues. There are no plans for a production run, but the project is a great showcase of how you can apply traditional acoustic principles to non-traditional materials.

I made Scrub Daddy headphones [swipe for godly frequency response measurement]
by u/pudjam667 in headphones