LFF’s T50RP Paradox
LFF is a well-known modifier of numerous headphones and Head-Fi member. His mods for the T50RP feature both the Paradox T50RP mod and the Slant T50RP mod. He works with a partner who covers the paint side of the business; I cannot comment on the quality of his partner’s work, as I have not seen it in person.
First off: The packaging is very minimalistic: what arrives to you is a Paradox in the standard T50RP packaging. No accessories are present, only the T50RP and its cable. Speaking of the cable, it is the standard T50RP cable; it features a ¼ inch plug and is ten feet long. The input into the Paradox is a ⅛ inch jack. There are no microphonics to speak of when the cable rubs up against something. My one caveat with the cable is there is no way to buy an aftermarket cable, as there is not a plug to be found that can be inserted into the ⅛ plug featured on the stock T50RP. It is a very small hole, and no right angle plugs have been found to fit. Now, you cannot open up the headphones either, to install a mini 4-pin XLR, or something of that nature: The headphones are hermetically sealed.
Now for comfort: Comfort, to me, is one of the most important parts of any headphone. The pads LFF used with the Paradox are the Brainwavz HM5 ones. They’re extremely comfortable and allow for extended listening sessions. A comfort strap is also included, which is incredibly comfortable, and. I find it superior to the comfort strap on the Mad Dogs by MrSpeakers. Utilizing the leather pads, the isolation is fairly good with music playing, but without music playing, you're able to hear all things going on around you. But who wears headphones without listening to music?
The aesthetics of the headphone is the stock Fostex T50RP look. I am not a big fan, but this part of the headphone is up to personal taste. Furthermore, it feels very durable; I couldn’t see this headphone breaking anytime soon. Nothing creaks while moving it on and off your head: it feels solid.
To start off with the sound: I am going to speak of soundstage first and then imaging. Soundstage on this headphone is a bit cramped, and does not sound like an open headphone. The Paradox is quite airy though. Also, the imaging is fantastic. Compared to the Alpha Dogs by MrSpeakers, the AD’s beat the Paradox in terms of soundstage and sense of air.
These headphones are extremely natural, portraying the music perfectly. The low-end you hear is detailed, tight, and punchy. The bass on the song, “Limit To Your Love” by James Blake, is deep, but doesn’t attract too much attention to itself. The Paradox is a neutral headphone, and the bass isn’t center stage, the mids are. The mids are articulate and sweet. Bob Dylan’s voice on, “One Of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” is produced beautifully, with no sibilance to be found. They’re very transparent, allowing the music to take center stage with very little coloration to be found.
Onto the highs: They take back seat to the mids, allowing them to do their magic; not to say they aren’t amazing though, which they are. Highs on the Paradox are light, airy, and detailed. The vocals on the song “Sylvia” by the Antlers are perfectly splendid. They are filled with emotion, and the Paradox conveyed just that.
These headphones put a new spin on the word natural and set a new bar. I have never heard such a headphone that just threw itself out of the way, and allowed the music to do all the work, applying no coloration. They are an absolute joy to listen to, a very musical headphone.
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wolfetan44
@MuppetFace Yes! I'm trying out the Slants soon enough, and I cannot wait. If I like them enough, I may be selling my Paradox to buy the Slants. Nice, the Code-X looks fantastic, and thanks!
wolfetan44
@miceblue Sorry, I really should give some credit to other people, not sure why I took all the credit for the first review.. Anyways, hop on over to: http://tinyurl.com/lys5tu2 And at the Paradox thread, theres multiple impressions and reviews. Again, sorry to the original reviewers 
jgwtriode
My Slants are shipping on Monday....thanks Luis!!!!!
wolfetan44
Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Addictive sound, beautiful, very nice case
Cons: Uncomfortable, a little light on accessories
Astell & Kern AKR01
Jimmy Moon at Astell & Kern was kind enough to lend me a pair of AKR01's for review. Big thanks to him. Anyways, review ahead!
What are they: I notice that I haven't seen coverage for these at all, and I wanted to tell you what they are about.
The AKR01 is based off the Final Audio Heaven IV design, and is voiced to work well with their AK100 and AK120 DAPs, I cannot confirm that it sounds the same as I haven't heard the IV. Final Audio teamed with A&K because they like what A&K do.Another reason being they wanted to fuse the A&K sound and the Final sound into one. Thus, the AKR01 was born.
Packaging: Simple. I like it. Its not flashy, its a nice black box, with the AKR01's on the front. Very simplistic. Inside you find the AKR01's in their case. I, personally, love the case because the foam inside has cut outs for the AKR01 to fit right into, and there is a little spot for the cable also. It is a leather case, but I will get more into the accessories in the accessories section.
Who are Astell & Kern: They are a branch off of iRiver, and specialize in making high quality DAPs. They started in Oct. 2012, and this is their first IEM that they have made. For their first, they did quite well.
Packaging:
Fit: I like the fit on these, it took me a bit of fiddling around to get it, but once I got it, I can barely hear the click-clack of my keyboard. And, boy, it is a loud keyboard. Owen at Astell & Kern put them into my ears for the first time(CAS), and showed me how to put in a deep-insertion IEM, like the AKR01 are.
Accessories: I thought Astell was very light on accessories, I wasn't a big fan of them. The accessories are:
Not many at all. At the least, they could have included a IEM cleaner, to get the ear wax out, which would be very easy to provide I feel. There are two types of ear tips, that come in small, medium, and large. In total, there are 12 ear tips, 6 of them are High Sound Isolation ear tips, and Low Resonance ear tips. That being said, Jimmy Moon at A&K has told me the case is real leather, no pleather!
The case and ear tips:
(Low resonance at top, high isolation at bottom)
Comfort: Not optimal, but, I think that is come to be expected with deep insertion IEMs though, so I wouldn't take this as a shock. They made my ears sore after a 3 hour listening session, but it didn't last too long.
Edit (12/29): The AKR01's are very uncomfortable, I usually do not wear these as deep-insertion IEM's because of the discomfort.
Isolation: Fantastic. I cannot hear the click-clack of my loud keyboard, love it.
Aesthetics: These are absolutely beautiful. They are made out of stainless steel. Astell & Kern and Final is printed on the IEM. They are very shiny, and look extremely nice in the ear.
Cable: The cable feels great, but once you put them on, and the cable scratches up against something, you hear it. It becomes very annoying while listening to music, and very disruptive.
Sound:
Early impressions: Wow, these sound fantastic. A very smooth sound to it, can sound a bit harsh at times. It does need an amp, as I was getting sibilance on my iTouch Gen 4, and only a little bit on my O2/ODAC > Computer. I will say, the AKR01 and AK100 combo sounded a lot better than this combo(heard it at CAS). The soundstage is fantastic for an IEM, I feel. The highs are extended, I would say I am sensitive to highs, as I am used to the HD650s. But they don't hurt a lot, only on one or two songs have I found that they verge on the realm of hurting. The layering isn't the best I have seen, the instruments can sound a bit clumped, even though the soundstage is pretty good.
After about 100 hours of burn in, my concrete impressions:
Sibilance: Some is present in certain songs, but with amping, almost all is gone.
Speed: As others have noted in reviews, these are fast. In "Dropped" by Atoms for Peace, the bass at the start of the song is fast and tight. The music is never leaving the IEM, the IEM is running just as fast as the music. "Dropped" is one of the fastest songs I've seen, and the headphones I have used, a chosen few could catch up with the beat.
Soundstage & Imaging: One word: huge. The soundstage is jaw dropping for an IEM, especially at the price point it is at. When I first put these on, I was blown away by the soundstage, I loved every bit of it. Its for sure the best IEM soundstage I've heard, and a better than a few closed headphones I've used. The imaging is also fantastic, sounds coming at you from every angle. In the song," Electioneering" by Radiohead, the guitar sweep at 00:3 I think shows off the imaging perfectly, with part of the guitar being left behind, and a kind of fading guitar going to your right earbud, amazing.
Bass: Listening to, " Hold On, We're Going Home (Feat. Majid Jordan)" by Drake, the bass is tight and punchy. It's a very quick hit, its a light bass. It has an addictive quality to it, I cannot get enough of it. Now onto a bass guitar, on the intro of "Money" by Pink Floyd, wow. You can hear the little slits of the guitar, all of it coming together to form one centric sound. Full-bodied and beautiful. It has a very 3D sound to it. You can hear the guitarist fingers playing the bass guitar. The electronic bass on Radioheads, " Little By Little" caribou remix, is absolutely amazing. It is tight, full-bodied, and deep. Its extremely textured, like you could put out your hand and touch it. It fades away perfectly, a very quick fade away.
This bass is addictive, beware.
Mids: The mids are light and airy. Listening to The Microphones, " I Felt Your Shape", the acoustic guitar is portrayed just how an acoustic guitar is supposed to be portrayed. Extremely light and airy, the AKR01 let you hear the air between the strings. Everything about the mids are light and airy. The voices are extremely detailed, and have a certain sweetness to them. Like the bass, they are addictive. Voices are truly a joy to listen to, if you're a vocals person, look no further in IEMs. In Pink Floyds," Great Gig In The Sky" the female voice is beautiful. Portrayed perfectly by the imaging, and the sweetness of the mids is something else with this voice. Its airy and sweet.
Addictive once again.
Highs: Once again, these are light and airy. Also, very sweet. Captivating. A bit recessed, but still there for you to hear. Female voices are one of the best ways to hear the faults and the strengths of highs in a headphone. So I tuned up some Adele, " Rolling In The Deep" and wow, amazing. Detailed and light. The highs are the least prominent part of the spectrum in correlation to the lows and the mids, which is disappointing, as they have a very nice sound to them.
Conclusion: These were fantastic, I really, really did like them. I've always considered myself not the biggest IEM fan; but I heard them at CAS and fell in love. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an IEM in the $200 range, and have an all-around listening style. The people over at A&K are also great people, so you know you're in good hands.
Edit as of 1/5/14: I found the comfort when worn deep-insertion to be far from optimal, thus, reflecting the change in the stars and comfort. However, if worn as a normal IEM, I found the comfort to be far improved. If it was supposed to be worn as a normal IEM, it would recieve 5 stars, however, it is not supposed to be, so I will not have it reflect that. Also, a reminder to everyone: find the best tips for you. I was listening to the AKR01's the other day, wondering why they sounded awful; I couldn't believe that I gave these 4 stars, and wrote so highly of them. However, I got off my lazy ass, and changed the tips, thinking that it might help just a little. Well, it helped enormously, and my thoughts about them are now as they are in my review. Though, I still think they need an amp to get these to where I want them to be. Hope you guys are liking the review
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the read.
Set up used: O2/ODAC > Computer > AKR01
Edit made on 12/29 to reflect comfort problems and stars changed to 4 stars from the previous 5.
Jimmy Moon at Astell & Kern was kind enough to lend me a pair of AKR01's for review. Big thanks to him. Anyways, review ahead!
What are they: I notice that I haven't seen coverage for these at all, and I wanted to tell you what they are about.
The AKR01 is based off the Final Audio Heaven IV design, and is voiced to work well with their AK100 and AK120 DAPs, I cannot confirm that it sounds the same as I haven't heard the IV. Final Audio teamed with A&K because they like what A&K do.Another reason being they wanted to fuse the A&K sound and the Final sound into one. Thus, the AKR01 was born.
Packaging: Simple. I like it. Its not flashy, its a nice black box, with the AKR01's on the front. Very simplistic. Inside you find the AKR01's in their case. I, personally, love the case because the foam inside has cut outs for the AKR01 to fit right into, and there is a little spot for the cable also. It is a leather case, but I will get more into the accessories in the accessories section.
Who are Astell & Kern: They are a branch off of iRiver, and specialize in making high quality DAPs. They started in Oct. 2012, and this is their first IEM that they have made. For their first, they did quite well.
Packaging:
Fit: I like the fit on these, it took me a bit of fiddling around to get it, but once I got it, I can barely hear the click-clack of my keyboard. And, boy, it is a loud keyboard. Owen at Astell & Kern put them into my ears for the first time(CAS), and showed me how to put in a deep-insertion IEM, like the AKR01 are.
Accessories: I thought Astell was very light on accessories, I wasn't a big fan of them. The accessories are:
- Black Leather Case
- Extra set of ear tips
Not many at all. At the least, they could have included a IEM cleaner, to get the ear wax out, which would be very easy to provide I feel. There are two types of ear tips, that come in small, medium, and large. In total, there are 12 ear tips, 6 of them are High Sound Isolation ear tips, and Low Resonance ear tips. That being said, Jimmy Moon at A&K has told me the case is real leather, no pleather!
The case and ear tips:
(Low resonance at top, high isolation at bottom)
Comfort: Not optimal, but, I think that is come to be expected with deep insertion IEMs though, so I wouldn't take this as a shock. They made my ears sore after a 3 hour listening session, but it didn't last too long.
Edit (12/29): The AKR01's are very uncomfortable, I usually do not wear these as deep-insertion IEM's because of the discomfort.
Isolation: Fantastic. I cannot hear the click-clack of my loud keyboard, love it.
Aesthetics: These are absolutely beautiful. They are made out of stainless steel. Astell & Kern and Final is printed on the IEM. They are very shiny, and look extremely nice in the ear.
Cable: The cable feels great, but once you put them on, and the cable scratches up against something, you hear it. It becomes very annoying while listening to music, and very disruptive.
Sound:
Early impressions: Wow, these sound fantastic. A very smooth sound to it, can sound a bit harsh at times. It does need an amp, as I was getting sibilance on my iTouch Gen 4, and only a little bit on my O2/ODAC > Computer. I will say, the AKR01 and AK100 combo sounded a lot better than this combo(heard it at CAS). The soundstage is fantastic for an IEM, I feel. The highs are extended, I would say I am sensitive to highs, as I am used to the HD650s. But they don't hurt a lot, only on one or two songs have I found that they verge on the realm of hurting. The layering isn't the best I have seen, the instruments can sound a bit clumped, even though the soundstage is pretty good.
After about 100 hours of burn in, my concrete impressions:
Sibilance: Some is present in certain songs, but with amping, almost all is gone.
Speed: As others have noted in reviews, these are fast. In "Dropped" by Atoms for Peace, the bass at the start of the song is fast and tight. The music is never leaving the IEM, the IEM is running just as fast as the music. "Dropped" is one of the fastest songs I've seen, and the headphones I have used, a chosen few could catch up with the beat.
Soundstage & Imaging: One word: huge. The soundstage is jaw dropping for an IEM, especially at the price point it is at. When I first put these on, I was blown away by the soundstage, I loved every bit of it. Its for sure the best IEM soundstage I've heard, and a better than a few closed headphones I've used. The imaging is also fantastic, sounds coming at you from every angle. In the song," Electioneering" by Radiohead, the guitar sweep at 00:3 I think shows off the imaging perfectly, with part of the guitar being left behind, and a kind of fading guitar going to your right earbud, amazing.
Bass: Listening to, " Hold On, We're Going Home (Feat. Majid Jordan)" by Drake, the bass is tight and punchy. It's a very quick hit, its a light bass. It has an addictive quality to it, I cannot get enough of it. Now onto a bass guitar, on the intro of "Money" by Pink Floyd, wow. You can hear the little slits of the guitar, all of it coming together to form one centric sound. Full-bodied and beautiful. It has a very 3D sound to it. You can hear the guitarist fingers playing the bass guitar. The electronic bass on Radioheads, " Little By Little" caribou remix, is absolutely amazing. It is tight, full-bodied, and deep. Its extremely textured, like you could put out your hand and touch it. It fades away perfectly, a very quick fade away.
This bass is addictive, beware.
Mids: The mids are light and airy. Listening to The Microphones, " I Felt Your Shape", the acoustic guitar is portrayed just how an acoustic guitar is supposed to be portrayed. Extremely light and airy, the AKR01 let you hear the air between the strings. Everything about the mids are light and airy. The voices are extremely detailed, and have a certain sweetness to them. Like the bass, they are addictive. Voices are truly a joy to listen to, if you're a vocals person, look no further in IEMs. In Pink Floyds," Great Gig In The Sky" the female voice is beautiful. Portrayed perfectly by the imaging, and the sweetness of the mids is something else with this voice. Its airy and sweet.
Addictive once again.
Highs: Once again, these are light and airy. Also, very sweet. Captivating. A bit recessed, but still there for you to hear. Female voices are one of the best ways to hear the faults and the strengths of highs in a headphone. So I tuned up some Adele, " Rolling In The Deep" and wow, amazing. Detailed and light. The highs are the least prominent part of the spectrum in correlation to the lows and the mids, which is disappointing, as they have a very nice sound to them.
Conclusion: These were fantastic, I really, really did like them. I've always considered myself not the biggest IEM fan; but I heard them at CAS and fell in love. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an IEM in the $200 range, and have an all-around listening style. The people over at A&K are also great people, so you know you're in good hands.
Edit as of 1/5/14: I found the comfort when worn deep-insertion to be far from optimal, thus, reflecting the change in the stars and comfort. However, if worn as a normal IEM, I found the comfort to be far improved. If it was supposed to be worn as a normal IEM, it would recieve 5 stars, however, it is not supposed to be, so I will not have it reflect that. Also, a reminder to everyone: find the best tips for you. I was listening to the AKR01's the other day, wondering why they sounded awful; I couldn't believe that I gave these 4 stars, and wrote so highly of them. However, I got off my lazy ass, and changed the tips, thinking that it might help just a little. Well, it helped enormously, and my thoughts about them are now as they are in my review. Though, I still think they need an amp to get these to where I want them to be. Hope you guys are liking the review
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the read.
Set up used: O2/ODAC > Computer > AKR01
Edit made on 12/29 to reflect comfort problems and stars changed to 4 stars from the previous 5.
willyvlyminck
I guess it is cheaper to buy the Final Audio IV ? There is no Need to pay for the A&K Label or are they that different and or better?
wolfetan44
If you have a AK DAP I'd suggest getting the AKR01 as its designed for AK DAPs. Otherwise, I'm not aware of any other changes to the IV.
