Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW!

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lff said:

I haven't used another headphone in weeks! I usually end up listening to music up until 3 or 4AM!!
 
I go to sleep a very happy man....

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You should make this a business ala MarkL $280 LFF Modded T50RPs with free worlwide shipping maybe?
 

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donunus said:

You should make this a business ala MarkL $280 LFF Modded T50RPs with free worlwide shipping maybe?
 

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LOL! A few people have asked....
 
Only difference is that I would charge under $200....WAY under if you provide the headphones....
 
 

 
Stay tuned as I will be sharing this awesome, cheap and simple mod!!!!
 
 

 
 

I've got the upper mid spike ironed out.. what smoothed it out, I'm not exactly sure, though:
 
-I lined the cup vents with acoustic foam (from the inside).  Then punctured a very slight hole in them (2mm wide x 1/4mm tall) from the outside.
-I placed a "reflex dot" (clear, circular furniture bumper) on top of the craft felt, positioned at the center of the driver.
 
The treble gained some presence.. I'm definitely feeling this aspect of the sound change after the mods above.  I love how the bass sounds.  Excellent decay, but it's still tight and possesses good speed.  The shouty upper mid spike has disappeared.  The control these phones are exhibiting now is really really impressive.. there's better clarity and air through the midrange but it also sounds more constrained/less dynamic in that area than before.  It remains uneven in places.  There is still a midrange bump somewhere that's causing male vocals and certain percussion to have an unnaturally warm & forward tinge.
 
I've got a sneaking suspicion the material(s) used across the back of the driver is playing a large part in my quest to get this midrange tuned properly.
 
The tinkering continues, gang..

Got em today, did the mods except for the front mesh/cloth over the driver, eewww. Then removed that crappy cloth and bang she came alive, amazing Fostex haven't realized this stuff is crap, LOL.
 
I pushed cotton wool underneath the original pads, made them pop out a bit and seal much better, can anyone confirm they have tried this and replacing them with 840 pads still made a significant improvement.
 
These things are light as, I thought my D7000 were light when i first got them.
 
Mids are a little forward for my likings, how to tame them down a bit?

yay, a lot of enthusiastic newcomers lately in this thread! I believe you've all realized that we were clueless fanboys by now.
 
either way, I haven't opened my beloved T50RP in months, but I just contacted a company that sells soundproof foam and I've got a 4mm thick sample on the way. They couldn't provide much measurements such as attenuation coefficient/damping factor and so, but the good ole' "humming w/ my mouth stuck to it" should suffice. Pics and impressions later, as I've got a spare T50RP waiting to be messed around w/.

rawrster said:

These headphones are just so addicting..its way past my bed time and I have work in the morning -_-

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hehe, new toy syndrom! sadly, each time I improve my source I get it all over again w/ this devilish phone

Originally Posted by Cortlendt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
What thickness is Akasa, btw?

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4mm

I believe Akasa Paxmate Plus is 4 mm thick. 
 
You can try 1.5 mm craft felt first in one layer and then in two layers to determine which, if either, is better for you.  
 
Try several different materials for reflex dots.  There may be a difference in the amount of treble absorbed vs. reflected back to the ear side of the driver when using different materials - hard plastic, silicone bumpers, felt, rubber, etc.  Let your ears decide.  
 
Fingernail polish is often comprised of acetone and may come with a handy applicator brush just the right size for applying it to the metal grid under the white felt.  Remember that acetone and other organic solvents are flammable and toxic, so use with caution and insure there are no open flames.  Also use it sparingly so it does not drip or run down onto the diaphragm.  I do not know whether or not acetone can damage the diaphragm and its copper tracings. Work carefully and you should be able to peel away the white felt in one piece and use it later if you want to go back to stock.
 
Report your results and pix, please.
 
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cortlendt said:

I've got the T50RP FOTM so I'm waiting for mine to arrive.
 
In a meanwhile, in Communist Russia, I'm gathering some materials for the mods. I would be very grateful if someone could provide feedback on my stuff:
 
1. Plasticine. A no-brainer. I have red, black and white)
2. My friend has spared my some self-adhesive acoustic foam he used to build sound isolation in his car. It is 10-8mm thick, but I intend to cut it to reduce the thickness. What thickness is Akasa, btw?
3. Thick craft felt - I can get 1.5mm of thickness - is it the right one? Could not find 2mm anywhere around.
4. Reflex dot material - I can use either electric tape or thin plastic that comes from yoghurt packages. Maybe find some thin rubber.
 
Many thanks.
 
Now to find that exacto knife and acetone)

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Yes.  This may be a good foster phone for transplanting the T50RP drivers with an open back design already in place.
 
Many thanks.
 
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200poundsofamp said:

How about the Panasonic HTF890 ? If it's like the HTF600 it won't have that cheap plasticky housing sound and should be pretty well built.
 
And you're the man for testing out what removing the white felt does. That's something I'm hoping to get some actual measurements for soon.

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PROJECT TIME:
 
Under 10 minutes
 
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 
1 Brand new Coke can with soda inside (sealed). Chilled preferably.
1 Hole Punch
1 sheet of paper
2 rubber hair ties
2 hands (yours preferably)
 
Step One:
 
Grab your chilled Coke and set it aside so that you only have the following materials left:
 

 
Step Two:
 
Take that sheet of paper and fold it in half:
 

 
Step Three:
 
Fold it in half again.
 

 
Step Four:
 
Fold it in half length wise....show it who's boss...
 

 
Step Five:
 
Grab your paper and punch a hole in on the side....try to center it...
 

 
Step Six:
 
Turn it around and punch a hole on the other side.
 

 
Step Seven:
 
Grab a rubber hair tie and place it through the hole.
 

 
Step Eight:
 
Put one end of the hair tie through the other end so it loops and secures itself on the paper.
 

 
Step Nine:
 
Repeat step eight on the other side.
 

 
Step Ten:
 
Grab one end of the hair tie on one side and pass it through the metal bars of your T50RP and secure it by looping over the rounded top part of the metal bars.
 

 

 
Step Eleven:
 
Repeat on other side.
 
See above pictures...
 
Step Twelve:
 
Congratulations! You have now created a suspension headband that is super cheap and comfy!
 

 

 
Step Thirteen:

Skip this…it’s bad luck.
 
Step Fourteen:
 
Grad your chilled Coke can, open it and enjoy it while listening to music on your super comfy T50RP.
 
NOTES: I would recommend you use a nice piece of leather or cloth instead of the paper. The paper was mostly for a quick demonstration and so you know what size of leather/cloth you will need for this.
 

 
Enjoy!

Now I'm glad I haven't pulled mine apart again! Mine are stock on the inside except for one layer of paxmate in the cups and modeling clay in the baffles. But what do you currently have on the ear-side? I have wool felt over the driver and a little paxmate around the driver in the back to angle the pads (Sony 5k). I've been waiting to see if any new consensus arises before tinkering again but I guess that's never going to happen. 
 
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bluemonkeyflyer said:

Full circle.

Between 3 sets of T50RP's, I've opened, modded, and closed these things well over 100 times. I made one modification at a time and compared the results to my LCD2 and another pair of stock T50RP's. Plasticine in the baffles and one layer of Paxmate in the cups have remained constants.

I've tried them with 5 different types of material for reflex dots and no reflex dot; white felt on and off the back of the drivers; stiff felt, limp felt, thick wool felt, cotton, and no felt in the cups and on the back of the drivers; 1 to 3 layers of Organdi on the back of the drivers; naked drivers; bass ports in stock form, with the stock felt removed from the bass ports, and electrical tape covering 1, 2, 3, 3.5, 3.75, and all 4 bass port slots; dust cover on the ear side of the baffle intact and cut away; acoustic foam on and off the ear side of the baffles; and practically every permutation of all these variables.

I just pulled off the 3 layers of Organdi, the reflex dot, and the tape over the bass ports of my third mod. Then, I used rubber cement to re-apply the stock white felt onto the back of the drivers. For me, keeping everything stock and adding only plasticine to the baffles and Paxmate to the cups produce the best overall balanced SQ. I would not have been satisfied had I not gone through the laborious process of systematically testing each mod for myself.

I am not proposing that this is "the best" mod configuration. I am not suggesting that this mod configuration is "The Way" to go for anyone else. So far, this is my favorite mod setup for my ears. I'm not done, though. I have more things in the works.

This is too much fun!

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LFF,
 
Sweeet!  Should work with leather, fabric, etc.
 
Thanks

I cut-off the dust cover felt on one of my mods.  It is very thin and porous.  I cannot hear a difference where others have achieved more treble.  
 
I would guess, depending on the weight and thickness of the wool or felt over the driver on the ear side, that the greatest effect will be attenuation of the treble frequencies and, perhaps to a lesser degree, the upper mids.  You could try materials of different thickness and composition vs. no material over the driver opening to see if you hear any improvement in SQ.
 
All I have on my external baffles is a ring of Paxmate under the ear pads and with the baffle vent unobstructed.
 
Quote:

anothern00b said:

Now I'm glad I haven't pulled mine apart again! Mine are stock on the inside except for one layer of paxmate in the cups and modeling clay in the baffles. But what do you currently have on the ear-side? I have wool felt over the driver and a little paxmate around the driver in the back to angle the pads (Sony 5k). I've been waiting to see if any new consensus arises before tinkering again but I guess that's never going to happen. 
 


 

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Quote:

cortlendt said:

...
Now to find that exacto knife and acetone)

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I've tried acetone and water as solvents to get the driver cloth off with no success. I think Foster used different glues at different times. 
 

Quote:

micmacmo said:

I've tried acetone and water as solvents to get the driver cloth off with no success. I think Foster used different glues at different times. 
 

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I agree.  The white driver felt came off relatively easily on one set but the other was difficult.  Once I was able to get one corner started with a knife, both sets required repeated applications of small amounts of acetone because it dries FAST.  I found the white felt must be moist in order to peel away cleanly.  Water did not work at all.
 
I re-installed the white driver felt on my third modded set with a toothpick dipped into the rubber cement container for a light coating.  I placed the side of the coated toothpick against one of the grid lines and rotated it as I pulled it toward me.  This allowed application of a uniform bead of rubber cement in controlled quantities.  This is important if you want to go back to stock.  The rubber cement must seal the driver felt all the way around the outside perimeter and attach to all the other grid lines without spilling onto the open spaces between the grid lines.
 

Quote:

bluemonkeyflyer said:

LFF,
 
Sweeet!  Should work with leather, fabric, etc.
 
Thanks

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Yup! The best part about it is that it is completely reversible. If you don't like it, just take it off and the headphone remains the same and you'll only be out a couple of bucks!
 
I have yet to purchase a leather patch but even with the paper I am using, it is super comfy....