Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW! - Page 3

It's amazing... Just look through the Ortho thread, all of the questions that have been asked have been answered (and more!) in there.

I don't know if there's an answer to which of the current models are better. I don't know if they've all been purchased by someone on the thread, let alone by one person so they can compare.

I believe Wualta has tried all 3. Other people may have as well. Here's a post from Wualta regarding which is the best:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/ort...ml#post6090673

Thanks for the help everyone. I was reluctant to go into that 1,200+ count Orthodynamic Roundup thread... thought it might be a cult or something... but I finally got brave and went in there and did a search and found the same post as linked above. I also found the T50RPs online for $59.00 with free shipping, so at that price I said what the heck and ordered them. I will be interested to hear how they compare to the similarly priced and excellent sounding Yamaha RH5MA Monitor Headphones that I have.

Fair enough, I am actually someone who does not like to put in a lot of work to make orthos sound good. And hey, if you start with the best, you don't have to worry about upgrading or modding.

Wait, it's not a cult?

Searching the ortho thread is easer with ludoo's search tool. Home / Head-Fi Megathreads

Even though you can search other threads with it, the ortho thread is the only one that is being indexed every night.

I found the 50s on ebay as well. 110$ including shipment. Express at least so hopefully it´s truly express. Some express takes two weeks

Still if it for that price is comparable or better then the much more expensive headphones I have tried it would be a crazy deal.

As for modding is that required for the T50RPs as well? What kind of modding???

Some put set of blankets, some put pillows...it's up to you.

They sound harsh without damping or?

If Im not mistaken, Wualta has not heard any of the RPn models (with the NEW pads), correct me if im wrong waulta. His comments were on the MKii models before Fostex updated the pads in around 2007/8.

Smeggy has heard both the T50rpn, and T20rpn, he commented he preffered the T50rpn, claiming the (seemingly identical on all fronts) driver had better timbre....something like that.

I can only hope the new set I just ordered will have these new pads and better bass. They are still listed as T50RP without the "n", but I think I read that was only seen on the units for sale in Japan... or something like that...

Yes that is correct, the n is only shown in Japan. Basically if it was made in the last 2 years or so, the MKii has the new pads. So as long as you bought from a reasonably popular shop you should get it.

PS: (the n notation is only given for the T40rp and T20rp models in Japan. But the T50rp has received the same upgrades, so bit silly how that didnt change name... although the URL says T50rpn):
http://www.fostex.jp/p/listener/

Also here is the article detailing the advanced development of the T50rp driver: http://www.fostex.jp/user_file/foste...c/t50tech.html

I'm not sure about the new T-50, but my Fostex T-20 V2 sounded very natural and balanced with the stock damping. Just a bit on the dark side if you are comparing them to the K-701 or the Pro-900 stock.

Thanks Kabeer for the infos. By the way, here is a link to the above info that many readers may find more readily read: RP TEchnology - What makes it so special?

I'm glad I spotted this thread! Acix linked to an old post that I incorporated (and updated) in the Orthodynamic Roundup thread, but I forgot about that post. I've updated it now, so it won't be any more confusing than Fostex has already made it. Vain hope.

The upshot is that the new pads finally gave the previously very bass-shy Mk II models (confusingly, the T50RP has Mk II guts but isn't labeled Mk II) a sound that we in the nonprofessional audio world can appreciate. In stock form they're... good. Pleasant, coherent, all the good stuff that orthos and other good headphones do, but they're rather soft and fuzzy and lazy. Damp them, however, and you've got something special. The nice thing is, they're available anytime at a reasonable (in the US) price.

After that post was written I bought both a T50RP with the new pads ("T50RPn") and a T20RP Mk IIn. Again, the only thing that changed was the earpads, so you can convert an old Mk II to the new "n" style simply by slapping new pads on it. If Fostex will sell you the new pads for a reasonable amount, get a cheap used T50RP (which by the way is totally different from the old T50) and do the upgrade. It's a bit of a shock.


On a quick listen, I prefer the T50RPn to the T20RP Mk IIn. I just got a T40RP Mk II with the old pads; I'll be doing a pad swap soon. UPDATE: I like the T40RP MkII with my new T50RP's earpads swapped on. In fact, it sounds almost the same as the T50RP. No big surprise there. The T20RP Mk IIn is still in third place.

I have no idea why a Japanese company would want to price the same line so much higher in Europe (trade barriers?), but there are many good Euro orthos from the old days that we never saw in the US. Dual and Grundig and Wharfedale come to mind. Some Grundig models used Fostex drivers, so there's some interesting overlap. Wharfedale's ID2 used a very Fostexlike driver and I've heard good things about the way it sounds. And there's always the plucky little East German HOK 80-2, selling sometimes for a couple of Euros. All is not lost.

Edited by wualta - 10/22/11 at 4:39pm