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

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nsk1 said:

I wanna ask two things: someone answered my previous question about amping, but I feel that person meant was that these headphones are easy driven and I was asking more about if they are power hungry. Do they need lots of power to make it shine or better focus on quality amp?
 
Also I wanna ask about cups. Do wooden cups change the sound or is only for aestethics? 

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This headphones are meant to be used with professional audio gear, as they are studio monitors. I drive them with a Phonic Helix Board 12 Firewire MKII mixer and can't pass the 9 o'clock position in the volume pot. I also tried them with somewhat expensive audiophile gear (for expample Opera-Consonance Cyber-20 and Lehman Audio black cube linear USB, among others) a and wasn't able to tell any difference in performance.
 
If you make a wood enclosure, maybe it would need less dampening that the highly resonant plastic of the stock cups. This may also affect the sound in some way or another. Some people speak about the subtle differences of the dark oak, the wenge, etc...

 
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bluemonkeyflyer said:

I love my new pants!

 

I started yesterday and finished set # 5 this morning. Today, I compared them to Stock, BMF #4, and my Not Rastapants v2. I repeatedly played segments of some favorite tunes across all 4 sets and kept tweaking until I achieved the sound I've been looking for. I'm really happy with the whole sound package. The bass is deep without spill-over into the mids. The midrange is so smooth, clear and balanced with the bass and treble - neither too forward nor recessed. The upper mids through the treble range is further extended than previous efforts without the least bit of harshness. I can hear chimes, bells, high hats, and brushes on snares/cymbals very easily for the first time out out of modded T50's. There is a greater sense of space between notes and more airiness in female vocals as well as the treble range.  It's easy to tune the bass ports and the ear pads for the amount of bass I want; same for the high end.  And it's all reversible.  
 
 
.....
 

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That is an excellent guide with great pics!  I just received my T50RPs and I am going to follow your guide.  Thanks!
 
 

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Originally Posted by LFF /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
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hennyo said:

Need O2 pads... Need O2 pads

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No...trust me...you don't. 

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I bought a pair of woodied T50's for a few different reasons, one of which was it came with 02 pads, and I could try them on my plastic pair. Nice pads, very comfy and with a few more tweaks I think I can get to something I really like with them, but I also think with the right tweaks I could get something that I like with the stock pads too. That and there are other more cost effective alternatives. Personally I dont think the 02 pads provide enough bang for your buck. Others apparently think they offer a lot of value. Perhaps they do, I'm just passing on my impressions and what I perceive there value to be relative to what they cost, and my assesment is they are over priced.

What about JMoney pads? Did anyone try one of those? And where do you get Fischer pads?

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lff said:

This is VERY similar to how I tuned another members headphones and the results were great. The only thing I didn't use was the reflex dot but everything else is virtually the same.
 

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LFF,
 
Thanks for this information. Interesting. It took me 7 months of reading, experimenting, and tweaking 5 sets of T50RP's to get the sound I've been looking for.  I agree modding success is equal parts art, science, and luck with a healthy measure of persistence - at least for me!

 
 


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armaegis said:

Anyone try sticking dynamat in front of the baffle under the pads?

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Armaegis,
 
I considered doing this on my 5th mod but decided to wait and see what results I got with a different method of applying plasticine to really mass load the baffles.  I expect Dynamat on the ear side of the baffle will be a non-reversible mod without tearing up the dust cover.  I may give it a go if no one else tries it.
 


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armaegis said:

I've used cotton to push up pads before, but I got sick of all the little fibers. Try some gauze instead; not much noticeable difference in sound, but much cleaner to use. 
 

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...thanks for this tip.  I agree.  It's cleaner and produces the same outcome as cotton balls pulled apart and stuffed under the stock ear pads.  BTW, the stock ear pads + cotton gauze lifters work great.  I will be trying the Shure 840 pads + guaze today.
 
On your other question about cutting little pyramids in the dampening foam, I actually thought about it but quickly discarded the idea as impractical and way too difficult.  
 
 


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dabomb77766 said:

Awesome!!  I'll probably follow these instructions when modding mine.  Gotta get some damping foam though...just bummed out that it costs so much to ship it from Vancouver.  Not sure if anywhere in town carries that stuff...I guess I could try checking out local computer stores to see.
 
I presume the Dynamat isn't necessary for this?  No way I'm gonna buy some of that just for a tiny increase, if any, in sound quality though...
 
Also, I've been wondering - what exactly are the holes punched in the plasticine for?

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DaBomb,
 
I did not do A/B comparisons of BMF #5 mods with/without Dynamat in the cups, so who knows if it offers any appreciable benefit, or not?  I had it on hand and figured it would not hurt.  Although tedious, Dynamat can be removed with a flat head screwdriver. The cup/baffle must be secured to accept the necessary pressure required to "shovel" off the sticky goo without the screwdriver slipping and tearing away the solder points.
 
The little punched holes in the plasticine adds the needed placebo effect when you are running low on pixie dust.  
I really have no idea if it improves sound quality by breaking up reflections, or not.
 
Good luck with your mods.
 
 

 
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draven5494 said:

 
 
That is an excellent guide with great pics!  I just received my T50RPs and I am going to follow your guide.  Thanks! 
 

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   You can tweak the bass, mids, and treble by playing around with the bass ports, the amount of damping used in the cups and on the outside of the baffles, the amount of stuffing you use under stock ear pads, pad "rolling", and reflex dots on the back of the drivers.  If you try any of these tweaks after completing your initial mods, make only one change at a time so you will be able to determine its effects - positive or negative.  It also helps if you have a second stock set and/or a favorite pair of headphones for making your A/B tests.
 
In MY Experience:  If you want a bass monster, you can remove the stock white driver felt and use one layer of stiffened Creatology felt over the backs of the drivers secured with rubber cement.  Doing this provided me with very good quantity/quality bass and clear highs but spilled over into the midrange.  This veiled the mids and pushed the mids to far away for my taste. Correcting this is easy by taping or applying Paxmate over 3.75 bass port slots if you remove the bass port felt, or closing off 3 slots if you leave the bass port felt in place. This diminishes the bass quantity a little but it's worth it to me to unveil and bring the mids forward.  Also, removing the stock white driver felt in one piece is possible, but not easy, and For Me requires more experimentation to "get it right" when substituting stiffened felt for the stock felt.
 
Edit:  More comparisons this morning between my Not Rastapants v2 and BMF #5 --> To Me, BMF #5 has better balance and clarity in the mids, a little less but very good bass quantity/quality, and better high end extension/details.  BMF #5 is easier to make and reversible.  As always, these are my opinions using my equipement and ears so your results and opinions may be very different.
 

So now that I've waken up and no longer as tired I decided to do the other side and imo I did a better job since it is much cleaner inside than before so it doesn't look like a 5 year old did these mods.
 
I took off the foam inside the cups to start a new:
 

 
 
 
Then I added some electrical tape over the bass vents and then added dynamat:
 

 
I lined the cups with silverstone acoustic foam:
 

 
I then added some modeling clay to the ring around the baffle and then put the acoustic foam on the modeling clay except for the additional ring I just put:
 

 
I then closed it up and  put foam over the other side of the baffle except around the ring where the four screws which you need to open them up as well as the driver which I forgot to take a picture of (and too lazy to take one now since I put the O2 pads on already) but I ended up with this:
 

 
 
I believe these are all the RP2 mods by mrspeakers. If I missed something please let me know but to my knowledge this is the full mod.
 
In summary:
 
I have electrical tape over the bass vents after removing the black felt, dynamat on the lining of the cups and then acoustic foam over that. I also removed the cylinder shaped foam things on top of those 4 tower things in the cups since they were being annoying when I was applying the foam.
I removed the stock felt over the driver and put some creatology felt, filled the holes around the baffle with modeling clay and then put acoustic foam over that and also applied modeling clay to the ring around the baffle.
Lastly after closing it up I put acoustic foam on the ear side of the baffle outside of the ring and where the driver is.
 
Also I removed the double sided tape (which was a huge pita due to the sticky residue that remained) so that it won't damage my pads like it did with the stock pads when I tried removing it. Some of the pleather is ripped because of that tape.
 
edit: Actually as I was looking at the pics I realized I put dynamat over the bass vents. Does that matter that much? I think I only did it on the right side but not completely sure. Does that really matter since it's covered with electrical tape and also the foam on top of that?
 
edit #2: I looked over the posts showing the RP2 and it seems that fatmat was used over all of the lining including the bass ports so I think I'm safe.
 
 
 
 
I've had almost an hour or so listening to these. I have to say I like what I'm hearing. The bass is much better quality and no longer boomy but that is my fault since I was too lazy to cover the bass vents after taking off the felt and did not have electrical tape then. What I am hearing is something very balanced. It is not analytical and not bass heavy. It is somewhere in the middle being close to neutral with a hint of warmth but that warmth may be due to my V200 amp since that is on the warm side. All areas of the spectrum is nice with the bass being of high quality, mids are nice and no noticeable peaks like before and the treble is much better refined without sounding bright.
 
I think with these mods I am done modding this headphone. It sounds great and I don't want to mess with it more but I do want to try one more modification after getting an idea from another member here. I am going to try the RP2 more and then try that mod and then see which one to stick. Either way these sound excellent with a nice balanced sound which is what I enjoy. Out of my V200 which has enough power for them they sound great and if I had nothing else I could be happy with just these but I do have other options such as my DT880, HE-4, etc. I like having different signatures for my moods so I won't be selling all the rest of my gear. I do want another pair of the T50RP to configure it to a more bass heavy version but not bass monster heavy. That's the great thing about these headphones is that I can tune it to my liking which I can't think of another headphone where I can do this.

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rawrster said:

So now that I've waken up and no longer as tired I decided to do the other side and imo I did a better job since it is much cleaner inside than before so it doesn't look like a 5 year old did these mods.
 
I took off the foam inside the cups to start a new:
I believe these are all the RP2 mods by mrspeakers. If I missed something please let me know but to my knowledge this is the full mod.
 
In summary:
 
I have electrical tape over the bass vents after removing the black felt, dynamat on the lining of the cups and then acoustic foam over that. I also removed the cylinder shaped foam things on top of those 4 tower things in the cups since they were being annoying when I was applying the foam.
I removed the stock felt over the driver and put some creatology felt, filled the holes around the baffle with modeling clay and then put acoustic foam over that and also applied modeling clay to the ring around the baffle.
Lastly after closing it up I put acoustic foam on the ear side of the baffle outside of the ring and where the driver is.
 
Also I removed the double sided tape (which was a huge pita due to the sticky residue that remained) so that it won't damage my pads like it did with the stock pads when I tried removing it. Some of the pleather is ripped because of that tape.
 
edit: Actually as I was looking at the pics I realized I put dynamat over the bass vents. Does that matter that much? I think I only did it on the right side but not completely sure. Does that really matter since it's covered with electrical tape and also the foam on top of that?
 
edit #2: I looked over the posts showing the RP2 and it seems that fatmat was used over all of the lining including the bass ports so I think I'm safe.
 
I've had almost an hour or so listening to these. I have to say I like what I'm hearing. The bass is much better quality and no longer boomy but that is my fault since I was too lazy to cover the bass vents after taking off the felt and did not have electrical tape then. What I am hearing is something very balanced. It is not analytical and not bass heavy. It is somewhere in the middle being close to neutral with a hint of warmth but that warmth may be due to my V200 amp since that is on the warm side. All areas of the spectrum is nice with the bass being of high quality, mids are nice and no noticeable peaks like before and the treble is much better refined without sounding bright.
 
I think with these mods I am done modding this headphone. It sounds great and I don't want to mess with it more but I do want to try one more modification after getting an idea from another member here. I am going to try the RP2 more and then try that mod and then see which one to stick. Either way these sound excellent with a nice balanced sound which is what I enjoy. Out of my V200 which has enough power for them they sound great and if I had nothing else I could be happy with just these but I do have other options such as my DT880, HE-4, etc. I like having different signatures for my moods so I won't be selling all the rest of my gear. I do want another pair of the T50RP to configure it to a more bass heavy version but not bass monster heavy. That's the great thing about these headphones is that I can tune it to my liking which I can't think of another headphone where I can do this.

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Very nice work...  Would you do mine?  You're definitely neater!  Yes, I totally covered the ports.  
 
Since you'd been listening to a version with open ports before your ears may take a while to adjust to the reduced bass level, but once they do you should feel these are extremely deep and powerful bass machines.  Mine tests to below 16Hz.
 

There is certainly no shortage of interesting things that can be done with these little jewels and I have played enough to know you can get great results in different ways.  
 
The pads have such a profound impact on the sound that it is important to remember any mod someone writes about is probably going to be pad-specific.  While some may not like the O2 due to price, it is perhaps the most comfy pad I've ever had.  The basics of damping and resonance control are universal, but the felts, vent tuning, tweaks under/around the pads, etc are all going to be very specific...
 
It'd be fun some time to get some test equipment and do a "T50 mod meet" to see all the whacky variations and science experiments side by side, with a few boxes of spare supplies for "what if" experiments...

Can someone provide me a picture of the front (ear side) of the baffle without earpad?

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mrspeakers said:

Very nice work...  Would you do mine?  You're definitely neater!  Yes, I totally covered the ports.  
 
Since you'd been listening to a version with open ports before your ears may take a while to adjust to the reduced bass level, but once they do you should feel these are extremely deep and powerful bass machines.  Mine tests to below 16Hz.
 

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Thanks. I didn't need much time to adjust since my other headphones in my possession are not particularly bass heavy. I haven't tried any tests to see the range of these headphones but they do have good extension. 
 
The inside is clean because of FlySweep. He showed some pics a while back of his inside and I got jealous since mine was really messy so I cleaned up the modeling clay and the silverstone is much more cleaner now. I had to remove the previous application of silverstone so had to be careful due to the wires and that the foam is hard to remove since the sticky part stays on the plastic so had to remove that carefully. Actually if anyone wants to make it cleaner I just used one of those plastic things that come in the collar of a dress shirt and then removed the excess modeling clay so that everything is flat. With the cups I just started with a square around the cup size and then slowly cut piece by piece to make it fit. It takes a bit longer (actually maybe a lot longer) but in the end it is worth it for me since it looks better but at the end of the day it's the sound that matters. 
 
I just want to thank mrspeakers and everyone else who has helped with the modding of this headphone. It's hard to imagine that this is possible from what I remember about them stock as they were horrible but a few simple mods changed everything. I've been listening to these all morning since I finished the mods and they sound excellent!

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bluemonkeyflyer said:

DaBomb,
 
I did not do A/B comparisons of BMF #5 mods with/without Dynamat in the cups, so who knows if it offers any appreciable benefit, or not?  I had it on hand and figured it would not hurt.  Although tedious, Dynamat can be removed with a flat head screwdriver. The cup/baffle must be secured to accept the necessary pressure required to "shovel" off the sticky goo without the screwdriver slipping and tearing away the solder points.
 
The little punched holes in the plasticine adds the needed placebo effect when you are running low on pixie dust.  

I really have no idea if it improves sound quality by breaking up reflections, or not.
 
Good luck with your mods. 
 

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Thanks!  I guess I'm just gonna have to wait on the T50RPs to arrive.  Gonna have to see if there's an easier way to get that acoustic foam too...
 
Probably not gonna use Dynamat.
 
Also, do you know what difference adding the foam on top of the plasticine in the baffles would do?

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dabomb77766 said:

Thanks!  I guess I'm just gonna have to wait on the T50RPs to arrive.  Gonna have to see if there's an easier way to get that acoustic foam too...
 
Probably not gonna use Dynamat.
 
Also, do you know what difference adding the foam on top of the plasticine in the baffles would do?

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Kills more internal reflections, cleans up the sound further.

Quote:

mrspeakers said:

There is certainly no shortage of interesting things that can be done with these little jewels and I have played enough to know you can get great results in different ways.  
 
The pads have such a profound impact on the sound that it is important to remember any mod someone writes about is probably going to be pad-specific.  While some may not like the O2 due to price, it is perhaps the most comfy pad I've ever had.  The basics of damping and resonance control are universal, but the felts, vent tuning, tweaks under/around the pads, etc are all going to be very specific...
 
It'd be fun some time to get some test equipment and do a "T50 mod meet" to see all the whacky variations and science experiments side by side, with a few boxes of spare supplies for "what if" experiments...

Click to expand...

I can't wait! Isn't that sorta coming Sunday?! ; )
 


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rawrster said:

Thanks. I didn't need much time to adjust since my other headphones in my possession are not particularly bass heavy. I haven't tried any tests to see the range of these headphones but they do have good extension. 
 
The inside is clean because of FlySweep. He showed some pics a while back of his inside and I got jealous since mine was really messy so I cleaned up the modeling clay and the silverstone is much more cleaner now. I had to remove the previous application of silverstone so had to be careful due to the wires and that the foam is hard to remove since the sticky part stays on the plastic so had to remove that carefully. Actually if anyone wants to make it cleaner I just used one of those plastic things that come in the collar of a dress shirt and then removed the excess modeling clay so that everything is flat. With the cups I just started with a square around the cup size and then slowly cut piece by piece to make it fit. It takes a bit longer (actually maybe a lot longer) but in the end it is worth it for me since it looks better but at the end of the day it's the sound that matters. 
 
I just want to thank mrspeakers and everyone else who has helped with the modding of this headphone. It's hard to imagine that this is possible from what I remember about them stock as they were horrible but a few simple mods changed everything. I've been listening to these all morning since I finished the mods and they sound excellent!

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Fantastic!
 
(btw, how do your O2 pads compare to stock?) Can you give the stock a fair shake and attatch for an hour or so?
One thing that irks me. The cup! Try this

I think that center dot as is is very important. I have a suspicion that draping the foam over like that messes with the mids. Try it and see what you find?
Nice work! Keep the impressions coming. =D
 

I tried acoustic foam over baffle plasticine in one of my modded sets.  I A/B'd with/without and did not hear much difference so I left it off after completing the comparisons.  Using foam over the baffle plasticine may be just the ticket for you.  Be aware that it reduces cup volume a bit, may require other mods to achieve the sound you like, and can make it harder to close up.  You could strip the plastic baffle/cup threads if you're not very careful.
 
I chose to go a different direction with my 5th set.  I applied much more plasticine to the baffles than has been previously reported.  I'm happy.
 
You should try various mods and tweaks for yourself and not rely on what I say I hear. What works for me may not work for you; and vice versa.
 
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dabomb77766 said:

Thanks!  I guess I'm just gonna have to wait on the T50RPs to arrive.  Gonna have to see if there's an easier way to get that acoustic foam too...
 
Probably not gonna use Dynamat.
 
Also, do you know what difference adding the foam on top of the plasticine in the baffles would do?

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