Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW! - Page 396

On attaching the 840 pads -- I've always found it easiest to take the flaps and roll them over the earpads, so that they are inside-out. Then attach them to the baffle, and "unroll" them onto the headphone. Over time, the pads do stretch a bit and get easier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 However, if I were to desire a slight more "sizzle" in my upper frequencies with the Fostex, what's the best approach?  Is placing a piece of foil on the back, center square of the Tic-Tac-Toe driver back the best way to go?  Or, should I consider something else to apply?  At 48, my ears tend to desire a bit more upper frequencies either because of some hearing decay or limitations in the frequencies that I can hear.  That's why the Grado - and, then the Magnum has appealed to me.  Bear in mind, the Magnum has provided some of the best balanced sound that my ears have heard in a headphone.  But, I suspect the mids and lows in the Fostex will still be slightly predominant - in part due to their design and what I can hear even before the modifications start.  So, I'm essentially asking the best best approach to "tip" the upper frequencies a bit.  Any ideas on the best move to make?

 

Thanks,

I think based upon all of the work that BMF has done, it seems you want to damp the driver more in order to tip them toward higher frequencies. In his experiments with transpore tape, it was determined that the more layers placed behind the driver, the brighter the overall signature got. Bass performance seems to be determined by the seal of the earpads, as well as volume of air that is moved. Conversely, with more airflow restriction, the higher frequencies seem to come out more. 

I would do that sort of secondary tuning after you do the basic modding -- acoustic foam, namely -- to get rid of as much resonance as possible. Once things get cleaner, you may decide there is enough clarity. 

Just ordered myself some DeOxit for the headphone jack, and also ordered some SIlverstone to properly damp the earcup as well.

So far I've been doing the BMF "less is more" mod without scraping off the felt surrounding the front of the driver, and using adhesive felt instead of paxmate/silverstone for the earcup.  I'm curious to see how much difference the silverstone will make.

I got some AD700's, modded them with Respone Dynamat stuff, gotta say, there much better with the Realiser than the T50RP's. So much smoother and lots of headrooom cause there so easy to drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDMan 

I got some AD700's, modded them with Respone Dynamat stuff, gotta say, there much better with the Realiser than the T50RP's. So much smoother and lots of headrooom cause there so easy to drive.

Where did you put the Response? Behind the purple grill. I have some AD700s in front of me here.

The AD700 have a very smooth response up and beyond 1kHz. Also you might want to experiment with additional sealing of the earpads (I made a thread on this). There is lots of potential for more bass.

Your T50RPs have sealed vents, don't they? Have you tried the Realiser with a more open mod?

While I do have some "burn-in" time on these since getting them, more mods have been applied.  I'll try the Silver Stone that a kind member sent me.  For the mean time, the Plastix has been installed, the cups have been lined with a closed-cell craft foam.  Yes, it's about $.90 cents per sheet, can be cut with a scissors and comes in about 8 colors.  It's from a company called Creative - and, is available at just about any craft store.  I just used it long enough with 2.5 cotton "rounders" over the foam to get things rolling.

So far, with the O2 and my Sansui vintage receiver, these headphones are sick.  Yes, SICK. I'm usually a bit more reserved with my music selections, however, some Black Eyed Peas and Dr. Dre were calling out hard to be played on the Fostex 'phones.  Believe me, there was plenty of punch and I'm somewhat pleased with things - for now.  Ear pads still need to be ordered, etc.  However, with those genres of music that I put on from my Squeezebox through the Sansui, I know I was well within the territory of insulting the "Beats" users with the way things were pounding. 

It's great having a set of 'phones that will perform well with my typical genres - jazz, blues and Americana music.  However, when I need to kick things up a bit with some hip-hop, it's good to know these are up to the task in that area, too.

I realize that the Fostex 'phones does have some critics, but I'm amazed at where these can go with the intial purchase price and $20 - $35.00 more in additional "enhancements" for them.  In fact, it's almost criminal what these can do for the price paid.

I'm glad you like them.  It's good to see some Magnum/Grado lovers appreciating the Fostex T50RP. 

Did you replace the stock pads with the shure 840 pads.  They really give you the bass that it needs( the stock pads don't seal well and hence the lack of bass).

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

While I do have some "burn-in" time on these since getting them, more mods have been applied.  I'll try the Silver Stone that a kind member sent me.  For the mean time, the Plastix has been installed, the cups have been lined with a closed-cell craft foam.  Yes, it's about $.90 cents per sheet, can be cut with a scissors and comes in about 8 colors.  It's from a company called Creative - and, is available at just about any craft store.  I just used it long enough with 2.5 cotton "rounders" over the foam to get things rolling.

 

So far, with the O2 and my Sansui vintage receiver, these headphones are sick.  Yes, SICK. I'm usually a bit more reserved with my music selections, however, some Black Eyed Peas and Dr. Dre were calling out hard to be played on the Fostex 'phones.  Believe me, there was plenty of punch and I'm somewhat pleased with things - for now.  Ear pads still need to be ordered, etc.  However, with those genres of music that I put on from my Squeezebox through the Sansui, I know I was well within the territory of insulting the "Beats" users with the way things were pounding. 

 

It's great having a set of 'phones that will perform well with my typical genres - jazz, blues and Americana music.  However, when I need to kick things up a bit with some hip-hop, it's good to know these are up to the task in that area, too.

 

I realize that the Fostex 'phones does have some critics, but I'm amazed at where these can go with the intial purchase price and $20 - $35.00 more in additional "enhancements" for them.  In fact, it's almost criminal what these can do for the price paid.

 

 

Whats to best mod for 55% EDM 25% Alternative 20% Movies listeners for the T50 RPs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 

So far, with the O2 and my Sansui vintage receiver, these headphones are sick.  Yes, SICK. I'm usually a bit more reserved with my music selections, however, some Black Eyed Peas and Dr. Dre were calling out hard to be played on the Fostex 'phones.  Believe me, there was plenty of punch and I'm somewhat pleased with things - for now.  Ear pads still need to be ordered, etc.  However, with those genres of music that I put on from my Squeezebox through the Sansui, I know I was well within the territory of insulting the "Beats" users with the way things were pounding. 

You know what's even sicker, you can take a $74 T50 and invest another $20 to $25 and have a headphone that really defies it's price point. Glad your enjoying your new cans.

     Quote:

Originally Posted by sling5s 

I'm glad you like them.  It's good to see some Magnum/Grado lovers appreciating the Fostex T50RP. 

Did you replace the stock pads with the shure 840 pads.  They really give you the bass that it needs( the stock pads don't seal well and hence the lack of bass).

I think threre are quite a few of us. My two main cans are the HF2 and the T50, and I love them both for different reasons. On the subject of the 840 pads has anyone removed the foam back panel on them? I'm thinking of using some acoustic foam around the driver like I did with the stock pads. I guess there is only one way to find out what the results will be. Just curious if anyone else had tried it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

 On the subject of the 840 pads has anyone removed the foam back panel on them? I'm thinking of using some acoustic foam around the driver like I did with the stock pads. I guess there is only one way to find out what the results will be. Just curious if anyone else had tried it.

I use the foam around the driver.  If by "remove the phone" you mean the fabric on the 840, I left it alone.  It seemed to have little/no effect on HF response...

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

You know what's even sicker, you can take a $74 T50 and invest another $20 to $25 and have a headphone that really defies it's price point. Glad your enjoying your new cans.

 

You got it.  Just waiting on the Silver Stone, felt and Plastix to arrive via USPS.      

Some guy from Florida apparently sent me a package. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by symphonic 

Where did you put the Response? Behind the purple grill. I have some AD700s in front of me here.

 

The AD700 have a very smooth response up and beyond 1kHz. Also you might want to experiment with additional sealing of the earpads (I made a thread on this). There is lots of potential for more bass.

 

Your T50RPs have sealed vents, don't they? Have you tried the Realiser with a more open mod?

AD700 mods: Idea's taken form previous T50RP experience

Remove black foam behind the grill (makes them even more airy, but also more sound leakage)

Put Response (Dynamat/Paxmate combined) over every part of the cheap plastic except for the insides of the drivers, also earside, removing the white paper with holes in it. I put response on everything, she weighs a wee bit more now , but bass response is tight and plenty she is me matey.

The only holes visible are the holes for the drivers themselves, those you do not cover, the rest needs to be dampened and add some wieght. Also put some response on the back of the driver, but allowing a hole in the centre for the driver to breathe.

One last mod, the pads have a heap of cotton wool in them to raise them out, allows your ears to fit in there, and now there circumaural, soooo much more comfy. They sound better this way aswell.
 

I am starting to believe, more than %50 of the sound is in the driver housing, these sound better than the T50RP's, at least on the Realiser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

 

You know what's even sicker, you can take a $74 T50 and invest another $20 to $25 and have a headphone that really defies it's price point. Glad your enjoying your new cans.

It depends how sane you are :) I took a $75 headphone then invested $20 or so to do some mods and then bought some Stax pads that cost more than all of that combined :) The comfort makes it worth it imo but definitely not for those who want the best bang for the buck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

Some guy from Florida apparently sent me a package. 

Are you intimating that promised packages from Florida are subject to suspicion?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawrster 

It depends how sane you are :) I took a $75 headphone then invested $20 or so to do some mods and then bought some Stax pads that cost more than all of that combined :) The comfort makes it worth it imo but definitely not for those who want the best bang for the buck.

I took a different route. I bought a pair of Smeggy inspired Thunderpants crafted by Marty of Martin Custom Audio aka Martypants, so I could compare and contrast the woodied T50 to the plastic one. The Martypants came with a pair of 02 pads that I test drove on my stock T50. They were nice, but I got the stock pads sounding pretty good when I applied some paxmate to the earside of the baffle around the driver. I removed the paxmate when I struggled getting my 840 pads on. I'm thinking of reapplying it and removing the foam on the 840 pads. Anyway I sold the Martypants because a stock T50 can be modded to sound just as good.IMO.

Anyone have a picture of a someone wearing t50rp's?