Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW! - Page 666

Should these have more bass than an AKG Q701 with these mods:

So far: 

-reinforced the baffle with a non hardening modeling clay

-stuffed the cups with the Rite-Aid brand cotton roll 

-some foam in the cups

-rolled up a tissue and stuffed in rear of each pad to angle them a little bit and give a better seal against my head.

using an E17 with them as a DAC and amp:

-medium gain, about half volume, which makes them seem just about as easy/hard to drive as the Q701

-treble 0

-bass +2

I have the Shure 840 pads on order, they should be here tomorrow. Should these already have more bass than the Q701 with the stock pads though? Right now these just sound like a Q701 with a more rolled off treble. They may sound just a tad bassier than the Q701, but not by much. How do I make these bass monsters?

I basically want them to have a lot of bass, with the same forward and clear mids that they already have, and an HD650 like treble. I want lots of bass impact and really deep extended bass. How do I make these into bass monsters? Are the 840 pads alone going to make a huge difference?

I'd like to first point out:  Welcome to page 666   Second, I'm very much considering a pair of the latest rev. MadDogs with the new Alpha Pads, as a complimentary closed headphone to my HE-400.  I've had my eye on them for some time, but the inclusion of the new pads (and their benefits) have officially sold me into giving them a go in the very near future.  I ultimately plan on using these with a small speaker amp, so I will be creating an adapter to use taps (also for use with my HE-400).  I'm definitely excited to see what these can do!

I just got the Shure SRH840 pads on... DAMN! What a difference! Putting cotton in the cups and mass loading the baffle helped with the sound, but damn the pads make a huge difference. 

I have a question for the people that use the SRH840 pads. Did you cut out the backing fabric or did you leave them as is? The reason I ask is that now there is two layers between the driver and the ear. The stock fabric and now the fabric backing that is a part of the SRH840 pads. 

So, mods as of right now: 

-SRH840 pads

-covered the small port hole on the baffle(s)

-outer cup vents have been left alone, so the felt is still there and all 4 slots are fully open

-mass loaded the baffle with a non hardening modeling clay

-stuffed the cups with a little bit of the Rite-Aid brand cotton roll 

-put some foam in the deeper part of the cups

-rolled up a tissue and stuffed it in the rear of each SRH840 pad to angle them a little bit and give a better seal against my head.

using an E17 with them:

-medium gain, about half volume, which makes them seem just about as easy/hard to drive as the Q701

-treble +2

-bass 0

I really didn't see myself liking these more than the Q701, but damn are they fun. My Q701 isn't going anywhere though because it will still have it's time and place. These are ridiculous with the SRH840 pads though. The difference is so huge. I actually just taped up the outside vents and just poked 3 small pen tip sized holes in the tape. This seems to have tamed the mid-bass a bit, but preserved the awesome sub-bass. 

What genre of music are people listening to with these?

Most

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonb 

I have a question for the people that use the SRH840 pads. Did you cut out the backing fabric or did you leave them as is? The reason I ask is that now there is two layers between the driver and the ear. The stock fabric and now the fabric backing that is a part of the SRH840 pads. 

Personally i removed it carefully cutting it out as large as possible, this way i can always put it back in there after if i didn't like it gone, funny enough i like it gone.

At least this way you remove another "what-if" variable in your mind and can easily restore it again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick n 

Personally i removed it carefully cutting it out as large as possible, this way i can always put it back in there after if i didn't like it gone, funny enough i like it gone.

At least this way you remove another "what-if" variable in your mind and can easily restore it again.

What did removing it do to the sound? 

as I recall it made things a tiny bit less obscured sounding. Generally fabricy foam like that tends to drop down some highs and or detailing. These things are easily thrown into the warmer side  in my experience so any little thing helps.  A fair number of vintage orthos also have the drivers as close to the ears as they can and often very little if any material junk ( or acoustically transparent material ) between the ear and driver faces. Why add anything extra.

I could see though if they have been tuned high, so It would depend on that also per individual mod itself.

It's really nothing to cut it out carefully and try it out personally, when it is back in place stuffed back in you can't tell at all it looks stock. Best test is your own ears and it's really a fast swap you could( should be able to ) tell right away depending on your mod.

This is what I had assumed. I'm going to leave it alone, at least for a little while. I'm actually going for a bassier, warm, forward mid kind of sound with these. I have a Q701 for when I want lots of treble detail with a massively wide soundstage. These T50's still have lots of detail in the bass and mids though, so I'm perfectly fine the way I have them tuned right now. The top end currently isn't really that rolled off anyway. It's about the same as I remember the HD650's top end. I'm going to use these the way I have them now for a bit before I make any other quick changes. Right now they sound like a better sounding HD650 with ridiculous bass extension. I am impressed. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick n 

as I recall it made things a tiny bit less obscured sounding. Generally fabricy foam like that tends to drop down some highs and or detailing. These things are easily thrown into the warmer side  in my experience so any little thing helps.  A fair number of vintage orthos also have the drivers as close to the ears as they can and often very little if any material junk ( or acoustically transparent material ) between the ear and driver faces. Why add anything extra.

 

I could see though if they have been tuned high, so It would depend on that also per individual mod itself.

 

It's really nothing to cut it out carefully and try it out personally, when it is back in place stuffed back in you can't tell at all it looks stock. Best test is your own ears and it's really a fast swap you could( should be able to ) tell right away depending on your mod.

Do the Audeze pads fit the T50rp? I love the LCD pads, and it would be awesome if they were to fit the T50rp..

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR 

I got my hands on some used LCD2 rev 1 pads and they fit just fine. Ever so slightly loose, but not a problem. Probably my favorite pads overall. I ended up removing the old foam and restuffing with memory foam. Much better now.

I never got to try out rev.1 LCDs, but I couldn't stand the "squishy-ness" of the LCD2 rev.2 pads that I tried.  I bet with the memory foam upgrade they would be supple and just wonderful.  On a side note, anyone try these:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_66627_NVX-XRE100A.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=productads&gclid=CPHc6of43rUCFQ2nnQod1kkA5A

They are pads the that come with the NVX version of an Fischer FA-003 Clone/ Brainwavz hm5.  Angled pleather pads, these could be interesting for those unoffended by pleather.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrscotchguy 

 

I never got to try out rev.1 LCDs, but I couldn't stand the "squishy-ness" of the LCD2 rev.2 pads that I tried.  I bet with the memory foam upgrade they would be supple and just wonderful.  On a side note, anyone try these:

 

 

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_66627_NVX-XRE100A.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=productads&gclid=CPHc6of43rUCFQ2nnQod1kkA5A

 

They are pads the that come with the NVX version of an Fischer FA-003 Clone/ Brainwavz hm5.  Angled pleather pads, these could be interesting for those unoffended by pleather.

 Those look like a great, cheaper alternative to custom leather pads or even stock Denon pads.  

I think I might have overstuffed the modded pads I have, as they are a little firmer than I expected, but they are still very comfortable.  I could easily remove some, but too lazy to undo the stitching again.

BTW, if anyone wants to play with pad mods, a $15 ergonomic pillow from Walmart provides you with enough memory foam for maybe 20 pairs.  Next up for me is getting ahold of some soft leather to see if I can make a decent headpad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR 

I got my hands on some used LCD2 rev 1 pads and they fit just fine. Ever so slightly loose, but not a problem. Probably my favorite pads overall. I ended up removing the old foam and restuffing with memory foam. Much better now.

Really? Now I want to try these headphones with those pads out!! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonb 

These angled pads just pictured above should fit the T50rp? They look nice.

I cannot confirm that they fit snugly since I never tried out the original FA-003/HM5 pads, but the NVX pads are designed to fit the same clone of the previously mentioned headphone(s).  With that said, they should fit.  Anywho... a little electrical tape does wonders .

*Edit: They also sell the standard pad if you are looking for another pleather option