[DaBomb77766]

Anyone know the best way to get SRH840 pads in Canada?  I checked out Amazon and from the only seller that'll ship them to Canada, the shipping costs more than the pads themselves.  I'd rather keep my spending to a minimum with this, with everything I need to buy the final price will end up being well over $150 at this rate.

 

[KneelJung]

It's crazy how wildly the tone & timbre of these things can change. Last night I removed some of the felt from the earside of the driver. Basically enough to expose the driver. Then I surrounded it with paxmate. They went from being on the brighter side to darker and increased bass that was sort of veiling the mids a little it seemed. Tonight I switched out the tweed cloth that I had over the driver and exchanged it with some stiff craft felt. They got a lot brighter and the bass dropped out.I thought maybe it was because I opened the vent back up, but all four slits are covered with craft felt from the outside now and the bass is still a little anemic. I popped on my 02 from my Martypants and they are still a little too bright. Back to the drawing board.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

If you feel that stock sound is bad, maybe you won't like them after the mods.
The stock sound signature is quite freak, very pleasant sounding for long listening sessions, but nothing similar to Denon or other brands with huge amounts of midbass, though you can hear the sub bass pretty clear in the stock Fostex.
It's a very detailed headphone and revealing, even stock, but I know and understand that it's not for the vast majority of customers.

I really can't understand how anyone would like the stock. They are fairly flat between 100HZ-1KHz. There is massive roll-offs on both sides (below 100HZ and above 1KHz) with a sharp peak at 10KHz. I can hear the potential, though, and I'm sure they'll be quite good after modding.

 

[Hennyo]

Quote:

I too found the stock T50RP a quite weak contender.  It was bright(ish), lacked deep punch, had muffled highs and undetailed mids compared to other headphones I have.  However, when modified, they are something to never let go of. 

They are the godsend headphone, in a $2000 false, brutish headphone market.
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I too found the stock T50RP a quite weak contender.  It was bright(ish).....had muffled highs

U lost me.  1/0
 
Sounds like you mean lean?

 

[micmacmo]

I threw a 0.5mm slice of melamine foam behind each driver. I hadn't tried it before, out of concern that it would occlude the cup volume. The results were pretty impressive. The bass down at 20 Hz is now clearly audible and, according to my sons' pristine ears, the high frequencies start to roll off at around 18 kHz. 
 
Otherwise, my T50s are pretty vanilla. Plasticine baffles. Paxmate cups. Stock cloth on both sides of the driver. Tape with a ~1mm hole over the vents. RX900 pads canted forward by wedges of self-adhesive craft foam sheet.
 
Props to armaegis and LFF for the general ideas. Sopping up those stray sound waves with a Mr. Clean sponge made a measurable difference.

 

[mmayer167]

sweet man, nice find. my 3rd pair of t50 will be here monday to mod from stock instead of thunderpanting. cant wait to see if they outright dominate the TP!?
 
M   
 
 

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

Nice soapbox moment, and it looked pretty accurate to me.  

  
 
A practical summary, though you didn't quite say it this way, is that acoustic foam is essential to control reflection, and for these phones reflections and standing waves are the biggest problem.  Any mod will require extensive reflection and standing wave reduction.  
 
Mass loading and damping via Dynamat/Plasticine/Etc. are good ways to control vibration but won't address reflection.  So mass loading by itself isn't advisable.  Mass loading is optional/good to have but requires the use of foam.
 

True. Mass loading and dynamat are mainly to control enclosure vibration and give you cleaner driver response. For backwave/chamber reflections, that's what the felts and filler are for; removing the direct paths and putting absorptive material in the way. I always go by the less is more motto, otherwise you risk overdamping or complicating for no reasonable gain. 
 
Bass ports and baffle vents complicate things a bit, as they tend to be pressure equalization points or extra release points to the ear. Once again though, they are there by design. If you don't go overboard with the damping, then you can safely leave them be.

 
Quote:

Anyone know the best way to get SRH840 pads in Canada?  I checked out Amazon and from the only seller that'll ship them to Canada, the shipping costs more than the pads themselves.  I'd rather keep my spending to a minimum with this, with everything I need to buy the final price will end up being well over $150 at this rate.

 
Here you go:
http://www.stereotypeaudio.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=4&osCsid=27221362977d20b5c30c929b2f056359
 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrspeakers /img/forum/go_quote.gif
....for these phones reflections and standing waves are the biggest problem.  Any mod will require extensive reflection and standing wave reduction.

Took the words right out of my mouth....
 
 

 

[mrspeakers]

Quote:

True. Mass loading and dynamat are mainly to control enclosure vibration and give you cleaner driver response. For backwave/chamber reflections, that's what the felts and filler are for; removing the direct paths and putting absorptive material in the way. I always go by the less is more motto, otherwise you risk overdamping or complicating for no reasonable gain. 
 
Bass ports and baffle vents complicate things a bit, as they tend to be pressure equalization points or extra release points to the ear. Once again though, they are there by design. If you don't go overboard with the damping, then you can safely leave them be.
 
 
Here you go:http://www.stereotypeaudio.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=4&osCsid=27221362977d20b5c30c929b2f056359
 

Actually, I don't agree with a few things you say.  First, these headphones are really sensitive to reflection.  As long as you are using a quality acoustic foam you won't be overdamping (unless you try something goofy like filling the whole enclosure with foam), though you will need to tune the vent or close it depending on the other mods.  I don't think less is more is valid in this instance.  
 
Second, the bass ports are very fortunate to have, because any mod has a major effect on bass, and through the port it's very easy to tune your sound for a given configuration.  If the port wasn't there, mod options would be reduced.
 
Ultimately, I have been working on the T50s for many months and can safely say this:  they're super sensitive to modifications, and almost any change affects multiple aspects of the sound.  Given the variables of pads, damping, foam, mass and vents it is really interesting and sometimes frustrating to tune a design because most of these variable interact, and chaining one may require changing another.
 
It's been both challenging and rewarding to work on so many sets and try so many design variations.  The sound I've arrived at is addictive, it's just that pleasing.  Send me a note if you try the full Rastapants 2.  I have a secret I'll share, and you will want to hear it...
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

 
Here you go:http://www.stereotypeaudio.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=4&osCsid=27221362977d20b5c30c929b2f056359
 

Hm - while they do ship from Canada, it appears as though the shipping will end up costing just as much.  At least I wouldn't have to worry about customs...ah well, don't really have a choice, I guess.  Thanks anyway!
 
Also, is there any particular reason why nobody uses the 940 earpads?  I tend to prefer velour over synthetic leather if possible...

 

[micmacmo]

I think it was in this thread or the thunderpants thread that folks expressed a preference for the sound of pleather pads over velour pads. 

 

[Anaxilus]

Velour should change the tuning versus leather/pleather.  Notice the comments on the 940 being more bass light than the 840.  Notice the pad differences.  Not to say that's all there is but it's there none the less.  Not to say someone wont prefer the sound w/ velour either.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

I think it was in this thread or the thunderpants thread that folks expressed a preference for the sound of pleather pads over velour pads. 

 
For what reason?  Sound or comfort?  Honestly to me, comfort would take a higher priority than sounding a tiny bit better.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

Velour should change the tuning versus leather/pleather.  Notice the comments on the 940 being more bass light than the 840.  Notice the pad differences.  Not to say that's all there is but it's there none the less.  Not to say someone wont prefer the sound w/ velour either.

Ah, okay, thanks.  Guess I could do a bit of research on this myself...I do recall seeing a comparison somewhere of the two different pads on the Shure headphones.  Headfonia I think it was?