Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW!
Aug 28, 2010 at 7:28 AM Post #106 of 11,346


Quote:
IS there any difference in comfort between the T50RP and T50RP V2... How much do they differ in sound?


There is no comfort difference between both. The V1 has less bass than V2.
 
I have modded them with a pure silver 1/4" jack and a second genuine leather headband (or sub-headband, as you prefer). Now they are ultra-comfortable and can wear them for hours without that horrible feeling in the top of my head because of the rigid rubber headband.
 
Aug 28, 2010 at 7:38 AM Post #107 of 11,346
I've had a pair of these in my recording studio for years. It's interesting that so many of you are modding them. For the most part these are aimed at studio use and they are meant to have a somewhat neutral sound signature. Many years ago I thought these were the best for audio engineering. But mine are in semi-retirement after many years of use. I began using the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro about 5 years ago and still find that set to be vastly superior to the T50RP in every way. More recently, I'm also using the Equation Audio RP-21 (a great value @ less than $100), which I find to have a superior sound quality (for studio use) but are not as comfortable as the Beyers. For that matter I always found the T50RP to be uncomfortable, especially in regards to listening fatigue. Perhaps that's not always the case with vintage orthos? Anyway...just my two cents. I would love to check out one of your modified T50RPs
 
Aug 30, 2010 at 11:44 PM Post #109 of 11,346


Quote:
IS there any difference in comfort between the T50RP and T50RP V2... How much do they differ in sound?


If I recall correctly you want the V2 which is prob what you have.
 
Sep 2, 2010 at 4:58 PM Post #112 of 11,346
This thread...
popcorn.gif

 
Also, those that mod just gave me some new ideas for my Sonys.
 
Sep 2, 2010 at 9:04 PM Post #115 of 11,346
Not bad eh? Here's LCD-2's graph for comparison:
(image borrowed from wikiphonia)

 
 
Headband - I don't think you can break it - I read somewhere it's metal.
 
Quote:
anyone lucky w/ bending the headband? I'm afraid of breaking it..
 
and because it's the proper thread: http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/t50rp.html
t50rp_f.gif

 
leanest mids ever!
 
BTW, if anyone's got stock earpads to sell, please PM.



 
Sep 2, 2010 at 10:17 PM Post #116 of 11,346
 
mid masochist eh?
btw, anyone know how to strech the high without make it bright?


oh yeah, this phone is for the mids heads...most definitely! and I don't mean dreamy artificially colored mids, I mean neutral/natural sounding mids. I'm currently listening to the MFSL version of "Dead Can Dance - Aion", the SQ is pretty eye popping.
 
there's no way to make it sound half-good...it's really horrid stock.
 
Not bad eh?
 
Headband - I don't think you can break it - I read somewhere it's metal.


Indeed, it sounds highly natural...and oh my oh my, ditching the cups sides felt provides such an amazing 3D SS \o/
 
Ah well, it crushes my ears a bit but it ain't so bad...I've tried to bend it, but it seemed to always get its initial shape back anyway. I was told that you could bend the Beyer's, but I've never succeeded. And for the short times I've heard it w/ a tad less clamping, the sound seemed a bit hollow.
 
the graph I posted was made using a stock v1 T50RP, so that might explain...mine clearly doesn't lack sub-bass after being modded.
 
Sep 2, 2010 at 10:25 PM Post #117 of 11,346
you can bend the metal "cup posts" (the gold part showing in my profile photo above) much more effectively than you can bend the headband.  I have bent the posts on mine about 1/2" inward and they certainly show no sign of weakening.  also i have bent the headband pretty extensively too.. so far they still feel rock solid.  I think these cans are generally more solid than they appear to be.
 
Sep 3, 2010 at 8:36 AM Post #119 of 11,346
 
you can bend the metal "cup posts"


ah well, maybe that works if you change the cups...but I think I'll stick to the stock clamping and earpads. This phone is really as semi-DIY as can get, like "ok the drivers rock, now it's your own problem to make it sound good".
 
Mine's fiberfill. 

 
got pics?
 
anyway, I thought the t50rp was slower than my cd1k(same drivers as the cd3k), but it seems to be more complicated. The cd3k drivers are famous for their dreamy mids range and high PRaT, but it ends up that they have a nasty spike in the upper mids and tend to make the sound more percussive(like the HFI-780 but to a far lesser extend). The T50RP can provide the same PRaT as the cd3k drivers on very percussive music(dnb), but it won't cheat/color the sound to make it percussive anyway. The cd3k drivers are unable to project a narrow headstage and a non-percussive/boring sound....everything sound uber-wide and PRaT'ty as hell, the T50RP is far more versatile and doesn't sound artificial whatsoever.
 
a bit like what was explained in that review, but to far lesser extend again: http://www.stereomojo.com/GoldringDr150headphonesreview.htm

Attack is fine on the DR150, nothing really worthy to mention about it, but decay, on the other hand, is way too fast on it. Notes tend to sound like they're continually being abruptly cut off and not allowed to end. It's actually pretty noticeable and one of the first things I noticed - at first I thought it was something with the treble response or soundstage but further listening revealed that it just has too short of a decay. It's most noticeable on percussion instruments, as there should be that moment of sound exiting into the air for some "shimmer," but it's just completely cut off, as if there's no air and the music is playing in a vacuum or some kind of bubble. There's no cymbal wah for example, it's just the cymbal strike, the metallic zzzhh, but when the time comes for the wah to kick in, it kinda starts, but then kinda stops, and you don't hear the "ahhh" part. Needless to say, this does affect runs of fast notes, as they end up sounding unnatural.
 
The goal of HD video is to give the feeling of looking through a window, I believe headphones should aim at fooling the brain into believing that it's hearing live sound...that's what I'm currently experiencing from my low jitter transport. Also, my dampening seems to match my middle ear resonances pretty well as I don't really succeed to hear spikes when playing a sine sweep.
 
I don't think I will open the top vents, because the isolation from outside noise has reached my personal limits, and the SS is amazingly 3D sounding anyway. I've tried to fill the holes around the driver w/ bluetack, but it sounded bloated at hell. The last mod will be to solder the cable directly onto the drivers.
 

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