[IBJamon]

Make that two dead 1/8" jacks.

I'm out of jacks. So I have no choice but to wait until next week. What a crappy day.

 

[stellarelephant]

Argh. Sorry IBJamon. I have had my share of DIY failures as well. At least you know that your idea works.

 

[stellarelephant]

Well now that you have the required power it is time to move on to JRiver, DSP processing and and above all to Aqua VST Plugins from Acustica

I really like Audirvana for playing music on my Mac. The "Direct Mode" setting bypasses Apple's invisible system-wide Core Audio processing, and the result is quite audible. It lifts a veil I never knew was there until I tried it. I have Logic and I have played with DSP effects in there. In particular I have used EQ with surgical precision to flatten the frequency responses of my old Grado SR80e and Sennheiser HD598 cans. I managed to make real improvements in this way, but now that I have better cans, I have been more interested in decoding the original files with as little tampering as possible. I've noticed that I don't even really like the sound of 2x upsampling... What does the Aqua suite do for you in particular?

 

[kintsaki]

I really like Audirvana for playing music on my Mac. The "Direct Mode" setting bypasses Apple's invisible system-wide Core Audio processing, and the result is quite audible. It lifts a veil I never knew was there until I tried it. I have Logic and I have played with DSP effects in there. In particular I have used EQ with surgical precision to flatten the frequency responses of my old Grado SR80e and Sennheiser HD598 cans. I managed to make real improvements in this way, but now that I have better cans, I have been more interested in decoding the original files with as little tampering as possible. I've noticed that I don't even really like the sound of 2x upsampling... What does the Aqua suite do for you in particular?

The answer to your question is relatively long (a couple of pages, a bunch of links and it entails 47 years of experience with this hobby and audio engineering) unfortunately I don't have the energy to write it out as I am 65 years old and have recently got sick with pneumonia.

You do have a good point as it regards to up-sampling and to not tempering with the original files (especially with the current stock of equipment), however the opposite is also true for some people either as a pure matter of preference or as the latest in the state of the art technology and this is the staff that it would take me 2 pages to explain. Until I get well and find the time to write up and to include the links of what is discussed in audio engineering conferences my advice to you is to be more of a music file and less of an audiophile. Enjoy your music and your equipment the way you think sounds best to you and the way it makes better sense to you as you alluded in your post. Do not be surprised if this changes with time again and again as it did recently for you. But do try to follow the pro's and to use pro equipment instead of audiophile. You will know it when listening to your own old worn out favorite songs when you shiver as if you were in a live concert.

 

[GearMe]

The answer to your question is relatively long (a couple of pages, a bunch of links and it entails 47 years of experience with this hobby and audio engineering) unfortunately I don't have the energy to write it out as I am 65 years old and have recently got sick with pneumonia.

You do have a good point as it regards to up-sampling and to not tempering with the original files (especially with the current stock of equipment), however the opposite is also true for some people either as a pure matter of preference or as the latest in the state of the art technology and this is the staff that it would take me 2 pages to explain. Until I get well and find the time to write up and to include the links of what is discussed in audio engineering conferences my advice to you is to be more of a music file and less of an audiophile. Enjoy your music and your equipment the way you think sounds best to you and the way it makes better sense to you as you alluded in your post. Do not be surprised if this changes with time again and again as it did recently for you. But do try to follow the pro's and to use pro equipment instead of audiophile. You will know it when listening to your own old worn out favorite songs when you shiver as if you were in a live concert.

+1MM

 

[kintsaki]

+1MM

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” -- Plato
Fostex Headphones open the least expensive pathway of music to my soul.

 

[GearMe]

They are a great set of cans for the $$$...to be sure!

 

[IBJamon]

I know this is really off topic, and I'm sorry. What I did today was make a simple inline adapter that exactly recreates the A100's 220Ohm resistors, and removing it is direct mode that the Fostex likes. I will also try to make an impedance matching version, but this does work fine also.

 

[carter840]

Can someone help me understand the isolation properties of the T50-RP? I am interested in these (well actually the T60-RP, when released) for use in an office environment. I am concerned that others around my desk (open office floor) will be able to hear my music. Can anyone comment on if the music is audible to those around the listener in a public setting?

 

[stellarelephant]

Can someone help me understand the isolation properties of the T50-RP? I am interested in these (well actually the T60-RP, when released) for use in an office environment. I am concerned that others around my desk (open office floor) will be able to hear my music. Can anyone comment on if the music is audible to those around the listener in a public setting?

How well do they isolate? My Mayflower-modded T50RPs isolate almost as well as my old ATH-M50s (which have worn out pads). The Mayfowers are loaded with foam and plasticine, and have very thick Shure pads, so my guess is they isolate better than stock. I realize this may not provide a great reference for you.

Perhaps others can chime in on this. But after owning open cans, IME the "semi-open" designation of these Mayflowers translates to "mostly closed." Bear in mind you will need a lot of power to drive these cleanly.

 

[kukkurovaca]

Okay, I broke out my stock T50RPs with Shure 1540 pads, and if they're playing at louder than my usual listening volume and I cover the pads with my hands and hold them at arm's length, I can barely hear them. In real use, leakage should be lower than that. And that's with pads that are fenestrated; a solid leather or faux leather pad with thick foam would probably reduce sound quite a bit. I guess I could test this, I have a pair of spare ZMF pads. However, I don't feel wrestling them onto my headphones right now.

Anyway, I think it should be okay unless your coworkers sit quite close to you and are quite sound-sensitive.

 

[trellus]

I sat in a smallish office with 3 others and one of my co-workers listened to music with Fostex T20RP MK3, which are even more open than the T50RP and leakage was so minimal you had to be pretty darn close to hear anything and it never bothered anyone. My HD 700, on the other hand....

 

[carter840]

Thanks all who have replied, I really appreciate your input.

I think my thoughts are to go with the T60-RP when they come out unless anyone hear thinks I should consider a few other headphones as alternatives options.

Another question I have on the T60-RP is reguarind the 4 pin XLR connector. Is this a true XLR connector? In other words does it provide the benefits or a balanced connection or is it merely an adapter?

 

[kukkurovaca]

Thanks all who have replied, I really appreciate your input.

I think my thoughts are to go with the T60-RP when they come out unless anyone hear thinks I should consider a few other headphones as alternatives options.

Another question I have on the T60-RP is reguarind the 4 pin XLR connector. Is this a true XLR connector? In other words does it provide the benefits or a balanced connection or is it merely an adapter?

From what I read, it is a balanced connector, and even though the T60 is a single-entry headphone, the jack is TRRS and the headphone's wiring is balanced.

Given the price of the T60RP, you might also want to look at some of the T50 mods. The ZMF Classic has a balanced option if that's critical. I haven't heard those, but I have a pair of Modhouse Argon that are very nice.

 

[carter840]

From what I read, it is a balanced connector, and even though the T60 is a single-entry headphone, the jack is TRRS and the headphone's wiring is balanced.

Given the price of the T60RP, you might also want to look at some of the T50 mods. The ZMF Classic has a balanced option if that's critical. I haven't heard those, but I have a pair of Modhouse Argon that are very nice.

Thanks for the suggestion, I was thinking I might even end up modding the T60's, but will wait to see if others come up with nice mods for them. Are the internals of the T60's different from the T50 or is it just the build materials/qualities? They seem to have the same specs...