[Harry Manback]

Shhhhhh, it's a secret

Read this fast, its sure to get deleted by a mod: google super best audio friends. They are kind of dickish over there, but you get less bull - like talk of planars "breaking in". Of course, you do see bull of another variety there. They often talk of "plankton", which they claim is micro-detail.

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

Listening now at work on my Magni3 (fed by Fulla 2 output), and this is with the Mayflower mods besides the cotton wool. I still think the frequency response is wonky, and a lot of music (unfortunately lots of metal) sounds very hectic and confused. Bass and highs are nothing to write home about.

Nevertheless, I'm starting to get a feel for where these headphones are strong -- there is a really nice immediacy and realism to the mids that makes my daily driver DT 990 pros sound quite dull by comparison. In some ways this is reminiscent to how grados sound so "in your face". I was starting to worry that I had made a bad purchase, but I think there are enough redeeming qualities (spectacular comfort not least of them) to make these phones keepers.

 

[Harry Manback]

Listening now at work on my Magni3 (fed by Fulla 2 output), and this is with the Mayflower mods besides the cotton wool. I still think the frequency response is wonky, and a lot of music (unfortunately lots of metal) sounds very hectic and confused. Bass and highs are nothing to write home about.

Nevertheless, I'm starting to get a feel for where these headphones are strong -- there is a really nice immediacy and realism to the mids that makes my daily driver DT 990 pros sound quite dull by comparison. In some ways this is reminiscent to how grados sound so "in your face". I was starting to worry that I had made a bad purchase, but I think there are enough redeeming qualities (spectacular comfort not least of them) to make these phones keepers.

I couldn't disagree more with your wonky comment. These are coherent and smooth as glass. For reference, what headphones do you consider to be good?

 

[mandrake50]

Not these, so far anyway. I want to try some of the modded versions from ZMF or Mr. Speakers. I would like to hear what can be done with them.

@XXhalberstramXX. What are your thoughts on how the Mayflower mods changed these headphones.

BTW, sorry for my outburst yesterday. It is not usually my style. I typically take a measured approach to new gear. I give it time, put some hours on it, then make an assessment.
These, on first listen, were just so spectacularly bad that I took it out on my keyboard...and you folks. Again, sorry.

Harry, you didn't ask me, but pretty much everything I have listened to is better. I dug out a very old set of Soundmagic HP 100 headphones and did a quick A/B. I liked them better.
I tried with my HE 400 and 400i, they are better (much). K7xx, thxx, far better. Later I will find some of the other closely priced headphones from my collection and compare them.

I wonder if I just got a pair that is broken... yes they performed to the point that I think that they may be... broken.

Now this is just me and my tastes. But being around here for a long time, being a veteran of more than a few CanJams and local meets, I think I have some kind of handle of the kinds of sound that people generally like (very broadly). I am surprised, if my set is not broken, that there are as many positive comments as there have been here.

 

[murrmax]

Harry, you didn't ask me, but pretty much everything I have listened to is better. I dug out a very old set of Soundmagic HP 100 headphones and did a quick A/B. I liked them better.
I tried with my HE 400 and 400i, they are better (much). K7xx, thxx, far better. Later I will find some of the other closely priced headphones from my collection and compare them.

I disagree, I've heard and owned several decent phones and heard many other planars Mr speakers, PM3, Audeze;
and for me these sounds very good and (for me) subjectively better than the ones you've mentioned.
I'm using mine with a Buffalo dac and straight wire gain amps which are pretty clinical and precise and works very well with these phones. This amp/dac makes neutral, technical and analytical phones sound overly so, so maybe synergy has a part to play in the sound.

I don't find any wonkyness in the frequency range either, a little boost in the bass and a little treble rolloff. I've listened to most genres including metal with these and they sound good across all to me. And whilst they may not be as good as Grado for metal, I certainly wouldn't call them congested.

 

[mandrake50]

As I said... though I am surprised based on what I have heard, I can't ignore the positive comments. I will have to try some other things with them. I am sincerely concerned that I simply have a bad pair.

 

[ld100]

Read this fast, its sure to get deleted by a mod: google super best audio friends. They are kind of dickish over there, but you get less bull**** - like talk of planars "breaking in". Of course, you do see bull**** of another variety there. They often talk of "plankton", which they claim is micro-detail.

Thank you

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

As I said... though I am surprised based on what I have heard, I can't ignore the positive comments. I will have to try some other things with them. I am sincerely concerned that I simply have a bad pair.

I'd try the Mayflower mods -- the only ones that are non-reversible are the hard felt stuck to the driver back. The modeling clay is probably a pain to remove as well. To my ears, the headphones were a bit "honky" -- possibly due to resonances in the earcups. After the mods (besides the cotton, which seemed to kill all bass) they seemed a bit more well-behaved, if still rather uneven in the midrange. I do plan on trying a few more mods out, but I'll wait until I get a firmer sense of the sound. I've only compared to the DT 990 pros, which I consider a fun and reliable headphone (despite the v-shaped response). I can't compare to my Grado 225s because the plug died on me and needs recabling. My Ety 4rs are long dead after going through the wash one too many times, and come winter I'll have a pair of HD 6xx to compare to. For reference, I can't say I've been 100% happy with any of these headphones, but each has served its purpose. I've also owned HD 600s and DT 770s in the (distant) past.

Edit: I should add that it was hard to test the change due to the hard felt on the back of the driver because this changed the overall volume level in addition to sonic characteristics.

 

[mandrake50]

I will need to do something with them, or just sell them. It is not so much, to me, that the midrange is honky, it is more like it is MIA. The bass is there but it is boomy and flabby. Not much going on below maybe 60 to 80 hz. I am getting some highs out of them, but they seems quite recessed.
I know I can play with EQ, and I plan to once I get some time, but I am not sure that any amount of EQ can cure the character of the bass. This puzzles me because my experience with planars has been quite the opposite. Usually lots of speed and detail down there, if sometimes slightly light on quantity.

I wish I had another pair to compare these to.

 

[DrivenUnder]

I will need to do something with them, or just sell them. It is not so much, to me, that the midrange is honky, it is more like it is MIA. The bass is there but it is boomy and flabby. Not much going on below maybe 60 to 80 hz. I am getting some highs out of them, but they seems quite recessed.
I know I can play with EQ, and I plan to once I get some time, but I am not sure that any amount of EQ can cure the character of the bass. This puzzles me because my experience with planars has been quite the opposite. Usually lots of speed and detail down there, if sometimes slightly light on quantity.

I wish I had another pair to compare these to.

Without doing an A/B test I cannot speak definitively, but that does sound like yours are defective. Mine are warm, and bass is just a tad loose, but I would not call the mids honky by any means. if mine were what you are describing, I'd find them exhausting, but on the contrary, they are warm, easy to listen to. Have you run them off an amp that is more neutral? I can imagine that a warmer tube amp might make them sound awful, similar to what you describe. The T-X0 seems a perfect pairing to some of the more low-end class D amps that have a neutral-to-bright sound.

 

[mandrake50]

I have used them with my CV2+, iDSD BL, M9xx, Pulse Infinity, and Meridian Explorer 2 so far. All of these have been described as a little on the warm side of neutral, but I don't find them excessively so. I think the Burson is pretty neutral but does have a hearty low end, for sure. I have not tried it with any of my tube hybrid amps.

 

[kukkurovaca]

I just got my pair. For anybody with chemical sensitivities, heads up: the rubber headband outgasses quite a bit upon opening.

The ginormous 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter is not a good idea. They should have had made a 3.5mm cable with a 6.3 adapter, or just included two cables. But whatever, not hard to get replacement cables.

They're very comfortable. I have a T50RP MK3 unmodified apart from Shure Alcantara pads and a mod house Alcantara strap. The T-X0 pads are not as nice, but the strap is probably more comfortable, b/c it's quite a bit bigger. (I have a large head.)

They seem louder than my T50RP. (Specs are the same.) Maybe that's just the difference between the pads?

Based on first impressions, I don't think they sound quite as good to me as my MK3s. Of course, total cost of T-X0 is quite a bit less than MK3+strap+pads.

 

[heliosphann]

Finally got mine today.

First impressions right out of the box from a Mojo, EEEEWWW! No bueno. Very congested and muddy sounding. Some peakiness in a few areas. Just overall not very good sounding, at least to me. I've already got a few modded 50's, and they sound quite a bit better than this. But, that's why I got these, to mod myself. Hopefully I can get some good sound emanating from them...

I do find them quite comfy. The pads are really nice and the headband fits me perfectly.

 

[mandrake50]

well, someone with a similar assessment to mine. I went over to the friends site and checked out the impressions and measurements. Again, mostly positive. Curves looked decent. Someone even said that the traditional major differences between units had been improved. I am beginning to wonder how accurate that statement is.

 

[jurumal]

Received the T-X0 yesterday and these are my impressions. Comfort is very good. Now the sound. Definitely muddy sounding out of the box. After first listen, I immediately knew I prefer the sound of my stock T50RP Mk3's over these. The T-X0 have more sub-bass quantity than the Mk3, enough to make the Mk3 sound devoid of it by comparison. Bass quality though, is on the loose side. Overall a bass to low mid-centric headphone. I notice the mids shine well as long as its on lower-half of the register. Once you get to upper-mids there's the suck-out. Instruments and vocals in this region will sound like they ended up in the background for some reason. Looking at FR graph on Massdrop, there's slight elevations in 6k and 8k from the suck-out. This is probably where people notice those peaks. There must be some treble deficiency up there somewhere too causing that muddy sound. I'm attributing the lack of treble dynamics to this as well. Imaging and stereo separation is actually good (must be inherent in T50RP drivers). Soundstage is actually just as wide as stock Mk3, although one may perceive it to be slightly wider due to the bass extension. Percussion really stands out with these headphones. Most of my listening was done with the Fiio A5 amping my iPhone 8/iPad Air 2. Adding the Schiit Gungnir to the chain improves overall clarity and dynamics. The veil isn't as present with the Gungnir, but it's still there. Still muddy. These headphones might be good for casual listening or relaxation (though my girlfriend doesn't agree with the relaxation part). Not for mixing/reference/neutrality.


Maybe the sound will open up with more burn-in. But if not, I've always wanted to hear Argon.