[jasonb]

Interesting results... My results with the Alpha pads were definitely not the same. I actaully ended up adding a treble reflector and adding more dampening material to reduce bass. Also after tigthening up the clamp there is definitely no bass roll-off.

 

[Thujone]

I know my setup is a little different, so I'll list what I did:
 
-Filled baffles with modeling clay
-Dime sized treble reflector
-Stiffened craft felt with 4 holes punched out on the 4 corners of the driver (2mm holes)
-Acoustipack Lite on the left and right cup floors with 8 Paxmate ladder rungs on each column
-Adhesive felt in middle sections where illustrated by BMF
-2 Cotton balls side by side directly in the center of the cup (one above each of the two columns with Acoustipack and Paxmate)
 
I took the Alphas off and put some tape on the baffle vents and the sound improved a little, but I think I'm gonna completely remove the cotton and see what happens....

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Quote:

Just got the Alpha pads in. So far the biggest difference I notice is that the highs are much more fatiguing now (MUCH more forward and almost sibilant) and there is a bit of a noticeable bass rolloff... Has anyone tried removing the foam on the 840 pads (the foam between the driver and your ear) and putting them on the Alphas? My gut feeling is that the super thin material on the Alphas is what's causing the change in sound more than the shape of the pads themselves.
 
BMF - if you have any old 840 pads that are good for retiring, would you mind cutting that material out and laying it on the cup before putting on the Alphas to see if you notice a better change?

Armaegis made this same hypothesis. If you look at the Pad Rolling graphs I posted at the bottom of Post #1 of this thread, you will see more "saw teeth" in the upper register from pads with Thin pad dust covers (Alpha Pads, J$ Pads, and HM5/FA-003 Pads) and less on the pads with thicker dust covers (Dog Pads and Shure 840s). Maybe the thicker foam does a better job of dispersing ear side reflections. In the same vein, removing the dust covers from the pads and over the drivers may not be such a good idea. I guess it depends on the mod config used, audio chain, and personal preferences.

 

[Thujone]

I just took the tape off of the vent on the ear side because I didn't like how muddy the bass got, then I took out the cotton balls. So far, this is the best setup I've found with these pads. Still, I find the highs a bit too overpowering... I guess I should take out the treble reflector. Or maybe a different type of tape on the baffle vent (I was using hockey stick tape - lol)? I didn't see anything about tape differences, but it's essentially based on the ability to vent. Guess I need more tape.

 

[Thujone]

Quote:

Armaegis made this same hypothesis. If you look at the Pad Rolling graphs I posted at the bottom of Post #1 of this thread, you will see more "saw teeth" in the upper register from pads with Thin pad dust covers (Alpha Pads, J$ Pads, and HM5/FA-003 Pads) and less on the pads with thicker dust covers (Dog Pads and Shure 840s). Maybe the thicker foam does a better job of dispersing ear side reflections. In the same vein, removing the dust covers from the pads and over the drivers may not be such a good idea. I guess it depends on the mod config used, audio chain, and personal preferences.

Hmm, thank you for the info. I'm very tempted to cut my 840's right now and drop the 15 bucks on new ones. I think if you cut the pad off around the circumference and kept the flaps, you could put this "pad" on first and cover it with the Alphas. The only true way to do it would be cut the dust cover out of the Alpha... though I don't think that cover would affect the sound as much as the lack of the 840's does. 

 

[jasonb]

I guess we have different tastes. I have 6 cotton balls in each side, i have the same size treble reflector, i have stiffened craft felt with no holes punched in it. I also have no foam in mine at all. No paxmate or silverstone or whatever. I have of course laoded the baffle with modeling clay as well.

They sound fine, but to me they just sound more congested and boring than the Q701 that im used to. I have the same complaints about mine with its current tuning that some people that have heard both the Mad Dogs and the AKG Q701 or K702 65th anniversary. Mad Lust Envy describes the Mad Dogs the same way im hearing my modded T50rp when compared to the AKG's.

The T50rp's do seem to image better, and obviously isolate better, but other than that I prefer my Q701. It just sounds cleaner and clearer and more lively.

 

[Thujone]

Yeah, I'm definitely leaning towards a bass-heavy headphone. I really wish I had some LCD2's. Then I'd have something with a perfectly flat bass response to compare too. All I know is that these are in between my HD580's and my Q40's.

 

[jasonb]

Yeah, I'm definitely leaning towards a bass-heavy headphone. I really wish I had some LCD2's. Then I'd have something with a perfectly flat bass response to compare too. All I know is that these are in between my HD580's and my Q40's.

If you are after more bass and deeper extension, try adjusting the clamping force. When I tightened mine up I right away noticed deeper more impactful bass.

I like a healthy bass, but the way mine are tuned, they should be brighter than yours and they are still do dark for me. The whole overall sound to me still just feels congested and squished. They also to me seem to like to be cranked, they definitely dont sound as good as the Q701 at lower volume. When I listen to my Q's I listen at a consistent volume and sometimes feel a slight urge to turn the volume down. With the T50rp I almost always feel the urge to turn it up and I dont like that. The Q701 is still amazing sounding at low volumes and is still very detailed, textured, and resolving.

 

[Thujone]

Pressing in on the cups doesn't improve the sound at all. I think my head is large enough that the stock clamping force is fine. I'm also using the Mad Dog leather head strap which may affect the fit. I definitely agree that these take a lot of power to drive and not only that but they sound much better at higher volume. I'm guessing that's a planar magnetic dampening issue. I know that the volume level I used on the stock T50RP was much lower than now.

 

[Thujone]

Removing the treble reflector definitely helped tame the highs but I am not sure that goes without consequence to the upper mids...
 
The headphone is definitely easier to listen to now. Loving the comfort of the Alpha Pads, though I could do without the heat.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

Armaegis made this same hypothesis. If you look at the Pad Rolling graphs I posted at the bottom of Post #1 of this thread, you will see more "saw teeth" in the upper register from pads with Thin pad dust covers (Alpha Pads, J$ Pads, and HM5/FA-003 Pads) and less on the pads with thicker dust covers (Dog Pads and Shure 840s). Maybe the thicker foam does a better job of dispersing ear side reflections. In the same vein, removing the dust covers from the pads and over the drivers may not be such a good idea. I guess it depends on the mod config used, audio chain, and personal preferences.

 
I think pretty much all of my mod configs these days wind up with some sort of soft felt in front of the driver

 

[Thujone]

Quote:

I think pretty much all of my mod configs these days wind up with some sort of soft felt in front of the driver

Oooooo. Such a simple change that I hadn't thought about. I got some extra felt too!

 

[Armaegis]

Yep. There's usually an overall reduction in the upper end, but more notably I find the treble spikes get trimmed down even moreso. I'll gladly trade away a bit of detail for less ringing. 

 

[Thujone]

Yeah, that's where I'm at. I don't like fatiguing highs. I want to think the volume is loud because it's loud, not because the highs are hurting me ears. I guess I'm back to the drawing board tonight. I may reverse all my changes and see what the felt does. I'd like to never have a reason to open them up again. If I can get the right sound from adding a certain amount of felt, perfect!
 
Do you have a piece that fits just over the driver or over the entire baffle? Do you plug the baffle vent?

 

[Armaegis]

I have felt glued down on the baffle front surrounding the driver, so I can't really remove that. I have an extra square piece of felt that I just stick on top which is held in place loosely under the pads. If I don't have that square piece in front, sometimes I'll just use two pieces of micropore tape laid in front of the driver.
 
Also note that I removed most of the original fabric on the baffle front to begin with. 
 
I do plug the baffle vent.