There are modders here who are selling it from 250$ to 600$ range. Search Maddogs , LFF Paradox & Smeggy Thunderpants. Do your research on what you want and how much you want to spend.
I bought a pair of mrspeakers' Alpha Pads and Dog Pads to try with my DBV #3 modded T50RP's. My impressions and opinions may differ from yours.
I have not yet tried the Dog Pads. Here are my initial impressions of the Alpha Pads:
Build Quality: Excellent..."Period." Professional appearance. Beautiful lamb skin. Nicely angled. Super comfortable...much more so than Shure 840 pads and FA-003 pads. The extra depth and angled configuration moves the drivers off the ears.
Sound Quality: Very good. The extra depth widens the sound stage more so than Shure and Fischer pads. This quality is a much appreciated benefit from using Alpha Pads. Bass and mid-range sound identical to Shure 840's, to me, YMMV. Treble rolls off a little sooner than Shure 840's, probably due to the larger internal pad volume. This could be easily "fixed" with minor tuning tweaks to suit personal preferences and audio chain if a bit more top end is desired. For others, they may be perfect.
Priceerformance: I think Dan hit the "sweet spot" with these pads. They look great, sound great, and the cost is fair and reasonable, IMO.
Suggested changes: The pad flaps are pleather or plastic material. I've installed and uninstalled them twice. The pleather flaps are stretched out a bit. They *may* revert to their original shape. I wonder if the Alpha Pads could be manufactured with flaps made of a more resilient material like rubber inner tubes? If so, they'd likely be more durable and more forgiving for those of us who like to tweak and compare.
Good to hear, BMF. I'd assumed that the slant of the pads would enhance the soundstage, but yours is the first review of the alpha pads that mentions it (of course, I could have missed some.) How big is the ear hole compared to 840s?
Are 840 pads still the tries and true pads for the T50RPs(for the price) then? Last I heard, the Audeze pads and O2 pads are the best but those are substantially more expensive than the 840 pads. Not sure if there are many other alternatives.
Good to hear, BMF. I'd assumed that the slant of the pads would enhance the soundstage, but yours is the first review of the alpha pads that mentions it (of course, I could have missed some.) How big is the ear hole compared to 840s?
Approximate dimensions are shown in the attached pictures. Alpha Pads are about 1 cm height on the shallow side and about 3 cm height on the deeper side.
Edit: MrSpeakers' Alpha Pads sound wonderful with my modded 'phones And they're so very comfortable. The Alpha Pads are now my "Go To" pads. Well Done, Dan!
Edit: Several back channel questions about Priceerformance of Alpha pads compared to Shure 840 pads - The higher price of Alpha pads is worth their 3x cost over Shure 840 pads to me for their added comfort and slightly wider sound stage. The less expensive Shure 840 pads sound really good, too, but are not quite as comfortable and don't look as good as Alpha pads. For tweakers, I think the Shure pads' flaps are more forgiving when making numerous tuning changes. I was able to compensate for a bit less treble from Alpha pads by adding 5 mm more fiberglass thickness and increasing the treble reflector disks from 18 mm to 20 mm, without hurting the bass and mids. As in all things DIY, YMMV. I'm happy with both.
Alpha Pads width Alpha Pads length
Alpha Pads back/length Alpha Pads inside out - Alpha Pads - Dog Pads
Thanks, BMF. The slightly rectangular shape is distinctive and the ear hole looks slightly bigger than on the 840 pads. I'm surprised that the added depth doesn't change the sound more dramatically. Kudos to Mr. Speakers.
After putting in so much cotton and fiberglass, it's kind of hard to close up the cups. Or am I just putting in too much? I ordered a precision scale off ebay a few hours ago, I should know for sure when I get it.
I'm having a bit of trouble with muffled bass on my pair. I'm just not getting the same clean and punchy feel that the stock T50RPs give. My config is the same as DBV #3 except I'm using pink fiberglass. Anyone have any suggestions?
After putting in so much cotton and fiberglass, it's kind of hard to close up the cups. Or am I just putting in too much? I ordered a precision scale off ebay a few hours ago, I should know for sure when I get it.
I'm having a bit of trouble with muffled bass on my pair. I'm just not getting the same clean and punchy feel that the stock T50RPs give. My config is the same as DBV #3 except I'm using pink fiberglass. Anyone have any suggestions?
What type of cotton are you using? If it's dense and compacted, it won't perform so you have to "prepare" it by separating each ultra thin layer and re-stacking; then trim the edges, measure for the dimensions you want, weigh each block, trim the corners, and notch for the shock absorber posts. The scale should help you dial it in.
As a general rule of thumb, I set the baffle on the cotton/fiberglass in the cup and find that ~ 8 mm compression is about right with my mods.
I just want to thank BMF for going way above and beyond on this whole thread! He also helped me out via PM and sourced me some things I couldn't acquire anywhere else.
I am currently enjoying my first "test" set of songs on my new Schiit Magni/Modi combo and what I think is my finalized "done right" T50RP's. Amazing!
So far:
-840 pads on order from amazon
-reinforced the baffle with a non hardening modeling clay
-stuffed cups with the Rite-Aid brand cotton roll
-using masking tape on outside of the cup grill to dial in bass with a few small port holes - right now I have 4 small holes poked in the tape using a bic pen
-rolled up a tissue and stuffed in rear of each pad to angle them a little bit and give a better seal against my head.
using an E17 with them as a DAC and amp:
-medium gain, little over half volume, which makes them seem just about as easy/hard to drive as the Q701
-treble +2
-bass +2
I'd still like a bit more bass, and more bass extension, but from the graphs I've seen the 840 pads should give me a good amount of extra bass. I'm guessing that i'll be closing up some or all of the little bass ports I made in the outer grill after putting the 840 pads on. Mid-range and treble seem fine, since I'd like these to be a bit darker and bassier than my Q701. I may end up tuning them for a bit more treble though in the end. They may be just a little to dark.
Has anyone tried Bonded Logic Ultratouch (recycled denim insulation) in place of the fiberglass/cotton sandwich? (I ask because I have T50rp's on the way to me.)
I love the stuff for speaker-lining, and it seems to have helped the splatty treble on my K550's.
I just got the Shure SRH840 pads on... DAMN! What a difference! Putting cotton in the cups and mass loading the baffle helped with the sound, but damn the pads make a huge difference. I have a question for the people that use the SRH840 pads. Did you cut out the backing fabric or did you leave them as is? The reason I ask is that now there is two layers between the driver and the ear. The stock fabric and now the fabric backing that is a part of the SRH840 pads. So, mods as of right now: -SRH840 pads -covered the small port hole on the baffle(s) -outer cup vents have been left alone, so the felt is still there and all 4 slots are fully open -mass loaded the baffle with a non hardening modeling clay -stuffed the cups with a little bit of the Rite-Aid brand cotton roll -put some foam in the deeper part of the cups -rolled up a tissue and stuffed it in the rear of each SRH840 pad to angle them a little bit and give a better seal against my head. using an E17 with them: -medium gain, about half volume, which makes them seem just about as easy/hard to drive as the Q701 -treble +2 -bass 0
Edit: MrSpeakers' Alpha Pads sound wonderful with my modded 'phones And they're so very comfortable. The Alpha Pads are now my "Go To" pads. Well Done, Dan!
... As in all things DIY, YMMV. I'm happy with both.
Take the YMMV part seriously. Different pads have an effect on these phones that is not subtle. The Alpha pads give an unnatural boost to the upper bass, and others have noted a somewhat receded mid range. The bass is easily tunable, the mids less so. However, what I ultimately found is there is a loss of lower mid details that is unacceptable when using the Alphas.
A search of 'angled cups' with the custom SEARCH ENGINE in the thread 'Listened to some Fostex T50RP's' brings up earlier experiments with this type of pad. The Alphas are certainly the nicest iteration of these, that lambskin is downright luxurious. Increased headstage was the often noted holy grail, but reality is headstage has a limited range with headphones and an even greater limit in closed phones. For me, the comparative increase in headstage with the Alphas is dwarfed by the compromises in sound reproduction.
The previously mentioned search also brings up old BMF and MrSpeaker posts (most supportive longtime contributors?), on the 840 pads that are worth the read. While the 840's are not the end-all-be-all they were thought back then, the harm they do not cause continues to be a strong attribute for their use.
I'm back to the 840's, they are the better value sound wise.
Wow. Amazing work blue monkey. I was worried about the recessed highs on this can but it looks quite fixable. Thanks for a great and very informative write up, I'll be coming back here when I get my t50rp
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erformance: I think Dan hit the "sweet spot" with these pads. They look great, sound great, and the cost is fair and reasonable, IMO.
