[hemipowered007]

Yes absolutely You Should Demo especially if you are new to this hobby..

However if you must have someone Else's opinion...
Here is a really blunt statement, in plain black and white
no 50 shades of grey here..

...Yes I can make such a statement given my technical education,
expertise, experience, and inventory of hardware and software..
(All in my profile).

Fostex is King Emperor and Sultan, all else is garbage. If I had to
have only one set that would be it. And the T60 is a wooden T20
at double the price. However the T20 is also King .

And make sure you can comfortably push 3 Watts into 50 Ohms.
even if you decide to buy the Hifiman.
(This means look for 50+ Watt/channel RMS into 8 Ohms speaker
amp and drive them straight out of the speaker terminals through an adapter.)

You may tune the sound to exactly what you like by placing sheets of sound
transparent materials (surgical mask material, speaker cloth etc.) on top of
the 3 slots on the outside and by using only ZMF pads. The differences are
quite significant you will be surprised. All other mods on the MK3's are useless.
Don't expect to fix anything on other brands of phones they are not RP (reference
phase).

Finlay for the best sound that money can buy get a Sony Walkman ZX-300 which
is also a USB DAC. Even a mid level Sony Walkman will destroy any USB DAC
including the Sony PHA3 even in optical direct mode..


GOOD LUCK!

That's extremely subjective, I enjoy the fostex t50 driver quite a bit, but it's still quite a ways behind even my hifiman he4 in every aspect. My Sony ex1000s also best the t50 driver in resolution and.micro detail, but obviously lose out in other ways as were talking full size vs iem. The t50 driver is definitely special, but I wouldn't dare call it king of all. It all really boils down to personal preference and what you enjoy most in your audio rig. I do fully agree that planar sound best when pushed with a decent amount of clean power.
Also saying the zx300 deatroys every dac is pushing it a bit. I'm looking at buying one myself but don't expect it to best something like a well made r2r tube buffered dac. Once again. It's all.preference and what you've stated above is purely your opinion and I can respect that. But we should all shy away from making "definitive" statements about something as inherently subjective as personal audio equipment.

 

[kintsaki]

That's extremely subjective, I enjoy the fostex t50 driver quite a bit, but it's still quite a ways behind even my hifiman he4 in every aspect. My Sony ex1000s also best the t50 driver in resolution and.micro detail, but obviously lose out in other ways as were talking full size vs iem. The t50 driver is definitely special, but I wouldn't dare call it king of all. It all really boils down to personal preference and what you enjoy most in your audio rig. I do fully agree that planar sound best when pushed with a decent amount of clean power.
Also saying the zx300 deatroys every dac is pushing it a bit. I'm looking at buying one myself but don't expect it to best something like a well made r2r tube buffered dac. Once again. It's all.preference and what you've stated above is purely your opinion and I can respect that. But we should all shy away from making "definitive" statements about something as inherently subjective as personal audio equipment.

You are absolutely right. Audio is a subjective subject All one can state is his own opinion. My post clearly implies that
a statement is going to be made about my own opinion in a blunt way. I find Fostex to be quite a ways above my He-6 and my Edition X V2 the same way you find the 400i to be better than the T50. It is impossible to have had experienced everything (I never heard the 400i and you probably never heard the T20. Once we both do we might even agree).

If someone shows me a picture of the T50 driver I will show you a picture of mine and you will see that they are not the same as Zeos says.

I was talking about USB DACs. "Bad Boy Good Reviews" a fanatic Sony Es1000 IEM fun could not tell the difference between it and the EST 800 Studio Monitor when using the USB ifi purifier. I laughed to tears when I heard him say this in a review. Many people are finding the ES 1000 "too analytical". I don't as I am not using a USB DAC.

Both Fostex and Sony (unlike many small newly formed "boutique" companies) are huge legendary companies with decades of engineering experience making equipment for Audio Professionals as well as Audiophiles and they both utilize proprietary "reference phase" technology making sure that both phase as well as frequency response is as good as it can be for an as good as possible "Time Domain" response which s what you hear. In addition Sony does use real proprietary technology that brings back the inaudible "shades" of grey that were left out in compression.

Thrill and Shivering Factor (TSF) my friends. Let the real music through and cut out the artifacts (kind like the EST800
for pros does and the ES1000 does not).

Never go by someone Else's opinion, listen for yourself and if you cannot, go and buy used in Headfi and if you don't like sell at a small loss.

Sometimes one may need to speak in a black and white manner to be understood by new people to the hobby.

 

[hemipowered007]

You are absolutely right. Audio is a subjective subject All one can state is his own opinion. My post clearly implies that
a statement is going to be made about my own opinion in a blunt way. I find Fostex to be quite a ways above my He-6 and my Edition X V2 the same way you find the 400i to be better than the T50. It is impossible to have had experienced everything (I never heard the 400i and you probably never heard the T20. Once we both do we might even agree).

If someone shows me a picture of the T50 driver I will show you a picture of mine and you will see that they are not the same as Zeos says.

I was talking about USB DACs. "Bad Boy Good Reviews" a fanatic Sony Es1000 IEM fun could not tell the difference between it and the EST 800 Studio Monitor when using the USB ifi purifier. I laughed to tears when I heard him say this in a review. Many people are finding the ES 1000 "too analytical". I don't as I am not using a USB DAC.

Both Fostex and Sony (unlike many small newly formed "boutique" companies) are huge legendary companies with decades of engineering experience making equipment for Audio Professionals as well as Audiophiles and they both utilize proprietary "reference phase" technology making sure that both phase as well as frequency response is as good as it can be for an as good as possible "Time Domain" response which s what you hear. In addition Sony does use real proprietary technology that brings back the inaudible "shades" of grey that were left out in compression.

Thrill and Shivering Factor (TSF) my friends. Let the real music through and cut out the artifacts (kind like the EST800
for pros does and the ES1000 does not).

Never go by someone Else's opinion, listen for yourself and if you cannot, go and buy used in Headfi and if you don't like sell at a small loss.

Sometimes one may need to speak in a black and white manner to be understood by new people to the hobby.

I never said anything about the 400i I don't own one and have never heard one. I own the he4. And sorry maybe I read too much into your post earlier wasn't trying to start an argument or anything.

 

[kintsaki]

I never said anything about the 400i I don't own one and have never heard one. I own the he4. And sorry maybe I read too much into your post earlier wasn't trying to start an argument or anything.

No it was my fault. -I am sorry I mixed up the 400i with the He4 because he was asking about the 400i.

You were very kind, I did not see you as starting an argument.

What I tried to clarify is what is and what is not subjective and why there may be
technical reasons for the superiority of some designs.

However I must also point out that we will never do away with subjunctives and the reason
for that is the placebo effect.

When audio design engineers come up with a new elegant concept they must test if it
really works or they think it does due to Placebo. So double blind studies are utilized
before any final conclusion is made. (The same way with drug testing).

 

[majo123]

I own both the t50rp mk3 and he400i and I have to say I enjoy both for different reasons, the bass on the fostex is outstanding all though maybe ever ever so slightly a bit too much. Notes sound nice and full and have more meat on there bones compared to he400i , he 400i has definitely the better imaging, detail retrieval and layering are better on the he400i but a brighter thinner sounding headphone vs the t50rp mk3 overall.
If I had to pick one for my tastes it would be he400i for its overall imaging and layering but the t50rp is still a great set of cans.
A cross between the two would be one stellar headphone.
I am intrigued on these t60rps though. Shame I can't demo a pair but virtually none existent in the UK.

 

[trellus]

I find Fostex to be quite a ways above my He-6 and my Edition X V2 the same way you find the 400i to be better than the T50. It is impossible to have had experienced everything (I never heard the 400i and you probably never heard the T20. Once we both do we might even agree).

If someone shows me a picture of the T50 driver I will show you a picture of mine and you will see that they are not the same as Zeos says.

Are you saying that the T20RP MK3 has a different driver than the T50RP MK3?

 

[axtran]

Are you saying that the T20RP MK3 has a different driver than the T50RP MK3?

I have a ton of T*RP’s built on the square driver. (I have like six modified ones, and another five of them unmodded) There’s two different color housings, a white colored one and a grey colored one. Both are made of acetal and perform the same.

 

[trellus]

I have a ton of T*RP’s built on the square driver. (I have like six modified ones, and another five of them unmodded) There’s two different color housings, a white colored one and a grey colored one. Both are made of acetal and perform the same.

Thanks, that's what I thought, but I thought @kintsaki was saying otherwise; maybe I misunderstood.

 

[kintsaki]

I have a ton of T*RP’s built on the square driver. (I have like six modified ones, and another five of them unmoded) There’s two different color housings, a white colored one and a grey colored one. Both are made of acetal and perform the same.

I did notice your love for T*RP's and your experience with mods and your projects with making your own phones using Fostex drivers all of which are of great interest to me lately because after acquiring all the expensive Orthos (Mr.Speakers,Hifiman Audeze, ZMF Blackwood, Monolith M1060, Smeggy Thunderpants) I was greatly disappointed and I started moding and making my own based on the Fostex driver.

This is why a few days earlier I posted this question hoping you would answer it

"" Could you please someone tell me whether the T60 baffle is like the new MK III baffle (with the slot for mounting pads, and the venting holes)?
And is it made out of wood? Also are its dimensions the same in other words is it interchangeable with the MK III plastic baffle? ""

And would you please post a pic of the back of the T50 MK III driver (unmoded) whether it is white or grey but MK III?

I was socked to see how a set of ZMF pads and some sheets of surgical mask cloth and speaker cover cloth applied on the outside slots externally allow you to tune the T20
by retaining 95% of the bass and cleaning up the mids and highs to make it destroy the expensive competition.
So I ripped open the Blackwood and the Thunderpants and started my project to build my own while wanting for the Fostex distributor to bring the T60 to Greece, or perhaps you to sell me your T60 .

Now since you may all be wondering why kintsaki only likes the inexpensive Fostex (RP=reference phase) read the following statement in Wikipedia
by Irvin M. "Bud" Fried

"I believe that speakers should preserve the integrity of the signal waveform and the Audio Perfectionist Journal has presented a great deal of information about the importance of time domain performance in loudspeakers. I’m not the only one who appreciates time- and phase-accurate speakers but I have been virtually the only advocate to speak out in print in recent years. There’s a reason for that. It is difficult and costly to design and manufacture a time- and phase-accurate speaker system. Few of today’s high-end loudspeakers are time- and phase-accurate designs. The audio magazines need to appeal to a broad spectrum of advertisers including many who make speaker systems which are time incoherent. The magazines, and the reviewers who write for them, have ignored or downplayed the issue of time- and phase-accuracy in order to maximize advertising revenue. I am not alone in recognizing this situation" --Irvin Fried ( a legend look him up ).

People mode the Fostex because it sounds so good straight out of the box and it is primarily intended for Professionals not "Audio-fools" . Don't let its low price fool you.

 

[HungryPanda]

Just received my T60's and really like the look of them,and they sound good out of the box. The only annoying thing is the creaking from the right cup where it hinges

 

[kintsaki]

Just received my T60's and really like the look of them,and they sound good out of the box. The only annoying thing is the creaking from the right cup where it hinges

xc

I got them too yesterday.

After a 12 hour burn-in I named them the "Exterminators"
because with 3 very easy modes they can put everybody in his brother out of business.
God bless Dr. Hiroaki and his team.

 

[tolis626]

I did notice your love for T*RP's and your experience with mods and your projects with making your own phones using Fostex drivers all of which are of great interest to me lately because after acquiring all the expensive Orthos (Mr.Speakers,Hifiman Audeze, ZMF Blackwood, Monolith M1060, Smeggy Thunderpants) I was greatly disappointed and I started moding and making my own based on the Fostex driver.

This is why a few days earlier I posted this question hoping you would answer it

"" Could you please someone tell me whether the T60 baffle is like the new MK III baffle (with the slot for mounting pads, and the venting holes)?
And is it made out of wood? Also are its dimensions the same in other words is it interchangeable with the MK III plastic baffle? ""

And would you please post a pic of the back of the T50 MK III driver (unmoded) whether it is white or grey but MK III?

I was socked to see how a set of ZMF pads and some sheets of surgical mask cloth and speaker cover cloth applied on the outside slots externally allow you to tune the T20
by retaining 95% of the bass and cleaning up the mids and highs to make it destroy the expensive competition.
So I ripped open the Blackwood and the Thunderpants and started my project to build my own while wanting for the Fostex distributor to bring the T60 to Greece, or perhaps you to sell me your T60 .

Now since you may all be wondering why kintsaki only likes the inexpensive Fostex (RP=reference phase) read the following statement in Wikipedia
by Irvin M. "Bud" Fried

"I believe that speakers should preserve the integrity of the signal waveform and the Audio Perfectionist Journal has presented a great deal of information about the importance of time domain performance in loudspeakers. I’m not the only one who appreciates time- and phase-accurate speakers but I have been virtually the only advocate to speak out in print in recent years. There’s a reason for that. It is difficult and costly to design and manufacture a time- and phase-accurate speaker system. Few of today’s high-end loudspeakers are time- and phase-accurate designs. The audio magazines need to appeal to a broad spectrum of advertisers including many who make speaker systems which are time incoherent. The magazines, and the reviewers who write for them, have ignored or downplayed the issue of time- and phase-accuracy in order to maximize advertising revenue. I am not alone in recognizing this situation" --Irvin Fried ( a legend look him up ).

People mode the Fostex because it sounds so good straight out of the box and it is primarily intended for Professionals not "Audio-fools" . Don't let its low price fool you.

Hey man, any luck with the Greek Fostex distributor? Have you come to contact with anyone? Learned anything?

I am really eyeing the T60rp at the moment. I was debating getting the T50rp and then modding them over time, but man does the wood make them look glorious. And I think they sound just as glorious as they look. However, Greece is again left out of the game. Although this time it looks that they are not available in Europe anyway, and general availability is scarce anyway. Maybe they're too new?

Then again, I only have a Fiio Q1 1st gen and I highly doubt I'm gonna get even close to 100% out of an RP headphone, so maybe I should get a better amp and then budget out for a T60rp after the summer...

 

[HungryPanda]

Thomman.de has them in stock at a good price

 

[HungryPanda]

https://www.thomann.de/gb/fostex_t60rp_headphone.htm?ref=search_prv_5

 

[tolis626]

Thomman.de has them in stock at a good price

https://www.thomann.de/gb/fostex_t60rp_headphone.htm?ref=search_prv_5

You destroyed me. Thanks.