Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW!

[joelpearce]

Okay, it's time to do another bump on this thread.  The other day, I got really frustrated with my T50RPs again.  By the time I got enough dampening material around my pair to kill the reflections between the drivers and my ears, they sounded like there was a pillow in there (probably because there was). Without that, some things sounded great, but there was this strange midbass echo that plagued some tracks and muddied up the overall sound.
So I tried something I haven't tried for a really long time.
I put the stock pads on.
Suddenly, the midbass echo was gone, replaced by an impressive level of clarity. You see, I kind of like the T50RP just on the edge of losing control in terms of damping. Too much, and you lose that punchy, dynamic magic that makes them so special. My goal has been to tame the harshness while still letting them deliver that raucous goodness. Maybe I need to get some Paxmate and try the SA5K pads again, but for now I have the simplest scheme I've had in ages, and it sounds better than ever--with the stock pads.
I know a lot of people are grabbing these for the first time, and I just wanted to pop in and say that anyone sticking other pads on right away might want to spend a bit more time with the stock ones. To my ears, these cans sound better when my ears are relatively close to the drivers, without too much air bouncing around in there. The soundstage isn't especially wide, but it's convincingly deep, especially on some tracks.
There are a few ways to approach these cans, and all of them come with strengths and weaknesses. So far, I'm really liking this set of compromises, and it's been almost a week of listening.

 

[joelpearce]

Grr... this site is not working nicely with Firefox 4.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Okay, it's time to do another bump on this thread.  The other day, I got really frustrated with my T50RPs again.  By the time I got enough dampening material around my pair to kill the reflections between the drivers and my ears, they sounded like there was a pillow in there (probably because there was). Without that, some things sounded great, but there was this strange midbass echo that plagued some tracks and muddied up the overall sound.
So I tried something I haven't tried for a really long time.
I put the stock pads on.
Suddenly, the midbass echo was gone, replaced by an impressive level of clarity. You see, I kind of like the T50RP just on the edge of losing control in terms of damping. Too much, and you lose that punchy, dynamic magic that makes them so special. My goal has been to tame the harshness while still letting them deliver that raucous goodness. Maybe I need to get some Paxmate and try the SA5K pads again, but for now I have the simplest scheme I've had in ages, and it sounds better than ever--with the stock pads.
I know a lot of people are grabbing these for the first time, and I just wanted to pop in and say that anyone sticking other pads on right away might want to spend a bit more time with the stock ones. To my ears, these cans sound better when my ears are relatively close to the drivers, without too much air bouncing around in there. The soundstage isn't especially wide, but it's convincingly deep, especially on some tracks.
There are a few ways to approach these cans, and all of them come with strengths and weaknesses. So far, I'm really liking this set of compromises, and it's been almost a week of listening.

Joel,
From your reported experience, it would seem that you are trying to mod the T50RPs by wrote, rather than by understanding the principles and actions and the effects they have on the sound you hear.  This is not so cut and dried a procedure that one can simply apply by wrote and expect anything but randomness.  Work to understand the principles involved and then apply that understanding to your pair of T50RPs to achieve the sound you're looking for.
Kevin
 

 

[joelpearce]

Well, I would love to learn more about the principles, but I'm not even sure where I'd start on that front.
 
I agree, my approach is reasonably holistic, and has resulted in some problems along the way.  That said, I don't think I'm working completely blind any more.  I can usually predict what materials will do to the sound in these cans at this point, and working in baby steps has taught me at least a few things about the principals, at least in terms of what damping and dampening does to sound.

 

[turimbar1]

My pair have been very detailed and controlled (maybe too controlled) ever since I partially taped up the back vent, but I fear it has caused too much back pressure, also there is very little pressure on the front due to the large space created by my srh 840 pads, the fact that I took off the stock felt in front of the driver, and the fact I have the baffle hole covered with paxmate.
 
Still working on solutions, I am about to cave and take the stock felt off of the back of the driver to try to equalize the pressure. Maybe I will put some wool felt on the front of the driver to help equalize it (as well as taking some of the tape off)
 
PS kevin, just wondering what your T50rp modifications are? I don't remember reading about it, just curious as to how you tuned it. Cheers
 
Andrew  

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

My pair have been very detailed and controlled (maybe too controlled) ever since I partially taped up the back vent, but I fear it has caused too much back pressure, also there is very little pressure on the front due to the large space created by my srh 840 pads, the fact that I took off the stock felt in front of the driver, and the fact I have the baffle hole covered with paxmate.
 
Still working on solutions, I am about to cave and take the stock felt off of the back of the driver to try to equalize the pressure. Maybe I will put some wool felt on the front of the driver to help equalize it (as well as taking some of the tape off)
 
PS kevin, just wondering what your T50rp modifications are? I don't remember reading about it, just curious as to how you tuned it. Cheers
 
Andrew  

I treated both the interior enclosure and interior baffle with Dynamat, and used some of my felt between back of driver and enclosure.  I may open up venting a little to increase bass a bit more, but they are well controlled and very smooth FR.  Total mod time was about 20 minutes, start to finish.  Using stock pads.
 
 

 

[dirkpitt45]

I just got mine today finally. Completely stock so far (picking up some plastercine, felt, and micropore tomorrow) and they haven't really impressed me much, not that I was expecting them too. They do have a rather unique sound signature though, comparing them too my hd600s. It's really smooth and natural sounding almost. Though they sound cramped and pretty boring, bass is nothing to write about (yet), slightly more than the hd600s, but it's just boomier sounding. 
 
Hoping with some tweaks I'll be able to get these to sound like a more balanced m50 without the recessed mids. Perfect for listening to trance or electronic music. Headband kills my head too, but I think that's just because the hd600s have made me soft >.< they pretty much disappear on my head, while the t50rps have my scratching and re-adjusting every 20 minutes or so. 

 

[mrspeakers]

Don't bother with micropore and transpore, unless maybe as a reflex dot.  They do bad mojo to the sound.  And be sure to get a proper absorbtive foam for the back cup.  You only have 2/3 of what you need, I think.
 
The out of box sound is not good, very mid fi, echo/shouting and extension isn't flat.  Patience and these things smoke...

 

[mrspeakers]

Listening to the latest AES DANA on these and really grooving on how spacious they can sound with the right source, in this case a fine piece of electronica.  The cellos on Anthrazite are so smooth, and the ambience and sense of space are really deep.  Not an LCD-2, but they still spend more time on my head and with no regrets.  The tuning is just SO right-on now... Powerful bass, clean but not over-bright highs, a really cohesive sound of *instruments* across the spectrum that makes everything simply sound "real."  Plus incredible transparency, layering and dynamics, and a soundstage that's interesting because it's allowing the instruments to feel like they have volume, vs. simply being a "point."   
 
It's time to just sell the HD650, I'll never use them again...

 

[dirkpitt45]

Quote:

Don't bother with micropore and transpore, unless maybe as a reflex dot.  They do bad mojo to the sound.  And be sure to get a proper absorbtive foam for the back cup.  You only have 2/3 of what you need, I think.
 
The out of box sound is not good, very mid fi, echo/shouting and extension isn't flat.  Patience and these things smoke...

Ok. I as going to just try some of the foamy things I've got laying around the house before ordering akasa or something like that. 
 
The felt that's right underneath the earpads (facing out towards your ear). Are people just ripping that off? I tried to peel up a corner and it's glued on, so I haven't touched it again yet. 

 

[joelpearce]

As a general rule, packing foam makes very little real difference.  Acoustic foam is a necessity if you want to impact the sound in a valuable way.  When I cut the felt off the front baffle, I used an xacto knife to cut around the driver, then pulled it off from there.  Just be careful in there.

 

 

[maverickronin]

Ok. I as going to just try some of the foamy things I've got laying around the house before ordering akasa or something like that. 
 
The felt that's right underneath the earpads (facing out towards your ear). Are people just ripping that off? I tried to peel up a corner and it's glued on, so I haven't touched it again yet. 

I took the driver out of the baffle, ripped most of the felt off, scoured the rest off with some steel wool in the sink, and covered the front of the baffle with dynamat.

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

Ok. I as going to just try some of the foamy things I've got laying around the house before ordering akasa or something like that. 
 
The felt that's right underneath the earpads (facing out towards your ear). Are people just ripping that off? I tried to peel up a corner and it's glued on, so I haven't touched it again yet. 

 
You need open-cell acoustic foam, not just any random foam lying around.

I peeled the felt on the baffle off with my fingers, lol.  I removed it in about three or four layers.

 

[dirkpitt45]

Ok so I opened them up again, ripped off that foam, pulled off the vent covers, and filled up the baffle with plastercine. I'm liking how they sound now, not quite as high/low extension as the hd600s, but still enough. Lots more bass now, it's borderline boomy, but I kinda like it, nice contrast to the hd600s. Very natural sounding too, they're awesome for vocal trance and "mainstream" dubstep. 
 
I'll have to order for akasa foam too, and I really want a new headband for them lol. The rubber pulls on my hair, and doesn't have any padding (obviously). Maybe I'll wrap it in some fabric and pillow fluff or something, probably look terrible but it'd be comfortable :/ 

 

[Mad Max]

Those four pillar thingies rising from the back of the cup, are they really necessary?