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

[wualta]

mrspeakers, my experience and advice is in complete accord with yours.
 
Not only have I never seen any other audio product sold new with an iffy 1/8" phone jack, the T50RP I bought new in 2002 didn't have this problem either. There've been several little hints that something bad happened to Fostex over the last five years or so.

 

[leeperry]

OK, so that's the T50RP w/ those black sanitary covers:
 
That's how it looks on the inside(it's acoustically transparent):
 
And that's my current set up:
 
I cut the stock felt, put a layer of dust wipe and then the felt you see on top. I think my fav combo ever was those dust wipes alone used as sanitary covers, but that really looked too ghetto. And that thick felt has the nice virtue of beefing up the low end bass...together w/ the wipe, they sound pretty damn good, and the cover on top kills a bit of extra resonances as well...and anyway my sensitive skin doesn't get red around the ears anymore, so that's spot-on

 

[Mad Max]

Reminds me of those Sony XB series 'phones.

 

[leeperry]

I used to complain that the d2k had too much bass(and no mids), but that disc of felt brings a whole new layer of deep bass to the T50RP.....yes it's too much bass!! but bring the pain.
 
on dub reggae, it's beyond words...it's like having the head in a subwoofer: http://www.amazon.com/Earthquake-Dub-Ossie-Hibbert-Revolutionaries/dp/B0007NDB9C

This dub amounts to a crisp, spacy, texturally nuanced soundscape. The bass is front and center, very deep, rich and clear. In fact the listener may (for once) want to turn the bass down just a tad in order to hear the small elegant details

 
Nah, never too loud bass mon

 

[Jonclarke]

thanks for the angled pad pics. I tried it with some studio foam but didn't like the sound. maybe i will try some akasa.
 
I'm going to order a matrix mini-i and hopefully it will be a good match

 

[Mangoloid]

I'm beginning to mod my first pair. 

 
I ordered a second because I wanted a reference and backup.
Unfortunately, both sets suffer the same problem with the 1/8" phone jack. For both, the stereo image is more to the left.
I got over my fear of unplugging the cable and blew into the inside of the jack but to no avail. I don't have canned air available but will try when I have the chance. I also wiped the connector on the cable, yet nothing changed. If anything, I think the stereo image got worse!
 
Recent posts suggest using deoxit. Does anyone have experience with this in relation to not just channel dropouts but fixing the stereo image?

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

I'm beginning to mod my first pair. 

 
I ordered a second because I wanted a reference and backup.
Unfortunately, both sets suffer the same problem with the 1/8" phone jack. For both, the stereo image is more to the left.
I got over my fear of unplugging the cable and blew into the inside of the jack but to no avail. I don't have canned air available but will try when I have the chance. I also wiped the connector on the cable, yet nothing changed. If anything, I think the stereo image got worse!
 
Recent posts suggest using deoxit. Does anyone have experience with this in relation to not just channel dropouts but fixing the stereo image?

My experience as well is that Deoxit D5 will solve the problem for you if there is anything electrical to fix, unless there is some defect in one of your drivers.
 
 

 

[immtbiker]

I have been using de-oxit for years. Just please be ce careful. That chemical is highly caustic, especially so close to your ears and your eyes.
It's almost as bad a tri-etheclorine 111 (I think that's what it's called. It's a poison..

 

[Mangoloid]

Thanks for your replies.
 
I tried using canned air in the jack yet both pairs (!) still have that imbalanced stereo image.
I guess I will have to resort to deoxit.
 
If anything actually, I may just end up re-cabling. I have never done solder work before, though my dad has experience.
 
Again, the stereo image is more to the left on both phones. I tried a headphone test: left sounds in the left, center sounds in the middle left, and right sounds in the center. All mono tracks are slightly to the left. Could this be a driver problem? I guess I will find out after applying some deoxit.
 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=341-202
Does this look good? I apply some directly in the jack, correct?

 

[leeperry]

Originally Posted by Mangoloid /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I may just end up re-cabling

Solder the stock cable directly onto the drivers, no middle men allowed..especially when they're that wonky ^^

 

[maverickronin]

So I finally tried covering those outside vents back up with some electrical tape.  I never did it before because covering them with my fingers when I was listening always made it sound far worse.  It ate the bass extension and the soundstage while adding some weird coloration.  The tape does eat some of the bass extension and the soundstage but it also gets rid of a strange coloration I'm having a hard time even describing.
 
I'm hoping it was something to do with the plastic.  That way I can get rid of it with some new cups.

 

[joelpearce]

Quote:

So I finally tried covering those outside vents back up with some electrical tape.  I never did it before because covering them with my fingers when I was listening always made it sound far worse.  It ate the bass extension and the soundstage while adding some weird coloration.  The tape does eat some of the bass extension and the soundstage but it also gets rid of a strange coloration I'm having a hard time even describing.
 
I'm hoping it was something to do with the plastic.  That way I can get rid of it with some new cups.

With that weird coloration, if it's like the one I had, have you tried blocking the baffle vent hole?  I find that with the vent hole blocked and the cup vents open, I completely get rid of that strangeness, without losing bass or soundstage.  It's worth a shot, since it doesn't even require opening them up.
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

With that weird coloration, if it's like the one I had, have you tried blocking the baffle vent hole?  I find that with the vent hole blocked and the cup vents open, I completely get rid of that strangeness, without losing bass or soundstage.  It's worth a shot, since it doesn't even require opening them up.

With they way my custom pads currently attached that's actually just as annoying, if not more, than opening up a stock pair.  In most configurations I've tried, leaving the baffle vent just managed to eat even more of the bass extension and I don't want any less of that ATM, but if it didn't involve reattaching the pads with several yards of electrical tape I'd give it a try right away.  I need to find a better way to attach them.  I haven't been experimenting much lately because of that.
 
It seems I'm going to have a little break from work this week so I think I'm going to try and make some cups out of some sort of wood.  I need to read through the Thunderpants thread and see what people are having luck with.

 

[mrspeakers]

You might also consider the very cheap and comfortable Shure 840 earpads.  Results are predictable and very good.  
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

You might also consider the very cheap and comfortable Shure 840 earpads.  Results are predictable and very good.  
 

That pleather would almost have to be magic to be as comfy as the lambskin I made mine out of and comfort is the main reason I made them in the first place.  Of everything I've heard (or more accurately, felt) not much compares to real leather for closed 'phones.  The Beyerdynamic gel pads are the only thing I know of that stands on equal footing in both comfort and seal.
 
Due to the different shape you'd have to make some sort of adapter or something to use on the T50RPs but that would probably be easier and quicker than making a pair from scratch like I did.  They'd probably be very comfortable but the other reason I made mine was to add as large an angle as I could between the driver and my ears but I couldn't come up with a good way to do that with the Beyer gel pads.