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

[Hennyo]

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Not to worry, Hennyo.. the texturing is top notch, IMO.. what you don't get is quite the bass slam of the craft felt-backed driver.  Bass is still very satisfying, rich but not quite as dominating.  I'd characterize the punch as more airy & atmospheric.. incredibly relaxing.. than an outright thump.  What you do get with the mids and treble though is truly something special, IMO.  Impeccable detail, and balance.  Like I said earlier, I had no idea the T50RP was capable of this kind of treble.  It isn't emphasized in any way.. just super detailed, airy, and spacious.  Controlling the bass a bit allows the midrange to breathe and the treble to absolutely SING.  What results is a wonderfully balanced phone that's able to delicately manage smoothness and crispness with astonishing ease.
 
If mrspeakers finds a way to finely tune the sub bass while keeping the midbass controlled, we've got a titan on our hands.  Plus, I really really want LFF to listen to these and see how they compare to the Paradox.  I've got a feeling his might be a touch smoother, warmer.. but I'd love to hear if I've gotten somewhere near his sig.  These sound like the 003 on the finest steroids a "HeadFi group buy" could arrange for.  

 
Listen to some well recorded jazz w/ my mods and you'll never want to take these off.

Mr speakers! I <3 laff you! Come forward with mods now! ;*) I'll break soon!! I can't take this much longer!!!
 
 

 

[LFF]

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Originally Posted by FlySweep /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Plus, I really really want LFF to listen to these and see how they compare to the Paradox.  I've got a feeling his might be a touch smoother, warmer.. but I'd love to hear if I've gotten somewhere near his sig. 

Best thing to do would be to send them to Purrin by the time of the meet he is hosting at the end of October. Then we can objectively and subjectively compare them with Mr.Speakers and with mine.
 
My Paradox will be on their way to Tyll early Friday morning. I will be without them for a few days while he puts them through his rig.
 

 

[rawrster]

So my home rig will be going through a big overhaul on saturday which is when I expect to be having some new gear.
 
My dac died a few weeks ago so I sent it in for repair and I should be getting it back and now a better amp will come in so I get to test it out with the T50RP.
 
 
Also i was unable to find any electrical tape so I'm going to try out what FlySweep did and use craft felt over the bass ports. I couldn't find any masking tape either so hopefully it works out the way i want.
 
 
Flysweep, is there craft felt over all of the bass ports or is there holes or anything? I'm assuming it is over all of it.

 

[FlySweep]

I'm finding the T50rp a bit too low volume driven by my clip+. Has anyone tried them with a FiiO 5: does it do it justice or would I be totally undermining the SQ?

 
The E5 doesn't stand a chance.  These have a voracious appetite for power.  Even my trusty Arrow (a portable, but a hearty one at that) needs the gain boosted to II to power the T50RP properly.
 
 

Flysweep: just noticed your sig. How do you find the T50rp compared to the FA-003? Have you ever tried the etymotics IEMs?

LFF & I covered our thoughts a few pages back.. to summarize, the 003 come up short.. very short.. when compared to the T50RP.  Mind you, I've recabled & redampened my 003.. they sound lovely.. and they aren't going anywhere.  But compared to the T50RP (especially after my most recent mods), the 003 isn't even in the same ball park, let alone league.  I haven't heard any Ety IEMs.. sorry.
 
 

Endgame for you too huh?
 
Congratulations!
 
It truly amazes me what these cans are capable of in their stock housing.

Without a doubt.. endgame indeed, bud.  Not only do they sound spectacular, I see nowhere in the overall sound that they leave me wanting.  Us HeadFi'ers are a greedy bunch.. always able to nitpick over some aspect of the sound of any phone and search for improvement (to the collective groan of our wallets).. this is the first time I can truly say I'm 100% satisfied with the sound flowing into my ears.  Yes, some final adjustments have to be made, but I feel like I'm 90% of the way there in terms of tuning and the uber-moddable T50RP are certainly up to the task of closing the 10% home stretch.
 
I'm astonished an $80 set of phones (albeit with $150 pads), some elbow grease & craft supplies can claim such a title.  It makes no sense.. and yet.. here they are.. resting on my head for the past 6 HOURS.  Incredible.
 

Best thing to do would be to send them to Purrin by the time of the meet he is hosting at the end of October. Then we can objectively and subjectively compare them with Mr.Speakers and with mine.
 
My Paradox will be on their way to Tyll early Friday morning. I will be without them for a few days while he puts them through his rig.
 

I'll certainly arrange for that.  I want to hook these up to some really top notch gear (sources & amps) and see what they can do.  Ensure I've got everything worked out to the best of my abilities.. then they'll be on their way to you.

 

[FlySweep]

Flysweep, is there craft felt over all of the bass ports or is there holes or anything? I'm assuming it is over all of it.

 
Affirmative.  All ports fully covered with the stiff, craft felt.

 

[itsastickup]

 
Quote:

 
The E5 doesn't stand a chance.  These have a voracious appetite for power.  Even my trusty Arrow (a portable, but a hearty one at that) needs the gain boosted to II to power the T50RP properly.
 
 

 
Thanks for that. I think I'd better be looking to get an amp then. In the meantime the 'compression' option on the rockbox sound menu is getting me some usable volume at the expense of SQ.
 

 
LFF & I covered our thoughts a few pages back.. to summarize, the 003 come up short.. very short.. when compared to the T50RP.  Mind you, I've recabled & redampened my 003.. they sound lovely.. and they aren't going anywhere.  But compared to the T50RP (especially after my most recent mods), the 003 isn't even in the same ball park, let alone league.  I haven't heard any Ety IEMs.. sorry.

 
Great. Music to my ears, so to speak. I heard great things of the FA-003's but my budget didn't quite stretch in a way that I could justify. Import costs made it rather pricey.
 

 

 

[itsastickup]

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For that price, you can have much more Paxmate and the same items if you buy local + amazon uk.
 
The ebay seller should be a clever guy that maybe would benefit from lazy users that don't want to search a bit.

Thanks for the tip. I've had a quick look around and the paxmate is quite expensive. £15 (at Maplins, in stock at my local), which is the same as the ebay kit for an amount I can't imagine using unless I get a lot of T50rp's but I've no plans to do that. Deoxit seems to be expensive also. Newplast is cheap off ebay but £5 if you include postage, which is a pain. I'll have to check out the local craft shop for newplast and stiff felt. The ebay kit isn't looking so bad all told; though it doesn't have micropore. 

 

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Try Amazon and look for Silverstone acoustic foam.  It may be cheaper than Paxmate.  It's 4mm thick.  I have not used it but several people, here, have.  
 
Quote:

Thanks for the tip. I've had a quick look around and the paxmate is quite expensive. £15 (at Maplins, in stock at my local), which is the same as the ebay kit for an amount I can't imagine using unless I get a lot of T50rp's but I've no plans to do that. Deoxit seems to be expensive also. Newplast is cheap off ebay but £5 if you include postage, which is a pain. I'll have to check out the local craft shop for newplast and stiff felt. The ebay kit isn't looking so bad all told; though it doesn't have micropore. 
 

 

 


 

 

[mrspeakers]

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I'm very much looking forward to your findings.  Particularly what part of the driver will isolate the the hotness in the upper mids/lower treble.  Your comment on peaks in the midrange and lower treble are spot on.. exactly what had been irking me on an otherwise fabulous phone.
 
With the craft felt, they sounded a bit too dark, thick and warm to me (even with the vents closed).  With the 3M tape and vents covered, they're tilted the other way.. crisp, fast, airy.. but the bass slam isn't as prominent.  Puncturing holes in the cup vents brings bass impact.. but proportionally more midbass, in my experience.
 
The felt covering the vents provides the needed control for the (mid) bass.. the 3M tape does wonders to turn the phones more balanced, slightly brighter, and clearer.

How is sibilance?  I have found anything that tilts this to the bright side, including the stock felt, got very ssssibilant.  The reflex dot had that issue....  I have the 3M tape but doubt I'll be able to try it for a few weeks...
 
 
 

 

[fishski13]

i ended up taking out the cotton in my cups a few days ago.  the cotton killed the closed cup coloration and neutralized the freq spectrum, making it sound more like an open can, but over time it became apparent that it also neutered the sound and treble in general.  i know this sounds silly, but it sounded like bleached cotton.  i have tone, transients, dynamics, and details back again.
 
thanks to leeperry, my SA5000 pads are en route.

 

[itsastickup]

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Try Amazon and look for Silverstone acoustic foam.  It may be cheaper than Paxmate.  It's 4mm thick.  I have not used it but several people, here, have.   
 
 

 

 
Seems to be US only; but thanks anyway. 

 

[leeperry]

I'll post it again in case someone finds some ideas to steal, the r10 patents PDF: http://www.mediafire.com/?sqj4bkw6iobbyd9

English isn't my native tongue and I can't be hassled to read this PDF in full tbh. It should be noted that its cups are filled w/ polyester cushion stuffing.

 

[dogears]

Polyester cushion stuffing = fiberfill, right?

 

[micmacmo]

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Polyester cushion stuffing = fiberfill, right?

Right

 

[LFF]

I would say so...