[HDMan]

Ok so, I take back what I said, I have found the G-spot, they are now officially as good if not better than the D7000's modded.
 
The problem with the tinny upper midrange was fixed with removing all felt or micropore from the back of the driver and filling the cups with cotton wool (left the paxmate there), and nothing on the front driver (that could be experimented with further, but at least I am not opening the cups anymore). All holes covered except one vent stripe with paxmate.
 
On the front driver I found that leaving it naked greatly improves detail (but still have paxmate around the driver), covering it seems to muffle the sound, gives a kinda flat sound. Had to cut the material off of the 840 cups, made a big difference.
 
Regarding the stock pads vs 840 pads, I find if I fill the backs of the stock pads with 2x cotton wool balls giving the angle, they sound not different than the 840 pads. I think that the difference is that 840 pads are slightly higher giving a different sound. Lifting the stock pads gives the same result. I am still fitting 1x cotton wool balls in the 840 pads to lift the back to give the angle.

 

[dogears]

on the cotton wool and congrats on your progress!

 

[LFF]

Indeed! Keep at it and you will find out that they can compete with, if not beat, many "high end" headphones.

 

[FlySweep]

An important tip that must be reiterated : ensure you have a really solid seal with the earpads.. that little step has a greater impact on the sound than you might imagine.
 
In all the excitement of having the super comfy O2 pads for the past two weeks, I caught myself tonight noticing the phones ever so slightly creeping down the side of my head after 15 or 20 minutes.  A few bends of the headband to accommodated a tighter grip and I immediately noticed how everything sounded better.  The soundstage in particular improved.  The bass was tighter and had better impact and texturing.  Details were easier to pick out & the lower treble's hotness smoothed out a bit.
 
As if I needed another reason to brag about the pads: the O2s provide the firmness to solidify grip, possess the correct cushioning as to not hurt my head if worn for extended periods of time, and have the precise amount of "behind the ear" padding to angle the baffle away from the ridges of my ear.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

An important tip that must be reiterated : ensure you have a really sold seal with the earpads.. that little step has a greater  impact on the sound than you might imagine.
 
In all the excitement of having the super comfy O2 pads for the past two weeks, I caught myself tonight noticing the phones ever so slightly creeping down the side of my head after 15 or 20 minutes.  A few bends of the headband to accommodated a tighter grip and I immediately noticed how everything sounded better.  The soundstage in particular improved.  The bass was tighter and had better impact and texturing.  Details were easier to pick out & the lower treble's hotness smoothed out a bit.
 
As if I needed another reason to brag about the pads, the O2 balances firmness & plushness so well that once I adjusted the headband for a tighter grip, the O2 hug and my ears perfectly.

That's the same thing I did with the Fischer pads. The headband mod helped even more with the seal and comfort level.
 

 

[HDMan]

Bout time I got a set of cans that could go to reference levels without distortion, something I really struggled with in the LA7000's with movies.

These driver's can really go loud without distortion.

 

[FlySweep]

Right on, LFF.. always a step ahead of me.. 

 
I'm going to have to reconsider the need for the headband mod actually.. these are so damn comfy right now..
 
When you get my pair, let me know if they have a larger soundstage that the Paradox.. I'm just curious how & if they stack up.  I know soundstage can be one of those subjective things but my pair sounds like a downright open can with more than a few albums.. just spectacular.
 
Doing more listening with my mods & the tightened headband, I can safely say bass is not an issue for me, now.  Tightening the grip via the headband was a big reason for why the bass better impact and presence now.  They're still very balanced and not bass canons or anything.. but with the tighter seal, I noticed how much that hot lower treble has tamed too.  They're still tuned to lean to the brighter side, but sound more even to my ears than before tightening the clamp.  Resonance in the lower midrange still persists, but I'm going to let LFF work his wizardry to flatten that out.
 
I can't gush enough about these phones.. it's like a damn concert in my ears!
 
PS.  Sorry I couldn't get these out to you today, LFF.. I needed a couple more days with them before saying goodbye

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Right on, LFF.. always a step ahead of me.. 

 
I'm going to have to reconsider the need for the headband mod actually.. these are so damn comfy right now..
 
When you get my pair, let me know if they have a larger soundstage that the Paradox.. I'm just curious how & if they stack up.  I know soundstage can be one of those subjective things but my pair sounds like a downright open can with more than a few albums.. just spectacular.
 
Doing more listening with my mods & the tightened headband, I can safely say bass is not an issue for me, now.  Tightening the grip via the headband was a big reason for why the bass better impact and presence now.  They're still very balanced and not bass canons or anything.. but with the tighter seal, I noticed how much that hot lower treble has tamed too.  They're still tuned to lean to the brighter side, but sound more even to my ears than before tightening the clamp.  Resonance in the lower midrange still persists, but I'm going to let LFF work his wizardry to flatten that out.
 
I can't gush enough about these phones.. it's like a damn concert in my ears!
 
PS.  Sorry I couldn't get these out to you today, LFF.. I needed a couple more days with them before saying goodbye

 
They are comfy without the suspension headband.  I agree. However, with the headband, it's another world. Trust me. No reconsidering either - I already bought your headband.

 
I will definitely be comparing the sound of your headphones with mine before I do anything. If I feel yours sound better then I will let them be.
 
As far as soundstage on the Paradox...it's dead on accurate. I verified the soundstage using a phase analysis scope. Yeah...I'm hardcore. The Paradox also do not sound like closed cans. They have a very open sound quality to them much like the FA-003. No rush on the shipping. I also ordered some stuff to speed up your cans. That stuff should get here by Wednesday.

 
 

 

[leeperry]

These driver's can really go loud without distortion.

133dB isn't that loud

 

[FlySweep]

 
As far as soundstage on the Paradox...it's dead on accurate. I verified the soundstage using a phase analysis scope.
 

 

 
The headband mod makes them even more comfy?  It's on then!  If my wife get jealous, so be it.
 
EDIT:  It's 4:15 am.. I should be asleep but I'm goofing around on HeadFi just so I can keep listening to the T50RP.  W.T.F.

 

[dogears]

And they do it with gracefulness (i.e. )!
 
Quote:

Bout time I got a set of cans that could go to reference levels without distortion, something I really struggled with in the LA7000's with movies.
These driver's can really go loud without distortion.

 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

 
EDIT:  It's 4:15 am.. I should be asleep but I'm goofing around on HeadFi just so I can keep listening to the T50RP.  W.T.F.

I have been doing that ever since I made my Paradox headphones. Hard to stop listening to them. I miss my babies....
 
 

 

[dogears]

WTFostex!
 
Quote:

 

 
EDIT:  It's 4:15 am.. I should be asleep but I'm goofing around on HeadFi just so I can keep listening to the T50RP.  W.T.F.

 

 

[lorriman]

The problem with the tinny upper midrange was fixed with removing all felt or micropore from the back of the driver and filling the cups with cotton wool (left the paxmate there),

Do you mean a naked driver, cups-side?

 

[CYoung234]

Some final tuning (for now). I wanted to bump the high end a touch on my pair, so I did the following:
 
1.) Removed the alternating transpore / micropore I had been using (ala Smeggy). I had Transpore on the corner squares on the backs of the drivers over the stock white material, and Micropore on the other 4 outer squares with the center square uncovered by anything other than the stock material.
 
2.) Added 1 layer of Micropore over the entire driver.
 
3.) Added a large reflex clear dot to the center.
 
4.) Discovered that the layer of Paxmate I have on the front of the baffle under the pads was covering the vent hole, so I uncovered it.
 
5.) Added a layer of stiff craft felt over the vent openings. I have not closed any of the 4 with electrical tape.
 
6.) Still using FA-003 pleather pads, stuck on with double-sided tape. I may need to look at sealing these at the edges better, but we will see.
 
7.) I squeezed the headband a bit more to improve the clamping. I may try out LFF's suspension headband mod as I like the comfort of my AKG K501's a lot, and they use this type of suspension.
 
Here are a couple of pics:
 
Baffle Side
 

 
Cup (this photo does not show the craft felt, but it was added).
 

 
Final Product:
 

 
These mods appear to have worked quite well. I will need to do a bunch of listening of course. I suspect I will be trying to get a better seal around the pad edges.