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

[dyna10x]

Does anyone have a good method how to tin the thin litz wires in the stock cable? I have taken out the connector in the left cup and want to join the stock cable directly to the driver wires.

 

[drez]

Have same concern here - I'm not brave/stupid enough to try and desolder the hookup wires from the driver directly (unless someone has some tips on how to do this safely) 

 

[mrspeakers]

Regarding the channel imbalance; the other probability is that Fostex isn't doing much if any QC on driver matching.  Given the price, it seems unlikely they'd be that finicky.  Combine this with manual mods with some variability in quantity and application and the post reducing volume in one cup, and I think it'd be a miracle to have tight channel matching.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Is the imbalance that noticeable? I tried listening to mine for the imbalance and they sounded pretty much the same. Maybe my ears are not that great.

I think differences between left and right earcup, even volume differences are one of the hardest things to hear in a headphone.  It is similar to trying to test out mods in just one earcup, or trying to compare mods by doing one thing to the left cup another to the right.  I just don't think our brains are wired to do this very well and if you think about it, in the natural world it would be a rather useless ability.  Our ears and brains are wired to use both ears simultaneously to hear location and content. 
 
I've read that closely matched drivers helps with soundstaging and that may be true I don't know but I'd say just enjoy your phones and don't worry about it unless you notice something organically. 

 

[Arleus]

My channel imbalance isn't noticeable during normal music listening. It becomes slightly more obvious if you play mono music through them. I only really noticed it before when I was running sine sweeps through to listen for resonance problems. It becomes very obvious when you do this, as the image of the sound shifts from side to side as the balance changes. I wouldn't worry about it if you can't hear it!

 

[LFG530]

Hey, guys I just received mine, so far I really like em' they are pretty similar to the hd650, but I would not even say they are not as good, neither better (but they have no burn-in)!!!!
 
Anyways, I'm getting to my main point, I didn't get the thunderpants because I want to mod them myself and I was wondering if some of you "pros of the DIY t50rp" could go on this wiki page and gather the knowledge about every thing that can be done to these headphones  
 
That might help clarify things and "streamline" them. 
 
http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fostex_T50RP

 

[adriKA]

Hi good ppl, I got mine yesterday and am ready to take my best shot at modding them. Though as a DIY virgin I would welcome some streamlining as LFG530 put it. 
 
Also, LFF, your mods are supposed to be "light" in the sense of carrying them out, and the cans remain essentially stock. Something along these lines appeals to me greatly. So after those really nice plots on inner fidelity have been published, would you consider giving away those mods? As an early Christmas present maybe?
 
Thanks to all of you heroes who have paved the path. 

 

[burgunder]

I tried to stuff some cottonwool in to my cups yesterday, it wasn't that much about 1 gram in each and I'm not sure I like what I hear. I think I will have to try to open the one or both of the vents in each cup.
 

 

[vafan13]

My T50RPs arrived today just as I was leaving for work.  Quickly took them out and I can already foresee me wanting to replace the stock earpads.  For now, though,  I want to see what I can do with 'em.  I picked up some upholstery velvet (noticeably thicker than some of the other velvets I saw) and also grabbed some fleece material for the heck of it.  I need to pick up some double sided foam tape as well.  Probably going to grab both a less dense open cell type and a dense PVC foam type, see what effect they have.

 

[slidesear]

Maybe after the competition is over?
 
Quote:

Hi good ppl, I got mine yesterday and am ready to take my best shot at modding them. Though as a DIY virgin I would welcome some streamlining as LFG530 put it. 
 
Also, LFF, your mods are supposed to be "light" in the sense of carrying them out, and the cans remain essentially stock. Something along these lines appeals to me greatly. So after those really nice plots on inner fidelity have been published, would you consider giving away those mods? As an early Christmas present maybe?
 
Thanks to all of you heroes who have paved the path. 

 

 

[slidesear]

I found that covering the driver (stock felt removed) with a half (diagonal) layer of super-secret felt sandwiched between the rear of the driver and stiff craft felt did the trick for me.
 
To my ears the bass/mids/highs are all very detailed and the soundstage is awesome. Everything just seems to be right 

. I will post picture once I get home tonight.
 
My other mods include;
 
Plasticine (Modeling Clay) in the baffle and around the driver (dimpled)
Dynamat in the cup, covered with acoustic foam (leaving center post naked)
Removed the stock felt behind the driver (applied what I mentioned above)
Removed bass port foam and covered 3 of the 4 vents with electrical tape
Used some soft felt as a spacer to bring the cups outward and angled them.
 

 

[wdahm519]

Quote:

I found that covering the driver (stock felt removed) with a half (diagonal) layer of super-secret felt sandwiched between the rear of the driver and stiff craft felt did the trick for me.
 
To my ears the bass/mids/highs are all very detailed and the soundstage is awesome. Everything just seems to be right 

. I will post picture once I get home tonight.
 
My other mods include;
 
Plasticine (Modeling Clay) in the baffle and around the driver (dimpled)
Dynamat in the cup, covered with acoustic foam (leaving center post naked)
Removed the stock felt behind the driver (applied what I mentioned above)
Removed bass port foam and covered 3 of the 4 vents with electrical tape
Used some soft felt as a spacer to bring the cups outward and angled them.
 

Did you compare this to Transpore?

 

[turimbar1]

Is anyone else worried that fostex might wake up one day and decide to raise the prices on the t50rp ridiculously? Not change anything, just raise prices. I am hoping maybe they have some audio engineers working on these to bring out their potential or change the driver, but either way the prices are likely to change within the next year. This was the first year they came to canjam and they definitely seem to have their eye on the community, I wonder how they are going to handle this.
 
I mean, it is underpriced, but that is what allows this thread to exist really. I doubt I would have them if they were double the price.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I don't think it's underpriced for the way it sounds stock.  I think it might be overpriced for how it sounds stock, there's better phones for 75 or less.  I don't think the T50rp sounds any better than Fostex's older orthos in stock form.  In fact it's probably worse, the T20v2 isn't as resonant stock, and niether is the T20v1 (from memory).  Fostex's original T50 made in 1978 sounds way better in stock form. 
 
I haven't played with the T50rp enough yet to really say much about how it compares modded.  So far there's other orthos I like better.  But I haven't tried that many things. 

 

[LFG530]

Quote:

I don't think it's underpriced for the way it sounds stock.  I think it might be overpriced for how it sounds stock, there's better phones for 75 or less.  I don't think the T50rp sounds any better than Fostex's older orthos in stock form.  In fact it's probably worse, the T20v2 isn't as resonant stock, and niether is the T20v1 (from memory).  Fostex's original T50 made in 1978 sounds way better in stock form. 
 
I haven't played with the T50rp enough yet to really say much about how it compares modded.  So far there's other orthos I like better.  But I haven't tried that many things. 

 
I beg to disagree, I've listened to mine stock for about 3 hours now and I'm sure it's a really good value, maybe not the best but if I compare to what I've heard (HD 650, Pro 900, RS2i, all the beats (altought that's not hard to beat), some other expensive stylish stuff) so far it's certainly the most enjoyable pair of headphones I've hear quality/price wise and for most genre of music I prefer them to the Pro 900 so far... Anyways, I'm sure these aren't overprices if I compare to what I bought so far and if what you're saying is true it makes me want to try vintage fostex really bad . 
 
 
Oh and by the way COMMON GUYS SHARE YOUR WISDOM http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fostex_T50RP