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

[rus1234]

I hope you Fostex guys don't mind me changing the subject just a little, but...
I'm wondering whether to Mod T50RPs, or buy other Brand?
 
I need to buy a neutral, non-fatiguing set of HPs. I will have just one set, no amp (unless I buy one (ie: xonar DG card or Fiio E7)) and I like folk and rock. Price range $50-150.
 
I can soldier but don’t have any kind of testing meters or experience. Is there a basic, tried and tested set of mods I could do to the T50RP, once, with reasonable chance for success; or would I be better off to buy something else? Do the T50RPs require an amp?
 
I almost order the Fischer FA-003s, but they are @$200 shipped.
 
I also considered the Senn HD518 for @$100, SRH-840 @130, and AKG k271 @$140
I’ve heard the ATH-M50, Ultrasone, Superlux, are aggressive, more fatiguing HPs? Is that true?
 
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[sharkz]

 
Quote:

About a year ago, we got some optical grids (for focussed Schlieren - don't ask, was a total waste of time) 3D printed by an online company - Shapeways - we uploaded a CAD model of the part, and they printed it and posted it directly to us. The grids were quite small parts, about 50x70x5mm, and were quite cheap. I won't have a very good idea of how much a pair of cups will cost until I draft up the parts in CAD and submit them for a quote unfortunately, but if it's not horrible, I might make the investment FOR SCIENCE!
 
Quick note to those who don't know what 3D printing is: also known as rapid prototyping, a machine takes a computer model of an object, and builds it up out of a polymer, layer by layer. This means that you can make very intricate and detailed parts that you wouldn't normally be able to do by milling down a solid block. You could, for example, make a swiss-cheese with holes in it, which milling wouldn't be able to do. I thought this would be a good method of making cups, because it would allow for the mounting for an angled driver to be made quite easily. 
 

This is a great idea, but I have a feeling in the long run the cost will be prohibitive. This would require using an SLA process and the resins tend to be expensive for larger scale items. Not to mention the amount of time it would take. The last time I had a complex part made it took many hours and used a lot of resin. The SLA process selectively cures resins using a laser which would result in a sealed and rigid cup. Other methods (SLS or FDM) likely wouldn't work because they utilize porous base materials such as extruded plastics or powders.
 
With a properly programmed CNC machine and robust base model, there are very few things a rapid prototyper could do better than the mill. Its just a matter of finding somewhere with the tooling necessary. The big draw for rapid prototypes are they can be easier for smaller parts and usually require less startup money than a milling operation (ie a prototyper can be vastly cheaper than a CNC or even manual mill setup).
 
I would be curious to see how things turn out if you are able to make this happen. Please keep up in the loop.

 

[Arleus]

I'll sketch up something very rough, but of approximately the right dimensions and see if I can get a quote sometime in the next week and a bit. If it's not prohibitively expensive (I'm hoping for something of the same order of price as the stock headphones, fingers crossed) I'll start drawing up a design. My plan at that point is to show you guys on the forums, take on suggestions, revise it, show you again... etc. etc. There's lots of variables that I just don't know how to pick - what's the best driver angle, for example? How big a volume should the cups have? These are questions I hope you guys will have some ideas about. This way it will be a community based project, and the design will be completely open. There's still the problem of what pads to choose, but I'm getting ahead of myself - don't get your hopes up until we see the price : )
 
Oh, what did you mean about graphics?
 
 
 
@Sharkz - just saw your post. Yes, you could well be right about CNC being a better option. I'm jumping on the rapid prototype option simply because we've used it before and had a good experience with it on fiddly little parts. Something like a headphone cup might be just as easy to produce on a CNC machine, in which case maybe some other interested party might like to chase that option up, cost permitting.
 
Quote:

Nice!
 
Yes, this is an amazing process. I saw a demonstration of Discovery or some other program. They scanned a crescent wrench and built one fully intact with functional adjusting mechanism. I just assumed the cost would be sky high. I wonder what the cost would be for a pair of something, say, 100x90x30mm?  Check out youtube.
 
The custom angle by CAD design is a good idea. Is this something you plan to share, or sell?
 
What about graphics?
 


 

 

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Hey, thanks for giving this a shot and making a community project...whether it goes beyond the CAD drawing board, or not. It is an interesting concept.
 
By 'graphics' I mean the cool custom colors and designs that are available from some of the in-ear-monitors companies.
 
Quote:

I'll sketch up something very rough, but of approximately the right dimensions and see if I can get a quote sometime in the next week and a bit. If it's not prohibitively expensive (I'm hoping for something of the same order of price as the stock headphones, fingers crossed) I'll start drawing up a design. My plan at that point is to show you guys on the forums, take on suggestions, revise it, show you again... etc. etc. There's lots of variables that I just don't know how to pick - what's the best driver angle, for example? How big a volume should the cups have? These are questions I hope you guys will have some ideas about. This way it will be a community based project, and the design will be completely open. There's still the problem of what pads to choose, but I'm getting ahead of myself - don't get your hopes up until we see the price : )
 
Oh, what did you mean about graphics?
 


 

 

 

[sphinxvc]

^ now I can see that being prohibitively expensive, but what the heck, it's only a quote.  Ask away.
 
This is a cool idea -- I don't have much technical input to add to this project but I will definitely be on the group buy list if it gets underway for a non-astronomical price.
 
My opinion on angled cups?  I say let the pads do the angling.  For those that want no angling: 840 pads.  Medium: O2 pads.  Maximum: LCD-2 pads.

 

[yipcanjo]

I would like to re-cable my T50RP's.  Looking for a basic Y-cable, nothing fancy, to an 1/8" (mini) jack.  Doesn't need to be "oxygen free", platinum-coated, or braided with the hair of Italian virgins.  Plain and simple is fine.
 
Where does one find such a beast?

 

[rawrster]

You would have to recable them yourselves as well as drill a hole on the right cup or find someone to do that for you depending on if you have the ability to do that or not.

 

[sharkz]

Recabling these guys isn't a big deal at all (unless you go crazy like I did). Some Mini-Quad or the like and drilling two holes slightly bigger than the diameter of the wire and you are in business. Even soldering the wires to the pads is made easy by the nice layout of the drivers. My recable not only eliminated the finicky single entry, I also worry less about pulling or sitting on a wire that will cause catastrophic damage.

 

[HDMan]

Quote:

Recabling these guys isn't a big deal at all (unless you go crazy like I did). Some Mini-Quad or the like and drilling two holes slightly bigger than the diameter of the wire and you are in business. Even soldering the wires to the pads is made easy by the nice layout of the drivers. My recable not only eliminated the finicky single entry, I also worry less about pulling or sitting on a wire that will cause catastrophic damage.

Sharkz, could you please post a tutorial for the T50RP's how to recable. What materials to buy, how to braid or not and how to solder.
 

 

[yipcanjo]

Quote:

Recabling these guys isn't a big deal at all (unless you go crazy like I did). Some Mini-Quad or the like and drilling two holes slightly bigger than the diameter of the wire and you are in business. Even soldering the wires to the pads is made easy by the nice layout of the drivers. My recable not only eliminated the finicky single entry, I also worry less about pulling or sitting on a wire that will cause catastrophic damage.

I should re-phrase my question, I guess:  I'm not concerned about the re-cabling job itself -- it seems very straight-forward -- but where does one buy the cable + jack?  Are there some sites with good deals out there?
 
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

So I got my SRH-840 pads in yesterday.  Had a ******* helluva time getting them on, but I managed it after about 10 minutes.  These are waaayyy more comfortable than the stock pads.  Even moreso when I stuff some tissues under the back of them.
 
Could just be me, but it seems to open up the treble a little more?  I'm not noticing muffled treble as much as before...but I'm not prepared to do A/B testing with the stock pads since they're such a pain in the ass to switch.

 

[SkinnyPuppy]

I think i'm gonna buy a pair and Rasta-fy them.
 
What materials will I need to buy?

 

[sharkz]

Quote:

Sharkz, could you please post a tutorial for the T50RP's how to recable. What materials to buy, how to braid or not and how to solder.
 

 
I'll see if I can put something together when I get some time (something I haven't had a lot of lately). The main thing I can offer is material resources and some tricks for things like feeding the wire. Otherwise soldering is something that just needs to be learned (soldering the driver isn't hard, its soldering small wires to the 1/4" plug that is a little tricky). And the braiding is something you need to learn from a tutorial (I couldn't) or find someone to do for you (let me suggest a female in your life, my girlfriend had no problem doing it, it must utilize a separate part of the brain). Besides the main materials (50ft silicon wire, 50+ feet 3mm paracord, 1/4" Neutrik Stereo Jack) its mainly ancillary items that are required that I just happen to have around such as various sizes/colors of shrink tubing, a decent iron, flux, helping hands, wire strippers, drill, bits, other small specialized tools, etc.
 
 

 

[yipcanjo]

 
Quote:

I should re-phrase my question, I guess:  I'm not concerned about the re-cabling job itself -- it seems very straight-forward -- but where does one buy the cable + jack?  Are there some sites with good deals out there?
 
 

 Wait.  Can I just buy a cable like this...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021815&p_id=5598&seq=1&format=2#description
 

...and simply strip off the RCA ends of the cable and solder them to the drivers?

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

So I got my SRH-840 pads in yesterday.  Had a ******* helluva time getting them on, but I managed it after about 10 minutes.  These are waaayyy more comfortable than the stock pads.  Even moreso when I stuff some tissues under the back of them.
 
Could just be me, but it seems to open up the treble a little more?  I'm not noticing muffled treble as much as before...but I'm not prepared to do A/B testing with the stock pads since they're such a pain in the ass to switch.

I tried those this past weekend and they're even softer than LCD-2 pads.  I can't remember whether my ears touched the 840 pads or not which does factor into comfort too.  That's what I like best about the LCD-2 pads comfort-wise -- that nothing touches your ears.
--
Why the hell is the foam in the LCD-2 pads so hard?  For $80 you would think they would be softer, in comparison the O2 pads are at least 50% softer.
 
Anyone interested in a group buy of some baby lambs?