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

[symphonic]

Is somebody with Stax O2 pads willing to take some photographs from each side with a ruler next to them? I may try to stitch some DIY pads soon and it makes sense to start at the top.
 
 

 

[Cortlendt]

 

NFB12, best DAC for less than $500, amp section better than O2, $240 shipped. Don't have to assemble...duh...

Thanks, amp section looks really powerful, but is it a good idea to use warmer amp with T50? Since T50 to me are quite warm sounding.

 

[ardilla]

Somebody should post their projects on this nice little site:9
 
http://www.homebuilthifi.com/mods

 

[RexAeterna]

i think i found the perfect combination earlier today. i found way to keep the top and air frequencies extended while elevating sub-bass response and keeping it's clarity and open sound stage and imaging without peaking/sounding sibilant . all completely reversible what i done to mine but need to do farther listening cause i might be missing something cause every time i get something done right, there is always feeling deep down inside that something sounds off. ever since i got the shure 840 pads i had to rethink the way to re-tune them cause the 240 pads i want to put back on my sextetts. doing this all by ear since i do not own or have money to buy measuring gear(i always do things by ear anyways as well.)

 

[mmayer167]

i havent opened myn up for weeks 

 
my intervention was the fa-003 pads...

 

[SobbingWallet]

 
Quote:

 
Thanks, amp section looks really powerful, but is it a good idea to use warmer amp with T50? Since T50 to me are quite warm sounding.

To put the T50RP's warmth into perspective:  My cheap HTF600 cans are often criticized for being dark or muddy, but they almost sound light and airy next to my stock T50RP's.  The stock T50RP's are so warm/dark/thick already due to the strongly rolled off highs that any extra warmth from the amp would presumably be a bit of a handicap.  A little extra damping could probably compensate for that if you'd prefer a warm amp for your other headphones though.
 
 
Quote:

i think i found the perfect combination earlier today. i found way to keep the top and air frequencies extended while elevating sub-bass response and keeping it's clarity and open sound stage and imaging without peaking/sounding sibilant . all completely reversible what i done to mine but need to do farther listening cause i might be missing something cause every time i get something done right, there is always feeling deep down inside that something sounds off. ever since i got the shure 840 pads i had to rethink the way to re-tune them cause the 240 pads i want to put back on my sextetts. doing this all by ear since i do not own or have money to buy measuring gear(i always do things by ear anyways as well.)

Judging by most of the posts, improving the highs and bass simultaneously is probably the biggest challenge:  From what I can tell, the highs need a lot of damping and diffusion of reflections, but the bass probably needs air in the cups.  What did you use?
 
Accomplishing both at once is almost paradoxical, but I'm excited to try honey-comb shapes and/or other diffusive materials that could break up reflections without removing all the empty space from the cup.  The Bounce idea was also clever, and I even wonder about suspending porous cloth over the driver, like an undershirt or something.  My fear is that all the moving air would push/pull the cloth instead of traveling through, which might affect the air pressure strangely.  It's worth trying though.  I'm also curious about feathers from feather pillows or couches.  They're definitely less volumetric than cotton balls, but I'm not sure if they'd really help with diffusion or not.
 
I can't start modding yet though, because I haven't found Paxmate for sale in the US.  Amazon sells Silverstone damping material, but I don't know if it's as good.  Some guy on ebay is selling a T50RP modding kit, but I'd rather buy the materials myself, so I have some surplus.  (I may decide to buy a second T50RP, so I can make small changes at a time and blind test them.)  This question has probably been answered a few times, but it's a long thread:  Where did you guys get yours?
 
Quote:

i havent opened myn up for weeks 

 
my intervention was the fa-003 pads...

How did you get FA-003 pads again?  Did you have to flat-out buy the FA-003 headphones, or is there another way?  I'm tempted to ask Fischer whether they made them in-house or bought them somewhere else.  The Shure pads will probably serve me well in the meantime, but the FA-003 pads just look so epic.
 
 

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

i havent opened myn up for weeks 

 
my intervention was the fa-003 pads...

Neither have I..mine was the RP2 I know there might be some small adjustments I could make but haven't opened up half due to laziness and other half due to the fact that I no longer care and it sound good to me.
 

 

[satwilson]

Quote:

 
Thanks, amp section looks really powerful, but is it a good idea to use warmer amp with T50? Since T50 to me are quite warm sounding.

The NFB12 has adjustable digital filters that changes the overall sound significantly. I use the 4X min/phase soft knee(96K) in my setup fed by my laptop set to upsample to 96K, BMF variant T50, and to me this sounds fantastic. By adjusting these filters you can probably get the sound you like. For another opinion regarding NFB12 and various cans put "What would be the better source upgrade for me? (Cavalli CTH or Audio GD NFB12) in the HEADFI search and read the reply by LiqTenExp. He has many different sets of headphones, Beyers, HD650, LCD2, HifiMan, T50s and feels the NFB12 pairs well with all of them. Of course this is a subjective opinion as are most here on the forum, however once again I think adjusting the digital filters will give YOU the sound you can enjoy. You might also check out the NFB12 forum for other opinions regarding what great value and sound the NFB12 offers.
 
 

 

[AnotherN00b]

So when are the BMF v7 and RastaPants v3 mods going to be divulged? You guys must be hard at work!! I wish someone was dedicating as much time to mods for the Sony 5k pads which is what I ended up buying when they were all the rage last year 

. I'm still pretty happy with just the basics but might be ready to try some additional mods (cotton?) depending on what the latest trial-and-error/testing shows. Really appreciate all the variations, testing and comparisons you guys have done with your mods! 

 

[mmayer167]

fa-003 pads can be found by emailing the dealers of fischer audio gear. 
 
M

 

[SobbingWallet]

Quote:

fa-003 pads can be found by emailing the dealers of fischer audio gear. 
 
M

Thanks!  (Did you email Frogbeats?  May I ask how much they charged you?)

 

[mmayer167]

Yea i emailed all of the distributors on fischers webpage. I got the pads for ~ 10 USD a pair
 
M

 

[FlySweep]

That's an awesome price for the (leather?) 003 pads.
 
I have the (leather) 003 pads on the Paradox & the O2 pads ($150) on the CottonDryers.  The 003 pads are lighter than the O2s & just as comfortable.. heck, the 003 pads might be more comfortable cause they're more broken in than the Stax pads.  I might order the 003 pads as a backup for the CDs.  I'd slap the 003 pads on every full size phone if I could (they're that comfy).
 
Fortunately, that's not going to be necessary cause the search has come to a resounding end with the Paradox.  They're unequivocally better than anything I've heard.

 

[HDMan]

Hey look, Fischer has beech cups for $55 and the whole headphone for $200. Might be good to swap out the Fischers drivers with the Fostex. Anybody want to give it a go

 
http://fischeraudio.com/wood/wood.php
http://www.gd-audiobase.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=37&category_id=20&manufacturer_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Hey look, Fischer has beech cups for $55 and the whole headphone for $200. Might be good to swap out the Fischers drivers with the Fostex. Anybody want to give it a go

 
http://fischeraudio.com/wood/wood.php

Strictly doing this to save you guys money and because I don't want to see two good headphones go to waste (or at least two more...) but....
 
Awesome idea but it doesn't work well...