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

[kingoftown1]

Quote:

I have the intention to buy or build an O2 amp to pair with these eventually, but on the offchance I get too impatient before ODA/ODAC designs are made available what is there in the way of budget DACs to pair with an O2?  I've heard Fiio D3/D5 mentioned, and of course the dark lord still has feelings for the behringer uca202.  Wondering if anyone else can make any firsthand recommendations.

FWIR, the DAC he's designing will fit on in the  current O2 board in place of the batteries, so I'd go ahead and make/buy the amp now.
 
 

 

[glorydays]

Quote:

Ahhh, finally see someone else tried the sponge.
 
I posted ages ago about using the natural vegetable cellulose sponges from Trader Joe's. Have been itching to compare notes with someone else who's tried it. I think it works great.
 
-Dogwan
 

Cool.
Current setup with sponge:
 
- 3-4 mm sponge in cup, AROUND (not over) reflex coloumn.
- Reflex coloum opened (remove the seal gently), seal with tack over headband screw, sponge Is gently pushed in here. Nothing should be higher than the top of this coloumn, keep distance to the driver.
- Pax on walls, and both sides of baffle.
- Mass dampening outside the cup (optional).
- Sticky tack around baffle, sealing pads to it, aswell as confirming seal between cup and baffle as suggested here before.
- 10 mm foam risers under original pads. Cotton or thin stripe of pax on the oppsite side.
 
SQ:
Warm, lost a little HF, without reflective reflex coloumn? Mids sound great. Bass needs some tuning. It's possible to listen at a little higher volume than before.
Piano, sax, vocal sounds good and detailed. Would like some more HF. Maybe adding a small reflex dot would fix this.
Compared to: Nothing.
 
 
 

 

[kalbee]

Hm... has anyone actually even tried HD600/650 pads on? the earpads not the headband ones.
They're the only ones available locally and, well, if they're decent I may give them a try, rather than leaving my poor portable padless.
 
Or I guess the shape and size just completely does not work out?

 

[rawrster]

The shape and size might be close but the problem with those pads is that you would need some way to attach them such as double sided tape or something similar to that since the HD600 pads (at least when I had them) do not not any kind of flap where you can just put that over the headphone and the pads stay in place like say the Stax or even the SRH840 (although it was maddening to put on)

 

[dogwan]

Quote:

Cool.
Current setup with sponge:
 
- 3-4 mm sponge in cup, AROUND (not over) reflex coloumn.
- Reflex coloum opened (remove the seal gently), seal with tack over headband screw, sponge Is gently pushed in here. Nothing should be higher than the top of this coloumn, keep distance to the driver.
- Pax on walls, and both sides of baffle.
- Mass dampening outside the cup (optional).
- Sticky tack around baffle, sealing pads to it, aswell as confirming seal between cup and baffle as suggested here before.
- 10 mm foam risers under original pads. Cotton or thin stripe of pax on the oppsite side.
 
SQ:
Warm, lost a little HF, without reflective reflex coloumn? Mids sound great. Bass needs some tuning. It's possible to listen at a little higher volume than before.
Piano, sax, vocal sounds good and detailed. Would like some more HF. Maybe adding a small reflex dot would fix this.
Compared to: Nothing.
 
 
 

Mine:
-2 mm slice of "Trader Joes pop-up sponge" (natural vegetable cellulose), tight up against back of driver. This serves to additionally damp the driver and the randomness of the cells absorb stray reflection/resonance, that's my uneducated guess at least.
-Completely disassembled and coated inside of cups with Quiet-Kote.***
-Opened screw (reflex?) column and packed with plasticene and replaced flat cap.
-Mass loaded baffle with plasticene.
-Reflex dot on back of stock felt (back face of driver).
-Re-wired with custom braided mag wire in teflon sleeve, dual entry.
-Shure 840 pads.
-Replaced stock felt over vents with more porous felt, then closed 3 slots with elec. tape.
-Removed felt screen over driver face, just using the felt of the 840 pads (did leave the dust screen).
 
And I think that's it. I'm going from memory here because I've been so happy with them I haven't felt the need to re-open them for months.
 
I really think the Quiet-Kote and natural sponge are the key elements in mine. Really wish I could hook up with someone else locally that has different mods and do a comparison. Yo! Portland, OR anyone?
 
SQ:
-Bass is nice and tight. Not overwhelming but present.
-Mids are the sweet spot here, vocals are like butter!
-Highs, maybe slightly rolled off? Hard to say as my hearing above 10-11k is shot. However, hump in the lower highs that made them so nasty in stock form is completely gone.
-Overall they are highly involving and great fun to listen too. Very comparable to my HD600's out of the same amp. In fact I find they are very similar in SQ with the exception of the laid-backness of the Senn's. The edge goes to the T50's for the Ortho magic that the Senn's just don't have.
 
-Dogwan

 

[mrspeakers]

 
Quote:

Audio GD, NFB12. Much better than Fiio/Behringer, plus, it's a DAC/AMP combo. I have one and it sounds great with my modded T50RPs. The DAC is better than anything available for 2-3X the price and the amp is just as good as the O2, albeit somewhat warmer and slightly rolled off in the high end, but with better bass. The latest version features 9 different digital filters/sample rates,etc so you can adjust it to suit your particular likes/dislikes. You may find the NFB12 is all you need for the Fostex, as I have, however some prefer the more neutral sound of the O2 amp. If you get the NFB12, and decide to get an O2, you will still have one of the best DAC's for the money, and 2 of the best SS amps available for the Fostex. There is an ongoing thread here on Headfi detailing this unit. Retail is $200 plus $40 shipping from China. Highly recommended IMHO
 

I actually had some real reservations about the NFB-12.  I really wanted it to sound good, and first impressions were nice, but I have developed a major concern around the bass.  At lower frequencies, on my unit the harmonic distortion, especially third order, is quite audible on tones on my unit.  It's at a level I have never heard from a piece of commercial gear before...  The mids are nice, and the high end, and there is power to spare, but the more I listen, the more that HD in the lower requesters bothers me.  
 
My DACPort sounds materially better, and the iBasso D12, while lacking the prodigious power of the NFB12, still provides a very nice and articulate listening experience with ample power, and it's portable to boot, so after you build an O2, you could use it for travel, office, etc, so the money isn't wasted.  I would really consider a DACPort or a D12.  The D12 is a bit more then at the NFB12 and the DACPort is 2x the cost so YMMV...
 

 

[mrspeakers]

While YMMV, it's worth noting that one of our headfiers brought his cans over, which had some sponge behind the driver.  They sounded ok, but had a suck-out between 3-5KHz.  Taking the sponge out eliminated most of that void.  At least in his variant of the Rastapants the system performed better on multiple dimensions without the sponge.
 
Further, as a natural product there will be a lot of variation in hole sizes, density, etc, so channel matching would be a question, as might the effect of different porosity in the sponges.  The latter point means that what works for one person with a very "open" sponge might work quite poorly if one's sponge is made of small holes only.  
 
It's not always the case, of course, but I would suggest that materials that are manufactured and have any attention to consistency (like woven fabrics) vs materials that are have a lot of variation per sample probably make things more predictable...

 

[iowercase]

Quote:

They sounded ok, but had a suck-out between 3-5KHz.

Hey, that's almost exactly the suckout I'm looking for... shoutiness in the ~4-6khz lower treble is still the one thing I can't seem to touch no matter what mods I try (sane mods at least).  When you're talking sponge behind the driver you mean the same position slapped on the back of the driver like with felt, transpore, lint sheets, fairy wings, etc?
 
And regarding my DAC options, being set on acquiring an O2 either now or later and me being a cheaparse with little want for redundancy in my audio equipment, I'm still mostly inclined towards just a cheaper-than-dirt-cheap temporary solution like a uca202 until ODAC designs start circulating.  Unless I can be really convinced that my heathen ears could tell much of a difference at this early stage of my disease (a disease some call audiophilia) (not to start a flame war about $20 vs $2000 DACs or anything) (knock on wood)

 

[dogwan]

Quote:

While YMMV, it's worth noting that one of our headfiers brought his cans over, which had some sponge behind the driver.  They sounded ok, but had a suck-out between 3-5KHz.  Taking the sponge out eliminated most of that void.  At least in his variant of the Rastapants the system performed better on multiple dimensions without the sponge.
 
Further, as a natural product there will be a lot of variation in hole sizes, density, etc, so channel matching would be a question, as might the effect of different porosity in the sponges.  The latter point means that what works for one person with a very "open" sponge might work quite poorly if one's sponge is made of small holes only.  
 
It's not always the case, of course, but I would suggest that materials that are manufactured and have any attention to consistency (like woven fabrics) vs materials that are have a lot of variation per sample probably make things more predictable...

And I would add that it will probably be different results depending on the combination of other materials used. I've no Paxmate or Akasa in mine. So the combination of "spray on sound deadening" with "natural vegetable cellulose" sponge may be what works for me. Or it may just be that my hearing is so shot I can't hear the deficiencies, LOL.
 
I still want to hear another pair of the more conventional mods to see how they compare. May have to wait for the next HeadFi meet in PDX.
 
FWIW, I tried teased cotton behind the sponge and alone without the sponge and that killed it for me while others have found it to work very well in their versions.
 
-Dogwan
 
 

 

[headphonatic]

Is there any way to bring out the violins, any mod. I really enjoy, but they sound, at most, mediocre in Mozart symphonies, any suggestions?
My mods already
Dynamat and acoustic foam layering on the interior of the cups, only on the square region
Clay load on the rear of the baffles, and around the driver
A layer of acoustic foam around the closure on the interior of the cups. Really helps seal the cans
A donut layering of dynamat and acoustic foam on the ear side of the baffles
Dust cover has been sanded off on the ear side of the baffles
Stock white felt
Cotton stuffed in the interior of the cups
Shure srh840 pads stuffed with cotton
Extremely detailed, while still being fun, not too warm like many other mods

 

[CYoung234]

Quote:

Is there any way to bring out the violins, any mod. I really enjoy, but they sound, at most, mediocre in Mozart symphonies, any suggestions?
My mods already
Dynamat and acoustic foam layering on the interior of the cups, only on the square region
Clay load on the rear of the baffles, and around the driver
A layer of acoustic foam around the closure on the interior of the cups. Really helps seal the cans
A donut layering of dynamat and acoustic foam on the ear side of the baffles
Dust cover has been sanded off on the ear side of the baffles
Stock white felt
Cotton stuffed in the interior of the cups
Shure srh840 pads stuffed with cotton
Extremely detailed, while still being fun, not too warm like many other mods

 
I personally have not been able to get these phones to work for that with the stock white felt on them, but I believe LFF has with his Paradox. Personally, I was able to get this to happen for classical strings only by removing the felt, baring the center post and using 4 squares of electrical tape as reflex dots on the corner squares on the drivers. You may be able to use reflex dots with the stock white felt and get something that will work, but I was not able to. To be honest, my K501's would still carve up the Fostexes for chamber or smaller scale symphonic stuff. They are just so open and airy sounding in comparison, but still have enough weight. The Fostexes for me start to shine more when things get more electronic. Some large scale symphonic stuff becomes more of a toss up, but I am talking more about Brucknet, Prokofiev or Shostakovich types of symphonies, not Mozart.
 
 

 

[Nixon]

Just bought a set today and they sound lovely. Can't wait to hear how they sound once they've been burn in and even more so when they're modded. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Does anyone have a stock T50rp they don't want/need?  I want to try out my current mod with the stock driver paper intact to compare to what I'm doing now.  I could buy or trade you a pair that has the driver paper removed, and I could include Akasa foam and damping advice  
 
I just missed the one in the f/s forums...

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Just bought a set today and they sound lovely. Can't wait to hear how they sound once they've been burn in and even more so when they're modded. 

Glad you're liking them that well even in stock form. 
 
What I'm hearing from a 'mostly RP2' modded second-hand set leads me to believe I really appreciate ortho sound characteristics.... 
 
Good luck modding yours. 

 

[headphonatic]

Did anyone see Joelpearce's mod? The rock wool seems very interesting, also, does the clay act like dynamat, by reducing distortion and increasing bass or even better?