[OmarCCX]

 
Quote:

 
 
hmm, I'll look into the suspension mod, what material did you use?  just the paper or leather?

 
I used the pouch that came with my M50s since I never use it.
 

 
I used the middle part.

 

[mrscotchguy]

Consider myself "unlurker-a-fied"
 
I have been following this thread for a better part of a year without commenting or participating.  I want to initially say thank you for everyone who makes this thread so fun and enjoyable to stalk.  I have owned my T50rp since December-ish 2011.  I purchased my set with the direct intent to make a woody after seeing the Thunderpants (thank you Smeggy).
 
Down to business:
 
After reading about basic mods as well as some Rasta, BMF, etc, I waded into the ocean of possibilities with my T50rps.  I will admit I did not try everything (nor close), as I was a bit timid to do anything irreversible.  I have had a few idea of experiments to try that I might share later --though, most were frankly absurd.
 
For about a month I had a nasty ear infection that caused intense pain with any headphone use or the presence of any heavy bass.  In that time, I lost any urge to research or modify my cans.  For the last three weeks, I have been re-acclimating my ears.  Now that my hearing is back, I just cannot put my headphones down!  A few days into listening I rediscovered this thread.  On my return, I noticed it had grown exponentially!  I then had an overwhelming urge to plat with my T50rps.
 
This is where it gets interesting... I promise.
 
To my surprise.  I pulled off my srh840 pads to find plastic crumbling away from the baffle!  Enter an experlative. 
Immediately I check Headfi's FS to find a new baffle (no luck).  So next step, I order a new set!  Seeing as I plan on modifying a pair into woodies... why not have a second set, right?!  
 
When I bought the original set, a buddy piggy-backed with me to get free shipping (this was back when they were always soldout).  We demoed both sets.  While I decided to mod, he stayed bone-stock to compare.  Since we never got around to comparing, I just assumed if any mod I did sounded noticeably better than before, it would safe keep it for a few days before moving forward.
 
The reason I mention this, when broke the seal on the new set...
 
1) They feel heavier
2) There is a visible difference between the new and old T50rps.
3) They also sound WAY different from my old notes about my original T50rp (I am going to compare my friends to confirm this!)
 

 
Take a look, the left is the original.  The left is clearly painted on, while the right powder coated (easier to tell in person).  The new version screams higher quality.  They are two different colors!  This is something that has always bugged me about the T50rps, pictures always make the metal posts look so deceivingly sexy, err handsome.
 
Stock "Old"
I remember the sound being super airy and somewhat liquid, with vocals so life-like (to me).  The bass seemed as you fancy-people call it -- anemic, near non-existent.  I clearly remember the sound of the bass being not so much muffled, but so extremely recessed that if felt just out of reach.  Like a house next-door playing music so loud you can tell there is some boomp boomp, but you cannot tell what song they are playing.  I felt very strongly about the mids; they seemed to be everything I was/am looking for in headphone.  I remember many people complaining about the highs (or lack of), but I never really took too much note past "meh".
 
Stock "New"
20 seconds in: HOLY CRAP, these suck!  Now don't judge, my amp hadn't even warmed up nor had the T50rps been out of box for more than 1 minute.  Now that my Schiit Asgard is unpleasantly warm to the touch...  I do not feel that vocals have as much impact in comparison.  The highs seem a good bit brighter and slightly fatiguing  (edit: though, slightly muddy).  The sound stage seems almost non-existent; there is separation, but when I close my eyes, I do not feel "there" like I did with my unmodded first set.  On a positive note, the T50rps this round definitely have more bass (though going from near nothing to something is not truly a huge step 

).  The bass is a bit deeper as well as a slight bit more ooomph.
 
NOTE:  I have noticed the balance is slightly off on both sets.  It is fairly noticeable to me.  I find it odd that the "Old" was stronger on the Left, while the "New" is bit of a Righty.  Until I got the new set, I just chalked it up to me being a Lefty and imagining the imbalance.  Wew, I feel a bit more confident about my ears with that behind me. 

 
EDIT: An hour or so into listening.  I swear, these darn things are trying to mock me.  Soundstage is noticeably increasing.  Mids are becoming slightly more "realistic".  These new cans seem to be a bit more finicky with positioning.
 
 I will update when they are fully burned in.

 

[Aaron1006]

Got my HM5 pads in the mail yesterday. Figured since I had the pads off I might as well tweak things a bit. I hot glued the entry points into the cups around the small wires and the spot where the jack goes into the left cup, which had a surprisingly large open space. Also smoothed out my Newplast out of envy from you other guy's who have it all nice and pretty looking 

.
 
Next I put the pads on, expecting it to be hell and man you guys had me expecting the worst. Mine went on quite easily actually. A bit harder than 840 pads, which I thought went on very easily, but no rips, sewing, or socks involved.
 
They are quite comfortable I have to say. Not going to make any sound comparisons because I changed quite a bit while in the cups prior to even trying the pads so too many variables involved. Not to mention it took a good time in between fixing the previous mods and applying the new pads that my auditory memory of the previous pads is pretty much gone so I would need another set to make any comparisons 

.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

 
Quote:

What did you use for mass loading?
 
Six months ago I used Lock-Tite Blue to hold the cup-to-baffle screws after stripping the plastic threads. The next day I found that Lock-Tite had interacted with the plastic and crumbled it. 
 
The white material you used for mass loading the baffles looks like it has a sheen to it I've not seen in plasticine and Newplast. If you used ordinary plasticine, what do you think caused your baffles to crumble?
 
BMF
 
To my surprise.  I pulled off my srh840 pads to find plastic crumbling away from the baffle!  Enter an experlative. 
 

 

 

[bachiano]

 
Quote:

Stock "New"
20 seconds in: HOLY CRAP, these suck!  Now don't judge, my amp hadn't even warmed up nor had the T50rps been out of box for more than 1 minute.  Now that my Schiit Asgard is unpleasantly warm to the touch...  I do not feel that vocals have as much impact in comparison.  The highs seem a good bit brighter and slightly fatiguing  (edit: though, slightly muddy).  The sound stage seems almost non-existent; there is separation, but when I close my eyes, I do not feel "there" like I did with my unmodded first set.  On a positive note, the T50rps this round definitely have more bass (though going from near nothing to something is not truly a huge step 

).  The bass is a bit deeper as well as a slight bit more ooomph.
 
EDIT: An hour or so into listening.  I swear, these darn things are trying to mock me.  Soundstage is noticeably increasing.  Mids are becoming slightly more "realistic".  These new cans seem to be a bit more finicky with positioning.
 
 I will update when they are fully burned in.

 
I had the same bad impressions with my new t50rp.
They do need to break in.
I ran mine 24/7 for three days and they opened up nicely.
One week now and I think they are stable.
 
Let us know how long it takes for yours to open up.

 

[LFF]

 
Quote:

Stock "Old" I remember the sound being super airy and somewhat liquid, with vocals so life-like (to me).  The bass seemed as you fancy-people call it -- anemic, near non-existent.  I clearly remember the sound of the bass being not so much muffled, but so extremely recessed that if felt just out of reach.  Like a house next-door playing music so loud you can tell there is some boomp boomp, but you cannot tell what song they are playing.  I felt very strongly about the mids; they seemed to be everything I was/am looking for in headphone.  I remember many people complaining about the highs (or lack of), but I never really took too much note past "meh".
 
Stock "New"
20 seconds in: HOLY CRAP, these suck!  Now don't judge, my amp hadn't even warmed up nor had the T50rps been out of box for more than 1 minute.  Now that my Schiit Asgard is unpleasantly warm to the touch...  I do not feel that vocals have as much impact in comparison.  The highs seem a good bit brighter and slightly fatiguing  (edit: though, slightly muddy).  The sound stage seems almost non-existent; there is separation, but when I close my eyes, I do not feel "there" like I did with my unmodded first set.  On a positive note, the T50rps this round definitely have more bass (though going from near nothing to something is not truly a huge step 

).  The bass is a bit deeper as well as a slight bit more ooomph.
 
NOTE:  I have noticed the balance is slightly off on both sets.  It is fairly noticeable to me.  I find it odd that the "Old" was stronger on the Left, while the "New" is bit of a Righty.  Until I got the new set, I just chalked it up to me being a Lefty and imagining the imbalance.  Wew, I feel a bit more confident about my ears with that behind me. 

 
EDIT: An hour or so into listening.  I swear, these darn things are trying to mock me.  Soundstage is noticeably increasing.  Mids are becoming slightly more "realistic".  These new cans seem to be a bit more finicky with positioning.
 
 I will update when they are fully burned in.

 
You are correct. The New Stock (NS) is different in look and sound compared to the Old Stock (OS). The OS has potential for very low, deep, tight, tactile bass. The NS is a bit bass light when compared to the OS. Moreover, I find that the NS is a lot more picky when it comes to voicing the driver. The NS driver is much more sensitive to mods than the OS. There is also more variation in sound in the NS than the OS.
 
However, if you know what you are doing, you can still pull fantastic sound out of the NS....it just takes longer to do so.

 

[Armaegis]

Hmm, has anyone else tried spraying or painting the interior with rubber?

 

[micmacmo]

LFF, are there other ways to distinguish between new stock and old stock T50RPs? My cup hangers have a gold (vs brass) colour and a obvious metallic fleck to them, which, based on mrscotchguy's picture, suggest mine are an old stock set. You mention that the drivers on new stock sets are pickier. Are there visible differences between the drivers? 
 
mrscotchguy: great avatar, lovely whisky.
 
 
Quote:

 
 
You are correct. The New Stock (NS) is different in look and sound compared to the Old Stock (OS). The OS has potential for very low, deep, tight, tactile bass. The NS is a bit bass light when compared to the OS. Moreover, I find that the NS is a lot more picky when it comes to voicing the driver. The NS driver is much more sensitive to mods than the OS. There is also more variation in sound in the NS than the OS.
 
However, if you know what you are doing, you can still pull fantastic sound out of the NS....it just takes longer to do so.

 
 

 

[micmacmo]

 
Quote:

Hmm, has anyone else tried spraying or painting the interior with rubber?

 
I think Dogwan was the first and perhaps only other modder who proposed using a spray-on dampener. He introduced the idea here, then posted a link to the Quiet-Kote he used here, pics of the initial results here, and described and reviewed his full mod here. Note that he also used a cellulose sponge in his mod. 
 

 

[LFF]

 
Quote:

LFF, are there other ways to distinguish between new stock and old stock T50RPs? My cup hangers have a gold (vs brass) colour and a obvious metallic fleck to them, which, based on mrscotchguy's picture, suggest mine are an old stock set. You mention that the drivers on new stock sets are pickier. Are there visible differences between the drivers? 
 
mrscotchguy: great avatar, lovely whisky.
 
 
 
 

 
Just by the sound really....but if you don't trust your ears, trust your eyes.

 
The hangers are indeed the easiest way to tell.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

 In early March 2012, I posted some pictures of the stock white driver dampening paper in an older set of T50RP's and the driver paper in a new set of T20RP's. They look very different.  Older paper = more porous and Newer paper = less porous.  I later discovered that my newer T50RP's have the less porous dampening paper.
 
It might be beneficial to consider the porosity of your dampening paper when making mods. IME, the two different paper types require different amounts of added/modded dampening materials to achieve the same internal pressure necessary for finding the bass:treble ratio you want. Go too far one way and you may get too much bass and no treble.  Go too far the other way and you may get too much treble and rolled off bass.  You have to decide the optimum "balancing point."  
 
See the photos on page 451, post # 6753.
 
 
Quote:

 
 
1) They feel heavier
2) There is a visible difference between the new and old T50rps.
3) They also sound WAY different from my old notes about my original T50rp (I am going to compare my friends to confirm this!)
 

 
Take a look, the left is the original.  The left is clearly painted on, while the right powder coated (easier to tell in person).  The new version screams higher quality.  They are two different colors!  This is something that has always bugged me about the T50rps, pictures always make the metal posts look so deceivingly sexy, err handsome.
 
Stock "Old"
I remember the sound being super airy and somewhat liquid, with vocals so life-like (to me).  The bass seemed as you fancy-people call it -- anemic, near non-existent.  I clearly remember the sound of the bass being not so much muffled, but so extremely recessed that if felt just out of reach.  Like a house next-door playing music so loud you can tell there is some boomp boomp, but you cannot tell what song they are playing.  I felt very strongly about the mids; they seemed to be everything I was/am looking for in headphone.  I remember many people complaining about the highs (or lack of), but I never really took too much note past "meh".
 
Stock "New"
20 seconds in: HOLY CRAP, these suck!  Now don't judge, my amp hadn't even warmed up nor had the T50rps been out of box for more than 1 minute.  Now that my Schiit Asgard is unpleasantly warm to the touch...  I do not feel that vocals have as much impact in comparison.  The highs seem a good bit brighter and slightly fatiguing  (edit: though, slightly muddy).  The sound stage seems almost non-existent; there is separation, but when I close my eyes, I do not feel "there" like I did with my unmodded first set.  On a positive note, the T50rps this round definitely have more bass (though going from near nothing to something is not truly a huge step 

).  The bass is a bit deeper as well as a slight bit more ooomph.
 
NOTE:  I have noticed the balance is slightly off on both sets.  It is fairly noticeable to me.  I find it odd that the "Old" was stronger on the Left, while the "New" is bit of a Righty.  Until I got the new set, I just chalked it up to me being a Lefty and imagining the imbalance.  Wew, I feel a bit more confident about my ears with that behind me. 

 
EDIT: An hour or so into listening.  I swear, these darn things are trying to mock me.  Soundstage is noticeably increasing.  Mids are becoming slightly more "realistic".  These new cans seem to be a bit more finicky with positioning.
 
 I will update when they are fully burned in.

 
 

 

[Armaegis]

 
Quote:

 
 
I think Dogwan was the first and perhaps only other modder who proposed using a spray-on dampener. He introduced the idea here, then posted a link to the Quiet-Kote he used here, pics of the initial results here, and described and reviewed his full mod here. Note that he also used a cellulose sponge in his mod. 
 

 
Thanks for those.
 
Going through my mod sequence, the spray-on step produced the most noticeable changes in sound. I'm surprised not many others have tried it (though being non-reversible and messy, I can understand it being a bit daunting). I think there are also paint-on versions which would be cleaner to work with.

 

[mrspeakers]

 
Quote:

 
 
Thanks for those.
 
Going through my mod sequence, the spray-on step produced the most noticeable changes in sound. I'm surprised not many others have tried it (though being non-reversible and messy, I can understand it being a bit daunting). I think there are also paint-on versions which would be cleaner to work with.

 
What changes did you hear?  
 
I would assume that the quietkote is working much like dynamat and damping out plastic vibrations.  I assume it wouldn't behave like paxmate to absorb sound that otherwise would reflect...

 

[rhythmdevils]

Interesting about NS and OS.  If the NS has denser driver damping paper, that would lead to less bass, and it wouldn't explain more variation.  So there must be something else at work. 

 

[bachiano]

 
My t50rp is the NS.
 
It has the denser paper and the bass was very withdrawn.
Also it had thick felt on the vents that I immediately removed and immediately helped the bass.