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

[Philski]

Maybe these could market themselves better as 'Entry Level', then - affordable, and from the comments above, punches well above its weight?

 

[Philski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oqvist /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thing is there is better headphones... They may cost more but why keep bang for buck headphones if you already have better. That is the reason I want to get rid of them. They are good for the price but they are no amazing giant killers surely

Didn't ask you.

 

[wualta]

Good but unremarkable out of the box, punches above its weight (ie, price class) when it's been given a little DIY TLC. A good way to put it.

Keep in mind that, like Twisp and Catsby, the current line of Fostex headphones isn't for us, by which I mean audiophiles. It's an excellent driver in a pro audio chassis that was originally designed to hold a larger 45mm Yamahalike driver with perforated disc magnets. The original earpads for the line let all the bass leak out, and the new earpads keep most of it in, yet it's still a compromised (certainly not optimized) design. Don't expect miracles. Do expect to be disproportionately rewarded for minimal DIY effort.


The sad truth is, if the old Yamaha orthos were still available at the prices and quantities we saw 5 years ago, we probably wouldn't be mentioning the Fostex, but as it is, they're the only readily-available, reasonably-priced headphones of this type you can still buy new, whenever you want, without having to wait for one to pop up online. They're also much easier to work on than the Yamahas, and speaking of Yamahas, recently the HP/YH-2 and -3 models have been going for prices hovering around $35 + ship, so if you see one of those in good shape, grab it. Meanwhile, the Fostex are at the nearest Guitar Center store anytime. Your choice.

As always with this sort of thing, the purpose is defeated if you pay too much.

.

 

[CYoung234]

I purchased two pairs of Fostex phones; one pair of "blemish" T40RPMkII's, and one pair of T50RP (the latest variant).

The T40RPMkIIs are on their way back as we speak. I A/B'd them with my AKG K501's with my laptop as the source and an external amp and they did not fare well. This pair had some major coloration in the midrange and had a fair amount of housing vibration. Keep in mind this was a stock pair with no mods.

Strangely, the T50RP's have far less midrange coloration, although I am going to A/B them with the same K501's later this evening. A/Bing them with my Head Direct RE0's was relatively favorable, though. The mids are more pronounced on the Fostex, and the high end sounds rolled off a bit, but they sounded not bad. Keep in mind here that the source was just my laptop with no amp. I will be amping them later tonight when I A/B them. I am hopeful that with some mods that this can become a decent set of semi closed cans. I was favorably impressed with their isolation and I could not hear them when I took them off my head, so they seem suitable for use in an office environment.

I will report back again later as to my impressions on more listening and A/Bing. The AKG K501 is a tough competitor, as they are VERY good phones.

 

[nelda]

I recently bought T50RP from fellow head-fiers and it reminds me of the reverb I experienced with AKG K340. Although K340 is certainly better.

I realised that you can mod it but I'm curious of how close/far the sound of T50RP un-modded to say Audez LCD-2?

 

[oqvist]

I have to admit my T50RP have been banned for several months but just picked them up today.. New source afterall that I from memory thought would maybe suit them. . Listening to Miles Davis A Kind of Blue they surely perform on level with my better dynamics.
 
Just a shame they so early tell me why they got banned. Heavy and pressure on my ears so comfort is not stellar but they surely have a more then good mid range . The bass is not quite as anemic on the DAC19 either. It definiatly favours bass light headphones.

 

[dogears]

Bumping this thread.
I'm getting very good synergy with the Dared MP-5. It's sounding well balanced with bass aplenty and I don't feel like modding my T50RP yet

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

I have to admit my T50RP have been banned for several months but just picked them up today.. New source afterall that I from memory thought would maybe suit them. . Listening to Miles Davis A Kind of Blue they surely perform on level with my better dynamics.
 
Just a shame they so early tell me why they got banned. Heavy and pressure on my ears so comfort is not stellar but they surely have a more then good mid range . The bass is not quite as anemic on the DAC19 either. It definiatly favours bass light headphones.

The headband can be bent outward to make the pressure less. Its actually a metal bar inside a rubber covering.
 

 

[oqvist]

Well i fixed it Witherspoon some gm earpads

 

[dogears]

Removing the felt on the front cup that's 'protecting' the driver/magnet opened up the mids/highs.

 
Previously, removing the felt on the 'vent' for less boomy bass.

 

[leeperry]

they sure seem to have polished the drivers: http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/music_products/rp_head_pop.htm
 
can't wait to receive mine, next week hopefully.

 

[dogears]

Filled the available spaces with Faber Castell Tack-It (a bit cheaper than BluTack)

 
This has help tune the bass
 
Still playing with the cup space with fiber fill... will also test with foam.

 

[NapalmK]

Got mine a couple of days ago and have been listening to it almost exclusively. They actually sound very good for $75, much better than they should. I'm going to be completing the Thunderpants mod in the next month or so. I'm still trying to decide if I should ditch my D2000s and Pro 650s or compare them when I finish the mod. I honestly don't think they stand much of a chance of staying regardless. I'll probably try some of the mods listed here in the meantime.

 

[techenvy]

i bet the mod makes more than noticeable improvement

 

[oqvist]

IS there any difference in comfort between the T50RP and T50RP V2... How much do they differ in sound?