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

[mrspeakers]

Too much of anything can be bad.  Too much foam or damping will create an increased load on the back of the diaphragm, which does two things.  First, it will reduce bass output because the effective enclosure volume is reduced/backpressure is higher, and second (as a result of this) you a) will lose bass extension, and b) the system becomes "overdamped," and you will lose the transient speed that makes the orthos so nice.  This is called overdamping.
 
That's why the Akasa Paxmate is so ideal; it's absorbtive of sound, so it gets rid of the "hollow" sound of the midrange, and it's very thin, so it doesn't have a huge impact on enclosure volume.
 
You may still want to play with removing the felt in front of the driver and trying different felts (or just leave it open), as well as better felt or Akasa on the ear-side of the front baffle.  I found the midrange really snapped into focus with the driver bare and Akasa surrounding it, but I also am using the Sony earpads which expose more baffle for midrange reflection...

 

[turimbar1]

I am getting crazy with the paxmate, using it on the headband to keep the rubber from pulling my hair, using it to raise the back of the pads etc.
 
Still not sure whether I like it better in the cups than the plasticine. It seems like the highs are diminished or are less clear, perhaps that is just the reflections off of the plasticine that I am confusing with music, but some more people doing blind tests liked the plasticine side better, I really need that fracking nfb12 that I ordered a month ago, that would make the differences far more obvious. still have not taken the stock felt off of the BACK of the driver, that seems too permanent and I have heard some who say that ruins the cans for them, so I am reluctant, just what is the benefit of taking it off? Ive heard people say it helps the highs, but I do not need that right now, anyone?

 

[mrspeakers]

The plasticine and paxmate are complementary, and solve different problems.  Plasticine is to damp out resonances in the plastic, which improves the bass and midrange.   Paxmate is to kill internal reflections within the cup that create an echo-ish sound and muddy the mids and highs.  
 
IMHO, it really shouldn't be a "either/or." The plasticine or other damping material is essential on the driver baffle.  How much absorbtion you want or use is more variable.
 
If you are happy with the highs and mids maybe leave the stock felt on until you hear mine at the meet.  

 

[turimbar1]

Quote:

The plasticine and paxmate are complementary, and solve different problems.  Plasticine is to damp out resonances in the plastic, which improves the bass and midrange.   Paxmate is to kill internal reflections within the cup that create an echo-ish sound and muddy the mids and highs.  
 
IMHO, it really shouldn't be a "either/or." The plasticine or other damping material is essential on the driver baffle.  How much absorbtion you want or use is more variable.
 
If you are happy with the highs and mids maybe leave the stock felt on until you hear mine at the meet.  

sigh, yeah I keep the plasticine in the baffle, even on the paxmate side, maybe I should take a pic of the dimpled plasticine-backed side, im thinking of putting the plasticine in both sides and keeping it till the meet where we can do a semi-blind test. Just to have some good variety. 
 
On another note, headfi seems really dead right now, maybe I just need to find new threads to stalk 

 
 

 

[ardilla]

PADS with VELOUR for the T50RP?? 
 
Will s\Senn Hd650 pads do?

 

[apatN]

Don't think so as those pads are for open headphones.

 

[Graphicism]

Somewhere in this thread I read that you can open the other port on the back of the headphones -- how?
 
I also read that you can open the 'side vents' where are those exactly?

 

[Mad Max]

There's one in each cup covered with felt then there's a "fake" vent above that.  You could try drilling those open, but you will lose more isolation, not to mention it is an irreversible modification.

 

[mrspeakers]

There is likely to be nothing gained by opening another vent.  It will only mess with the bass and the driver damping for the mids.  

 

[Mad Max]

Unless you still have the stock material on the back of the driver.  The effects are different once you remove it and replace it with the microspore/transpore stuff.

 

[mrspeakers]

Yah, though I am running with stiff felt and no tape any more.  The tape was kind of messy with the sound in my setup...

 

[ardilla]

Just want to let you know that I really like the sound of these, stock version
 
At the current sales price of USD 75 + shipping and VAT this phone is a real bargain. Getting some velour (DT770) pads for better comfort, thoug. 

 

[leeperry]

There's one in each cup covered with felt then there's a "fake" vent above that.  You could try drilling those open, but you will lose more isolation, not to mention it is an irreversible modification.

Yeah, I've given up the idea of drilling the top fake vents...the T20RP(non-MK2) has them both top and bottom open, and once you remove the (stock?) disc of open cell damping foam, it's a resonating feast...all it would do is widen up the SS even further and lower isolation. I'm currently very happy w/ the SS 3D'ness when using Akasa + angled earpads and the isolation is awesome too. My point of comparison is the cd3k, and the isolation is much better and the SS much more 3D...it's a serious semi-open phone, what I see as the perfect compromise between the wide SS of open phones and the isolation of closed ones(DT770/Pro).

 

[tdockweiler]

Do all Beyer pads fit these? I was wondering if they did, but it didn't look like they had the same shape and would even fit.
The default pads don't bother me right now.
 
I can't wait until my Akasa foam comes in. Right now everything sounds like it's coming from inside of a cave. The sound isn't clear, so I'm obviously doing something wrong.
Should be fixed soon..I hope.
Quote:

Just want to let you know that I really like the sound of these, stock version
 
At the current sales price of USD 75 + shipping and VAT this phone is a real bargain. Getting some velour (DT770) pads for better comfort, thoug. 

 

 

[deadhead12]

I tried to use the pads off my 880s and they were just slightly too small.  You might be able to force them on but I didn't want to risk tearing up the pads.  The other thought I had was to just rubber cement them on the front of the baffle but I'd have to buy a new pair of pads before I tried it out.