[dyna10x]

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I remain convinced that the Faust mod is all thats required to turn these headphones into world champions, I have tried other variations but nothing (to my ears) brings out the low end and mids as well as this mod.
I have superglued the pads on to the housing as I am so happy with the results, I much prefer the stock pads also, covering the whole of the square on the driver with wool felt (superglued also)  and adding mass to the back of the cup brings out wonderful bass, not over the top but true, and it slams in when it should do.
No resonance issues whatsoever certainly no plasticky sound, I just get lost in the music, boy do I love these cans, the only other purchase I will be making in the headphone world will be a spare set of Fostex T50RPs.
 

Did you remove the stock damping from the back of the driver or is still there under the felt you added?
 
 

 

[b0wl1ng]

If you mean the white lint material I left that on and added the felt, left the small felt squares on the vents also, they isolate far better than the Denons, in fact for a semi-open headphone they excel.
  
 
Quote:

Did you remove the stock damping from the back of the driver or is still there under the felt you added?
 
 

 

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

I wonder if this will work?  
 
Get 2 or 3 different size paper clips or similar "tools" and start with the smallest diameter.  First, develop a grid X size/number hole poking plan and begin with only a few holes in whichever grid pattern you choose.  Poke some holes in the stock white felt on the back of the drivers.Test.  Add more holes; re-test.  If this doesn't help, try some larger holes.  If you eventually think you've over-done the number and/or size of your hole punching scheme, add some micropore tape over some or all the grids with too many holes, or holes that you believe are too large.  If you're still not satisfied, you can then remove it entirely and try different types and thicknesses of art supply acrylic felt, 100% wool felt, exotic 100% New Zealand or Irish rare-breed sheep felt, camel hair, pieces of women's stocking cut and glued to fit, etc.  Let your creativity and experimentation with various materials and methods run free.  
 
At present, I have made the following mods and I am happy with the results:
 
484 gram, never dries-out, art store plasticine in the baffles
 
1 layer of Paxmate in the bottom of the cups
 
1 of 4 cup vents open.  I used an xacto knife to cut-off a sliver of the internal stock felt over the cup vents to open 1 of the 4 vent slots
 
ear-side baffle pressure equalization holes are open (stock)
 
stock black ear side dust cover felt cut-off from ear side (I wish I had not done that because it is SO thin I did not hear any difference in SQ)
 
clear mesh dust cover over ear side of drivers still in place
 
stock white material over back of drivers still in place
 
no reflex dot anywhere on back of drivers
 
hot glue applied to driver wires secured to baffles just before solder points to guard against accidentally pulling them loose during frequent mods
 
stock cable
 
Using Lossless files from my MacBook Pro --> toslink --> Dacmini (stock) --> headphones, I find that my modded T50RP reach ~80% of the SQ of my Audeze LCD2 for 1/10th the cost.  Personally, I like the sound of SRS Labs iWOW 3D (DSP) software with both sets of headphones with most, not all, lossless music files.  I plan to try TB Isone Pro (DSP).
 
Although I am impressed with the results from these mods, the modding bug will likely lead me to further experimentation with my stock white, back-side of drivers hole punching ideas and various reflex dot materials/configurations.

 

[sharkz]

Can someone show me where the second set of vents are (the ear side ones as Bluemonkey calls them above)?
 
I am fairly happy with my bass now, but do thing there is a "congestion" to the sound. I have experimented with taping the outer grill and opening up one slit at a time, but it didn't make a ton of difference. Tonight I think I am going to open these up again and replace the blue felt I used over the back of the driver with some of the more open black felt I currently have covering the outside of the driver.
 
Any other general suggestions for keeping bass, but adding that airiness as well?

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Take the ear pads off.  Look at the baffle.  That is what I'm referring to as the "ear side of the baffle."  You will see a ring of 4 inner screws securing the dust cover felt over the driver and a ring of 4 outer screws securing the baffle to the cup (the outer screws are the only ones you need to remove to separate the baffle from the cup).  
 
There is a small hole on the ear side of the baffle near the inner ring of screws; that is the "pressure equalization vent" I referred to.  I don't know what it is really called.  I think of it as similar in function to the eustachian tube that equalizes the pressure on both sides of the ear drum - the middle ear chamber pressure and the external, ambient pressure; but it's actual function may be different.
 
Quote:

Can someone show me where the second set of vents are (the ear side ones as Bluemonkey calls them above)?
 
I am fairly happy with my bass now, but do thing there is a "congestion" to the sound. I have experimented with taping the outer grill and opening up one slit at a time, but it didn't make a ton of difference. Tonight I think I am going to open these up again and replace the blue felt I used over the back of the driver with some of the more open black felt I currently have covering the outside of the driver.
 
Any other general suggestions for keeping bass, but adding that airiness as well?

 

 

[MDR30]

Quote:

Everything except jazz , for instance last night I began listening to Santana (moonflower), every guitar chord, cymbal and drum beat detailed, then  few vocal tracks, Alison Krausse and Union Station live.
Just to mention two tracks, the boy who would,nt hoe corn was amazing, and then the vocals on the track new favourite was an emotional experience,   the only fault with them is that badly recorded music is highlighted , in whatever format.
Absolutely every detail is heard with these headphones, nothing is ever missed and the speed and transparency is shockingly good.Large orchestral pieces and classical music shine, piano is precise and accurate, brass sections deep and each instrument easily identified, there is space and time between everything.    


 

Interesting impressions. I haven't heard the modern top orthos (Audeze, Hifi-Man) but I must say that a full symphony orchestra hasn't made much of an impression on me with the T50RP or older Yamahas and PMBs. Resolution of strings with their harmonics has been better with 'phones such as HD600 and K501. And there is no comparison concerning sound stage. But I'm busy modding my T50RP and hope to get the best out of them.
 
 
 

 

[turimbar1]

@sharkz I normally do not believe in "burn-in" for products, but I believe that the T50rps have a short burn in period. I believe this is due to the initial stiffness of the membrane either due to stiff etchings or how tightly it is stretched between the magnets. After maybe 20+hrs of use the bass begins to open up more. The mods also help with this process because they mess with the back pressure in the cups.
 
The faust3d mod was the first thing I saw when I began my modding journey, but many of the people involved in developing it have since moved on to using other materials, so I never tried it.

 

[sharkz]

Its definately not burn in, these things have at least 50 hours on them, maybe a bit more. I have had them since last November, they aren't exactly new.
 
I just had them open again, added a different piece of felt over the driver and added some fiber fill to the inner cavity. I will report my findings back later.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

@sharkz I normally do not believe in "burn-in" for products, but I believe that the T50rps have a short burn in period. I believe this is due to the initial stiffness of the membrane either due to stiff etchings or how tightly it is stretched between the magnets. After maybe 20+hrs of use the bass begins to open up more. The mods also help with this process because they mess with the back pressure in the cups.
 
The faust3d mod was the first thing I saw when I began my modding journey, but many of the people involved in developing it have since moved on to using other materials, so I never tried it.

I have pretty much heard burn in effects with every headphone I've owned.. The bass almost always changes for the better. Not saying it always happens. But, I'd say the bass has opened up on almost every pair I've burned in.. among other things changing. I 100% believe in burn in. 

 

[mrspeakers]

Can someone show me where the second set of vents are (the ear side ones as Bluemonkey calls them above)?
 
I am fairly happy with my bass now, but do thing there is a "congestion" to the sound. I have experimented with taping the outer grill and opening up one slit at a time, but it didn't make a ton of difference. Tonight I think I am going to open these up again and replace the blue felt I used over the back of the driver with some of the more open black felt I currently have covering the outside of the driver.
 
Any other general suggestions for keeping bass, but adding that airiness as well?

There can be many causes, and since I am not quite sure what you have done it is hard to say.

If it is in the mids...

One thing I have tested and like, and some do but many don't, is paxmate around the driver on the ear side. It really opened up the soundstage and added air and space around instruments and voice that had been lacking a bit in my earlier mods. It has helped on every configuration I have tried....

 

[geetarman49]

i will definitely try this ... if & when teejaay ever ships my cups ...
 
Quote:

 .....
One thing I have tested and like, and some do but many don't, is paxmate around the driver on the ear side. It really opened up the soundstage and added air and space around instruments and voice that had been lacking a bit in my earlier mods. It has helped on every configuration I have tried....

 

 

[joelpearce]

Mrspeakers is right.  The foam is the best material for the ear side of the baffle that I've tried.  Obviously, you wouldn't want to cover the driver with it, though.  That's the only way I could imagine it not sounding better to people.

 

[joelpearce]

As a side note, I was just able to source a Thermaltake Noise Dampening Kit (part A2384) for super cheap, since it is out of production now.  If you can find one, it's much cheaper than the Akasa. The foam itself is a bit less spongy, but seems to have a slightly higher ability to absorb noise.  They are certainly similar products, and 4 sheets of the Thermaltake cost $4.
 
Unfortunately, I got the last one available at Canada Computers, but there might be other retailers who still have some.

 

[sharkz]

I need to find someone willing to send me some extra paxmate.
 
After changing my felt and adding fiberfill to my cups, I was not happy at all. The sound was thinner and I was getting almost a rattling noise in my left driver. I then experimented with taking out my felt backing and fiberfill from the cups. Right now I have clayed cups and baffles, fairly open felt taped over my opened up driver with a piece of felt covering the earside of the driver. Still not happy with this configuration. Listening to some Umphrey's McGee last night there just isn't any bass. To the point where the bass guitar is getting lost in the mix of sound. It just doesn't stand out at all. And I know it can, A/B'ing with my Grados, it is evident that the Fostexes are smearing things together, instruments just aren't as seperated and obvious.
 
So it seems I am back to the drawing board for now. I will be trying my original felt over the driver with some fiberfill tonight to see what that changes. And I need to suck it up and find a cheap source of paxmate if no one around here has any extra they are willing to sell me.
 
Another question, what should opening the vents up do? At this point I have been starting with them covered with electrical tape on the outside and found very little difference to be made when slitting them open one at a time. I was expecting some sort of change, but it just wasn't obvious if it was even there at all.

 

[geetarman49]

send me a pm with your info... i have enough paxmate lying around since teejaay cannot be bothered with shipping my wooden cups.
.
.
 
it seems that everyone else has found this adjustment to make a significant difference in the bass; you do not ... difficult to assess your situation ... perhaps better if you  could post some pix to show exactly what you have done inside and out, so others can offer pertinent advice.
 
 
Quote:

I need to find someone willing to send me some extra paxmate.
 
....
 
Another question, what should opening the vents up do? At this point I have been starting with them covered with electrical tape on the outside and found very little difference to be made when slitting them open one at a time. I was expecting some sort of change, but it just wasn't obvious if it was even there at all.