[dogears]

Cool! Same stuff I've been using with my speakers and the Fostex

 

[micmacmo]

Sourcing material is a challenge we all face to varying degrees. When someone refers to "stiff craft felt," I head to my nearest Michael's craft store and pick up something that vaguely matches the description. But stiff craft felt could mean dense Scottish wool felt in one location and a hard, chemically stiffened mat of undisclosed fibers in another. (Mind you, it seems we all get to where we want to go in the end: better sounding mods.)

 

[wdahm519]

You guys make it so hard to wait until Friday when my T50RP's arrive!  
 
I'm definitely going to give FlySweeps mods a run for their money.  I think I'm going to hold off taking the driver backing material off until I'm really really sure its the key to success (which it may never be, and likely so).  I'm no bass head and I much prefer lighter punchier bass to more of it.  
 
Thanks for doing all this hard work guys, I'm loving every minute of it.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

You guys make it so hard to wait until Friday when my T50RP's arrive!  

Welcome to the club! Hope you enjoy your new headphones.

 

[kingoftown1]

I've just switched from the still felt backing and electrical taped version to flysweep's mods.  I have a few differences, however.  When I initially removed the white driver backing, I left the center square intact (I was worried about losing too much treble!). So when I applied the 3M tape, I actually only applied it to the 8 outside sections of the driver back.  I also have the ear-side felt removed and the driver opening surrounded with strips of Silverstone foam (and I'm using slightly angled 840 pads). 
 
As for the outside vents, I've covered them with stiff craft felt, but after some listening I also poked a could small holes with a smallish quilting needle.  I'm afraid this really just slightly brings back the midbass instead of the sub bass I was looking for, but I haven't listened for very long.  I really like the treble balance on these right now, but I do want to increase the sub bass a bit as I already have an AD900 and I don't need another one

 

[HDMan]

After these mods the T50RP sound exactly like my old LA7000's.
 
Paxmate the cups all the way round (dynamat underneath some of it) (and put a square piece on the screw cover)
Plasticine the baffles
3M micropore the drivers both sides (one layer)
Paxmate the outer surface of the cups (underneath the pads and around the driver)
Stuff cotton wool underneath the backs of the stock pads or other non angled pads to lift them (after this mod in perticular I noticed a huge improvement in soundstage), this also provided a better seal for the stock pads.
Leave the bottom vents open.
Cut out 3 vent strips in the top blocked vent.
 
In my opinion this mod has tons of bass, actually it sounds exactly the same as if the vents were closed 95% (midrange is different though), leaving the top vents open adds air and sounstage.
 
T50RP modded $150
D7000 modded $1000
 
I ordered some 840 pads, let's see if they make a difference. After modding the stock pads, I think they feel something similar to the D7000 pads.
 
I think maybe the left side is slightly quiter than the right, unbalanced. Could be the cables?

 

[FlySweep]

How is sibilance?  I have found anything that tilts this to the bright side, including the stock felt, got very ssssibilant.  The reflex dot had that issue....  I have the 3M tape but doubt I'll be able to try it for a few weeks...

I noticed this with the stock felt too.. it's one of the reason I went with three layers of the paper tape instead of two (which roughly equaled the thickness of the stock felt).  My result was very positive.
 
I was playing Big Bud's "Fear of Flying" album today to see what kind of sibilance my mods would generate.  It's atmospheric DnB that has tons of complex, programmed cymbal work going on.. and much of it strikes right in the 8K-12K range.  I was really impressed by how crisp and accurate the sound in that region was.. not a hint of "splash" or smearing even at high volumes.. and surprisingly, no sibilance.  Certain cymbal attacks can make you wince, but I found those instances few and far between.
 
At abnormally high volumes for sustained periods of time (i.e. not normal listening levels).. the sound can certainly get fatiguing.. but this would be due more to the generally brighter (slightly mid forward) flavor of the phones and high volume levels than cause of any acute spike in the frequency range.
 
A disclaimer for the uninitiated:  these phones cannot "polish turds."  If you're pumping poorly recorded material through them.. it will show, in all their grotesque glory. GIGO.  I find them to be one of the least forgiving phones I've heard. Not really a weakness, IMO.. probably a strength as it stays true to not coloring and compensating for poor mastering and mixing.
 
Even with the craft felt, I noticed a spike in the upper mids.. it was masked well though with all the bass/midbass they also provided though.  With my mods.. the mids and treble breathe like crazy.. and there is still a hint of that forwardness there.. but not to the point of being sibilant.  The reflex dot placed at the center of the driver on the craft felt backing did a nice job in attenuating the upper mid spike, but I felt it considerably constrained the entire midrange too.
 
The last tweaks left with these phones is to neutralize the honky spike in the lower midrange and boosting the sub bass without touching the midbass.  Heck, I could settle for boosting the midbass slightly too if it meant isolating and neutralizing that lower mid spike I'm currently obsessed with.  I'm curious if LFF was able to isolate this with the Paradox.. no need to give secrets away cause I know he's going to be doing mods for sale.. just curious if it's able to be isolated.  I kind of like the leg work required to get these right.. it makes the entire experience a little more rewarding.
 

I've just switched from the still felt backing and electrical taped version to flysweep's mods.  I have a few differences, however.  When I initially removed the white driver backing, I left the center square intact (I was worried about losing too much treble!). So when I applied the 3M tape, I actually only applied it to the 8 outside sections of the driver back.  I also have the ear-side felt removed and the driver opening surrounded with strips of Silverstone foam (and I'm using slightly angled 840 pads). 
 
As for the outside vents, I've covered them with stiff craft felt, but after some listening I also poked a could small holes with a smallish quilting needle.  I'm afraid this really just slightly brings back the midbass instead of the sub bass I was looking for, but I haven't listened for very long.  I really like the treble balance on these right now, but I do want to increase the sub bass a bit as I already have an AD900 and I don't need another one

Nice work & thanks for the impressions.. it's good to see someone else experienced the same type changes in the bass response as I did when puncturing a hole in the (craft felt) covered vents: proportionally more midbass than sub-bass.  It's one of the reasons I kept the vents fully covered while I continue to experiment with the driver backing to get bring out the sub bass alone.  It makes for a more distinguishable, clear test environment (as BMF has so eloquently noted).

 

[HDMan]

I might try 3 layers of Micropore like you guys see how it goes, midrange def has a few spikes in it.

 

[FlySweep]

Listening to Goodie Mob's "Soul Food" w/ the T50RP... I'm just in awe.  It's one of the finest hip hop albums ever made (and one I will be buried with).. The sparse, melancholy production canvas is heavily influenced by soul, gospel & blues.. all the rappers have heavy, unique southern accents and they've never sounded so articulate, clear and pronounced.  With ease, I can hear the intricate growl and gruff in their voices and intonations..  everything simply sounds LIVE.
 
The T50RP continue to AMAZE.

 

[b0wl1ng]

Agreed, they just continue to make me smile, last night a particular piece of music blew me away, the track was Fame by David Bowie, not really a favourite of mine but the 3D , spaciality and imaging effects just made me tremble truth told. 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

 
The last tweaks left with these phones is to neutralize the honky spike in the lower midrange and boosting the sub bass without touching the midbass.  Heck, I could settle for boosting the midbass slightly too if it meant isolating and neutralizing that lower mid spike I'm currently obsessed with.  I'm curious if LFF was able to isolate this with the Paradox.. no need to give secrets away cause I know he's going to be doing mods for sale.. just curious if it's able to be isolated. 

This should answer your question:
 

 
And here it is measured using the exact same parameters as those used by Audeze to measure the LCD-2:

 
 
As I have said before...these are the best headphones I have ever heard. Also, it's not like I want to do mods for sale as there really isn't any profit in what I am asking for them...it's more like a service I am doing for you guys due to me wanting to keep my recipe secret. Factor in the time, the materials, the shipping for the specialty stuff, the cost of the specialty stuff, gas to and fro the craft store and I am likely losing a little money. I could charge more but then what is the point of making this headphone more expensive than it has to be? Also, I hate mark-ups.

 

[FlySweep]

Wow.. very nice work, LFF.. Based purely off my ear, I estimated the spike was somewhere in the 600-1K range.. and it looks like you've got that area pretty well sorted out.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Wow.. very nice work, LFF.. Based purely off my ear, I estimated the spike was somewhere in the 600-1K range.. and it looks like you've got that area pretty well sorted out.

Thanks.

 
Play some test tones to see if you narrow down what range is really peaking and then try to tame it.
 

 

[nsk1]

Are these good for gaming and movies? Good means they don't suck
 
Are they power hungry as other orthos? More power, better sound? 

 

[itsastickup]

The Nexcare 3M micropore is very expensive in the UK. Does the 3 layer method work with standard micropore, which is nice and cheap?