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

[Draygonn]

I was thinking of doing this too.  Do you have pictures of your Fostex with the pads on?  And how did you attach it? 3M?

I used 'Scotch Removable Mounting Squares'. One piece per segment. You can see them as the grey lines.

Padded stock headband versus suspension strap: has anyone compared the two?

I found padding to be slightly more comfortable but they are both much better than the stock headband.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

Hmmmm...  Old HD 600 headband pad laying around, might have to try this.

I knew I kept that for a reason.
 
But I can't be the only one that doesn't really notice the stock headband, whereas the clamping force drives me nuts.

 

[Navyblue]

What's wrong with the clamping force? I found mine on the weak side, and headband is pretty soft too. I began to wonder if I got a mutant copy.

 

[satwilson]

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Do yall think think the cushioning from the hd580/600s would make the headband more comfortable (as an alternative to LFFs suspension mod)? http://shop.sennheiserusa.com/retail2002/ProductDetails.aspx?direct_cat=Parts&direct_prod=052715 
 
Also, why do I see some people marking little holes (with a screwdriver?) in their plasticine? What effect does this have versus leaving it smooth?
 
 
Very nice magickman, super clean. Love the colors 

 

Hans, what padding did you try? The Senn 280, 580, etc on the Fostex rubber is super comfy, way less complicated than the suspension mod/cheaper for the 280 pad, sorry, your earcup thingy isn't better. The suspension mod IMHO doesn't compare. satwilson, check out my HD280 mod, it's in the WIKI, ardillas 580 mod is even better. Was trying to reply to Hans below.
 
 


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I don't think you can beat the comfort and price of the suspension headband with the one of the stock T50RP earpads taped to the underside of it. I am extremely sensitive to pressure on the top of my head from headphones. I have yet to find a pair of headphones I can wear for more than an hour or two without feeling some sort of discomfort on the top of my head. The same applied to clamping force and other discomfort on the sides of my head, though to a much lesser extent.
 
With the suspension headband (I used paper and covered it with black duct tape) and the unused earpad on the underside, I can wear the T50RPs for...well, I don't know! They have never become uncomfortable! They look super goofy, but I don't care.
 
If you don't mind the looks, suspension headband + unused stock T50RP earpad taped to the bottom is unbeatable on all fronts IMO.

 


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I don't know if it's universal, but most people think they 840 pads sound better. I personally noticed a large difference between the stock and 840 pads (sound and comfort wise). I think it's almost mandatory that the pads get swapped out.
 

I experimented with padding on the headband before moving to the suspension headband. I remember the suspension headband (without the padding on the underside) being more or less as comfortable as certain padding on the stock headband. It was a noticeable improvement from stock headband with no padding. That said, suspension headband + padding on the underside handily trumps everything else I've tried when it comes to comfort. If you don't use the stock T50RP earpads, just use one of those as your padding.
 

 

 

[proid]

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That's my biggest gripe about the T50RP, together w/ its very flabby deep bass. This phone is not dynamic enough to my taste, I got/you can get used to it...but down the road, it's still not bouncy enough. Vintage yamies sound far more nervous.

Me too. Until now, i still find it's not dynamic enough. It's detail, fast but in the same time, it sound too soft.

 

[manveru]

 
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Originally Posted by hans030390 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I don't know if it's universal, but most people think they 840 pads sound better. I personally noticed a large difference between the stock and 840 pads (sound and comfort wise). I think it's almost mandatory that the pads get swapped out.

Hey hans, I wonder if you've ever tried using your extra HM5 pads? I remember reading somewhere that the FA-003/etc. pads fit, but I'm sure not many people have tried it due to their non-individual availability.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

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What's wrong with the clamping force? I found mine on the weak side, and headband is pretty soft too. I began to wonder if I got a mutant copy.

Unlikely.  I'm somewhat sensitive to clamping force - basically I want none.  Well, only what is necessary to keep the headphones on my head when turning.  Granted, closed headphones demand a seal, of course.
 
I've bent both my HD 600 and MS1i to that point.  The T50RP seems to have a spring steel headband that is highly resistant to bending.  I get pressure both above my ears and on my jaw with the T50RP.

 

[Navyblue]

I wonder, if removing the white felt behind the driver would help with the dynamic? I imagine the air back pressure might be restricting the driver movement. But even if it does, I imagine it will increase bass more than treble.

 

[soze]

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I used 'Scotch Removable Mounting Squares'. One piece per segment. You can see them as the grey lines.

I found padding to be slightly more comfortable but they are both much better than the stock headband.

Ok, you've sold me on trying this out.  I wanted to figure out some way to get pleather pads.... but I guess these will do.  I have 3M adhesive tape, so that should work just fine.  I just want it to be comfortable, but look clean at the same time.  No ghetto bandaging anything.
 
EDIT: nevermind.... I'm going to give making a custom one a go, before resorting to this solution.


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Hmmmm...  Old HD 600 headband pad laying around, might have to try this.

I knew I kept that for a reason.
 
But I can't be the only one that doesn't really notice the stock headband, whereas the clamping force drives me nuts.

I actually happen to think the clamping isn't that bad at all.... then again, I like the clamping force of the Brainwavz HM5 (especially because of the super comfortable pads).  You can participate in the X-Games without having those fall off.
 

 

[Cortlendt]

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What's wrong with the clamping force? I found mine on the weak side, and headband is pretty soft too. I began to wonder if I got a mutant copy.

I've adjusted clamping bending the headband with mine. Better seal gives better bass and isolation.

 

[hans030390]

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Hans, what padding did you try? The Senn 280, 580, etc on the Fostex rubber is super comfy, way less complicated than the suspension mod/cheaper for the 280 pad, sorry, your earcup thingy isn't better. The suspension mod IMHO doesn't compare. satwilson, check out my HD280 mod, it's in the WIKI, ardillas 580 mod is even better. Was trying to reply to Hans below.

I did not try any pads in particular. I just tried random material I had around my apartment to use as padding, including a double layer of my unused stock T50RP pads (which actually ended up being pretty darn comfortable).
 
I'm not sure the suspension headband is any more or less complicated that placing other padding on the headband. You fold a piece of paper, punch holes in it, and use hair ties to keep it on. It's about as easy as it gets. I took mine one step further and put duct tape all over the folded paper plus the old earpad I taped on the underside of the suspension headband.
 
Understandably, placing the earpads on the underside of the suspension headband requires a spare set of earpads. This normally isn't an issue, as most people buy alternative earpads for the T50RP anyway. For those people, the unused T50RP earpads work great as padding for the suspension headband. If someone DOESN'T have a spare set of earpads or something, then, yes, this would be more expensive. For the majority of folks, though, it will be more or less free.
 
Have you even tried the suspension headband + earpad as underside padding mod? I am not exaggerating when I say I can barely notice them on my head. This is the first time I've ever been able to say that about a pair of headphones.
 
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Hey hans, I wonder if you've ever tried using your extra HM5 pads? I remember reading somewhere that the FA-003/etc. pads fit, but I'm sure not many people have tried it due to their non-individual availability.

 
I've wanted to try it, but I'm honestly too lazy to take my 840 pads off (they're completely taped on). I am also afraid of ripping the pads, as I've heard they are hard to get on. I may try it out, but my spare pads ultimately have another purpose in the near future...
 
 

 

[mrspeakers]

 
 
OK, so I'm a bit late.  Doing a little fine tuning, but life has been in the way.  The bottom line is at least for my set, the frequency response is a bit smoother above 2K for the LCD-2, but you can see that the transient response of the RP2 is much cleaner, with essentially no output after 0.4ms, while the LCD-2 has an excellent frequency response it has significantly more energy over time across the spectrum.  
 
I may differ from some people on this, but to me I have always found that a system with real DARK space between notes correlates well to fast/clean transient response, and the waterfall clearly shows the RP2 is performing better here (important caveat: my test room is not totally isolated, but most noise occurs below 2K.  Dark space is super-audible to me, and the faster the transient response (without being "zingy" and under damped) the better.  
 
I'm trying a few fun experiments on one of my sets to see if I can smooth that roll in the response between 2 and 5KHz, and will wait to publish until I am satisfied that the time and frequency domain are as good as I can get them.
 
Test comments:
 
1)  I do not have a dummy head or measurement ear, and these curves are not compensated.  An uncompensated chart will have a definite tilt down from 1K, with several large peaks, so the real value here is not showing "ruler flat frequency response" but rather to do a rough frequeny and time domain comparison of two really nice phones on the same test bench. As many people know the sound of the LCD-2, this gives a relative context, not a "absolute" measurement like I'd get off a full headphone test rig.  I'm looking at how to find a file to apply the HRTF to the raw data.  I also have not calibrated my mic, so who knows what the absolute curve would look like.  However the TIME DOMAIN response is not affected much by the HRTF or the mic calibration, and serves to show how fast the decay is, and hence how good the "quiet between the notes" is).
 
2)  As the LCD-2 is open-air I can't rule out that at least some of the noise is ambient, however the falloff rather makes me think this is not in fact the case).  So I've been working on getting the transient response improved, even if it makes the frequency response a little bumpier...
 
Teaser:
 
RP2 O2 v1.2: virtually no output after ~0.4ms
 

 
LCD-2 on same rig: significant energy in the system after 0.4 ms, in fact out to about 0.7ms.  This is excellent, too.  Look at some of Purrin's work, as noted above, the frequency curves may not align, but the time domain should be similar.  Most phones are WAY worse than the LCD-2.  Again, the LCD-2 is a bit less peaky in response, but not as fast on the attack and decay.
 

 

 

[manveru]

 
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I've wanted to try it, but I'm honestly too lazy to take my 840 pads off (they're completely taped on). I am also afraid of ripping the pads, as I've heard they are hard to get on. I may try it out, but my spare pads ultimately have another purpose in the near future...

Hm. I'm planning on getting my own pair of T50RPs to play with soon, so I was curious. I'll try it then, unless as you said it seems like it will be difficult to get them on. It's not worth it if there's any risk of ripping something.

 

[Magick Man]

So, I guess I'm done with them for tonight. Been tinkering for hours and hours here. Holy mother... wow. Not sure what I expected, but the clarity and detail are amazing. These don't sound like any $100 cans I've ever heard, the change with the mods is dramatic. From what I've heard so far, if I were told they were $400 I'd say that's a bargain.

I would say the mids are a little forward, but I think I'm hearing them that way because my D7000's mids are a bit recessed. And the bass is deceptive, many would think these are light there, but they aren't. It's fast, really fast and tight. There's no boom, the lower bass shows when it's supposed to, not bleeding all over the lower mids. No sibilance in the highs at all. Even heard a few details in songs that I've never heard before, like faint piano pedals in Someone Else? by Queensryche, and I've listened to that song at least 100x. Nice mid-size soundstage as well, both vertical and horizontal.

Ugh, sleep now.

Edit: Oh, and the 840 pads weren't that bad to put on, just required a little careful stretching beforehand. Took maybe 5-6 min total.

 

[Navyblue]

To those who removed the white paper/felt, what is the impact on sound if they are left naked or vented? And does anyone leave them naked?