[eltocliousus]

Would slapping beyerdynamic gels on an already bass heavy T50RP be a generally bad idea? 
I'm buying them from SoundStrige and his description is: "The bass is definitely a bit more prominent than mids or highs, but the mids and highs are both there in full quality."
The idea of having putting gels on them turns my legs to jelly, but it may not be the best choice for balanced sound.

 

[wje]

If anyone is performing a cable replacement on these drivers, they'll quickly realize that the solder pads are not the most robust.  I used to think the solder pads on Grados were a bit on the sensitive side, but these ... oh, my.  In any regard, I've found the "fix" if you run into some issues and think you've "cooked" your driver.  
 
Here's some guidelines to follow for resolving this situation:
 
1) Using a Ohm meter, connect one lead to one of good the speaker connectors.  Then, using the 2nd lead, do some "probing" on the area where the solder pad seems to have dissipated.
 
2) If you hit a "hot" spot, you'll hear a bit of static through the speaker.  This is good - you've found a bit of the speaker lead that you really need.
 
3) Using some isopropyl rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip, clean the area where you bad tab currently resides.  Hit it a few times with a wet Q-tip and then dry it a few with the dry end of a Q-tip and then slightly dab it dry with a small amount of paper towel.
 
4) Using a Permatex Rear Window Defroster Repair Kit (about $12.00 at most auto parts stores) take out the small bottle with the tan / brown liquid in it and the small paint brush.
 
5) Shake the small container of liquid really, really good.  If there is still some sediment in the bottom, use a small tooth pick to stir it a bit.
 
6) With the contents of the container well mixed, "paint" some of the mixture over the area where you found the "hot" spot on the lead with your Ohm Meter.
 
7) Ideally, about 3 coats of the paint is desired to make a thick "new" adhesive dot for you.   The paint is actually a "conductive" paint so applying it will enlarge your pad area for connecting the new wire.  Clean the brush with a paper towel soaked in a bit of rubbing alcohol.
 
8) According to the instructions after you have applied 3 coats, you should let it dry before turning on the defroster.  However, the defroster leads are quite a bit hotter than the speaker lead is going to be in your case, so you might not need to let it cure quite as long.
 
9) With the end of your wire, apply a small amount of super glue towards the end of the insulation and set it into place with the wires covering the new "Painted" pad.
 
10) Once the super glue has hardened and the wire will no longer move around on you, you can then apply some more paint over the speaker lead and around the new pad, so a connecting bond can be made.  You may have to repeat this process 3 or 4 times to get enough paint in place to make that solid bond.
 
11) Once fully dried, give the terminals another test with the Ohm meter to confirm that you have some static / noise appearing through the speaker again.
 
12) Install the baffle into your cup and hold it into place with the 4 screws.  Put on the ear pad.
 
13) Enjoy !!!!
 
 
I should say to get to this point, I also tried:
 
1) Rosin / flux - but the solder was still too squiggly to develop a good bond onto the "hot" spot.  Plus, the more I used the soldering iron, the more damage I feared would occur.]
 
2) Silver solder paste.  I was able to acquire a small tube of this past to use in the "hot" spot.  However, my iron heated the material too quickly and the results were not too positive for me.  But, I'll still hold onto the paste for future soldering "issues" as it may be useful.
 
Good luck!

 

[Nevod]

Quote:

If anyone is performing a cable replacement on these drivers, they'll quickly realize that the solder pads are not the most robust.  I used to think the solder pads on Grados were a bit on the sensitive side, but these ... oh, my.  In any regard, I've found the "fix" if you run into some issues and think you've "cooked" your driver. 

Thanks for your instructions! Have you tried measuring the resistance of the connection.
 
 


Quote:

Would slapping beyerdynamic gels on an already bass heavy T50RP be a generally bad idea? 
I'm buying them from SoundStrige and his description is: "The bass is definitely a bit more prominent than mids or highs, but the mids and highs are both there in full quality."
The idea of having putting gels on them turns my legs to jelly, but it may not be the best choice for balanced sound.

Beyer gels have much bigger internal volume, and they actually reduce the bass and bring out the highs. However, they allow the deepest bass due to good seal.
 
 

 

[dyna10x]

Thanks for the info on fixing a dud connection. Unfortunately I fear I did too much damage trying to scrape a bare copper trace and I am now mourning the death of my beloved fostex. Those solder pads are unbelievably fragile. However I will get a multimeter and see if there is any hope. I just wish I had seen your info before I did too much damage.

 

[Twinster]

Very impressive work Waye.

If anyone is performing a cable replacement on these drivers, they'll quickly realize that the solder pads are not the most robust.  I used to think the solder pads on Grados were a bit on the sensitive side, but these ... oh, my.  In any regard, I've found the "fix" if you run into some issues and think you've "cooked" your driver.  
 
Here's some guidelines to follow for resolving this situation:
 
1) Using a Ohm meter, connect one lead to one of good the speaker connectors.  Then, using the 2nd lead, do some "probing" on the area where the solder pad seems to have dissipated.
 
2) If you hit a "hot" spot, you'll hear a bit of static through the speaker.  This is good - you've found a bit of the speaker lead that you really need.
 
3) Using some isopropyl rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip, clean the area where you bad tab currently resides.  Hit it a few times with a wet Q-tip and then dry it a few with the dry end of a Q-tip and then slightly dab it dry with a small amount of paper towel.
 
4) Using a Permatex Rear Window Defroster Repair Kit (about $12.00 at most auto parts stores) take out the small bottle with the tan / brown liquid in it and the small paint brush.
 
5) Shake the small container of liquid really, really good.  If there is still some sediment in the bottom, use a small tooth pick to stir it a bit.
 
6) With the contents of the container well mixed, "paint" some of the mixture over the area where you found the "hot" spot on the lead with your Ohm Meter.
 
7) Ideally, about 3 coats of the paint is desired to make a thick "new" adhesive dot for you.   The paint is actually a "conductive" paint so applying it will enlarge your pad area for connecting the new wire.  Clean the brush with a paper towel soaked in a bit of rubbing alcohol.
 
8) According to the instructions after you have applied 3 coats, you should let it dry before turning on the defroster.  However, the defroster leads are quite a bit hotter than the speaker lead is going to be in your case, so you might not need to let it cure quite as long.
 
9) With the end of your wire, apply a small amount of super glue towards the end of the insulation and set it into place with the wires covering the new "Painted" pad.
 
10) Once the super glue has hardened and the wire will no longer move around on you, you can then apply some more paint over the speaker lead and around the new pad, so a connecting bond can be made.  You may have to repeat this process 3 or 4 times to get enough paint in place to make that solid bond.
 
11) Once fully dried, give the terminals another test with the Ohm meter to confirm that you have some static / noise appearing through the speaker again.
 
12) Install the baffle into your cup and hold it into place with the 4 screws.  Put on the ear pad.
 
13) Enjoy !!!!
 
 
I should say to get to this point, I also tried:
 
1) Rosin / flux - but the solder was still too squiggly to develop a good bond onto the "hot" spot.  Plus, the more I used the soldering iron, the more damage I feared would occur.]
 
2) Silver solder paste.  I was able to acquire a small tube of this past to use in the "hot" spot.  However, my iron heated the material too quickly and the results were not too positive for me.  But, I'll still hold onto the paste for future soldering "issues" as it may be useful.
 
Good luck!

 

[ri_toast]

^ all those are really good info!

 
Quote:

I'll get some pictures up tomorrow of my Mogami-fed T50RPs.  Each cup was bored so that it could receive its own cable and the existing cable connector was cut out with a side-cutter.  I then found a black, rounded plastic plug to glue in place over the default hole for the 1/8" connector.  It's nearly hard to tell that these cans were once wired with a single cable connector.
 

I'm looking forward to these photos also, maybe I'll post some photos tomorrow. I've has a pair of woodies for a week now nearly 50 hours of use. Haven't touched the stock fostex since the new ones came. my very first impression after five seconds was where is the treble. I'm sure many modders have found this also to be true. I know this isn't the "cups replacement thread" but most of the info here about driver tweaking is irreplaceable.
 
a note about solder. I wondered about circuit board repair and asked a process engineer. Boards are made, assembled and then baked (simple version) this keep the heat of irons from ruining the ic's. here's the point: it really doesn't take much heat or time to make an electrical connection, pre tin and flux plus using rosin core solder are the setup for fostex re-cabling and practice on scrap
 
 

 

[wje]

 
a note about solder. I wondered about circuit board repair and asked a process engineer. Boards are made, assembled and then baked (simple version) this keep the heat of irons from ruining the ic's. here's the point: it really doesn't take much heat or time to make an electrical connection, pre tin and flux plus using rosin core solder are the setup for fostex re-cabling and practice on scrap
 
 
 

Quite true.  However, given the "film-type" of substance that holds or contains the various circuit wires are even more sensitive to heat than printed circuit boards.  I once thought Grado drivers were quite sensitive when it came to soldering --- but, the Fostex drivers are a whole different beast.  And, I play by the rules, too: 15W iron, quick in and out process, tinned tip, flux, etc.  Still, there can be those "issues" that do pop up every now and then.  The good news is that I saved the driver.  I think when I looked up the part #, Fostex wants about $37.00 for each driver.  It's much easier to just buy a pair of "donor" T20RP headphones and use the drivers out of those instead.  Well, that is, unless you can't fix things up.
 

 

[ri_toast]

right, no insult to your skills. when these were designed the engineer never imagined that they have to hold up to repeated detachment and reattachment. those stock wires are really tiny other wise I'm sure we'd be reading about using the stock wire as a jumper.
might not be a bad idea to clip any replacement cable and solder on to that "nub". idk just a thought.

 

[RexAeterna]

i use a 35w solder gun with it's tip tinned. also what helps is tin the stripped wire your gonna use so all you have to do is heat the wire and it will stick on the solder joint easily. all i do when i rewire headphones is cut the original wire off the driver joints much/close as possible,strip the new wire i'm gonna use and tin it, and get some solder on the tip(just a bit) and place the wire on top of the solder joint and quickly put the new solder on the wire and done. thing is too have to make you strip little as possible on the new wire cause too long you will run into joint issues, but it's basically common sense. i haven't rewired my fostex yet but will in the near future. just been lazy and procrastinating with lot of stuff. i want to re-terminate mine with a 4-pin xlr jack in the near future cause i like using power amps to drive headphones as well.

 

[Maxtcc]

Has anyone tried using one of these cold heat solderers for these sensitive joints?
 
 

 
for reference this is the How stuff works wiki:   http://science.howstuffworks.com/cold-heat.htm
 
 
I have used mine quite a few times and It does fine work well on electronics boards and such, can be finicky, but it avoids all the overheating problems.
 
I am just wondering , I haven't gotten my foster yet, Patients Patients,but I will be removing the stock cable right away and attempting a replacement with some custom balanced pair of 3pin XLR pairs on it. 
What do you think, should I leave a stub of the stack wire to attach to or remove all and go straight  to this "mysterious" and sensitive spot.
 
 

 

[mrspeakers]

Quote:

right, no insult to your skills. when these were designed the engineer never imagined that they have to hold up to repeated detachment and reattachment. those stock wires are really tiny other wise I'm sure we'd be reading about using the stock wire as a jumper.
might not be a bad idea to clip any replacement cable and solder on to that "nub". idk just a thought.

A "pro-tip": leave an inch of the original wire, it won't be any worse a conductor than the traces, and put a heatsink clip above the solder pad.  Then you can change out cables to your heart's content without risking the driver assembly.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Has anyone tried using one of these cold heat solderers for these sensitive joints?
 
 

 
for reference this is the How stuff works wiki:   http://science.howstuffworks.com/cold-heat.htm
 
 
I have used mine quite a few times and It does fine work well on electronics boards and such, can be finicky, but it avoids all the overheating problems.
 
I am just wondering , I haven't gotten my foster yet, Patients Patients,but I will be removing the stock cable right away and attempting a replacement with some custom balanced pair of 3pin XLR pairs on it. 
What do you think, should I leave a stub of the stack wire to attach to or remove all and go straight  to this "mysterious" and sensitive spot.
 
 

 
I would only use one of those for emergency repairs.  In fact, I have one of those but when I was hot-rodding a turbo subaru with ECU upgrades and electronics, I carried around a proper butane powered soldering iron for splicing wires and such, and didn't trust one of these electronic gizmos.

 

[wje]

I've also realized that when using a thicker cable during a re-wire job, the film area where the solder tabs reside tend to take a bit of abuse when the wires get twisted here and there as you're mounting them back into the cups.  What I ended up doing is angling the wires back towards the edge of the driver where the black plastic edge area resides.  I then secure the cables so they lay down as flat as they can over that black plastic edge.  I then mix up a quick batch of epoxy and adhere the wires to the edge of the driver.  This will ensure that any stress from moving around the wires as one installs things back together would be applied to the area with the epoxy and not the solder tabs themselves.  Sure, it's a few extra small steps - but, I look at it as cheap insurance.
 
I still plan on getting the camera out as soon as my epoxy has set a bit more so I can take a shot of the windshield defogger repair paint (the electrically conductive paint.)

 

[DeathDomokun]

How do these sound amped compared to unamped?

 

[kingoftown1]

Quote:

How do these sound amped compared to unamped?

They're significantly better when powered by a good amp.  Better freq response, instrument separation, etc.