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

[FraGGleR]

I know people have soldered different cables or at least changed the configuration.  How robust are the solder spots?  The color of the film looks like Kapton which should be decently resistant to heat damage, but before trying to rewire, I was wondering if others who had recabled could share how hard it was (from a heat sensitivity standpoint).

 

[micrors4]

How much sound do these leak before sealing them as I would like to use these as portable headphones, but don't want to disturb others around me?

 

[jgray91]

the most expensive things on this is the lcd-2 earpads, which cost me $170 shipped and included tax to Vietnam. The aluminium cup I turned myself when I was in uni and cost me nothing. It has a canare miniquad cable, 2.5 jack and jocket on each side, and weight 500g w/o cable , so the same as a lcd-2

Thank you for sharing the higher res pictures.

How much sound do these leak before sealing them as I would like to use these as portable headphones, but don't want to disturb others around me?

The problem, in my eyes, is not the ensuing leakage, as there's virtually none. Unless someone puts his ears against your face. What might be a bigger problem is getting a proper seal, and the isolation isn't that particularly great. Unless if you blast your ears with high volume. That would solve a lot of noise problems down the line too.

 

[micrors4]

I am not really concerned with the isolation as I usually do most of my listening in quiet areas which is why my main concern is with the sound leakage as I don't want to bother others.  How do these handle genres like indie rock and jazz and would an amp like the fiio e7 be able to drive them well?

 

[frank2908]

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I am not really concerned with the isolation as I usually do most of my listening in quiet areas which is why my main concern is with the sound leakage as I don't want to bother others.  How do these handle genres like indie rock and jazz and would an amp like the fiio e7 be able to drive them well?

I have a fiio e11 and it can drive them, but in no way close to its potential. If you have a dedicated amp at home and use the fiio on the go, then that's ok. otherwise if you only have that 1 amp, then you waste lots of potential. I listen to jazz and indie with mine too, and love it

 

[kalbee]

I am not really concerned with the isolation as I usually do most of my listening in quiet areas which is why my main concern is with the sound leakage as I don't want to bother others.  How do these handle genres like indie rock and jazz and would an amp like the fiio e7 be able to drive them well?

I have 3/4 of the vent slots closed off with electrical tape; still some leakage but non-significant. But since you'll be in quiet areas, chances are you will be able to lower your volumes a lot too, so leakage will only be heard from a few cm from the back of your headphones. Ambient noise or even the ballasts for the fluorescent lights will probably be more audible than the leakage.

 

[Keller1]

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put a beyer dt990 velour pads on, the soundstage increases vastly, but I have yet to get decent bass from them. Other method would be stuffing cotton/soft foam underneath the stock pads
as requested, higher-res images

 
How do the LCD-2 pads fare for soundstage?  that really looks awesome!



So, today, where's the best place to obtain the T50RP?

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

I know people have soldered different cables or at least changed the configuration.  How robust are the solder spots?  The color of the film looks like Kapton which should be decently resistant to heat damage, but before trying to rewire, I was wondering if others who had recabled could share how hard it was (from a heat sensitivity standpoint).

 
I've read a couple times now that it's possible to melt the plastic if you're not careful. Safer to snip the cable off with a couple inches left as a pigtail and connect wires that way. 

 

[micrors4]

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I have a fiio e11 and it can drive them, but in no way close to its potential. If you have a dedicated amp at home and use the fiio on the go, then that's ok. otherwise if you only have that 1 amp, then you waste lots of potential. I listen to jazz and indie with mine too, and love it

What would you recommend as a desktop amp that could drive them, I am a college student so the cheaper the better.

 

[FraGGleR]

The Objective2 amplifier by most measures is a tremendous value as an amp.  You can build it yourself for under $100 or can get one prebuilt for roughly $150.  A friend of mine says that with the LCD-2, another planar magnetic, that the O2 held up quite well versus his B22 that cost $3000.  It is also quite small and can be powered by batteries, so it could serve as a nice crossover amp.  
 
I personally think my T50RP's sound quite good out of my Cmoy amp paired with a UD100 DAC (insane value).  I don't think you need anything crazy to get full enjoyment out of these.  But as you mod these headphones, they become less efficient so true portable amps will probably struggle unless you get the really expensive ones.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

 
I've read a couple times now that it's possible to melt the plastic if you're not careful. Safer to snip the cable off with a couple inches left as a pigtail and connect wires that way. 

 
Thanks.  I will do that for now since I don't have a backup pair.  I knew I should have bought a couple when BH Photo had them at $74.  Up to $126 now   $99 is the cheapest I can find right now.

 

[micrors4]

I checked out the Objective2 amplifier and it seems pretty sweet and I might go with that one, but I do most of my listening from a laptop on the go, is there anything semiportable that could power them and be powered from my laptop through over USB and I wouldn't want to spend more than $150 on it. 

 

[FraGGleR]

Possibly the Fiio E17.  I don't have any personal experience with it, but it seems to get very good reviews and is another one of those value picks that I am a fan of.  Has a DAC built in which is a very nice plus if you don't have one already.  While my Cmoy isn't USB powered, I get several days of listening before needing to change the batteries.  
 
Some people have said they are happy with the sound directly out of an mp3 player.  Some people have also listened to these out of $1000 amps.  I tried mine out on a $800 setup from ALO and while it sounded very good, it wasn't that much better than my budget rig.  To me, these aren't nearly as sensitive as other headphones to amping.  My HD650's sound lifeless out of my phone, but the T50rp's sound pretty enjoyable still.

 

[headphonatic]

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I'm sorry for asking again, but maybe my question was missed among other posts. Are there any mods that are tailored for increasing the soundstage and 3d imaging?

I tried pad stacking, got nice separation too with the stock pads over the srh840, but I'm also looking forward toward trying the beyer velour pads.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

I tried pad stacking, got nice separation too with the stock pads over the srh840, but I'm also looking forward toward trying the beyer velour pads.

 
I got slightly better soundstage by using a pair of JMoney Beyerdynamic earpads.  As far as I can tell, it didn't lose any bass from the Shure SRH840 pads so this is a nice discovery.  Super comfy as well.  I tried stuffing some foam under my Shure pads, but had a harder time sealing for some reason and lost a little bass.