Just scored a Fostex T20 v.2...wow!

[lejaz]

I always wanted to hear one of the Fostex orthos and I was lucky to find a set for a very reasonable price on ebay. The bidding started at $49.99, so I asked the seller if she'd do a 'buy it now' price and she was kind enough to do so....for $59.99. Could I really resist?

Just got them about an hour ago so my impressions are very limited, but man, they really do live up to their reputation for great mids...and vocals. From my very brief session with them I think I prefer the mids on them to my long time favorite, the k240DF and, sacrilege of all sacrileges... my dt48... though the Beyer may just be less forgiving of poor recordings and mp3's. Haven't done any head to head comparisons yet. Would like to hear impressions of other head-fi'er on these. Do they need modding, like the newer RP mkII's supposedly do? They sound just as flat/neutral as the DF and DT48 but with some roll off in the highs like the dt48. Just want to report that I'm REally happy with these phones, and they're worth a lot more than the price you often find them going for. I'll post more impressions after more extensive listening.

 

[Vaughn]

One of my faves, most do damp them down a bit. This sacrifices some of the bass for improved transient response and even greater clarity through the mids. Personally I like them stock as well as modified.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

You're running them off your Little Dot?

 

[Acix]

My favorite upper mids so far, this what I called magical mids. The fostex upper mids are not clear as the 48s but very musical. A little dark and hard to pinpoint the direction in the sound stage.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

My favorite upper mids so far, this what I called magical mids. The fostex upper mids are not clear as the 48s but very musical. A little dark and hard to pinpoint the direction in the sound stage.

Did a brief listen to the dt48...yes definitely more clear and greater detail/definition.... the Fostex are darker and smoother...and yes 'magical' is the word with certain vocalists....and acoustic instruments. Did you ever try the 240DF?....great clear upper mids with those too. Way better lows on the Fostex than the dt48 out of the LD mkV. Going to give them a long trial before I try any damping, but to get greater clarity it might be worth sacrificing some bass.

 

[Acix]

 
Quote:

Quote:

My favorite upper mids so far, this what I called magical mids. The fostex upper mids are not clear as the 48s but very musical. A little dark and hard to pinpoint the direction in the sound stage.

Did a brief listen to the dt48...yes definitely more clear and greater detail/definition.... the Fostex are darker and smoother...and yes 'magical' is the word with certain vocalists....and acoustic instruments. Did you ever try the 240DF?....great clear upper mids with those too. Way better lows on the Fostex than the dt48 out of the LD mkV. Going to give them a long trial before I try any damping, but to get greater clarity it might be worth sacrificing some bass.

 
I've try the 240DF a few times, and I love them for what they are, clarity all over the spectrum/ and the stereo imaging/spatial locations.
Looks like the mod/damping will get them more bass /to bass monster, and not necessary the open airy sounds that I think they need and deserve.
.

 

[lejaz]

I meant to say that I may try modding the T20, not the DF. I don't want to mess with the DF.... I like it too much as it is. I picked up a somewhat beat up set very cheap on ebay and I prefer it over the mogami recabled set I purchased here on the for sale forum for almost double the price. The only thing it's missing is some low bass, but you hit the nail on the head....really great clarity all through the spectrum. BTW, though we had our disagreements over the k70X, I still find it a great tool for mixing, and have been putting it to a lot of use lately! (Check out my two latest tunes on MySpace (link in my signature)). I owe you a debt of thanks for pointing me in that direction.

 
 
Quote:

 
Quote:

Quote:

My favorite upper mids so far, this what I called magical mids. The fostex upper mids are not clear as the 48s but very musical. A little dark and hard to pinpoint the direction in the sound stage.

Did a brief listen to the dt48...yes definitely more clear and greater detail/definition.... the Fostex are darker and smoother...and yes 'magical' is the word with certain vocalists....and acoustic instruments. Did you ever try the 240DF?....great clear upper mids with those too. Way better lows on the Fostex than the dt48 out of the LD mkV. Going to give them a long trial before I try any damping, but to get greater clarity it might be worth sacrificing some bass.

 
I've try the 240DF a few times, and I love them for what they are, clarity all over the spectrum/ and the stereo imaging/spatial locations.
Looks like the mod/damping will get them more bass /to bass monster, and not necessary the open airy sounds that I think they need and deserve.

 

.

 

 

[lejaz]

Any thoughts on the best type of amp for the Fostex orthos? Is a ss amp like the LD mkV a good match? Would like to bring out more detail and clarity...and even more speed, if possible. Maybe they could do with a little damping too. So far I'm enjoying my first taste of an ortho driver.

 

[lejaz]

O.K. I'm going to have to revise my original statement about the T20. I still like them a lot, but I definitely don't prefer them over the dt48 or the k240DF. I wouldn't say that they're inferior overall (though in some areas they clearly are), but they're definitely very different. There's no way that they can compete with t.he dt48 when it comes to midrange clarity. The dt48 live up to their reputation for some of the best midrange you can get for under $1000. I paid a little over 1/10th of that for my used set. The T20's are also noticeably darker (not necessarily a bad thing) and less detailed. The dt48 is like a super sharp, clear lens on a camera. The t20 has more of a soft focus....and ads some color(if darkness is a color). It's a color I DO like though.  I did some damping and the bass is really nice and I think some slight improvement in the mids. I think they will still get a lot of head time because I much prefer the bass of the t20 to the very rolled off low end of the dt48. I'll probably do a head to head with the DF next. Should be an interesting match up.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

One of my faves, most do damp them down a bit. This sacrifices some of the bass for improved transient response and even greater clarity through the mids. Personally I like them stock as well as modified.

Thanks for pointing that out. I couldn't resist trying some more damping. There was too much murkiness/boom coming from the upper bass without modding. Now it's pretty much cleared up. There's definitely improved clarity. I put some removable putty around the edges of the baffles and some folded paper towel behind the stock foam....and some very dense foam under the pads because they felt too flat. Pretty simple and effective ...but maybe now I'm missing too much lows! I guess there's a trade off. I'll probably have to head over to the otho thread for more information on the modding.

 

[Acix]

 
Quote:

Quote:

One of my faves, most do damp them down a bit. This sacrifices some of the bass for improved transient response and even greater clarity through the mids. Personally I like them stock as well as modified.

Thanks for pointing that out. I couldn't resist trying some more damping. There was too much murkiness/boom coming from the upper bass without modding. Now it's pretty much cleared up. There's definitely improved clarity. I put some removable putty around the edges of the baffles and some folded paper towel behind the stock foam....and some very dense foam under the pads because they felt too flat. Pretty simple and effective ...but maybe now I'm missing too much lows! I guess there's a trade off. I'll probably have to head over to the otho thread for more information on the modding.

Try out the DF pads on the Fostex, I think they'll fit.

 

[lejaz]

Will give it a try tonight. I still have some pads from the 240S lying around somewhere. funny story: There's a guy who is well know for his work with microphone modding. He's been doing it for over 20 years and always uses the older Fostex in his microphone testing. He swears by their accuracy. The funny thing is he removes the pads entirely and has the drivers right next to his ears. Might be worth a try for the fun it it, but definitely not for extensive listening, eh...ouch!

 

[lejaz]

Tried the k240 pads today. Great clarity...really nice .... but unfortunately the 240 pads are bringing out the upper mids too much and I'm getting sibilance on vocals that wasn't there before the pad switch. Perhaps removing some of the damping I did behind the driver will even things out. Maybe tonight I'll experiment. Too bad there's not a pad that's a compromise between the originals and the k240 pad. I think the opening is way too big on those and it's bringing up the upper mids.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Tried the k240 pads today. Great clarity...really nice .... but unfortunately the 240 pads are bringing out the upper mids too much and I'm getting sibilance on vocals that wasn't there before the pad switch. Perhaps removing some of the damping I did behind the driver will even things out. Maybe tonight I'll experiment. Too bad there's not a pad that's a compromise between the originals and the k240 pad. I think the opening is way too big on those and it's bringing up the upper mids.

You can try to add some felt, or foam like the Senn have on the drivers this should take care of the sibilance.

 

[lejaz]

Definitely makes sense. I may still have the k240 foam lying around somewhere. It's real thin so shouldn't cut the highs too much. Perhaps I should rename this thread "How to turn your Fostex T20 v2 into a k240DF with better bass." Those fostex drivers have great potential with the proper modding!