[caracara08]

all hail smeggy...  i was never interested in the t50rp at all.. whatsoever... but i knew who smeggy was and what his thunderpants brought to the table. im not gonna sit here and tell Dan or LFF that they need to pay homage to smeggy since they wouldnt be making money if it wasnt for him.... really... lets get off his cockle 

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
This may be true I don't know.  Dan does seem to be offering great customer service and has good business sense so far.  But what people in the T50rp thread and elsewhere don't seem to understand is that no one would be modding T50rp's, including Dan/MrSpeakers and including wje, if it weren't for Smeggy's hard work discovering potential in them.  I haven't heard them, so I won't comment on his Mad Dogs, but I don't think enough people in this circle understand how much they owe to Smeggy.  Mad Dogs would not exist without him.  So it isn't off topic to suggest a tip of the hat to Smeggy from customers and businessmen who are benefiting from the work he did. 
 
It doesn't mean you can't buy one, or that the Mad Dogs are crap, it's just good to have respect for the ortho pioneers that made it possible. 

 
That's the beauty of this forum - whether it be Fostex headphones, any other headphone or accessory.  We're here as a "family" and there are those of us who strictly want to keep this a hobby and have no desire to make a dime in profit.  Maybe, you're not familiar who I am, or have followed my contributions in the various threads.  Last summer, I was fully on board with the Grado "rage" with several pair of wooden cups, documenting various processes (with pictures) to make these processes much easier for those who wanted to perform various modifications, yet didn't have the first idea on where to start.  To sit here and think all credit should go towards Smeggy for a modified Fostex is a bit hard to accept.  Yes, I'll tip my hat to him.  Yet, it takes the contributions of many to develop a "synergy" to keep the energy and modifications encouraged and moving forward around here.

 

[mrspeakers]

I have previously acknowledged Smeggy, Sachu and others' contributions and inspirations on the T50 mega thread, but I know how easy it is for people to have missed that.  In the past I've PM'd Smeggy a few times, too.  I'll also say this: please don't infer or imply that I copied anyone, I didn't.  I was inspired, I learned, I innovated and contributed, and I eventually built something specific and unique.
 
I'm fine to say it again: thanks to Smeggy, Sachu, and many others!  Your excitement and ideas got me started on this and it's been great to learn, contribute some innovations to the community, and now start a business.  

 
Personally, I think Smeggy makes a beautiful and classy product.  There's real value to something hand made and lovely in a commodity world.  We start with sound but that kind of product is very unique and I hope there's a good market from people who appreciate them.  They are not my competition, and I will never make a TP clone.   
 
Lastly, I hope to see more people compare our products not to each other but to other offerings at our respective price points. It's a big market and I believe there's room for all of us to flourish if people compare us to other offerings at our price points, not just to each other.  

 

[KneelJung]

Quote:

 
There's a limitation as to what the T50RP can achieve.  Mostly, that has been proven by the various modifications that have been quite well documented.  Materials and time are essentially all that are needed.  If one wants the wooden cups, the LCD-2 leather head band and ear pads, then, yes, we're talking a lot of money.  More than the Fostex headphones are worth - again, due to limitations that will be hit.  Watch the F/S forum and see how long a pair of Thunderpants will site as the thread gets bumped.  The price range where the Mad Dogs fall is just about perfect.  Sure, the cups are still plastic, the ear pads are pleather ... the headphone might look a bit "dorky" as you've indicated.  However, there are plenty of headphones that look dorky and it doesn't end with the Fostex.  But, the reviews don't lie.  The Fostex is a very, very comfortable headphone that users can wear for several hours without fatigue.

 
Interestingly enough the wooden pair that Marty made, and I owned for a while are currently listed on the F/S forum, and have been for quite a while now. The current owner sent them to Marty to reconfigure the damping, so I have no idea what they sound like now, or how they compare to Smeggy's Thunderpants. Marty's cups were beautiful though, and they sounded better than the way my stock pair were configured at the time. The Martypants also had the Stax pads. However the way my T50 is configured now sounds better than the Martypants, and I prefer the Shure pads to the Stax pads. Also IMHO there is no need to reseat the drivers in a wood enclosure, or put a $100 set of ear pads on a $74 dollar headphone to bring out it's potential.
 
And I would like to thank Leepery for planting the seed about the T50's potential, BotByte for pushing me over the edge, the many many people who have contributed to that thread like SP Wild in the beginning, Mr. Speakers, BMF, and you. Your rear window defogger repair kit gave my T50's new life. My ears are eternally grateful, thank you.

 

[Questhate]

Quote:

And I would like to thank Leepery for planting the seed about the T50's potential, BotByte for pushing me over the edge, the many many people who have contributed to that thread like SP Wild in the beginning, Mr. Speakers, BMF, and you. Your rear window defogger repair kit gave my T50's new life. My ears are eternally grateful, thank you.

 
Whoa. That is surely going to need some elaboration....

 

[Draygonn]

However, there is another side when one considers the Thunderpants and that seems to be inconsistent communication.  Some people have indicated they haven't received an e-mail response in several weeks.  Where, others have placed their order and received their headphones within a 3-week period.  To me, this seems odd and somewhat, unprofessional.

Exactly. Group buy members paid him upwards of $650 nine months ago and still don't have their TP1s while new customers get their orders filled right away. Communication is nonexistent, he hasn't been on head-fi in 3 months and doesn't return emails. Perhaps one of the Smeggy appreciators would like to act as a go-between for him and his customers. He seems like a nice guy who got in over his head.

Meanwhile, I have to commend Dan of Mad Dog.  Dan quickly responds and offers alternatives in order to keep his customers happy.  A very pleasant customer service experience with Dan has kept me enthusiastic and hopeful that his business will continue to provide fruits from his labors and hard work.

Throughout this thread I see Dan taking care of his customers as fast and effectively as possible.

They are not my competition, and I will never make a TP clone.

I also don't see the Maddogs and TP1s as competition. They are tuned and priced differently, and Smeggy offers some beautiful woodworking. Just more options for those who want the ortho sound and don't want to do their own modding.

 

[sachu]

I have previously acknowledged Smeggy, Sachu and others' contributions and inspirations on the T50 mega thread, but I know how easy it is for people to have missed that.  In the past I've PM'd Smeggy a few times, too.  I'll also say this: please don't infer or imply that I copied anyone, I didn't.  I was inspired, I learned, I innovated and contributed, and I eventually built something specific and unique.

I'm fine to say it again: thanks to Smeggy, Sachu, and many others!  Your excitement and ideas got me started on this and it's been great to learn, contribute some innovations to the community, and now start a business.  


Personally, I think Smeggy makes a beautiful and classy product.  There's real value to something hand made and lovely in a commodity world.  We start with sound but that kind of product is very unique and I hope there's a good market from people who appreciate them.  They are not my competition, and I will never make a TP clone.   



Lastly, I hope to see more people compare our products not to each other but to other offerings at our respective price points. It's a big market and I believe there's room for all of us to flourish if people compare us to other offerings at our price points, not just to each other.  

Well said.

Look forqard to meeting you at the LA meet.

 

[KneelJung]

Quote:

 
Whoa. That is surely going to need some elaboration....

Well it wasnt really his rear window defooger repair kit, I had to go buy one, which may or may not clear things up for you.

 

[Questhate]

Quote:

Well it wasnt really his rear window defooger repair kit, I had to go buy one, which may or may not clear things up for you.

 
Hahaha. Actually was wondering how a rear window defogger kit ends up in a headphone! 

 

[KneelJung]

Quote:

 
Hahaha. Actually was wondering how a rear window defogger kit ends up in a headphone! 

The kits have a paint in them that conducts electricity. I had inadvertently pulled one of the connections on a driver loose. I managed to resolder it, and it was working then it stopped. Wayne suggested the paint which solved the problem. How have you been btw? Been to any meets lately?

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
Whoa. That is surely going to need some elaboration....

 
C'mon, Marvin ... you know me better than that, don't you?  

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

You're just really missing the point. I'm fine with their looks. If I really wanna be flashy I can just pull on my LCD-2/3.
Also, I don't have a full sized mirror at the ready, so I can careless how they look. 

 
Lastly Thunderpants don't solve anything. Mad Dogs walk all over it sonically. 

My point was that criticizing the Mad Dog for looking "hideous" is idiotic. It's an internal T50RP mod and a headband. If you don't like the way the T50RP looks, you're not going to like the looks of the Mad Dog either. You can turn the T50RP into a very pretty headphone (though not necessarily a better sounding one, I didn't say that) by throwing most of the parts away. Using TH900 cups and Ultrasone Edition 7 pads would make it one of the best looking, most luxurious headphones ever, and it would also cost a hell of a lot and may not even sound that good. The best thing about the T50RP is that it costs so little and has so much potential. The looks really don't matter, buy an Edition 10 if you care about that sort of thing.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

My point was that criticizing the Mad Dog for looking "hideous" is idiotic. It's an internal T50RP mod and a headband. If you don't like the way the T50RP looks, you're not going to like the looks of the Mad Dog either. You can turn the T50RP into a very pretty headphone (though not necessarily a better sounding one, I didn't say that) by throwing most of the parts away. Using TH900 cups and Ultrasone Edition 7 pads would make it one of the best looking, most luxurious headphones ever, and it would also cost a hell of a lot and may not even sound that good. The best thing about the T50RP is that it costs so little and has so much potential. The looks really don't matter, buy an Edition 10 if you care about that sort of thing.

Yea, I agree. That's why I made a sarcastic remark regarding not having a mirror around while wearing headphones.
Anyways, as stated before it's about sound not looks. Just look at how the Koda headphones turned out.

 

[wje]

Quote:

Yea, I agree. That's why I made a sarcastic remark regarding not having a mirror around while wearing headphones.
Anyways, as stated before it's about sound not looks. Just look at how the Koda headphones turned out.

 
Yeah.  But, I think the Koda was greatly inspired by the Devo hat.  Don't you think?  
 
 
 

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

 
Yeah.  But, I think the Koda was greatly inspired by the Devo hat.  Don't you think?  
 
 
 

That acrylic is really beautiful though!