[hpamdr]

....
The TH500RP will be very happy.

Qustion: the NFB-1 has two outputs: the 6.3mm jack that matches with the one from this phone. And the 4 pin plug, that most use for the T50RP.
Does it make sense to change the plug on the TH500RP cord?

Yes it make sens to have a balanced plug on the TH500RP true balanced amps works better in this mode but you also need a balanced DAC. I advise you to get a pair of neutrik pro (Male/Female) and build in same time an jack adapter with the remaining cable. You cannot safely dismantle the plug from the cord so the best is to cut 5 to 10cm from the jack.

 

[Albert Fifties]

You cannot safely dismantle the plug from the cord so the best is to cut 5 to 10cm from the jack.

Indeed, the plug cannot be dismantled (opened). So I will cut it off. Attach an XLR-4 pin plug; it will give a better soundstage.
& I expect better 'attack' . .

There a balanced output on the DAC, that has a balanced mini-XLR plug to the NFB-1, and the output section is balanced. I noticed selecting balanced input in the NFB-1 gives a better depth.

I like the resolving power - in a life broadcast I could hear the kettledrum being tuned; I can hear the harpsicord strings dying out; that is very low level information.

 

[Steven31]

phew, that's a relief! was beginning to think there was no TH500RP thread on Head Fi!
Took me 2 hours to find it, lol.

 

[trellus]

phew, that's a relief! was beginning to think there was no TH500RP thread on Head Fi!
Took me 2 hours to find it, lol.

there are still owners of this headphone, indeed mine does not get a lot of use, I must admit, but it has sentimental value so I’m not likely to sell it

 

[nicoch46]

Yes it make sens to have a balanced plug on the TH500RP true balanced amps works better in this mode but you also need a balanced DAC. I advise you to get a pair of neutrik pro (Male/Female) and build in same time an jack adapter with the remaining cable. You cannot safely dismantle the plug from the cord so the best is to cut 5 to 10cm from the jack.

output of amp is always single ended ,headphones are single ended ,you need a dual mono amp for improvre the sound ,balanced plug with 4 pin give you that ie separate ground between channel ie dual mono .Balanced Dac out and amp input is a totaly another story

 

[Albert Fifties]

I recently made a single ended, choke loaded output amplifier, running class a with >40 watts. The amplifier likes high impedances, itself having an output impedance of 13 ohms..
With the TH500 it is gorgeous. My audio-gd stays very bleak compared.

 

[hpamdr]

output of amp is always single ended ,headphones are single ended ,you need a dual mono amp for improvre the sound ,balanced plug with 4 pin give you that ie separate ground between channel ie dual mono .Balanced Dac out and amp input is a totaly another story

You have many balanced amplifier on the market, and for sure built like dual mono. (LaFigaro, oblivion, canyon ihe6,...) About the DAC this is about having right input level (4V) and no common ground on the input. For me this is the only way to have full balanced setting !

 

[nicoch46]

You have many balanced amplifier on the market, and for sure built like dual mono. (LaFigaro, oblivion, canyon ihe6,...) About the DAC this is about having right input level (4V) and no common ground on the input. For me this is the only way to have full balanced setting !

dual mono is not relate to balance or SE config but relate at PSU config ie sharing the channel....dont mix
Remenber SE is always better then balanced at last on headphone ,balanced=pushpull ie different distortions profile and sound ,maybe PP on speakers have more power and grunt but not free lunch

 

[Steven31]

Moved my Pioneer receiver and Audiolab DAB tuner from the lounge up to the office as I can't use my speakers with them to enjoyable volume levels in this new house i've moved into (thin walls between me and the neighbours)
Listening to this combo with my TH500RP and I gotta say, TH500RP synergizes pretty well with the Pioneer VSX receiver, the receiver drives the TH500RP quite well. It helps of course when you have such an exquisite sounding piece of equipment such as the Audiolab 8200T tuner - this thing might just be the most beautiful piece of hifi equipment i've ever heard. Had it for 10 years and it's spent most of it's life sitting in the garage in my old house, not getting any use, lol. I guess I took it for granted. TH500RP sounds pretty special with it

 

[Steven31]

Man, this headphone (TH500RP) has impressed me so much. Basically, I've came back to this thread to leave some final impressions before calling quits on my open-back headphone journey. I probably won't need to find another open-back headphone after this one. Sure, at some point in the future I might consider a Sennheiser HD800 (just so I can say I owned one, and also to hear it's soundstage) or an old (2010 model) Audeze LCD3 (the What HiFi review of that headphone still sticks in my mind all these years later, they described it's tonality as like "the voice of God", and because of that statement i've always been curious to hear the older/original LCD3, but I never had the chance to hear one and it was several hundred pounds (£) above my budget), but other than those two I think any other open-back headphone purchase would be pointless, because the TH500RP offers a sound that to me is more than good enough. Yes, I think this headphone has ALLOT to offer! I've been so impressed by it yet don't believe I am hearing it at it's best, with the amps I have at the moment. The amps I have to drive the TH500RP are not bad at all, actually, and don't lack power - especially the in-built amp/dac of my Marantz HD-CD1 DC player (that has more than enough power to drive the TH500RP to very loud volume levels) add to that that the TH500RP is fairly easy to drive, at 48 ohms..but it's a planar magnetic, equivalent to a hulking powerful v12 automobile engine and more power for these types of headphone is always a good idea. There are many aspects of this headphones sound characteristics that have impressed me. What is becoming more and more apparent is it's ability to adjust to the very different sound characteristics of my Audiolab 8200T DAB tuner and Marantz HD-CD1 CD player. The Audiolab is without a doubt the most "high end" hifi component I currently own, it has a very addicting strong/prominent rich natural, warm sound to it, much like the rich tones of an old high quality vinyl record or the subtle warm, watery colouring boost of a good tube amp. How Audiolab managed to pull this kind of sound off so well, in a solid-state hfi component digital radio, i'll never understand and is a testament to the expertise of their engineers, but anyways, the TH500RP conveys the Audiolabs sound so well, that it's like the headphone becomes an extension of the radio itself. It's like you are not listening to a pair of headphones but rather a device that is capable of changing to the exact sound of whatever it's connected to. I connect the TH500RP to my 2014 Pioneer VSX 528 receiver to listen to my Audiolab, the Pioneer is a very neutral, clear and detailed sounding amp. So...then I connect the TH500RP to the in-built headphone output amp/dac of my Marantz HD-CD1 ( situated on the front fascia of the player), which has a balanced but punchy sound (powerful bass output) and also extreme detail, and again I observe the same phenomenon, the sound of the TH500RP adapts again very noticeably to accommodate very precisely, accurately and seamlessly the characteristics of the CD player. So it seems that the Fostex TH500RP does an extremely good job at synergizing with whatever you connect to it. But this isn't the only observation i've made about this headphone, that has impressed me. Today whilst listening to Coldplay's latest album, with the TH500RP connected to the HD-CD1, I couldn't help but notice that the soundstage of the TH500RP seemed to get narrower and the imaging suffered also, instead of instruments sounding like they where spaced apart and the soundstage sounding like proper 2 channel stereophonic sound (having a left, right and centre), everything seemed conglomerated towards the middle of the sound field (like in the centre of my head) like mono, but I knew right away that this had to do with the recordings on the album - not the headphones. What the TH500RP revealed to me so very obviously, was that the new Coldplay album was lazily mixed/mastered and produced. The TH500RP done this with an absurd level of ease, just taking it in it's stride whilst still trying it's best to sound musical for it's listener, a trait difficult to find in all but the finest of headphones. So that about wraps it up, that's all I have to say. TH500RP is a fine headphone. And soundwise it can be what you want it to be,- it is very sensitive and adaptable/changeable to different equipment, and I feel confident in the assumption that it might be able to give the best of the best, a run for their money.

 

[Haidar]

Anyone else still enjoying the TH-500RP?

Their sound seems to be sensitive to the output impedance of the amplifier that you plug them into. Could be part of why they sound so different to different people

 

[maheeinfy]

Mine developed mold on the pads and ofher places due to storing in humid environment
Not sure if it can be recovered
I liked the smooth sound while it lasted

 

[mapotofu]

Mine developed mold on the pads and ofher places due to storing in humid environment

Yikes!

Anyone else still enjoying the TH-500RP?

Their sound seems to be sensitive to the output impedance of the amplifier that you plug them into. Could be part of why they sound so different to different people

I'm still enjoying my pair, usually when practicing guitar through my Line 6 HX Stomp. Seems to smooth out the piercing high frequencies better than most headphones.