[lemarsghast]

Has anyone done any measurements with their pair?
Would love to see how close these can get to the original alpha dogs
If anyone has any tips or mods that they've done please post them

Here are the measurements of my open alphas at the 2017 NYC Camjam where Dan himself listened to my pair and gave some suggestions to tone down the midrange a bit. Although to this date I have not had the time to modify it, they still sound amazing

 

[lemarsghast]

repost, oops

 

[nereus]

Here are the measurements of my open alphas at the 2017 NYC Camjam where Dan himself listened to my pair and gave some suggestions to tone down the midrange a bit. Although to this date I have not had the time to modify it, they still sound amazing

I can't see any links in the post lemarghast, was there meant to be an image or a link?

 

[William Song]

Here are the measurements of my open alphas at the 2017 NYC Camjam where Dan himself listened to my pair and gave some suggestions to tone down the midrange a bit. Although to this date I have not had the time to modify it, they still sound amazing

Would you mind sharing some tips for tuning the mids. I think to most people that's a terribly difficult part, and may be the secret to unlocking to a paradox/alpha dogs sound.

What mods did you use in your pair?

 

[lemarsghast]

I can't see any links in the post lemarghast, was there meant to be an image or a link?

Here is the Google Drive link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kScGyVaThyFx2b29cEEebaVCFZkktkKv/view?usp=sharing

Do note that these measurements are before some modifications I did to my pair. The modification that made the greatest impact on the sound was including the little foam gasket between the driver and the mounting plate that came with my stock t50rp. Another significant modification was re positioning my alpha pads to have the vertical side of the "ear rectangle" align parallel with the connector port. I also removed the tiny white felt on the back of the mk3 driver. If I remember correctly, the suggestion I received from Dan was to add some felt on the back of the driver to try to even out the midrange.

On another note, I currently plan on reprinting my cups to fit 2.5 mm connectors, as my current cups with the HR connectors are damaged. @musicfan145 , on your post here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ope...-from-mrspeakers.825868/page-22#post-13292084 you modified the cups to increase its structural stability and to include 2.5mm connectors. May you post them through something like thingverse or dropbox? It appears that after the new makeover of Headfi only users of a certain rank may access linked attachments to posts.

Also, may someone recommend a relatively cheap and good y cable with 2.5mm on the two ends and 3.5mm on the main end for my new pair of alphas? Thanks

 

[William Song]

Here is the Google Drive link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kScGyVaThyFx2b29cEEebaVCFZkktkKv/view?usp=sharing

Do note that these measurements are before some modifications I did to my pair. The modification that made the greatest impact on the sound was including the little foam gasket between the driver and the mounting plate that came with my stock t50rp. Another significant modification was re positioning my alpha pads to have the vertical side of the "ear rectangle" align parallel with the connector port. I also removed the tiny white felt on the back of the mk3 driver. If I remember correctly, the suggestion I received from Dan was to add some felt on the back of the driver to try to even out the midrange.

On another note, I currently plan on reprinting my cups to fit 2.5 mm connectors, as my current cups with the HR connectors are damaged. @musicfan145 , on your post here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ope...-from-mrspeakers.825868/page-22#post-13292084 you modified the cups to increase its structural stability and to include 2.5mm connectors. May you post them through something like thingverse or dropbox? It appears that after the new makeover of Headfi only users of a certain rank may access linked attachments to posts.

Also, may someone recommend a relatively cheap and good y cable with 2.5mm on the two ends and 3.5mm on the main end for my new pair of alphas? Thanks

Thanks for that, I'm not sure what the foam is, i don't think there was a piece of foam that came with mine. Would you mind sending a photo of it? Or possibly where to obtain it.
As for 2.5mm cables, Hifi-man has some pretty nice ones. I think most, if not all of their products use 2x 2.5mm connectors, so I think you could take a look in that direction. You should be able to get some off their website.
White felt on the back of the driver being the paper? I've been thinking to remove it, but not sure what it exactly does. I know BMF said he preferred it stock.

 

[musicfan145]

@musicfan145 , on your post here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ope...-from-mrspeakers.825868/page-22#post-13292084 you modified the cups to increase its structural stability and to include 2.5mm connectors. May you post them through something like thingverse or dropbox? It appears that after the new makeover of Headfi only users of a certain rank may access linked attachments to posts.

Thanks for letting me know. I have made all the modified files public on Tinkercad:
https://www.tinkercad.com/users/cikUOnBCkzN-musicfan145
Tomorrow I will also try to go back and improve the descriptions, do a better job crediting @mrspeakers, and share them to Tinkercad.

 

[musicfan145]

Also, may someone recommend a relatively cheap and good y cable with 2.5mm on the two ends and 3.5mm on the main end for my new pair of alphas? Thanks

Search for replacement cables for the HD700 or the Oppo PM-1 or PM-2. (Hifiman cables use 2.5mm TRS connectors, so they may not work.)

 

[lemarsghast]

Thanks for that, I'm not sure what the foam is, i don't think there was a piece of foam that came with mine. Would you mind sending a photo of it? Or possibly where to obtain it.
As for 2.5mm cables, Hifi-man has some pretty nice ones. I think most, if not all of their products use 2x 2.5mm connectors, so I think you could take a look in that direction. You should be able to get some off their website.
White felt on the back of the driver being the paper? I've been thinking to remove it, but not sure what it exactly does. I know BMF said he preferred it stock.

The foam ring I talked about is the thin foam gasket. It is pictured here on the sixth picture from top: http://www.diyaudioblog.com/2016/10/fostex-t50rp-mk-iii-modded-build-new_4.html

I am not aware of any place to obtain the foam gaskets. I do feel that removing the white foam on the back of the driver changes the midrange a bit, but it has been a very long time since I have listened to my pair as they are currently disassembled.

Part of my rational for remaking my pair is the screwholes. The cost of printing open side down is a badly done interior. This resulted in half of the screwholes to not exist. To counter this, I have been searching for longer screws that fit the diameter on the baffle. May you guys post links as to what screws I should buy for the next pair?

This time around I am still debating on using shapeways or 3dhubs. The last print was through 3dhubs. What are your suggestions as to which service I should use, what material, material quality, print thickness, and through what printer(if 3dhubs)? Thanks

 

[musicfan145]

Part of my rational for remaking my pair is the screwholes. The cost of printing open side down is a badly done interior. This resulted in half of the screwholes to not exist.

I found that a #54 drill bit (1.4mm) in a pin vise was just the thing to ream the screw holes to the proper size.

 

[Bubblejuice]

So no one has tried the fully open cups yet? (Sorry to keep bugging)

 

[shoostep]

I thought I'd share my project and observations. I built these back in March and I've been getting a fair amount of play time on them recently. No golden ears or measurements here, so I tuned using a digital piano, various audio tracks and other speakers/headphones as reference and did my best to achieve a balanced signature by adjusting internal material.

I started with the MK2, lined with PaxMate and filled with Acousta-Stuf. I used 1 dot and 1 felt disk from the tuning kit and that helped tame the mid-range harshness. These cans still have a slightly exaggerated emphasis around female vocals. When compared to the LCD2, highs and lows are very similar while the mid-range on the Open Alpha is slightly less natural and a bit less cohesive. The imaging is better on the LCD2 as well.
However the Open Alpha wins out in comfort.

Source is a O2/ODAC.

Thanks Dan!

And finally a quick shot of the finished product:

 

[Wuthoqquan]

I thought I'd share my project and observations. I built these back in March and I've been getting a fair amount of play time on them recently. No golden ears or measurements here, so I tuned using a digital piano, various audio tracks and other speakers/headphones as reference and did my best to achieve a balanced signature by adjusting internal material.

I started with the MK2, lined with PaxMate and filled with Acousta-Stuf. I used 1 dot and 1 felt disk from the tuning kit and that helped tame the mid-range harshness. These cans still have a slightly exaggerated emphasis around female vocals. When compared to the LCD2, highs and lows are very similar while the mid-range on the Open Alpha is slightly less natural and a bit less cohesive. The imaging is better on the LCD2 as well.
However the Open Alpha wins out in comfort.

Congrats! Great work with the paint finishing and overall look! Thumbs up!

I've finished mines back in January... some links below:
Cups
Assembled Alphas

It seems we both went for a metallic / micalized effect, with yours verging on a very nice green tint.
I should probably share more photos of my final Alphas, complete with cable, MrSpeakers' Pads (a must!) and leather headband+strap.

I'm know planning to move to a balanced setup, either by modifying my current cable or making a new one.

 

[paulmazz]

I've been trying to fine tune my cups, but I'm having trouble reducing the bass and bringing out the mids and treble. They sound even more veiled than my HD650s. Does anyone have any tips?

 

[musicfan145]

I've been trying to fine tune my cups, but I'm having trouble reducing the bass and bringing out the mids and treble. They sound even more veiled than my HD650s. Does anyone have any tips?

1) More venting = more bass, so if you’ve already sealed up the vents, it’s time to check for leaks.
2) Take out all the damping material in the oval well around the driver on the ear-side of the baffle plate. Try it completely bare, then add back just enough to balance the sound.