[VickyLovesHeadphones]

Hey,

I have the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony, and was thinking to replace the wood earcups with Lawton ones.
Out of curiosity, I listened to my TH-X00 with the ebony cups removed. And Wow was I surprised

Did you try listening to TH-X00 with the cups removed? I find that "Open-back" TH-X00 gain soundstage and bass extension without loosing detail.
What is your impression?

Cheers,
Vicky

 

[faultfracture]

Don't they operate mostly as a open back since the outer rim of the cup isn't sealed?

 

[VickyLovesHeadphones]

Don't they operate mostly as a open back since the outer rim of the cup isn't sealed?

They sound pretty close-back to me, despite being half-open as you say. My guess is that the cups are there to keep the bass from sounding too boomy. But I don't think that boomy bass is a bad thing considering the significant increase in soundstage. Do you own TH-X00? Can you try listening to them without the cups and tell us your impression?

 

[omegaorgun]

They sound pretty close-back to me, despite being half-open as you say. My guess is that the cups are there to keep the bass from sounding too boomy. But I don't think that boomy bass is a bad thing considering the significant increase in soundstage. Do you own TH-X00? Can you try listening to them without the cups and tell us your impression?

Could try get TH-909 cups or TH500RP (rare) cups might work. Try full compass.

Maybe the best option would be to find a 3d print shops that could design something to fit and do a nice paint job.
I have a closed back that sounds super wide Kennerton Magister Pro. I have owned a few of the Fostex and they are fun but I ended up selling as I'm a T50RP mod fan.

Oops I thought this was recent.

 

[VickyLovesHeadphones]

Yeah, I did search for TH500RP cups... these things are made from unobtanium. However, speaker grills from AliExpress also fit:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32926398895.html (I don't recall the size, but it's easy to measure).

Since then I also acquired a TH-909. The open-back modded TH-X00 sounds very wide in comparison, but the exaggerated mid bass can be overwhelming. TH-909 is the safer choice.

Also, if you are a T50RP mod fan, I have MK2 Argon by Mod House Audio. This thing has almost as wide soundstage as my open-back TH-X00... much safer tuning though a bit less detailed IMO.

 

[tomb]

Don't they operate mostly as a open back since the outer rim of the cup isn't sealed?

^ This ...