Orthodynamic Roundup

[NoXter]

Grado cable... OMG ^^
But it's undeniable that this cable emphasises the 80's look.

 

[marcan]

I bought and modified a Fostex t50rp. Mainly, I cut the felt in front of the driver, retrieved the foam of the vent and covered the inner cup with a ½ cm foam. I placed a "variable" foam at the outside of the cup so I can tune the vent.
 
The sound is already fantastic particularly for the price. Bass are generous, fast, precise and go very low (I guess the precision and the speediness help the perception in the low end). The medium is precise and creamy. Treble are extended, precise and fast. Distortion is inaudible even at high volume, which is very revealing for the distortions of the source. I use a Grace Design 901 for the electronic so it's very transparent. However, I can see two main drawbacks.[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
The first one is a small dip around 200 Hz. It makes the rhythmic session a little bit less percussive and the voices a bit dry[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
The second drawback is a kind of a veil on the sound. It's particularly audible between 3kHz and 6kHz. I would say a loss of 3 or 4 db in that range.[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
I settled the problems with a equalizer (vst T-Racks 3 with foobar) but it's not very "elegant", so if someone has a solution for me I couldn't be happier 

 

[joelpearce]

You'll probably have to keep playing with those damping materials.  Different felts, different amounts of foam, different ear pads... everything you change with orthos makes a discernible difference to the sound.  It's why some of us have been fiddling with the T50RP for months.
 
Quote:

I bought and modified a Fostex t50rp. Mainly, I cut the felt in front of the driver, retrieved the foam of the vent and covered the inner cup with a ½ cm foam. I placed a "variable" foam at the outside of the cup so I can tune the vent.
 
The sound is already fantastic particularly for the price. Bass are generous, fast, precise and go very low (I guess the precision and the speediness help the perception in the low end). The medium is precise and creamy. Treble are extended, precise and fast. Distortion is inaudible even at high volume, which is very revealing for the distortions of the source. I use a Grace Design 901 for the electronic so it's very transparent. However, I can see two main drawbacks.[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
The first one is a small dip around 200 Hz. It makes the rhythmic session a little bit less percussive and the voices a bit dry[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
The second drawback is a kind of a veil on the sound. It's particularly audible between 3kHz and 6kHz. I would say a loss of 3 or 4 db in that range.[size=6.0pt][/size]
 
I settled the problems with a equalizer (vst T-Racks 3 with foobar) but it's not very "elegant", so if someone has a solution for me I couldn't be happier 

 

[marcan]

Quote:

You'll probably have to keep playing with those damping materials.  Different felts, different amounts of foam, different ear pads... everything you change with orthos makes a discernible difference to the sound.  It's why some of us have been fiddling with the T50RP for months.
 

 

Thx joelpearce. Do you know whether it's a related to the fostex (so I'm not the only one having these issues) or is it related to my mods. Also I thought that damping and ear pads mainly influence the bass and mid region and my main problem is in the high mid/treble region. I already completely retrieve the felt in front of the driver so I think I can't do better in that area.

 

[nickchen]

I shot a NAD RP18

, propably almost NOS, at german ebay yesterday. http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300528186537&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT  For some reasons, that action was with a "no shipping abroad" passus, nevertheless the seller told me afterwards that he got flooded with inquiries from Indonesia and Poland to sell this thing offside the usual ebay routines, my luck that he didn't. My Ninjas said the final price of 208€ was reasonable. But after 4 vintage orthos in 3 months, my abandoned saves-for-LCD2-funds are completely spent now...
 
To say that I am thrilled is somewhat an understatement. I am so proud to possess one of the famous T50v1 clones soon. Heartly thanks to Whitney and Brian for their advice and encouraging!

 

[gurubhai]

Congrats Nickchen!
 
I would now encourage you to finally splurge a little more  & get the stax O2 pads for them. Thats about the only thing that they need IMHO.
( Assuming of course that you got lucky & got a pair of mylar NADs too).

 

[joelpearce]

Quote:

Thx joelpearce. Do you know whether it's a related to the fostex (so I'm not the only one having these issues) or is it related to my mods. Also I thought that damping and ear pads mainly influence the bass and mid region and my main problem is in the high mid/treble region. I already completely retrieve the felt in front of the driver so I think I can't do better in that area.

The Fostex do tend to be warm, but they are pretty flat stock, so it could well be the modding.  Mine have pretty much run the gamut from being muddy and fuzzy and dark to harshly sibilant over the course of my modifications.  Sometimes they have strange resonant frequencies at a certain part of the spectrum, and sometimes they have dips and holes elsewhere.  My guess: if you're willing to put the work into them, you'll be able to dampen away the frequency problems you're having.  That said, I don't think my ears are well-tuned enough to identify frequency issues by range yet.  I'm still working on that.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Congrats Nickchen!
 
I would now encourage you to finally splurge a little more  & get the stax O2 pads for them. Thats about the only thing that they need IMHO.
( Assuming of course that you got lucky & got a pair of mylar NADs too).

Mylar NADs? Are there different versions of the RP18? However, I've already started some investigations of sources & prices for W11 or O2 pads in case my pad bestiary doesn't contain something suitable.
 
@Rick: That is much better, I told you, just one short question would be to little to attract the attention of the ninjas...

 

[gurubhai]

Quote:

Mylar NADs? Are there different versions of the RP18? However, I've already started some investigations of sources & prices for W11 or O2 pads in case my pad bestiary doesn't contain something suitable.
 

Two kinds of driver have been reported on NADs:
 
1) Kapton driver - These are bass heavy & reportedly have highly rolled treble.

 
2) Mylar Driver : Great balance even stock, rolled off only slightly at both ends. Nearly perfectly damped stock.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Quote:

 
2) Mylar Driver : Great balance even stock, rolled off only slightly at both ends. Nearly perfectly damped stock.

Is that the pair I had a listen to? It did sound very good.
 

 
Quote:

That's great.
I love the yamaha midrange. I prefer them in this regard to my NAD or even the LCD-2 even though both are much better technically overall.
I had been wondering what gives the yammies that distinctive mid-range & there unique 'pinch type' driver was all I came up with.
If your driver can capture that yamaha magic & provide better extension & comfort, you just might have stumbled upon my dream phone.

I've got to agree. The PMB orthos I tried had it as well, especially the Grundig, IMHO. Those mids, but also with deep full bass and maybe also a somewhat larger headstage... that would be something special.
 

 

[gurubhai]

Quote:

Is that the pair I had a listen to? It did sound very good.

 

No, that one hasn't been opened up yet. Didn't want to mess the baffle seal.
The pics are courtesy Kabeer.

 

[Sim1]

 
Quote:

I shot a NAD RP18

,
[...]

Congrats nickchen! I was the last one that fell off the climbing wall on this auction

.
 

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

 
Congrats nickchen! I was the last one that fell off the climbing wall on this auction

.
 

Thank you.

 
Looking at your inventory, I would say I "needed" it also more desperately when taking profane usage into account. You needed it more desperately as collector though...

 

[wualta]

 
Quote:

... After listening to a fair number, I do think that orthos are the headphone technology that got away...  
 
....it would be nice to see some orthos in the $200-500 range, which seems to be a hole in the ortho market.

The Once And Future Headphone.  
The Headphone They  Don't Want You To Hear.
The Headphone Technology That Got Away. Yep, I like that one. I hereby nominate yours as the Ortho thread's official catchphrase.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Mylar NADs?

Oh yes. Just as gurubhai and Kabeer say. Remember, Foster Radio, aka Fostex, is possibly the demon OEM of Japan. They'll make anything, any way, for anybody. We should be surprised that there are only 2 known variants and should be keeping  a ninja-eye out for a third.
When I first posted about the 1978 North American market T50 back in 2004, little did I know that I'd be opening the biggest can of headphone worms evar. Fostex peppered the world with so many variations on the T50 theme, it makes you wonder what drove them to attempt to establish this headphone in the market, any market, some way, somehow, even making versions for mass-marketers Lafayette and (I believe) Olson. We can only assume they thought the T50 was something special. Despite all this frantic OEMing, the T50 was a marketing failure-- the lesson, later learned by the big Japanese companies, is know. your. market. But I digress. Fostex at least has the consolation of seeing the HE-5/6 and LCD-2 vindicate their basic design.
It's only my guess, but I believe the Mylar NAD was primarily for the German market, so you may be in luck. Fingers crossed.
 
Quote:

 
I love the yamaha midrange. I had been wondering what gives the yammies that distinctive mid-range & there unique 'pinch type' driver was all I came up with.

That's a good question. My first guess would have something to do with the placement of the natural resonant frequency of the diaphragm, giving the midrange a smooth bump in the "warmth" region, but I could be all wet. The thing to do would be to analyze your reaction to find exactly what about the Yama midrange appeals to you and what it is the other headphones lack.


Quote:

The YH-100 specification says 10W maximum. But 2W is still a lot, compare to say the Sennheiser HD580 with 200 mW as the maximum.

Power handling specs are more art than science, but if the goal is to keep diaphragm failures to a minimum, increasing the sensitivity couldn't hurt. Then at least the headphones will be playing too loud for comfort when they reach their thermal danger zone.
 
And I say good luck to anyone embarking on the rough waters of the headphone market with a new orthodynamic.

 

[Kabeer]

 
Quote:

Im putting my bet in now that these are Kapton .
And wualta I cant remember for 100% certain but I think both my Kapton and Mylar pairs came from Germany.