[nickchen]

Sorry, didn't know that.

 

[leeperry]

Well, I've got no explanation as to why you couldn't stand the T50RP?! especially w/ the sa5k earpads.
 
We all use different gear, have different hearing and tastes/expectations...plus, if QA at the factory is laid back(and it might very well be, considering the street price), all phones might not be equal. I've owned two T50RP's from two different batches, and the second one sounded "better"™ IMHO. And there's also the story of gear synergy, yada yada...I don't think that the Goldpoint amp(running cheapo AD817 opamps fed off an SMPS) will do it justice for instance.
 
It's been compared to a Stax rig on the previous page...I might not be that crazy after all

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Well, I've got no explanation as to why you couldn't stand the T50RP?! especially w/ the sa5k earpads.
 

With every pad-, housing and/or damping combination we tried, it always kept some mids honkyness I didn't like. Sounded great with some genres to be honest, but not with mine.
 
That is my only issue with the T50RP to be honest, but I'm principally rather with RD who once wrote that tonality is everything and technical ablities are only the accompanying wow factor...for that reason, I also prefer the HD598 over the HD800, and the DT880'600 over the T1.
 
 
 

 

[leeperry]

Well, it took me a good week to be hooked. The cd3k has a much more "impressive" SS, but also utterly colored. This thing sounds like a cave, as explained here: http://www.headphonereviews.org/headphone/Sony/MDR-CD3000
 
"The highlight of the CD3000 is most certainly its cavernous soundstage that separates instruments into their own locations better than all but only the very best headphones. The first time I heard these cans, I was mesmerized by the expansiveness and surrounding nature of the soundstage. The angled drivers undoubtedly help these cans project a frontal soundstage better than many competitors. The drawback of the soundstage is almost a philosophical one, in that the CD3000 makes virtually any recording sound expansive and airy, which while very interesting and entertaining, is hardly transparent or natural. It is great for giving live rock albums that stadium ambiance and feel."
 
Yeah, it's like having DH enabled on a permanent basis. Impressive! but nothing can sound "narrow" on this phone, except for mono. It sends all kinds of sound cues to be reflected in the cups/on the earpads to entertain the listener...it's a fun phone, but it doesn't have the uber-thick <1kHz FR of the T50RP.
 
I find the sa5k earpads a good compromise on the T50RP, I get a cd3k'ish family wide/deep SS & tight bass sound....but mixed w/ the eye popping ortho mids, and no more bright trebles. I also find the center channel much dimmer, but who's to say which phone has a too loud/dim center channel? After getting used to it, I find the T50RP more balanced, its center channel is wider and clearer. That's what decades of R&D can do for you...and nothing some xfeed cannot fix anyway. Angling the earpads also helps to fill the center "hole".

 

[nickchen]

Of course the Fostex has more flesh than the Sony. My issue with my CD3000 (in the long run) were mostly (again) the mids. In this case the other extreme, it simply hadn't enough. Also a bit more deep bass would have been nice. But most important reason to sell them was the nutty amount I got for them which enabled me to get my MS Pro.
 
Now I'm here. It's all about mids, man

 

[leeperry]

What blows me away on the T50RP/sa5k earpads combo is that I often have sound on top or beneath my head...also behind my ears sometimes(movies, hihats), and also before me(thanks to the drivers angling).
 
The magnets are so powerful that it's a bouncing feast against the SONY earpads, whose very purpose is to let the sound bounce off in every direction in order to entertain the listener. It's a combo made in heaven....you benefit from the R&D of two major japanese headphones makers, and at what they respectively do best.
 
I might fancy some O2 earpads, if anyone's got some for sale...please PM. Second hand is cool/preferred.
 
Oh, and yeah deep bass is pretty much AWOL on the cd3k.

 

[Bigrock2150]

Quote:

I might fancy some O2 earpads, if anyone's got some for sale...please PM. Second hand is cool/prefered.
 

You should try out some w5000 pads as well. They're quite a bit cheaper and seal nicely, plus they're real leather as opposed to the fake leather on the brown O2 pads. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

You should try out some w5000 pads as well. They're quite a bit cheaper and seal nicely, plus they're real leather as opposed to the fake leather on the brown O2 pads. 

Dam I knew they were fake I just kept denying it to myself.  That's a lot of money I paid for pleather pads.  They sound good though. 
 

 

[Bigrock2150]

Quote:

Dam I knew they were fake I just kept denying it to myself.  That's a lot of money I paid for pleather pads.  They sound good though. 
 

Yeah they're quite expensive but they're uber comfortable as well. The black ones are supposed to be real leather but they're like another $35 more than the brown ones. $155 is just ridiculous for a pair of pads, they better be throwing in some kobe beef with that cow hide. 

 
 

 

[turimbar1]

for all of the DIY ortho-heads, I know this is not new per se, but I found this pretty cool/cheap way of making ortho headphones http://doesitpew.blogspot.com/2011/03/diy-hifi-orthodynamic-portable.html
 
I will have to try it once my funds are replenished

 

[nickchen]

Wow, these Bipole Ribbon Tweeter things seem to be a real new source for brand new ortho drivers! Question is how good the quality and SQ is though...
 
They do look a bit like the vintage AT and my SS55 systems...

 

[Dobrescu George]

can anyone help me ?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/544197/need-advice-in-audiophile-headphone-choosing

 

[apatN]

Quote:

for all of the DIY ortho-heads, I know this is not new per se, but I found this pretty cool/cheap way of making ortho headphones http://doesitpew.blogspot.com/2011/03/diy-hifi-orthodynamic-portable.html
 
I will have to try it once my funds are replenished

I remember that face! Wasn't that the head-fier (MOT, too) who got banned because of, well, stuff...
 

 

[leeperry]

 

You should try out some w5000 pads as well. They're quite a bit cheaper and seal nicely, plus they're real leather as opposed to the fake leather on the brown O2 pads. 

 
Where can they be sourced? At what price? They look rather thin, aren't they?
 
BTW, it clearly says pleather in this PDF: http://www.stax.co.jp/Pdf/Export/SR007-bro.pdf

 

[wualta]

Quote:

I found this pretty cool/cheap way of making ortho headphones...

Yup, the SFI bipole drivers are cheap and, despite some of the half-baked comments on StacyD's blog, make perfectly usable headphones. That's not a guarantee that you'll like them, of course. Before he was known as the inventor of the Thunderpants, Smeggy came up with a simple cup design for these drivers. I called them SmeggiPucks. We've been fooling with the SFI drivers since '07 here on the Big Thread. Use the special search engine to find out about them: http://headfi.qix.it/
 
 
Quote:

Wow, these Bipole Ribbon Tweeter things seem to be a real new source for brand new ortho drivers! Question is how good the quality and SQ is though... They do look a bit like the vintage AT and my SS55 systems...

I've never determined if they're identical to the drivers A-T used, but they are in the same ballpark, and almost certainly from the same factory.