Orthodynamic Roundup

[wualta]

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It has the open style pads that Wualta likes. 

Open-- It's a good thing!  --I think I'll trademark that line.


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Thanks, I'll be applying those instructions, which hopefully convert well to euro cents (though I might have some pre-euro pennies left). So – if I break a clip, am I in trouble acoustically, or do I just need to get creative in making the thing stay in place without the extra clip?

I think we're all counting on you to come up with a supergenius method for easy disassembly. So yes, get creative, and put all thoughts of future broken clips out of your mind. Try? There is no try. Apart take it you must. No, you won't be in trouble acoustically (I wish all my troubles were acoustic, but never mind that now) if you break a clip. There's always Blu-Tack. Yoda always had some with him.
 
 

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

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Thanks, I'll be applying those instructions, which hopefully convert well to euro cents (though I might have some pre-euro pennies left). So – if I break a clip, am I in trouble acoustically, or do I just need to get creative in making the thing stay in place without the extra clip?

If you are careful then you wont break a clip. It is better not to. Beware of the headset clamp though when you put them on. They communists made sure their fine headphones won't just fall off the heads of their fellow comrades.
 
I hope you will like the sound. It was quite good as I recall it, especially after some modifications.

 

[vid]

The pair of AKG K 160 that I have come with pretty solid clamping, which together with hard vinyl pads makes them not too comfortable (in fact they're painful). Still, it's kinda neat in a way to occasionally wear uncomfortable phones in an age when comfort is a big deal. For longer sessions not so much, but shorter bits of enjoyment are fine.
 
I always hear words that the HOK 80 is lacking bass on a fundamental level (i.e. the driver just can't produce it), and that one should get the 80-2 instead. As I'm not getting the HOKs for a special audio need, I'm not sure I'd be too concerned about specific shortcomings – it'll be interesting to hear the ortho type of sound (or one instance of it anyway), and to do some experimenting with the phones' innards. If they sound good, I won't complain.

 And if I can learn more sound theory along the way, that's very good too.
 
(Blu-Tack makes for a great pencil eraser, by the way – it's all the rage with artists.)

 

[sling5s]

 
Here's a noob question for Fostex T50RP modification:  Is the silverstone sound dampening foam better than dynamat for the cups?
 

 

[wualta]

 
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..I always hear words that the HOK 80 is lacking bass on a fundamental level (i.e. the driver just can't produce it), and that one should get the 80-2 instead. As I'm not getting the HOKs for a special audio need, I'm not sure I'd be too concerned about specific shortcomings – it'll be interesting to hear the ortho type of sound (or one instance of it anyway)...

In stock form, this is true: the 80-2 is both more bass-capable and more comfortable whilst being at the same time no more expensive at auction. But even with the 80-2, bass is hard to come by and must be wrested from the 'phone's viscera like a bone from a starving dog. It can be done. The HOK 80-2 is a good driver for all that, and the makers put it in a fiendishly clever chassis. More fiendish than clever, and the earpads will be useless. But with perseverance you will win through. I have a feeling that with a good earpad and baffle seal, you could get away with no damping whatsoever. Go for it.
 
 

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

The HOK-80 also has that convertible-to-open-back design which adds to the fun Convert it, seal it up to make sure none of the back wave gets through the baffle or the pads, and enjoy.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

I finally managed to make a better / sharper photo of the Magnat that shows the open-back design clearly.
 

 
If one do not use damping, then I suppose a really really thin YHD-style cup could be used as well.

 

[MDR30]

I managed to make a better / sharper photo of the Dual DK830 that shows the half open back design clearly.
 

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

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I managed to make a better / sharper photo of the Dual DK830 that shows the half open back design clearly.
 
 

 

Now, only the PMB-80 is missing from this photo session
 
 

 

[gurubhai]

You mean this ?


 
 
In another ortho news, It seems that there is yet another OEM version of ATH-2, The Precept PH-100.
"Precept" is presumably a brand name used by Audio-Technica itself for some of its high-end audio stuff.
 

 

[cifani090]

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I finally managed to make a better / sharper photo of the Magnat that shows the open-back design clearly.
 
If one do not use damping, then I suppose a really really thin YHD-style cup could be used as well.

What headphones are these?
 
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I managed to make a better / sharper photo of the Dual DK830 that shows the half open back design clearly.

 

 

[wualta]

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What headphones are these?

 

 

[wualta]

     Quote:

In another ortho news, It seems that there is yet another OEM version of ATH-2, The Precept PH-100.
"Precept" is presumably a brand name used by Audio-Technica itself for some of its high-end audio stuff.
 

 
It's true. I have some Precept phono cartridges. Audio-Technica went nuts with different marketing schemes. They didn't try plunking a phono catridge in every Happy Meal, but short of that, sure. VectorScan, Precept, Signet, Transducer Research, Technicraft, HiTec...
 
 

 

[tzjin]

So many Ortho's up for sale recently!
 
Could someone please explain where the current T50RP (modded) lies in the Ortho rating chart? I've heard fantastic things about Smeggy's Thunderpants, but reading though the first 50 pages (only a thousand left 

), I'm hearing different things from the Ortho experts here. 

 

[wualta]

Could be because the first 50 pages were written as far back as 2005 when the Thunderpants didn't exist, and because I personally haven't heard a production TP. The TP has its own thread, and rightfully so. Perhaps some of the folks here can offer some up-to-date comparisons. Keep in mind that the TP, being a low-volume custom-built item, is perforce much more expensive than all but a few of the vintage orthos that got this thread started.