[szerecsen]

It does not matter whose pics you posted, ruhenheiM, my gratitude to you for them is beyond words.

 

[Feilong4]

I asked to borrow a friend's MrSpeakers Ether C angled pads for my T50, which I'm currently using the ZMF Ori pads on. A huge thank you to him!

The Ether C angled pads are less thick and has a rectangular opening rather than an oval-shaped opening on the Ori pads. I didn't want to invest on the Ether C angled pads just yet because one: they're expensive (80 USD a pair new), and two: I'm not sure I will like the pairing. I suspected that I might get less mid-bass bloat and more mid-range presence because the Ether C angled pads are flatter and so are closer to the ear. Both sound differences I want.

First impressions:

As I suspected, less bass bloat and quite a bit more midrange. With less bass bloat, the overall separation and imaging seems to be a lot more precise. It does seem to sound wider as well. I did not expect the treble to be more present but also smoother. A HUGE plus. There's a song I listen to on a specific part that is very sibilant - it is very obvious with the Ori pads but seems to be smoothed over with the Ether C angled pads. I find it weird that there's more treble response yet it's smoother though I'm not complaining one bit. So I'd say that with the Ori pads, there are some peaks that I hear that is fairly distracting along with a recessed upper mid-range. Vocals sound congested with the Ori pads while it sounds more natural with the Ether C angled pads - a bit like relieving ear pressure.

Speaking of relieving ear pressure, the Ether C angled pads are quite a bit more comfortable. I have a fairly big head so the Ori pads along with the clamping pressure from the T50 frame really did not make things comfortable. Less clamping pressure with the flatter Ether C angled pads.

In conclusion, I'm getting a pair and unfortunately these pads will be going back to my friend. It's overall flatter in comparison to the Ori pads with less bass bloat, more midrange, and more treble that's smoother or less peaky. A tighter bass response. I just need to find a used pair for cheap..

Pictures:

Spoiler

 

[hemipowered007]

I asked to borrow a friend's MrSpeakers Ether C angled pads for my T50, which I'm currently using the ZMF Ori pads on. A huge thank you to him!

The Ether C angled pads are less thick and has a rectangular opening rather than an oval-shaped opening on the Ori pads. I didn't want to invest on the Ether C angled pads just yet because one: they're expensive (80 USD a pair new), and two: I'm not sure I will like the pairing. I suspected that I might get less mid-bass bloat and more mid-range presence because the Ether C angled pads are flatter and so are closer to the ear. Both sound differences I want.

First impressions:

As I suspected, less bass bloat and quite a bit more midrange. With less bass bloat, the overall separation and imaging seems to be a lot more precise. It does seem to sound wider as well. I did not expect the treble to be more present but also smoother. A HUGE plus. There's a song I listen to on a specific part that is very sibilant - it is very obvious with the Ori pads but seems to be smoothed over with the Ether C angled pads. I find it weird that there's more treble response yet it's smoother though I'm not complaining one bit. So I'd say that with the Ori pads, there are some peaks that I hear that is fairly distracting along with a recessed upper mid-range. Vocals sound congested with the Ori pads while it sounds more natural with the Ether C angled pads - a bit like relieving ear pressure.

Speaking of relieving ear pressure, the Ether C angled pads are quite a bit more comfortable. I have a fairly big head so the Ori pads along with the clamping pressure from the T50 frame really did not make things comfortable. Less clamping pressure with the flatter Ether C angled pads.

In conclusion, I'm getting a pair and unfortunately these pads will be going back to my friend. It's overall flatter in comparison to the Ori pads with less bass bloat, more midrange, and more treble that's smoother or less peaky. A tighter bass response. I just need to find a used pair for cheap..

Pictures:

Spoiler

Glad you shared this. I've been wanting to buy ori pads to replace the shure 840 pads I have on my t50rp build, but d idnt like how thick they are. This sounds like a good pad for me to move over to. I still have alpha pads and man they are so comfortable but they are just way to thick to properly work with any headphone I have or tried them on, it just throws things way off. I liked them at one point on one t50rp build but, they don't sound good at all on my current build.

 

[Feilong4]

Glad you shared this. I've been wanting to buy ori pads to replace the shure 840 pads I have on my t50rp build, but d idnt like how thick they are. This sounds like a good pad for me to move over to. I still have alpha pads and man they are so comfortable but they are just way to thick to properly work with any headphone I have or tried them on, it just throws things way off. I liked them at one point on one t50rp build but, they don't sound good at all on my current build.

I don't remember how big the T50RP's baffle is - I mention this because I don't have the more modern RP version. The Ori and Ether Flow (Ether C as I mentioned in my post above) pads may move freely as they are fairly big. The Ori pads being 4.1" in diameter and the Ether Flow pads being 4.2" which is just about perfect for the old T50.

If you think they might fit, it may be worth it to check out the Ether Flow pads if you got the cash.

 

[hemipowered007]

I don't remember how big the T50RP's baffle is - I mention this because I don't have the more modern RP version. The Ori and Ether Flow (Ether C as I mentioned in my post above) pads may move freely as they are fairly big. The Ori pads being 4.1" in diameter and the Ether Flow pads being 4.2" which is just about perfect for the old T50.

If you think they might fit, it may be worth it to check out the Ether Flow pads if you got the cash.

My t50 build has nothing left from the fostex setup except the drivers, it's a custom baffle the size of hifiman cups as that's the headband assembly I used. So it's bigger than the t50rp baffles

 

[Feilong4]

My t50 build has nothing left from the fostex setup except the drivers, it's a custom baffle the size of hifiman cups as that's the headband assembly I used. So it's bigger than the t50rp baffles

Oh cool! Do you have pictures of the headphone?

 

[hemipowered007]

Oh cool! Do you have pictures of the headphone?

Ya I posted a few here at some point, let me find some.

Edit here's one

 

[Feilong4]

Recabled my T50 again with something lighter and prettier.

Before:



After:



First picture was taken yesterday, has the stock pads on because I sold off the Ori pads that I had on them. I would get a Neutrik NP3X-B 1/4" plug, but I really like the looks of the old Audio Technica plug in the pictures. Cable is roughly 6ft or 1.8m.

My own Ether C angled pads came in today and those are pictured on the right. After not having listened to them for 5 days or so, I forgot how great they sounded!

 

[matarua]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefectiveAudioComponent /img/forum/go_quote.gif The japanese site brought up a DIANGO / NEC headphone that might be an ortho. AUH-15 ( Translation result for http://20cheaddatebase.web.fc2.com/NEC/AUH-15.html )

Nice,
Looks the same as one of the Akai's.
Interestingly the name on the badge doesnt look like NEC, and the translation mentions something about the company name changing...so might be another ortho company as well.
Akai ASE-50

I just picked up these and they look identical to the Akai ASE-50 - Audiotronic AHP66...

On the side they say Flat Drive Stereo Headphones - with an FD logo...

They have amazing bass response for a retro set - in fact I saw the ASE-50 as being described as boomy and nasal - I would say these sound just like that.

Hard to find much information on these retro Japanese cans.

 

[Brahmsian]

Over at the Audeze LCD2C thread, they briefly discussed the fact that air pressure builds up in the ear cups, and they said that pressing them down on your ears, taking them off too fast, and leaving them playing music on their own can all damage the diaphragm. People on this thread seem to have a lot of experience with planar headphones, so: Any truth to what was said? If so, then would the damage degrade the sound over time so that you barely notice it or would it be something sudden and obvious. I take my planar headphones off my head like I would any other headphones, I have pressed down on them from time to time while I'm wearing them, and I often leave them on my desk playing music when I have to go do something and come back. Should I not do any of those things?

 

[Feilong4]

Over at the Audeze LCD2C thread, they briefly discussed the fact that air pressure builds up in the ear cups, and they said that pressing them down on your ears, taking them off too fast, and leaving them playing music on their own can all damage the diaphragm. People on this thread seem to have a lot of experience with planar headphones, so: Any truth to what was said? If so, then would the damage degrade the sound over time so that you barely notice it or would it be something sudden and obvious. I take my planar headphones off my head like I would any other headphones, I have pressed down on them from time to time while I'm wearing them, and I often leave them on my desk playing music when I have to go do something and come back. Should I not do any of those things?

Hmm, have there been reported cases of this happening? I don't think there should be any problem though I haven't read into any of the LCD threads as to whether there may be a flaw in their design.

My 40 year old planars are still going strong. Sometimes I fall asleep with them playing and no problems at all on my end.

I think the others in this thread might be able to give a more technical explanation.

 

[nick n]

geeze for what they are charging, and on any normal headphone you should not have to worry about that sort of thing.
Do they not have a port that vents the front cavity to the cup rears in them to compensate for that?

Was that other people saying that?

Maybe they are still using the ultra thin diaphragms, but really i'd say if that is the case overall i'd consider that a design flaw myself for what that's worth, rather absurd/

shouldn't leave them playing by themselves
shouldn't take them off fast
don't push them...

crazy
Maybe shoot Audeze an email and report back here with that they say rather than random comments of people?

 

[hemipowered007]

Over at the Audeze LCD2C thread, they briefly discussed the fact that air pressure builds up in the ear cups, and they said that pressing them down on your ears, taking them off too fast, and leaving them playing music on their own can all damage the diaphragm. People on this thread seem to have a lot of experience with planar headphones, so: Any truth to what was said? If so, then would the damage degrade the sound over time so that you barely notice it or would it be something sudden and obvious. I take my planar headphones off my head like I would any other headphones, I have pressed down on them from time to time while I'm wearing them, and I often leave them on my desk playing music when I have to go do something and come back. Should I not do any of those things?

Even with open back, I did a mod on my he4 before that sealed the cups to the pads, and caused bad driver flex, so I undid it. Yes it possible, but with a higher end design like an audeze there shouldn't be any driver flex especially since unless im.mistaken those pads are nowhere near sealed to the frame/cups/baffle right? I havnt read that anywhere before besides with morons like myself messing around with mods that others said worked well.

 

[Brahmsian]

Here's the discussion over at the LCD2C thread about ear cup pressure possibly damaging the diaphragms in planar headphones. I also looked at the Audeze post. They recommend that you remove the headphone slowly and also that you don't press the cup against your ear while you're wearing them.

I am just wondering if this is been discussed before/confirmed by Audeze. It would effectively mean that you could not leave any planar magnetic headphones playing when they are not on your head. I know that there are many people that burn-in their headphones by playing music through them overnight. Are you saying that all these people are potentially damaging their drivers? If this were the case, I would hope that Audeze would have included some kind of warning about it publicly.

I am unsure if Audeze have posted on that. But the planers sat on your head are in a partial compression environment. If you then take them off and continue playing mdic at the same level, they could potentially over extend as no resistance whatsoever. It has been posted by Audeze that putting previous LCD4s on before they changed the seal gasket, may have led / added to driver failures. It's a bit like having a scooter, and opening the throttle, then disengaging the clutch, it starts to rev up.

I ran my HPs overnight for a few days but set the level at 35% normal volume just to be sure. That would be my advice. But if in doubt, ask Audeze.

More of a gradual thing, but they've improved quite a bit over the years. It was more due to getting too good of a seal rather than passively letting them play.

 

[Feilong4]

Here's the discussion over at the LCD2C thread about ear cup pressure possibly damaging the diaphragms in planar headphones. I also looked at the Audeze post. They recommend that you remove the headphone slowly and also that you don't press the cup against your ear while you're wearing them.

Yeah, when in doubt; shoot the manufacturer an email.

Even with open back, I did a mod on my he4 before that sealed the cups to the pads, and caused bad driver flex, so I undid it. Yes it possible, but with a higher end design like an audeze there shouldn't be any driver flex especially since unless im.mistaken those pads are nowhere near sealed to the frame/cups/baffle right? I havnt read that anywhere before besides with morons like myself messing around with mods that others said worked well.

I'm surprised there would driver flex even with a huge opening on the back. I don't think I've experienced that at all on any open headphone. Maybe just on some dynamic IEMs.