Orthodynamic Roundup
Jul 31, 2021 at 5:18 PM Post #26,521 of 27,131
Fostex T30 to HFM enclosure.
DD0F732E-D2B5-4128-AD5A-2A3217766790.jpeg

284BE448-4CFF-4D44-88DB-5F550EDD2421.jpeg

One driver installed (just need to solder). Didnt know whether to orient magnets horizontal or vertical so went half-half. Will try to mirror on other side.
 
Last edited:
Jul 31, 2021 at 5:44 PM Post #26,522 of 27,131
Oh heck yes. Haha I did same thing with my RP18's, half cocked drivers! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: It sounds good, don't worry.
 
Jul 31, 2021 at 8:11 PM Post #26,523 of 27,131
Listening to YHD1 before continuing modding. I thought these new foam pads were pretty thin (narrow driver distance) but even squishing down seemingly mm still changes the sound quite a bit - for the better. I think all headphone drivers tend to sound better closer to ear. Im going to try trimming down these pads in half again, so 1/4 width of original. I hear the YHD-1 potential. Such a cool headphone.

Update RP18. @BucketInABucket will send me his backup pair of RP18 since the originals have been lost in mail for the past 3months and post has yet to locate. Hopefully it still shows up. If missing package eventually winds up here Ill return one or pay for both - bucket’s choice.

Update T30. Decided I didnt like the install. So ordered spacers + screws so I can get just right positioning. :)
 
Jul 31, 2021 at 10:50 PM Post #26,526 of 27,131
I gave it to a friend. One of the drivers buzzes with certain bass, usually orchestral, she hasn't heard it buzz yet so Idk, but yeah, idk how to fix it. Anyway, it doesnt buzz often and I do know how it sounds. Arya has an effortless quality to it. The image is huge, the detail is easily pinpointed, it's just laying out for you in a nice display, timbre seems right. RP18 has a lot of these qualities, just not as much. Not as detailed even though they are detail monsters in their own right. Bass isn't as impactful. Treble not as sparkly maybe, although I used a certain kind of foam to damp the drivers which I felt boosted treble a smidge to a nice level. Um, their stereo image is I'd say just right, as in size. Like it's a homey size, it's not gargantuan like Arya's, but I'll be honest, I rarely listen to Arya's, it's like a rare treat its characteristics, I'm mostly knocking around with vintage planars these days which are "enough" for me to have fun, and even 40mm YHD's can be fun for the tiny little image. Dude. I was listening to HP-50A's today and decided to measure them. Check it out.
HP-50A Velour.jpg

I actually think I prefer these to YHD's.. Makes me want to build a YH-2, I think I would prefer that to YHD as well, these were tuned weird, I think the bass should be better even though that's velour earpads, somethings wrong, imho. Has anyone gotten HP-50A's to go flat to 10Hz?


Anyway, when I had YH-100's and RP18's side by side RP18's hands down. More detailed, although this was before I gave YH-100's paxmate treatment. I think I prefer the soundstage with RP18's in the Beyer clone enclosure... Just really pleasant. I was thinking they'd be perfect portable cans if they weren't so huge. Kind of amazing for bedtime with my portable setup. You saying YHD's are AS DETAILED as T30 doesn't sound right to me at all, I've never heard a T30, but just looking at that driver and stuff, Idk... RP18's were next level, imo, beyond YH series and YH series beats out YHD imho.
 
Jul 31, 2021 at 11:04 PM Post #26,527 of 27,131
Oh, here is HP-50A with pleather pads:
HP-50A Pleather.jpg


Yuck! Honky! No treble. And see?! Bass still suffers. Maybe I messed up the build?
 
Jul 31, 2021 at 11:25 PM Post #26,528 of 27,131
I think they are nearly even. YHD sounds a little cleaner in the highs while mids are comparable. YHD has more impactful bass. YHD driver while smaller in diameter may have more excursion and/or surface area due to not being center-pinned. In terms of transients the HP/YH might be better, but it could also be the extra treble energy making things sound a little more zippy or detailed. Hard to say, because I dont think Ive heard either perfectly modded nor heard all variants. Also HP/YH are closed back and YHD are open.

HP50 , HP/YH2 , and HP/YH3 all share the same drivers. However there had been continuing edits to the drivers during their production so even one YH-2 may sound different from another YH-2.

@rhythmdevils tells me his two Fostex T50 (or were they RP18) also have driver buzz. How common was this? Ive not read all of ortho roundup.

Cool, you did a Beyer transplant like @GREQ and @BucketInABucket . Ill be next. After Im done modding these vintage ortho Ill be lending them out for more detailed measurements and impressions.
 
Last edited:
Jul 31, 2021 at 11:35 PM Post #26,529 of 27,131
There is detail with YHD's, way better than SFI's. But there's an ease to the sound even going to HP-50A's. It's like... YHD's are overdamped without damping it seems, they're just tense and it seems like detail is harder to come through even though it's basically just as detailed as YH??? I can EQ my YHD's to sound really good... But then you swap to YH and it's like "ahhh" Idk. There is midrange clarity in YH compared YHD, I don't think it's treble differences. YH sounds airier to me.

Sad to hear HP50 and YH-2 share drivers... I expected same thing basically, but more even response. Are you sure it's the same tuning? Grrr. Sad day, I was gonna try to nab one for cheap, maybe.
 
Aug 1, 2021 at 12:00 AM Post #26,530 of 27,131
RE: YHD as detailed as T30.
T30 is more detailed and has a larger driver. However, I think I underdamp my T30 to gain extra warmth to the overall tone. I think the T30 suffers from some ringing / distortion in the upper frequencies. Damping the driver down causes the bass to tighten up and not blanket over some of thosd higher frequency blemishes. Im hoping the Hifiman enclosure will help with fatigue because of the more open enclosure with much more available pad options for tuning.

The HP/YH driver variations were different tunings, and not just changes in damping foam or the slightly different enclosures. The drivers themselves were a little different. Besides different looking magnets, some sounded fuzzy and soft. Claimed specs I think were all the same though.

YHD does sound pretty much like a fully damped driver as-is. I think it can easily be overdamped to sound worse. I cut the pads down to 1/4 size and the mids to highs transition sounds much nicer. I only to a couple songs before my wife took over. I told her she’d like these because of the form factor. The clamp is very light, good clearance for eyeglasses, and the cups pivot in all directions and hold position there allowing you to adjust so more weight is on your lower ear lobe and off your eyeglass frames.
 
Last edited:
Aug 1, 2021 at 12:12 AM Post #26,531 of 27,131
Hrm messing with EQ some more. YHD's can get really, really good actually. I didn't boost everything that needed to be boosted, lower midrange, I guess bass even more, treble a little. Wow.

Took measurements of YHD-3 without belt. Had to swap left and right earpads to get a proper seal.
No belt.jpg



This is my EQ preset for them.
Screenshot (36).png


I still think YH is slightly more resolving, or smoother maybe, not grainy?
 
Aug 1, 2021 at 5:22 PM Post #26,532 of 27,131
Haha. Listening to my AK100 with YHD-3's, it's so good. :dt880smile: I was able to EQ them with more forward midrange, they are nice. It's hard to choose between YH-1 and YHD-3. YH is airier but YHD is bolder maybe. Both are so good. Wow how did I like completely miss the YHD again? Glad you convinced me to listen to them again, haha.

-Edit-
Ok, Idk anymore. YHD's are almost more detailed than YH-100's, playing some synth stuff I hear the sharpness in tone. But YH-100's, man, still sound soo good. Big image. Idkkkkk.
 
Last edited:
Aug 2, 2021 at 5:01 PM Post #26,533 of 27,131
My father says YHD's sound brassier and harsher and their midrange is tilted up and it's too bright compared to what he remembers recordings to sound like. That's with what I consider "proper" EQ on my portable. Then he listened to YH-1's, flat EQ except a small bass shelf, and he sound those sounded more correct and they had a delicacy to them, they were easier to listen to. I know what he's talking about. YHD's are BRIGHT, and BOLD and just saturated. I don't really mind it but I do prefer YH-1 delicacy, when I switch it's nice, and YH-1's sound bold and saturated compared to other stuff like HD535's or Chinese planars, so they are not washed out.

Got a pair of MDR-F1's for my dad, he says headphones fatigue him because it's a pressurized chamber around his ears so I swapped out his T50RP's for F1's. What charming headphones. They soundstage so well, imo, and they are just a nice easy going listen with upper mids and treble down just a notch to where it's non-fatiguing. I think Philimon would like them. Detail is not bad at all and I don't really hear that 4kHz mountain, they sound really really decent, just missing sub bass of certain music genres with their bass roll off.

MDR-F1 Stock Pads.jpg
 
Aug 4, 2021 at 3:57 PM Post #26,534 of 27,131
So I was listening to YH-1's and there's this track on the Halo: Combat Evolved OST that has some reallllly loud cymbals. It was just too much. I remembered I used to damp the fronts of these drivers... I decided to give it a whirl. One layer arctic bamboo in fronts of YH-1 drivers, not even glued, just pressed in place. Here it is versus no front damping (different pads, but they measure very similarly). As you can see the front damping smooths out the midrange and treble. I think there's less sibilance. Detail is mildly subdued but I don't really hear it without direct AB, will have to compare more when time allows and see if the extra detail is worth it, I'm thinking "hell no" right now. I wonder if front damping could help with diaphragm ringing in the YH-series drivers? Not really sure of the nature of this ringing. I want to try this on YH-100's, though, and see what happens.
Front Damping.jpg




Here is frontwave damped YH-1 versus T50RP in HD535 frame. Notice deep sub bass is actually louder on YH-1...

T50RP vs YH-1-2.jpg


I was listening to T50RP's yesterday, they are good. Something about them bores me a little, I've been boosting their midrange ala modified YHD-3 EQ settings and it sounds better, imho. T50RP's are almost as detailed as YH-1's and YH-100's, they really aren't bad. Sometimes they can sound fake though, like their treble I think sounds fake at times, but other times they have texture to vocals and possibly room acoustics that I feel the YH-1's even misses out on. They are kinda cool, I just hate on them.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top