JoAnn Fabric & Crafts is the Official Cheap Felt Supplier of Team Ortho. So let it be written, so let it be done. They are a large chain, and have a web store. And most of their cutting table mistresses will slice you off 1/6th of a yard if you ask them kindly, smile, and explain what you're doing with it.
The cheapest stuff they sell is what we refer to as craft felt. As for the rest - hold it up to the light to see how uniformly it blocks it. The wool/rayon blend is a favorite of mine.
Thanks for the tip! I need some black velvet backdrop material, so I might see if I can find a store near me. Yup, just checked and hopefully I'll be able to swing by a store on my way back home from Christmas. That should be fun.
Yeah, i remember when i asked on the fostex forum why the T50RP costs so much more than the T20RPmkII. ...that may have been when fostex became less friendly toward us.
In retrospect it appears we scared them right out of the country, since Fostex USA ceased to be not two years after. "Crikey! they're on to us! Pack the coracle! We're off!"
It's always fun when a guy walks into a fabric store, especially here in the midwest. For extra enjoyment, insist on explaining in painful detail what you intend to do with this tiny bit of felt. Wink a lot. Be sure to mention my name.
While you're there, ask for the quickie tutorial on the different grades of felt available and what can be done with them (eg, shrinking). Investigate the role of wool in felt and acoustic absorption. If you can, start collecting different grades and porosities. Think of them the way you would about a set of different-sized screwdrivers-- it's good to have a variety on hand.
Everybody make a point of introducing members of your family to good sound as you get together over the holiday. That's a big part of what this thread is about: good sound that doesn't break the bank.
Some day I'm going to make a set of cans with removable backsso I can easily play with the damping without removing the pads and drivers. Or do they exist already?
Some day I'm going to make a set of cans with removable backsso I can easily play with the damping without removing the pads and drivers. Or do they exist already?
Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It's always fun when a guy walks into a fabric store, especially here in the midwest. For extra enjoyment, insist on explaining in painful detail what you intend to do with this tiny bit of felt.
I definitely agree! The low cost of these old orthos adds a lot to their enjoyment factor and it would take a much better sound to overcome that. It's really nice to know that you paid 20 dollars for your favorite headphone, and hand tuned it specifically to be perfect. It's a very differnent feeling from the one I get when I take my LCD-2 out of the drawer and I'm always on the verge of an anxiety attack because of the investment in them. I guess for me, there can be more than just SQ that makes music enjoyable. It feels more in line with the spirit of music to have less expensive gear. I think very few musicians have big setups. I also prefer music when I am not tethered to a home rig, because I can sit or lie wherever I want, and it feels less about the gear. But that doesn't stop the lust for perfection...
Is there any commercial fluff from Fostex about the T20RP(non MKII) around? The T50RP PDF shows that the drivers were engineered using a computer, how does the T20RP stack up? larger drivers apparently? not that it'd mean anything, as the T50RP magnets really seem beefy(133dB max).
If by "T20RP(non MKII)" you mean what we've been calling the T20v2, yes, it's a bigger driver with lots more bass easily available but with the max SPL and max input more in line with the old-line orthos due to the old-tech magnets it uses. It's more than capable of blowing your ears off, so you don't have to baby it. Short version: It's a completely different headphone from the T50RP, but it's in a similar enclosure, and like the T50RP would undoubtedly benefit from having its driver cut out and transplanted into a headset more conducive to audiophile needs, but it has to be approached in its own way.
I wish we had some brochure scans or screen saves from the old Fostex site, but I'm afraid we don't have much more than the owner's manual. It's on Wikiphonia. What we're looking for is a brochure from 1987 to 2006.
it's even more bassy than a fully pimped T50RP? is it as balanced? from what Fostex are saying, it seems rather clear that the 50RP should trounce all the older models.
Basswize, the T20v2 is rather on the "too much" side stock. Consequently, you can apply quite robust damping procedures before things start to sound thin. And its mids and coherence are definetely of the "to die for" sort.
A comparison of fully modded T20v2 and T50RP would be interesting though. From what is to be read, I got the impression that the old Fostex has the better tonality and the new one the better resolution. Maybe ApatN & me can do a mutual exchange on that topic, what do you think, Nick?
What is the complete upgrade for the T20RP V.2?
Should the felt on the back cover the vents completely?
I found some felt from pads that you stick on the bottom to prevent scratching surfaces at the dollar store
but the fabric places didn't have any and suggested thick cotton.
Does that work?
It's really nice to know that you paid 20 dollars for your favorite headphone, and hand tuned it specifically to be perfect. It's a very differnent feeling from the one I get when I take my LCD-2 out of the drawer and I'm always on the verge of an anxiety attack because of the investment in them. I guess for me, there can be more than just SQ that makes music enjoyable. But that doesn't stop the lust for perfection...
You've put your finger on a psychological kernel that underlies much of the emotion you see expended on this forum. The question of whether to shoot one's wad on the State of the Art accessory (headphone, lens, guitar pick) or go for the highest bang/buck-ratio item is perennial and will always be with us. I can understand and sympathize with both approaches, especially as a former camera and bike geek. Sometimes the state of the art is so imperfect that you simply throw money at the problem and get the best you can afford, knowing it's really not good enough. A good example would be buying the best VHS machine back in 1986. Fun at the time, maybe not an optimum strategy, but sometimes you gotta do it. Getting control of that emotional set called satisfaction-- a tough job, tougher than getting control of a diaphragm.
Basswize, the T20v2 is rather on the "too much" side stock. Consequently, you can apply quite robust damping procedures before things start to sound thin. And its mids and coherence are definetely of the "to die for" sort.
A comparison of fully modded T20v2 and T50RP would be interesting though. From what is to be read, I got the impression that the old Fostex has the better tonality and the new one the better resolution. Maybe ApatN & me can do a mutual exchange on that topic, what do you think, Nick?
I will organize one of our regular kraut meets (with the always same german headphone geeks) in the course of the next weeks, and I intended to make vintage ortho and Fostex a main topic. I had the idea of getting your T50 also there, you'd get them sent back together with my T20v2 afterwards...
Without even getting close to a "which one is be-e-e-est, mister? huh? Huh, mister?" discussion, I'll go out on a limb and say Nickchen's pretty close to characterizing the difference between the T20v2 and the T50RP. Obviously, since there is no "final" mod for either headphone, any comparison would be temporary, provisional, contingent and all the weaselliest weasel words you can think of. Someone could come up with the Killer Mod tomorrow for either 'phone. Even if the question becomes "which driver has the greater inherent potential?" the answer has to be another question: "How much time, effort and money were you willing to throw at it?" Given infinite money, effort and time, yes, I'd put my money on the T50RP.
If the question became "which driver would be easier to get to a satisfyingly high level of performance?", then my answer would be "No contest-- the T20v2. Not that either one of them can be said to be easy".
So this is my impression of what advances the T50RP diaphragm brings, based on guesses, hunches, intuitive obviousness, and reading Fostex's sometimes baffling marketing-department output: the new driver seems to have had some boffin benedictions bestowed on diaphragm control on a much smaller scale, ie, with higher precision, than the old drivers. Little errors that were allowed to get through on the old diaphragm were chased down and squashed in the new. The result should-- should-- be a smoother top end. With better diaphragm control, the headphone is making less sound of its own and more sound that it's being fed, which will give you greater ability to hear little things happening in the soundstage. If you want to call that "higher resolution", go ahead. Whether this alone will make the difference between being satisfied with the overall sound of one 'phone rather than the other... I doubt it. There are always other considerations.
My solution? Buy both. Play with them. Try different stuff. Have fun. You won't regret it.
Oh, and I think having a regular Kraut meet to work on these 'phones is an excellent idea.
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