[zaphod373]

I first listened to the unmodified yammie orthos in the 70/s when they were released,  but preferred my 414/s for their comfort, style and huge undistorted power. Just remembered we were listening to a master cut of supertramps crime of the century on some pretty expensive gear. I cant remember the amp but it was a thorens turntable,,,,,,,,,,,anyway It makes me sad to think of all the years I could have been enjoying orthos,  say la vee,  Thanks to wualta for jump-starting this phenomenom off,and for his relentless pursuit of truth, justice and the ortho-american way,  and furthermore,  to the many other orthoheads,  for their opinions and ideas on this thread. Thank you to all who have helped me realize,  the true  beauty of the ortho sound.   Wow I better stop before I get my blouse all wet,

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Every pad swap I've done has required a new tweak or outright new damping scheme altogether.  Some even require dampening or they just sounded too dry. 

Would you mind sharing a rough damping scheme suitable for bigger diameter pads (or a link to the article where you did)?

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Quote:

Quote:

Every pad swap I've done has required a new tweak or outright new damping scheme altogether.  Some even require dampening or they just sounded too dry. 

Would you mind sharing a rough damping scheme suitable for bigger diameter pads (or a link to the article where you did)?

I use the three amigos:  TransPore, MicroPore, and Oz felt via Italy.  I haven't damped any T20s in their cups.  My experiments thus far are with TPs, RP18s, and my Kenwood KH-83s which have the hybrid T10/T20 drivers.  General rule of thumb.  The more loosely an ear pad fits, the less damping.  The smaller the ear area inside the pad, the more damping.  Suede needs less damping than tight sealing leather.  Pleather pads are more art than science.  Some seal really well, others sealed like suede.  Denon J$ pads needed the most damping, AT W11 the least.  The amount of tape and the ratio of tp to mp varied as well as the size of the felt disc.  A TP with the Denon pad needed a thicker piece of OZ felt and more tp and sounded fantastic, but the fit was so tight and small that it was painful.  The O2 pads just never settled in for me on my TPs, too much bass for my taste and the mids recessed a bit.  The W11 pads with a single 2mm thick~30cm diameter disc of Oz felt did the trick.  I need new angled bezels for them though, then they'll be killer.  
 
 

 

[nickchen]

 

[Mangoloid]

Hello again,
I finally found a pair of Fostex T50RPs! Cost was $80 plus $11 shipping, though. Ick!
Not sure when they will be coming in, but I sure am excited, as this is gonna be my first pair of real headphones.
 
I have some questions regarding these headphones.
The Fostex website claims they are semi-open headphones, though the earpads isolate sound. What's the deal? Are they open or closed headphones? Does sound come in? Do they isolate sound well? Do they leak sound? You see, I live in a college dorm and sometimes it can be a little noisy, but sometimes I'm at home and I don't like to make much noise. Will they be okay?

 

[Mangoloid]

Also, do they come with a 1/4 to 1/8 inch adapter, or should I purchase one separately?

 

[wualta]

As a selfrespecting pro audio headphone, the T50RP would not stoop to anything that would enable it to be used with consumer ( = wuss) gear. So yes, you'll have to purchase separately. If you do go the adapter route, get one with a bit of cable between the 1/4-inch jack and the 1/8th-inch plug. Your portable gear will thank you.
 
As for the "openness" of the T50RP, it's what I call "vented-closed". In other words, it's mostly closed. There's a tiny vent, smaller than a postage stamp, out of which some scratchy treble is bound to leak, but it won't be a lot. Can we guarantee that this will never bother your bat-eared housemates no matter how loud you crank it? No. Will you be able to hear the guy across the hall stumble through your open door and barf on your shoes? Probably. Depends on how loud you crank it.

 

[joelpearce]

They are vented, not semi-open.  Especially once modded, they isolate as well as a lot of closed cans.

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Also, do they come with a 1/4 to 1/8 inch adapter, or should I purchase one separately?

 
Quote:

As a selfrespecting pro audio headphone, the T50RP would not stoop to anything that would enable it to be used with consumer ( = wuss) gear. So yes, you'll have to purchase separately. If you do go the adapter route, get one with a bit of cable between the 1/4-inch jack and the 1/8th-inch plug. Your portable gear will thank you.

The Sennheiser one is good and cheaper than the Grado.
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/601983-REG/Sennheiser_092595_1_8_Mini_Plug_to.html

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

Hi Ortho Lovers,
 
I have a pair of Yamaha HP-3 I scored on auction from Austrailia a year or so ago and just learned enough about damping to give that a try, since I didnt like the stock sound, also it was an unholy nightmare of a puzzle to figure out how to pop open those mysterious cans.
 
Furthermore. now that the drivers, which are in beautiful shape (I know shoot me I forgot to take pictures, total fail) I recabled them to some decent nucleotide UPOCC copper cable and they sound really nice when i hold them up to my ears haha! but...
 
They no longer fit inside the Yamaha housings. :<
 
Oh well I will have to purchase and fool with donor housings now....
 
Wish me luck. BTW they handled Front 242's Modern Angel from 06:21:03:11 UP EVIL with aplomb. I wasnt sure if isodynamic ortho's could handle industrial. I was wrong.
 
This is my "hello" posting to the group so.... "HELLO!"
 
-FLACvest

 

[Mangoloid]

I was about to buy the Sennheiser 1/4 to 1/8 inch adapter until I read about how the Grado adapter sounds better.
Does anyone have any experience with both adapters? Keep in mind both have the cables, so worry not about straining.
The Grado adapter appears to be on backorder, so I might just go ahead and buy the Sennheiser adapter. Not sure yet, though.
I just hate to have the feeling that I'm not going to get the full potential out of my Fostex T50RPs because of the adapter. Please tell me this won't be the case.
 
I will be plugging in the T50RPs straight to my computer's onboard audio jack at the back of my computer for now, but wait, don't nail me yet. After I try out the headphones, I am considering buying the Fiio E7/E9 combo which already has a 1/4 inch jack, but I am considering other DAC/amps as well. Any suggestions that go well with the T50RP?
 
So the adapter will only be temporary, though I might still need it for my iPod in the future. Who knows?
 
And thanks for the help! I just got the email... The T50RPs are shipped! 

 

[scompton]

I have both and I hear no difference between the two.  But then I've never heard a difference in cables.  The Grado has a bigger barrel and it doesn't fit in the hole in my iPod case.  It also causes problems with my XM4.  It's big enough to push the bass boost button when plugged in.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

This is my "hello" posting to the group so.... "HELLO!"

Hello dere. Did the recable job make it impossible to jam the drivers back into the HP-3 cups (which, frankly, give me the willies)? Yup, time for a transplant. Buy why not carve/hack/mold your own? Then steal the remaining parts from junkphones. Be sure to fetch out that camera and document your progress, especially if you have good results.
As for isos/orthos handling industrial, it's good to remember that only cynically-designed headphones have trouble with certain kinds of music. Isos/orthos are for real, a genuine attempt to achieve better diaphragm control, and, mostly, they succeed.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

We've had one of our regular kraut meetings (8 folks) last weekend. Ortho-related findings: The T20v2 was one of the sensations of the meet, which gathered even more attention than the brand new AT W1000X. ApatN's "state of the art" modded T50RP didn't get that much love by far, although the folks found it to be a technically good HP as well, but most had issues with the tonality. EddieE's HP1 was a nice didactic play in respect how spectacular stock vs modded can sound - modded as "open back " with HD414 pads as I stated before, that was confirmed. The YH1000 unfortunally didn't make it, the owner decided at the very last moment not to borrow them.
 
Pad swapping: The T20v2 sounded best with its stock pads. T50 or SA5K pads also worked, but it got the same weird tonality from that. The T50 sounded least coloured with its stock pads, the Sony pads added some metallic coldth (but offered a better precision- and PRat-factor). The T50's tonality was nicest with the T20v2- or the HP1 pads, but things became too muddy and "overcrowded" from that, I guess those newer systems move too much air for those narrow pads. AKG K81/K518 pads don't works as substitute for the stock HP1 pads. Beyer pads (DT660, DT770, DT880, J$) worked on none of the probands. Superlux HD660 pads (the DT770'2003 lookalike) work acceptably on the T50RP, but stock still sounds better. Too bad we forgot to rib the W1000 pads off...

 
Nice impressions Nickchen!  I'm surprised you didn't like the T50 pads.  I agree with Brian that re-damping is needed with each pad so that may have contributed to some of those pads not sounding as good as they could.  But there's only so much damping can do.  I think pads have a bigger effect than damping as far as coloring the sound.

 

[wualta]

I'm with RDevils on this: Pads have a large effect, more than you'd think possible.