[nick n]

Love that last picture! What's their name? ( Mr/Mrs Bird there )

Can you make me a pad like that scaled up about 1000% so I can throw away my bed please. 
 
Is there a reason folks are keeping such a large opening with these T50's? What I am wondering is the Bass simply too XXXtreeeme ( insert Monster truck announcer voiceover there) if you go with say a 40mm center opening. 
 
Also are you not going to cover the earside of the driver there with at least a very transparent dustguard ?
I would be way too paranoid to put them on without a vaccum cleaner running to absorb all the stray particles, then I couldn't hear my music though.

 

[maverickronin]

That's Hikaru.  She's a Jenday Conure and will be 4 years old in another 2 months.
 
The reason the opening is so big is just for comfort.  I don't want them to touch my ears at all.  The reason they're so deep and angled is to help the soundstage.  That's also why the Ultrasuede sounds better than the lambskin.  The lambskin is too reflective and adds some tizzy-ness and ringing to the treble and fuzzes up the imaging a bit.
 
The drivers aren't completely naked.  They've still got that second screen/dustcover/whatever that's attached to the driver itself.  I've been using that pair for more than year in different configurations with the drivers being that "exposed" about half the time and they still sound great.  I don't think that much gets through the second layer.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Only problem would be dirt and if it's not buzzing it's fine as far as I know.  But if you threw those in your backpack every day I bet you'd have problems eventually. 
 
Awesome looking pads.  So how do they sound compared to 02 pads?  Or compared to any other stock pad?

 

[khbaur330162]

I think the fabric would flap and muddy things up if you tried making the hole smaller, especially if they're circumaural and your ears don't provide any support. I've even got this issue with my EAH-820's. I'd want something solid to mount the backing onto. Not a bad idea to try and fix the obnoxiously wide SS, although, as maverickronin alluded to, those triple deep angled memory foam pads look like they'd help! Those look prime. Really nice job on them. How's the bass? Still pristine? 
 
You actually seem like a bird person, now that I think of it. Very pretty, btw.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Only problem would be dirt and if it's not buzzing it's fine as far as I know.  But if you threw those in your backpack every day I bet you'd have problems eventually. 
 
Awesome looking pads.  So how do they sound compared to 02 pads?  Or compared to any other stock pad?

 
They rarely leave home but I've got a few mildly padded headphone carry bags for when I occasionally take a full size with me somewhere.  Wouldn't hurt to cover the the drivers with some pantyhose or something though.
 
I don't have a collection of different pads to compare against.  Except for the rear edge being a bit taller they're the same dimensions as the lambskin ones in my album that I've been using for the last year and except for the reduced reflections and better comfort they sound pretty similar.  I'll probably put all the measurements in the album later.  The pattern for the outside ring on the Ultrasuede ones is 1 inch higher in the back.  It still tapers down to the same size in the front and the inside ring is the same size so the ear side volume doesn't really change much but it does change the curvature of the outer edge and makes it less finicky to get a seal.
 
I never really A/Bed with the stock T50RP pads.  I decided on the angle for the lambskin ones by sticking shims of craft foam under the stock pads and eventually ending up with a foam chamber underneath them of the right angle.  When doing that I just focused on the width and depth of the soundstage with sparse instrumental music and ignored all the wonky-ness cause by the haphazard and irregular interior.  Then I made the pads to have that angle and with an opening big enough to be extra comfortable.  The lambskin pads had better soundstage that the ghetto rigged shims under the stock pads and cleaned up the other issues they were causing.  A month or two after that I sold my HD650s since I wasn't listening to them anymore.
 
I've tailored my mod to them so much that I don't know exactly what it would sound like to just switch the pads and noting else.  I do still have a bone stock pair so maybe I'll try that when I get the time.  When I A/B the modded pair against the stock pair the first thing I notice, before the frequency response, cup reflections, or plastic-y resonances, is the soundstage.  My dad listened to both of them today and said pretty much the same thing too.  The soundstage was all around large than my former HD650s when I A/B them before a final decision to sell and larger than my current K601s as well.  My AD1000s (which are still stock and awaiting their future YHD-1 transplant) are noticeably wider but the T50RPs are so much deeper they might as well be speakers in comparison.
 
I'm working on some enclosures for the T50RP drivers that use the same pads and also have angled baffles.  The preliminary results remind me of the HD800's soundstage but it's been a long time since I heard those and it's just from memory.  At least if I do a decent A/B at least I can pretty firmly remember which one was better even if I don't remember the specifics for either of them.  Those ones still need some tuning though.  At present they don't have much bass.
 
Quote:

I think the fabric would flap and muddy things up if you tried making the hole smaller, especially if they're circumaural and your ears don't provide any support. I've even got this issue with my EAH-820's. I'd want something solid to mount the backing onto. Not a bad idea to try and fix the obnoxiously wide SS, although, as maverickronin alluded to, those triple deep angled memory foam pads look like they'd help! Those look prime. Really nice job on them. How's the bass? Still pristine? 
 
You actually seem like a bird person, now that I think of it. Very pretty, btw.

 
The bass is still strong and pretty even down to about 30hz.  I could probably coax some more extension out of it but lately I'm putting most of my time into that new enclosure.  I made it to use the same size pads so I had to hear them on something more "complete"  (since I don't know if the tweaking ever really ends...) and see how the Ultrasuede worked out.  I'll just keep using them on my current T50RPs until the ones in the new enclosure surpass them.

 

[nick n]

Sounds like you've got those dialed in pretty good now. That's great you sold the 650's over these. Too bad we are all so far apart for meets.  I am buying lotto tix however.
 Imagine the first North American T50 mod meet.

 

[maverickronin]

I don't know if they're all that dialed in.
 
As soon as I fix one thing I notice another.  They need a few more dB around 3-4khz and a few less at 9-10khz.  I can fix that with EQ but I'd still rather fix it physically if possible.  IMO the HD650 is still the king of fatigue free listening (for full sizes anyway) but the T50RPs were better in many other areas (most areas after some EQ) and second in low listening fatigue out of stuff I've heard long enough to make a determination on.

 

[nick n]

You running them off your Objective 2? If so do you notice much difference in anything when using another amp? Guess also I wanted to know what you tweaked them on ( amps not substances haha  besides maybe lots of coffee )

 

[dyna10x]

Anyone here snag those nad rp18 on eBay.au last night. Mint with box and paperwork & kapton diaphragm. Thought I had them untill a snipe in the last second took them. I hope someone here gets to enjoy them

 

[nick n]

Yeah I saw that.

Ouch. Guess they are rare in that state though.  Did you see the crazy price for those SR-X Mk3 Pro too? The Wharfie ID1 went for a reasonable ( I guess ) rate however.
 
So much for cheap stuff now that everyone's on the hunt for the main stuff. Still some gems around though.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

You running them off your Objective 2? If so do you notice much difference in anything when using another amp? Guess also I wanted to know what you tweaked them on ( amps not substances haha  besides maybe lots of coffee )

 
I don't usually notice much difference between many amps and the differences I do notice aren't really the kinds of things I see other people talking about very often.  Some people talk about differences in detail, soundstage, and dynamics or whatever and while I don't have an issue ascribing those labels to different headphones or to slight tweaks I make to them I usually wouldn't call the differences I hear between amps anything like that.  If I hear anything noticeable I'm more likely to try and describe it in relation to frequency response, damping factor, or distortion spectra.  Sometimes those relate to something more flowery like a low damping factor causing loose sounding bass or the right harmonics sounding smooth and lush but a lot of the differences people talk about are things I've never heard, even trying stuff at meets.
 
I'm probably not the best person to ask about how amps sound.  Even if I hear a difference I probably wouldn't describe it in the usual way
 
I mainly listen to my T50RPs with the Objective2 but since it's all set up at my PC and blu-taked to the side of my desk on the other side of the house from where I normally work on stuff I usually just use my D2+ and UHA-4 to quickly check if a change did something or not.  Even the D2+ by itself works pretty well for that.  I don't know how well that would work out on my Crack or Indeed G2 though.  Those are a lot more colored.  Assuming I'm listening softly enough to keep it out of clipping or something I've found that minor tweaks to my T50RP usually made more of a difference than any solid state amp I've owned.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

If you touch the TDS-15 diaphragm to get it to very lightly stick to your finger, when you pull away it makes a "thung"...
 
"I meant to do that."

 
A very good description. Somewhere along the line I've thunged some polyurethane film. Camping gear? maybe. But your description resonated. Har. I'll just bet it's polyurethane. It could just be that the resonant frequency of this thung is helping the bass while giving enough tension to make the diaphragm move more like a plate (or piston). The stretchiness is working in the designer's favor.. Hmmmm...
 
Your thinking on why there's that funny crisscrossing on the back magnets is pretty much the same as mine. They needed more treble so they closed the back just enough to lift the curve. What that says about stray flux or focusing is anyone's guess. Wave a screwdriver close to the back and check for stray flux.
 
MR, your earpads look very comfy and very effective. I like the idea of sealing the seams airtight. Earpads are gaskets for your head, but they have to be comfortable gaskets.

 

[nick n]

D2+ as in the Cowon?  My older D2 still chugging along flawlessly. Still hitting at least 40+ hours at lower volumes. Really great output at the jack too I think it was 150mw??? orthos for walks it's a cool thing.

 

[Nevod]

Quote:

I don't know if they're all that dialed in.
 
As soon as I fix one thing I notice another.  They need a few more dB around 3-4khz and a few less at 9-10khz.  I can fix that with EQ but I'd still rather fix it physically if possible.  IMO the HD650 is still the king of fatigue free listening (for full sizes anyway) but the T50RPs were better in many other areas (most areas after some EQ) and second in low listening fatigue out of stuff I've heard long enough to make a determination on.

I  see you're using _lots_ of foam on the ear side of the baffle? About 1 centimeter? 
I'd recommend you to slap some foam right on the driver. Cut it in many small cubes/rectangles (more like columns) and cover everything except the actual holes in metal plates. Also try to cover inner side of earpad with the foam.
It's hard to see what foam you're using but I'd suggest something mostly open-cell, not stuff like Paxmate or Silverstone. Preferrably if amount of intact cell boundaries would increase along its depth, from completely open foam at top, to closed-cell at bottom. My speculation is that commonly used Paxmate and Silverstone foams are too reflective at higher frequencies.
I used Biplast, an auto application sound-deadening foam. Local name, but I think they're mostly the same everywhere. 40-50% of closed cells, no closed cells at the top at all, 4 mm thick.
 
I used Beyer gel pads on dynamat+foam lift (about 6 mm in total), nowhere near yours pads thickness or opening size, but I suppose general rules would apply. I have first covered whole inner side of the earpad with foam along its whole depth. Caused the foam to touch and bend my pinna, wasn't comfortable, but tamed some HF problems and made phones forwar.t I removed the foam, cut about 5 mm from  width and placed back. No problems with comfort, no problems in sound introduced, much less forward. Then I decided to bother and cut many small cubes and rectangles of foam and covered drivers with them, leaving holes open. I didn't bother with complete coverage, maybe about 70% of reflective surfaces has been covered. Nevertheless, it made highs more realistic, a bit more detailed and removed any fatigue at all. I have experienced tingling feeling in ear channels before that mod on songs with 8-10kHz content, after modding, all the sonic comfort issues were fixed. Listening with SineGen shown peaks and dips before, after that the 8-10 kHz area is flat.
 
As usual, YMMV. Especially depending on foam used. It is crucial.  

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I  see you're using _lots_ of foam on the ear side of the baffle? About 1 centimeter?

 
It's Akasa.  I guess it might look like a lot in the pictures but it's just one layer that's there for absorption.  There's a circle cut out of some ~5mm closed cell craft foam over the baffle to match it to the size of pads and on the bottom rear there is an extra quarter circle of it to compensate for the recess at the rear of the jaw and distribute the clamping force more evenly.  The Akasa is just on top of those layers.
 
I like the idea of covering up parts of the driver and I've been trying to think of some way to do it that wouldn't be amazingly tedious and frustrating like trying to cut some Akasa into 1 to  2mm strips or something.
 
I've tried putting foam, felt, and other sound absorbing material on the inside of the pads before but it was always uncomfortable as hell.  That's why I made these ones out of Ultrasuede.  It seems to be a good compromise between sonics and comfort.  It's soft and comfortable like the velours on open headphones, hardly lets any air through, is a lot less reflective than leather or pleather, and is supposed to be super durable.