[nofarewell]

I have VERY limited experience with earbuds, but I'll try.
I also prefer the sound and fit of these with foams on, so it's not the stock sound I will describe.

Overall these have a slightly warm tonality, with emphasis on mid-bass up to middle of the midrange.
Sub-bass and upper treble roll off, but both are present, so the frequency range is very good, just not all in equal amounts.
Overall these have similar overall tonality to large sennheiser headphones like HD650 (warm + veiled treble) but I would prefer more sub-bass rumble and treble attack.
(But obviously these do not the same quality as the HD650 )
Resolution is more than acceptable. I actually find these very nice to listen to.

Steel string guitars sound a little like plastic strings because there isn't enough treble attack.
Also female vocals sound thin.. it's very difficult to find a good fit on these where female vocals sound right.
If I push them in more, there is a more bass, but female vocals then sound too thick.

Through my FiiO E17 with EQ settings Bass+2dB and Treble+8dB, these sound much closer to neutral - to give you an idea of what is 'missing'.
These don't like to take bass EQ very much. It gets bloated very quickly, but it takes treble EQ like a champ.
Obviously the E17 EQ is very simplified, so a DAP with a more specific multi-band-EQ may yield better results (like with most headphone ).

Thanks! Well I suspected a relatively wide presentation as this is Aiwa.
They used to make the best earbuds along with Sony. Thanks for this detailed
review and I encourage you to look for more from this brand
Cheers

 

[GREQ]

Hah!
The last thing I need is more encouragement XD (the wife would kill me)

I do have another Aiwa, but I have a lot more difficulty getting a good fit and sound without foams.
Also I have no idea what model it is.
I think it's an HP-V159 or EX25 but it doesn't have the in-line volume control, and so many of these looked almost identical with slight variations.
I think I posted it before.. but that was months ago.

 

[Blze001]

Quick question, guys: I'm gonna recable my Pioneer SE-500s, but I can't figure out which color is which. I'm assuming black is ground, red is right, and white is left? I see all three colors on both sides of the headphone, but it looks like the red wire is what goes through the headband with the black one.

 

[jksoon]

Recent purchases: AKG K500, K240 Sexttet MP, K240 Monitor (Austria), Sennheiser HD 25-1

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Pioneer SE305 $10.00 at the San Luis Obispo Swap meet.
pads were HARD flat garbage. Replaced with Senitek cloth pads...the headband is pretty shot out, that needs to be replaced. They sound so surprisingly good, it's worth it to restore/upgrade them....I just got them yesterday, so I don't know what path I am going to take just yet.

 

[Feilong4]

Left to right: Yamaha YH-1, AKG K180, Fostex T20v1, Fostex T40v1, Fostex T50v0

The only headphone unmodded in this picture is the AKG K180. One of its drivers is no good. A lot lower volume than the other side. I'm definitely interested in buying a replacement driver if someone somehow has one.

Yamaha YH-1 - bought from a Head-Fier; excellent condition considering its age, nice even sound with roll offs on both ends unmodded, with a bit of damping - it's more v-shaped - possibly a bit too sharp which I'll try to remedy, very punchy bass with the stock pads surprisingly
AKG K180 - judging from the working driver - seems to be a bit shouty, bass extension seems to be very good although sounds a bit weird - a bit like plucking a rubber band; on "max" soundstage setting
Fostex T20v1 - I've extensively modded these - experimented with taping of vents, damping, covering parts of the front holes with blu-tack and I finally got a good result - just a bit sharp which I'll try to remedy although not too bad - used with Brainwavz hybrid pads
Fostex T40v1 - these sound horrendous stock with stock pads - shouty and no bass, I've dampened them with a magic eraser sponge, some foam ripped off from a earpad, and some stuffing used in stuffed animals (at least I think that's what they're supposed to be used for), also covered parts of the front to help with taming the treble - used with Brainwavz sheepskin pads; final result is pretty good although I give the nod to the T20v1 in sound - some sharpness from time to time; surprisingly wide sounding
Fostex T50v0 - very shouty with stock pads, eventually stuck with stock damping although different assembly of the damping, scrubbed off the bass-filter off the grills (or at least I was told it was the bass filter), recabled due to horrendous condition of stock cable, threw Audeze vegan pads on them and they sound great! I love them for female vocals. I tried them with Ori pads which made things warmer although vocals lose that last bit of air and breathiness that I really like on the Audeze vegan pads. Ori pads were great for electronic though. Bass extends low and is powerful, breathy and clear vocals, and well-extended treble with no sibilance or harshness.

Currently, the T50v0 is my favorite headphone to date. I've only heard a few modern TOTL headphones, but I think I prefer the T50v0 over them. I'll definitely have to directly compare them at a local meet to confirm my thoughts.

 

[jon parker]

The DT 202 !?!
Irresistible really as I needed another DT100 for the studio - Looking forward to comparing it ti the DT 100 - Not sure what will be different sonically
Although after an initial listen they seem sonically to match the 100's I think the drivers are different
Interesting to note that the pads resemble the same material some of the older 1980's Sennheisers seem to use
If anyone has any info on these - nothing on the web :/

EDIT: One thing I have noticed - It looks like the drivers are the same as the drivers in the DT 220. The DT220 is labelled as a 'HI-FI' headphone and certainly sounds more warmer and natural {although I did mod them] than these...Makes we wonder how much some light modding may help the DT202's ?

 

[takato14]

@Feilong4 Are you certain that's a T50v0? Isn't the v0 the one with the double headband? I'm a bit rusty on this stuff. Either way, any vintage T50 or variant is far superior to any modern planar except the HE-6. Just need enough TLC... usually in the form of new pads and a very minor adjustment to the transducer damping. I'd suggest Beyer DT770 velour or even Brainwavz HM5 velour pads over the Audeze vegans, which tend to sound grainy and restrict airflow a bit. Beyer T1 pads may work nicely as well, but could end up eating the bass if it's anything like the RP18 Mylar I had.

Still using my modded Sansui SS-100 to this day. By and large superior to my HD800 in tonality and clarity while being just _barely_ below it in resolution. Favorite T50 variant of all the ones I've had in house, though I've yet to hear one of the original kapton-based models. Cleaner midrange has yet to be found.

 

[Feilong4]

@Feilong4 Are you certain that's a T50v0? Isn't the v0 the one with the double headband? I'm a bit rusty on this stuff. Either way, any vintage T50 or variant is far superior to any modern planar except the HE-6. Just need enough TLC... usually in the form of new pads and a very minor adjustment to the transducer damping. I'd suggest Beyer DT770 velour or even Brainwavz HM5 velour pads over the Audeze vegans, which tend to sound grainy and restrict airflow a bit. Beyer T1 pads may work nicely as well, but could end up eating the bass if it's anything like the RP18 Mylar I had.

Still using my modded Sansui SS-100 to this day. By and large superior to my HD800 in tonality and clarity while being just _barely_ below it in resolution. Favorite T50 variant of all the ones I've had in house, though I've yet to hear one of the original kapton-based models. Cleaner midrange has yet to be found.

Yeah, I'm fairly certain that these are the T50v0. I believe the T50v2 has the split headband. It's listed among other orthos including the T50v1 here (assuming that it's in correct order): https://www.head-fi.org/gallery/photo/117169/

I also imported these straight from a seller in Japan, so I don't think these are the T50v1, as those were for the North American market (from what I've read).

I can't even stretch my Brainwavz sheepskin regular and round pads on them, so I'm not sure whether I wanna pick up a pair of velours. Of course, unless if there's a trick to fitting them on. I have an old pair of DT770 velour pads so I'll dig them out and try them.

I've tried Ori pads and Ether Electrostat pads with these, but I still prefer the Audeze vegan pads. Much more neutral and sounds great for female vocals. Then again, I'm the kind of guy that likes AD2000 mids which, IIRC, some say sounds grainy.

Edit: I forgot to mention, but my pair has the Kapton diaphragms.



Edit edit: Just tried them with DT770 velour pads blu-tacked on. I initially tried the pads "modded" where I covered the holes of the pads with electrical tape - I actually liked this quite a bit though I still prefer the Audeze vegan pads as it gives more depth, a wider sound, a tighter and more impactful bass, and better vocal clarity. Without the electrical tape, the bass becomes loose and bloated. This is just my impressions though - I wouldn't be too surprised if measurements say otherwise.

 

[GREQ]

@Feilong4 . Either way, any vintage T50 or variant is far superior to any modern planar except the HE-6.

Have you heard the higher-end Hifimen produced after HE-6?
I'm not bashing, I havn't heard them either, just curious.

I still think my modified HE-500 (grill mod + original Kennerton Odin pads) does a better job technically than my modded RP18 Mylar, although it's not always as seductive.
With the same ear pad treatment and mods, RP18 Kapton midrange is very similar in tonality/timbre to the Mylar, most of the difference is in the extreme top and bottom frequencies I think.
I havn't A/B extensively but there's less difference between them (if they're well modded) than what people thought in the past.

 

[takato14]

I found the SS-100 to be quite a bit cleaner and more resolving than the other vintage T50 variants I've had in house (RP18 mylar and Aiwa HP500). The latter two had some 3-6kHz ringing in the treble that is simply completely absent on the Sansui -- incredibly smooth treble response from these. On top of that, the sound is overall much more controlled, if slightly less authoritive than the likes of the Aiwa.

I'd rank it somewhat like this in terms of overall clarity:

Spoiler

1: SS100
-
-
2: RP18 mylar
3: HE6
-
-
-
4: Aiwa HP500

And like this in overall authority/dynamics:

Spoiler

1: HE6
-
-
-
2: Aiwa HP500
-
3: SS100
4: RP18 mylar

Though, this is all relative; the HE6 has by far the most DR headroom of any headphone I've ever had in house, and none of the T50s are even remotely compressed sounding like Audezes or recent HiFiMAN offerings --imho, this is what sets them so far apart from every other planar. The HD800 would fit in somewhere juuuust below the aiwas.

 

[Feilong4]

I found the SS-100 to be quite a bit cleaner and more resolving than the other vintage T50 variants I've had in house (RP18 mylar and Aiwa HP500). The latter two had some 3-6kHz ringing in the treble that is simply completely absent on the Sansui -- incredibly smooth treble response from these. On top of that, the sound is overall much more controlled, if slightly less authoritive than the likes of the Aiwa.

I'd rank it somewhat like this in terms of overall clarity:

Spoiler

1: SS100
-
-
2: RP18 mylar
3: HE6
-
-
-
4: Aiwa HP500

And like this in overall authority/dynamics:

Spoiler

1: HE6
-
-
-
2: Aiwa HP500
-
3: SS100
4: RP18 mylar

Though, this is all relative; the HE6 has by far the most DR headroom of any headphone I've ever had in house, and none of the T50s are even remotely compressed sounding like Audezes or recent HiFiMAN offerings --imho, this is what sets them so far apart from every other planar. The HD800 would fit in somewhere juuuust below the aiwas.

Yeah, I haven't heard any other T50 variant so I don't know how mine compares. As I've mentioned, mine uses Kapton diaphragms which I've read is quite a bit different in sound compared to the Mylar diaphragms (which I believed is called the bass-light variation?).

. I've been thinking of sending them to Tyll for measuring, but these are now seeing a lot more use than all of my other headphones at the moment. It's also scary to just leave them in someone else's hands without myself being there haha.

I've seen some measurements of headphones sent from you to Tyll. Generally, how long is the turnaround?

 

[nickchen]

As we are at it: This is my RP18 Mylar. Not a beauty, but very modding friendly...meanwhile.

I have damped mine with Micropore, Transpore and felt. It has quite worn AT W1000 pads with taped stuff put into it, to increase soundstage and comfort. The housing is closed, the open grille is just fake ^^

I have been working on this thing for more than 6 years. I compared it to a LCD2 some years ago, and clearly preferred the NAD. And it wasn't as good then as it it now. I am a electronicahead though, jazz and classical listeners would have come to a different conclusion. It has dozens of deep bass layers, combined with super dry a kickbass of the AKG sort. Soundstaging, highs and resolution are amazing, mids are just work-to-rule when being run without EQ.

I also tinkered on a Kapton for a friend. The only difference was world class mids and a work-to-rule presence. Had a hard time giving him the ready cans back...

 

[tascamtascam]

Beyerdynamic DT220 400ohm
Very nice bass!

"Air cushion"

 

[jon parker]

@Tascam - I have a pair of these - if you mod them with cottom wool around the edges of the inside of the cups and a piece of felt in the middle behind the driver
they improve hugely!
I also put velour pads on mine - They are a nice headphone
Ps I think they [sometimes/maybe] share the same driver as the DT100 !!