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[tyre]

I thought this might be of interest. I also have images of the box that I can post if desired.
 
   

 

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Thanks for the pics, tyre.

 

[RexAeterna]

the rp 50 is just a re-branded sextett. they come in variations as well like the sextetts but most i seen are re-branded sextett mp's.

 

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[RexAeterna]

The questions is, Rex, have you heard them? The Pro 50 baffle looks like a Sextett baffle, sure, but that in itself doesn't say whether the driver is a Sextett or a whatever. The DF/Monitor/K 241 baffles with black/white sound ports, for instance, look identical – but they're different phones still.

personally no,but they have pictures all over google and in the ''driver picture forum'' and has been conformed by many people here on head-fi that the realistic pro 50's are just are re-branded sextett. there is some people that have the pro 50's say they sounded bit different to the qualitative sextett but that's usually the assumption due to different enclosures and shape of the pro 50 cups.

it make sense too cause all radioshack stuff back then when they were actually selling tons of radio and audio products most if all their stuff were re-braded or manufactured from a different company. they did have some exclusive stuff though as well like their famous super tweeters as example. they never really had any exclusive headphones though. they were always manufactured by pioneer,fostex(i believe then they were still known as foster) or akg.

 

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[RexAeterna]

Wanna link to some of those pictures, etc.? I'm not doubting you, I'd just like to verify the info in this thread as much as possible to avoid creating more confusion than we can solve (if such a thing is possible with vintage AKG).

Also links to where people confirm the Pro 50s as Sextetts would be cool. I did a search on Google: http://www.google.fi/search?q=pro50+rebranded+sextett. A bit contrary to what you say, every hit instead claims the Pro 50 as a rebadged K 250 (which is incorrect, at least to some degree). On a quick Head-Fi search, I only found posts claiming the Pro 50 as a rebadged K 250 – with Sextett diaphragms.

The only notable similarity visually that I can quickly spot driver-wise is that both the Sextett and Pro 50 drivers have no plastic screen in front of them. But that's possibly because the passive diaphragms need a protective screen as well, and on the Sextett/Pro 50 there's an entire baffle screen instead, so no need for an individually-screened driver.

your right. i looked at them the wrong way. i forgot the 250 passive drivers were top and bottom instead of the sextetts left and right. i swore though i saw some that were using sextett baffles instead. i must be seeing things or there is tons of variety versions of the pro 50's like the sextetts but i assume it's possible with akg known habits to recycle parts.

 

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[tdogzthmn]

In listening to the K241 against the DF there are striking differences in sound.  The K241 is more forward and has a smaller soundstage than the DF.  Mids are more emphasized on the K241 where the DF is more linear and does not emphasize other frequencies to the extent of the K241.  While neither one is heavy on bass the DF is leaner in the lower mid/bass region.  For the K241 it's all about the mids, which are very sweet and natural sounding.  The DF sound even more realistic and convincing, and adds little to no coloration in the sound.  These are my quick impressions after a short listening session.  

 

[vid]

Thanks for the initial comparisons, tdogzthmn.

 

[tdogzthmn]

It's funny, but there is an audible difference between the two DF headphones I have.  One is an earlier production DF which has  ribbed cable with a steel TRS jack, the other is a later model with a smooth cable and gold-plated TRS plug.  The EP version of the DF is closer sonically to the K241 in regards to mids and soundstage being more pronounced and up-front.  There is a tad more bass/lower mid body on the K241.  The EP DF still retains a clearer and crisper sound but is not quite as linear as the LP DF.  These differences can be more or less pronounced depending on the song I play but these are the characteristics I have noticed to be consisten between these three headphones.

 

[RexAeterna]

what DF model do you have? only thing i know is early models used the sextett baffles but not the passive drivers. my DF's is later version i know of since it had the 3.5mm unbalanced jack. i rewired them balanced with 4-pin xlr jack and use them off of speaker amps instead.mine has the black woven fabric ports but i replaced the inner rotted foam with rolled up fiberglass and fiberglass seems to work better but i assumed it would. i find my sextetts lp close in sound to my df's especially in midrange but i guess can you say my sextetts adds some extra magic to the midrange while my Df's sound more realistic and natural.


only other big difference i can easily spot to is my DF's sound like it has faster treble response and flatter air response above 10k while i think my sextetts lp is probably bit brighter around in 8-10khz region making it sound bit brighter overall. it's just rough guess here on what i'm hearing myself. surprisingly i think my sextetts sound clear too with good clarity myself i personally think. no warmness to very little where it's enough to not disrupt the overall clarity, especially in the midrange.

soundstage is very close on both of them with good separation. both image very well too, and sometimes sound like your listening pair speakers depending on material and how well the stereo separation is on your preamp/amp is.

 

[tdogzthmn]

I have two DF models.  In looking at the baffles under the foam cover the older version has larger sound ports encircling the driver in the center.  The older version also has the black acoustic cloth covering the driver.  The newer DF has smaller diameter sound ports, no cloth over the driver and has what appears to be two kinds of acoustic cloth used to cover the sound ports.  There might be more differences in the drivers but the older version has the black covering over it so I can't see the naked driver like I can on the newer one to verify.  The K241 has much larger sound radiators encircling it.  these are shown clearly in some of the earlier posts in this thread.  Although the physical difference between DF versions are slight the impact they have is certainly noticed.  It's hard to say of one is better, as it is with all headphones the sound is subjected to the biases of the listener and the gear on which you are listening.  I can say that the DF line on the whole certainly stands out as something unique.  These headphones emit a very delicate and balanced sound which works hard to remain unbias to the music you listen to, and in the end just leaves you alone with some very sweet sounds.  

 

[RexAeterna]

hmmmm....sounds like one of your DF's actually using a sextett driver instead cause only the sextetts used cloth covered over the driver casing in front of the driver. most DF's i know have the driver exposed once you remove the thin foam cloth covering them. it can be possible it's a DF driver in a sextett casing as well maybe but DF and sextetts has bit size difference so i don't know.

i find the DF's very well balanced as well and i find it a very good all-rounder too. has not only enough bass but all the way up to the air response as well to keep acoustic pieces and voices sound more open and have more space around them so it works great for me and find them very chameleon like/transparent where they can blend into any genre of music you toss at it. i love my sextetts lp as well and there are days where i prefer my sextetts some head time instead cause the specialty it does with the midrange.

have you tried the DF's against any other headphones you have? i personally always use my DF's as form of reference with other headphones personally. only other headphone i like as much as my DF's were my modded fostex but found my fostex lacking openness/air compared to my DF's in the imaging ability. also love the SA5000. it has the air and clarity i really enjoy and more then enough bass for me but still tad bit leaner than the DF's. i usually go back and forth between the SA5000 and my DF's a lot.