[SHAMuuu]

(I hope this is the right place to share this). I recently bought ear defenders made by a company called Zohan, with the intention of also buying Sennheiser HD800 transducers to put them in it and create a closed-back HD800, but I also recently bought a Fostex TH500RP and actually prefer Fostex TH-X00 Purple Heart transducers in the open-back design of the TH500RP headphone, so I decided to try the TH500RP transducers in the Zohan ear defenders instead of spend $450 on Sennheiser HD800 one's. I figured that the TH500RP transducers might produce a better sound. Well I am not disappointed, the sound of this headphone is really, really good. In recent years I have began to prefer a neutral/analytical sound compared to any other, and that is the sound of this headphone. Overall, it is like a much improved/perfected Fostex T50RP. I can actually envisage it becoming my main headphone. The earpards are from ISK MDH9000 (thought i'd mention what make they are just in case anyone was wondering).

We need some nude shots of driver.
The t60RP looks nice too with those woodies.

What did you do with the th500rp, pics please
I was also hoping you would've figured out a way to close the 500rp with woodie cup mod

 

[SonyFan121]

Lol. No problem, i'll take some pics and post them soon. I have the TH-X00 Purple Heart drivers/transducers in the TH500RP housing/cups. I haven't tried the TH-X00 Purpleheart wooden cups on the frame of the TH500RP yet.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Lol. No problem, i'll take some pics and post them soon. I have the TH-X00 Purple Heart drivers/transducers in the TH500RP housing/cups. I haven't tried the TH-X00 Purpleheart wooden cups on the frame of the TH500RP yet.

I doubt the x00 wood cups will fit 500rp frame, as i've tried the 610 woodies on the 500 frame, and no dice. One would need to redrill holes or something for sure.
I would think they were swapable since one fits the other go figure.
But then againt he 610 has detachable cable so maybe it is diff from the x00 cups.
The issue was where the wire was on the 500, and the slot of the 610 cups where it accomodates the wire.
In other words the holes line up with the woodies but not the slot of the wire, which then sits in wrong place.
"Theoretically", i think if one lines up the wire slot with new drilled holes, then it may work. But then again, the walnut cups are so nice and do not want to moe-lest dem woodies
If i mess the drilling...

 

[SonyFan121]

Unfortunately I can't upload a picture of the TH500RP drivers/transducers inside the cups because the earpads are sealed because the earpad rings are compressed and locked in place to the cups, furthermore I had to cut a gap in the earpad rings so the drivers/transducers would be able to go in the cups, and the earpad rings where awkward and time consuming to fit on, because of the gap, it took a long time to lock them in place. But the next time I have it all disassembled I will be sure to take a photo of the drivers in the cups and post them. Right now I just want to enjoy and get used to the incredibly neutral sound before making any further modifications.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Unfortunately I can't upload a picture of the TH500RP drivers/transducers inside the cups because the earpads are sealed because the earpad rings are compressed and locked in place to the cups, furthermore I had to cut a gap in the earpad rings so the drivers/transducers would be able to go in the cups, and the earpad rings where awkward and time consuming to fit on, because of the gap, it took a long time to lock them in place. But the next time I have it all disassembled I will be sure to take a photo of the drivers in the cups and post them. Right now I just want to enjoy and get used to the incredibly neutral sound before making any further modifications.

Understandable. Did you do anymore mods to the PH w/ 500 cups? Also seems you are fond of your 702s, have you ever pad swapped or modded for extra bass in any way?
Which pads did you use on the x00 modded open, b/c the pads on x00 is diff from 500rp.
Pics if possible on them

 

[SonyFan121]

I did no mods to the TH500RP cups before I put the TH-X00 drivers in them. When I had the TH500RP drivers in them I put some sound dampening material behind the drivers but have taken them out.
Here is some pictures of the TH500RP headpone with TH-X00 Purpleheart drivers in them:

I have kept the original stock TH500RP pads on this headphone, I found the TH-X00 Purple Heart pads uncomfortable and too angled for me to wear them for long periods of time, whereas the TH500RP pads feel much softer and aren't as angled. It's kinda bewildering actually as the TH500RP and TH-X00 Purple Heart pads look the same and are made of the same material, yet there are obvious differences in comfort, angle and softness when worn.

So the sound of this open-back TH-X00 Purple Heart has impressed me allot. I think it is better than a stock TH-X00 Purple Heart with wood cups, to put it another way; it's like the next level up in sound quality. It does have a similar sound signature to a stock TH-X00 Purple Heart but it's more airy/spacious and there is more distance between instruments. Soundstage is bigger. Depending on the recording, it can have that "outside of the head" sound. Much like a well-amped Sennheiser HD700. A stock TH500RP can have this "outside of the head" sound too but the TH-X00 drivers seem to exaggerate it. This open-back TH-X00 Purple Heart has the deepest, highest quality of bass of any open-back headphone i've ever heard, warm luscious mid's like an Audio Quest NightHawk, and crisp, clear high's with lots of detail. I've been listening to allot of music with this open-back TH-X00 Purple Heart today and so far I haven't heard any sibilance. A stock TH-X00 Purple Heart has a little bit of sibilance so this is a welcome surprise. Overall, i'm very impressed with this open-back TH-X00 headphone and I doubt I would find a better open-back headphone for anything less than $500 or $600..

The K702 is one of 2 headphones I currently own that I would never mod. To me the K702 is perfect in stock form, I have never/will never mod it. It has always been special to me because it was the first open-back audiophile-grade headphone I ever bought. If I want more bass with a similar sound I will just buy a K712 or a Q701, lol.

 

[SHAMuuu]

I did no mods to the TH500RP cups before I put the TH-X00 drivers in them. When I had the TH500RP drivers in them I put some sound dampening material behind the drivers but have taken them out.
Here is some pictures of the TH500RP headpone with TH-X00 Purpleheart drivers in them:

I have kept the original stock TH500RP pads on this headphone, I found the TH-X00 Purple Heart pads uncomfortable and too angled for me to wear them for long periods of time, whereas the TH500RP pads feel much softer and aren't as angled. It's kinda bewildering actually as the TH500RP and TH-X00 Purple Heart pads look the same and are made of the same material, yet there are obvious differences in comfort, angle and softness when worn.

The K702 is one of 2 headphones I currently own that I would never mod. To me the K702 is perfect in stock form, I have never/will never mod it. It has always been special to me because it was the first open-back audiophile-grade headphone I ever bought. If I want more bass with a similar sound I will just buy a K712 or a Q701, lol.

Thanks for taking time to take pics!
Yea the pads are defo different in the foams. 500s are comfy. Squishy'err err err
Those Look SWEET
As for the 702, gonna test my luck with Annie
Had the Slovakian Beasts and let em go. miss them terribly, but maybe Annie will fill the void.

Read some peoople had luck with XL micro suede on reg 702/701 but yeah i will have to see down the road

 

[SHAMuuu]

Any guesses?
Anyway , i thought hmmm they don;t grip my head like vice grips of death anymore. And mmm the smell of treated sheep carcas tunes the frequencies well.
Not everyone's cup of tea, but one of my favs.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I finally made the time to do my headband mod this weekend


It's a little more comfortable, the original strap wasn't that bad to be honest, but this is definitely an improvement.
The procedure is pretty simple. The clip is held in place with two screws on the underside. you unscrew them and the pull the clip out, it looks like this on the inside :https://imgur.com/a/Deyn28b

Gently pop out the little rivet holding the old headband in place. Pry back the two metal flaps and remove the old strap, slide the new leather strap in place and then fold the flaps back in place and put it all back together.

I took my stock strap to my local leather shop and had my guy cut a scrap of leather the same size as the original. I chose a relatively thin piece of leather, the top side is finished, the underside, that touches your head is suede. The suede is nearly a match in looks/texture for the velour pads I have on it, so it looks really good, better than stock, for sure.It wasn't a difficult mod to perform, it just took a lot of patience and messing with it to get it right. Even though I chose a thin leather, the clip wouldn't go back in place because it was too thick. I had to take a razor blade and meticulously shave down the leather until it was thin enough for the clip to slide back in place.

Another thing to be aware of: if the new piece is cut too big the flaps won't fold back flat, but if you cut it too small it is hard to get it to stay in place. One side of mine was cut a little too small so I put a dab of super glue between the strap and the metal clip to hold it in place.Once you get the strap secured into the little clip on both sides, slide it back in place on the headphones and screw the whole thing back together. If you use a thin enough piece, and it is cut to the proper size the whole procedure can be done in less than an hour.

 

[capnjack]

I recently finished my Fostex T50RPmk3 build and here it is

 

[tolis626]

Hey everyone!

First off, @capnjack , that's an awesome t50 mod. Is that the wooden back for the Thunderpants mod? What's the sound like?

Secondly, I may need the help from some of the modding gurus here. If everything goes well, I will get a Fiio Q5s when it comes out, so late May-early June. So naturally, I will want to use the balanced connections it offers. My 58x are easy, I will just get a balanced cable and they're good to go. My MSR7 are trickier, as they will need to be rewired with a balanced jack. Now, they won't be as hard to do as other headphones, considering the way they're wired internally. There's seperate 2 lead wires that come from each driver, and those connect to the PCB of the headphone hack, so I would assume that it would go like this : Label what's what, unsolder the connections, remove the stock jack, place a TRRS one in its place and rewire accordingly. At least in theory. First thing I don't know how to do is solder anything, but I guess that's easy to learn (and difficult to master). Second thing I don't know how to do is wire a TRRS plug, but there's diagrams online showing the correct pinouts and, fortunately, the PCB of the MSR7's plug is labeled, so I will know what's positive and negative. My biggest trouble is finding a suitable jack. For the life of me, I can't seem to find anything that will work, everything I've seen while searching online for 3.5mm TRRS jacks is for use in phones or such, where you want a connection for the microphone/music controls. One solution to this would be to make the MSR7 into a dual connection headphone, like the newer MSR7, but I don't feel like mutilating my headphones that much as long as other solutions are available.

So my most "burning" questions to you guys are :
1) Does anybody know where I can source a proper 3.5mm TRRS jack from?
2) Are there any tips you are willing to share if you've done something similar?
3) Will I be able to use the stock MSR7 se cables after the conversion? I want to be able to keep using the cable with the inline mic on my phone.

Thanks in advance and happy modding everyone!

PS : I might have posted something about this before, but then it was just a thought about a possibility in the future. Now I really want to pursue it, so I'm starting to think about it more seriously.

PS 2 : I found a picture of the jack inside the MSR7. It's not a particularly good picture, but you can see how the drivers are wired to the jack. Not making them balanced capable was a missed opportunity IMO.

 

[capnjack]

Hey everyone!

First off, @capnjack , that's an awesome t50 mod. Is that the wooden back for the Thunderpants mod? What's the sound like?

Secondly, I may need the help from some of the modding gurus here. If everything goes well, I will get a Fiio Q5s when it comes out, so late May-early June. So naturally, I will want to use the balanced connections it offers. My 58x are easy, I will just get a balanced cable and they're good to go. My MSR7 are trickier, as they will need to be rewired with a balanced jack. Now, they won't be as hard to do as other headphones, considering the way they're wired internally. There's seperate 2 lead wires that come from each driver, and those connect to the PCB of the headphone hack, so I would assume that it would go like this : Label what's what, unsolder the connections, remove the stock jack, place a TRRS one in its place and rewire accordingly. At least in theory. First thing I don't know how to do is solder anything, but I guess that's easy to learn (and difficult to master). Second thing I don't know how to do is wire a TRRS plug, but there's diagrams online showing the correct pinouts and, fortunately, the PCB of the MSR7's plug is labeled, so I will know what's positive and negative. My biggest trouble is finding a suitable jack. For the life of me, I can't seem to find anything that will work, everything I've seen while searching online for 3.5mm TRRS jacks is for use in phones or such, where you want a connection for the microphone/music controls. One solution to this would be to make the MSR7 into a dual connection headphone, like the newer MSR7, but I don't feel like mutilating my headphones that much as long as other solutions are available.

So my most "burning" questions to you guys are :
1) Does anybody know where I can source a proper 3.5mm TRRS jack from?
2) Are there any tips you are willing to share if you've done something similar?
3) Will I be able to use the stock MSR7 se cables after the conversion? I want to be able to keep using the cable with the inline mic on my phone.

Thanks in advance and happy modding everyone!

PS : I might have posted something about this before, but then it was just a thought about a possibility in the future. Now I really want to pursue it, so I'm starting to think about it more seriously.

PS 2 : I found a picture of the jack inside the MSR7. It's not a particularly good picture, but you can see how the drivers are wired to the jack. Not making them balanced capable was a missed opportunity IMO.

Hi Tolis, it’s actually a kit you can get from Vibrolabs and it’s a simple build as long as your careful taking your T50rp apart. It took me about an hour to build them https://www.vibrolabs.com/shop
Tuning is as easy as you want it to be, the usual stuff for T50rp works.
Sound? That’s an interesting question, for me, I’ve got the bass going nice and deep, detailed, but hits hard when needed. I’m not a bass-head tho. Mids are detailed and crunchy, no bass bleed into mids. Treble, crisp with a nice natural decay on cymbals etc. Obviously that’s how I hear them, others might not agree, but its alright by my reckoning. Ymmv.
Edit - I’m listening to The Police, The Brand New Heavies, M People, America, The Who, Springsteen and Billy Joel. Using my desktop set up - Aune x5s and Little dot mk2.

 

[demevalos]

Anyone here attempted a driver swap on the AKG K702, or similarly designed AKG can? I have a set of K702 with a rattle-y left driver, and apparently they don't make K702 drivers anymore (I called AKG Pro support, and after about half an hour on the phone he said they're obsolete). So I'm in the market for a set of drivers on Aliexpress or similar that I can swap into the 702 casing. Anyone have experience with this?

And before you ask, I've tried everything I've read to try and get rid of this damn rattle. I disassembled the entire thing, down to the bare driver, and couldn't find anything that would be causing it to shake. There's no hair on it whatsoever, and I've attempted to push on the voice coil under the membrane to see if it's touching the membrane, and no luck.

 

[HungryPanda]

I found them here

https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/551653-akg-2400x00070-driver-for-k702

 

[demevalos]

I found them here

https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/551653-akg-2400x00070-driver-for-k702

They're out of stock, with no plans of restocking. Called them earlier as well.