Fostex T20RP or T50RP

[MazeFrame]

The 20’s are the most pronounced up to 500Hz. Bassy wise, my M40X’s can do some bass, is just not the most impressive.
The 50’s beeing on top from 800Hz onward, I am not sure what to make of that. The “treble murder” comes to mind that gets you the edge when listening for footsteps in games. As I play for fun, that is also of less concern.

@M0N

Another thing is that the t20s are more isolating, while the t50’s leak a little more.

Either is fine. Everything except speakers works.

Thanks for your advice, very much appreciated!

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@Marzipan

for their budget, what about the 4xx?

Those are Massdrop, right?
Shipping is going to be interesting (and VAT aswell). If it was not for easy of purchase, they would be in the selection.

[M0N]

The he400i is around the same price (or can be had used possibly) and sounds almost identical but with different headband and connector types

Also with the shure 1540 pads the treble is at a much more reasonable level imo

@LeDechaine might be able to give you info about the pad change more

[Marzipan]

the 4xx have a special EU version to take care of the VAT issues n such.

the 400i have also been reduced in price…in the US they’re now about $175 or so, so you could see if they’ve been given a price reduction in Europe too.

[MazeFrame]

@M0N

Also with the shure 1540 pads the treble is at a much more reasonable level imo

The pads are more set than the headphones.

@Marzipan

the 4xx have a special EU version to take care of the VAT issues n such.

Good to know.

[M0N]

Well that sucks lol. I don’t know other pads that work well off the top of my head

[MazeFrame]

And what Headphone do I buy with them?

[M0N]

The t50rp would work better with them imo hold on for a sec

[M0N]

Fostex T50rp

Finally got them. First impressions after like 30 minutes: Easy to love + “planar silence”. Tried them with the original “pancake” pads, excellent treble clarity, but clearly not enough bass. They were like HD58X (they aren’t “supposed” to be: They’re closed-backs). Not even 5 minutes later, I put Shure 840 pads. Yup, that’s it. Still excellent treble clarity, but bass, too. Basically if you want HD280 Pros with detail and a bit of soundstage (and that’s what I wanted, yes!), that’s i…

Fostex T50rp

I wrote, and re-wrote, and changed pads, and bent the headband, and un-bent the headband, and here’s my review, finally. Fostex T50RP MK3 Review (with Shure 840 pads): Hard hitting, cold precision. First: Way too much treble, stock. Shure 840 pads are mandatory if you want to hear bass/drum kicks, etc. They’re my first planars. What are planars? With planars, let’s say the music hits, hard. And fast. And stops fast too. And not only the bass hits. Everything hits. The snares, the cymbals, etc…

[MazeFrame]

You don’t happen to know what the Shure HPAEC1840 pads do to them? Because buying one headphone (75% set on the 50’s now) and 3 pairs of pads is no bueno.

[M0N]

I’m assuming you mean 3 pairs of pads lol. The 1840 pads are more open and don’t tame the treble as much

[MazeFrame]

Between Zeos review and your comments and links, I think the magical 50€ Shure 1540 pads are worth trying.

Will give the headphone decision a good night of sleep now.

[M0N]

Always a good idea lol. I can’t do that anymore because then it just makes me reconsider other options I said I wouldn’t get lol

[MazeFrame]

@M0N

other options I said I wouldn’t get lol

No clue what you mean…

closes tabs: beyerdynamic Custom Studio, Sennheiser HD300 Pro, AKG K-371

[M0N]

Oooo the k371 is pretty dang great if you like a harman tuned headphone. Comfort and build is great

[LeDechaine]

Yup, Shure 840 pads are great with T50RPs. And yes, T50RPs without Shure 840 pads = treble murder (for me anyway – it sounds like a +10dB treble plateau with the stock “pancake” pads).

@MazeFrame

I want something that gives me an “oh, F yeah”.

Yes, that’s what 840 pads will give you.
I haven’t tried the Shure 1840 pads, sorry! But they appear to be velour, and 840 pads are, fake leather or whatever it is called (pleather?), therefore will probably seal way better and give you way more kick/drum kick “slam”.

Also, your sound card output is apparently 125 mW @ 32 Ohms. Which is… ok for “standard” headphones, but not for planars. Lol. Another reason why you need an external headphone amp, is… volume control. I mean, trust me, you don’t want a computer, or any program, to control the volume of your headphones. You don’t want tinnitus for the rest of your life because you restarted windows and heard the “welcome” music @ 140dB or something like that.

…especially if you plan on having one, just one pair or IEMs, one day.

[LeDechaine]

And @M0N is making me believe that a JDS Labs Atom or something like that will even out the frequency range even more, making everything sound smoother (less “thin” and more detailed).

Without an amp the T50RPs are cold and precise AF, I’d even say “robotic” compared to my HD58Xs. With an amp they should sound “warmer”.

Oh, and I know “warmer” and “colder” don’t make much sense. So… Yeah, If I listen to Rodrigo y Gabriela with T50RPs, it sounds like brand new guitar strings. A bit too much “brand new” actually. If I listen to the same song with HD58Xs, strings sound a lot less treble-y. Same with my HD280 Pros. And I trust my HD58Xs and HD280 Pros because, well, look at the graphs. Both sound neutral/natural. HD58Xs are basically “perfection according to Sennheiser (HD 580 Precision), massdrop edition” and HD280 Pros are often used for monitoring.

So, yup, T50RPs need an amp (and Shure 840 pads, IMHO).

Sure thing, you won’t be experiencing “planar bass” with the stock “pancake” pads.

Also, I fixed the graph for you, lol (just widened it). Some of these graphs are so damn unforgiving it’s just terrible – terribly unrealistic too. They’re not treble murder cans. I know, I bought Grados… lol. Let’s call this, two 5dB clarity peaks. And 5dB is really, really not much.

@MazeFrame

The “treble murder” comes to mind that gets you the edge

You’ll have the edge, not the pain.

[M0N]

If ya really want em to even out the basx a100 or Asgard 3 are great options lol. The more power you can get it the better (clean power that is)

[MazeFrame]

@M0N

basx a100

280€ shipped from their “local” retail partner… hmm… DEAL

[LeDechaine]

Used with the 50 watts switch only?

I’ll get the Atom anyway. It’s cheaper and it’s already 1 watt. The Shure 840 pads already made half the job (75% even), my guess is the Atom will make the other half of evening out the FR.

Maybe 50 watts is needed with the pancake pads but, gods, talk about killing a fly with a sledgehammer lol, just get good pads, even the manual says 3 watts max.

[MazeFrame]

@LeDechaine

even the manual says 3 watts max.

Nothing 10€ of parts and a little soldering could not fix. I think I still have 0.1% tolerance resistors in various resistances arround.