đŸ”¶ Fostex T50rp

Headphones [Official] Open Back
75

Annnd JDS Labs Atom ordered and shipped. Finally ordered it today. :+1:

No, I don’t want the 50 watt emotiva. :stuck_out_tongue:
(I wanted something small and simple).

1 Like
76

Well holy shit, here’s the cheapest way to get rid of the 4-to-8khz plateau.

20191130_230819
20191130_230819.jpg2322×4128 2.68 MB

1st: Do this.
2nd: Shure 840 pads.

Seriously. That’s it, that’s all. No need to mess with toilet paper or whatever.

77

So, you get better sub-bass with this
 “mod” (I don’t even think I dare to call this a mod
 but huh, that’s a modification). Which adds much-needed warmth to this
 Japanese mech / cold precision machine.
You also get to hear the mids, finally. Because the plateau isn’t there anymore, stealing the show.
You still get clarity with this modification, I mean hell, dare I say twice the detail?! Because you finally hear the mids, and the plateau is not entirely gone, there’s still a 9-10khz peak.
And I swear just doing this stupid thing adds soundstage and air to T50RPs.

If you’re more into the 100hz “knock”, which may be what people call planar (kick) slam, you may not want to do this. This makes T50RPs more neutral, harman neutral in the sub-bass region. But some will see this as added muddiness, changing “kicks” into “booms”. But you’ll hear the bassist in Metallica’s Kill em All. :wink:

Anyway, try it, it’s free, and seriously, it’s like having brand new headphones for free. It’s a BIG change!

Edit: This makes these
 “U-shaped”. You get muddy sub-bass (100hz and lower) and sibilance (10khz range peak). So, unless you only listen to music at low volume, don’t do this.

79

What did u do exactly? I dont have a t50rp so I’m not sure what was changed lol

80

I literally just took the foam and turned it 45 degrees, “hiding” the four corners of the planar driver. And just this thing got rid of the 4-to-8khz plateau (high frequencies), because T50RPs are far from neutral, even with Shure 840 pads (yes, I said they were studio-ready a few weeks ago in this damn thread. I changed my mind apparently
 perfectionism – I’m also treble-sensitive and got tired of the treble boost
 I thought the JDS Labs Atom would fix all my problems, but it did not).

I’m waiting for someone to tell me it’s the worst idea ever (it’s my first ever mod), and talks about distortion etc
 but my ears could finally enjoy music
 for a few hours. Because this makes these
 “U-shaped”. You get muddy sub-bass (100hz and lower) and sibilance (10khz range peak). So, unless you only listen to music at low volume, don’t do this.

Edit: It’s a 4-to-8khz plateau to my ears
 Sorry. In many graphs it’s a
 huh
 4khz-to-12khz mountain peaking at 10khz.

1 Like
82

And now
 I cut the foam a bit.

-Hiding, like, 3 millimeters from the top and rear of the driver, gets rid of the 4khz-to-8khz plateau, so they’re more neutral (Harman neutral) now. That’s my goal.
-Cutting the foam at the front also adds “front” soundstage, I think!
-Cutting the foam at the bottom definitely gets rid of the muddiness. Even at dangerous, dangerous volumes. Planar bass/kick slam is back.

(And yeah, I also have HD58Xs. That’s what I used for comparison – I love these.)

This just makes my T50RP perfect for me. :heart:

(Right driver)

20191204_104339
20191204_104339.jpg1080×1920 1.49 MB

That’s all folks! :grinning:

83

What’s your next planned mod?

84

Haha! Relax, @M0N :smile:

Like, 24 hours after I bought T50RPs you ask me “what’s your next planar” and now you ask me “what’s your next mod” :sweat_smile:

Currently enjoying “Jazz at the pawnshop” I just bought (flac) with these. I just
 could not enjoy jazz with these before. They sounded way too clear, bright, analytical, precise, mechanical, etc. Now they just sound
 great. More or less, as neutral cough natural-sounding as my HD58Xs, but with a 10khz-ish peak I think (can’t do a frequency response graph, sorry). And now, my T50RPs got greater high-treble extension too (air!).

I’m just speechless. Because of this stupid free and five-second mod I swear I hear twice the detail. And twice the soundstage. From my Denon AVR which is not a clean source. And I can use these in the studio now. 
fucking hell, lol.

1 Like
85

You know you want to do more lol, well that’s great you are getting it to where you like it even more :+1:

86

I definitely won’t mod my HD58Xs
 heh.
And my HD280 Pros are a lost cause, zero detail compared to these. Still excellent for monitoring though.

I wasn’t expecting to mod these at all, I just underestimated what the 5dB bump would do to my treble-sensitive ears. I remembered having a crappy bluetooth speaker with black tape on it to quell the highs (lol!), looked at my T50RPs and went “hmm”, and there you go. No tape involved for my Fostex lol.

87

I just deleted one or two messages (and pictures) because there was too much conflicting infos and too much mistakes were made. Also clarified my mod(s) in the last message (see :arrow_upper_right: what I replied to). What I wrote makes sense now, lol.

2 Likes
88

Had a pair of t50rp mk3’s for a little while now, and I REALLY like them. They are so different from anything I’ve ever heard. Their soundstage surrounds you and the imaging is the best I’ve ever heard. It does have a big bump in midbass and mids in general, then I feel like it spikes a little in the upper mid-range and then drops off from there. I tried using the Shure 840 pads and the headphones just became a mess. Bass was out of control and bloated, and I didn’t hear any sort of highs or imaging whatsoever. What I ended up doing what taking rolled up toilet paper under the stock pads and it fixed the comfort. It sounds identical with a little more soundstage compared to stock. I have some planned mods for it. I have the Mayflower mod kit coming with the baffle upgrade and I’ve never been more excited to see how it turns out.

89

I had my T50’s modded to Argons and they’re crazy completely different from stock, big sound stage, amazing low end, incredibly detailed mids and air SO much air in the highs its nutts

1 Like
90

Stock “pancake” pads = treble murder
Shure 840 pads = planar bass murder
:stuck_out_tongue:

Just put the T50RPs with Shure 840 pads over a yoga block or a DVD rack or something for a few hours to crush em a bit and make em thinner if you want something more neutral-ish.

This is my review after doing just that:

1 Like
91

Ya I totally agree with treble murder at stock. Honestly everything sounds muderous stock, but once I did the toilet paper mod it helped it out a ton. Still treble(sometimes a little too much) and the sweet mid-range bump is still there too

92

Hey gents,

Just got hooked on Z-reviews and slowly getting particular with audio
started with set o wharfedales at work nuther at home (with smsl18)
got Xmas shp9500s and just picked up set of dt 770 pro 80 Ohm (replaced old pads and planing removable cable 3.5 mm jack mod) and a Schiit fulla
I’m a DIY lover and have access to printers and a small CNC Mill. Curious if any of you gents have files for the Cup mods 
 Outside Mr. Speakers open source printables. I have little to no background in acoustic shape/knowledge but love to learn as well

If no, a repository of .STL files and DIY catagory might be in order. I volunteer to open one.

Thanks

1 Like
93

Oh well. Oddly enough after only listening to my T50RP for more or less one week, for a few minutes my HD58Xs sounded V-Shaped.

Apparently my free mod definitely gets rid of the T50RP + Shure 840 “V-Shape”, lol. :+1:
I’d say planar bass + mid-focused + 10khz peak (I could not get rid of it – brain burn in got used to it lol).

94

Well, here’s the proof Fostex RP series are great!

(Sarcasm warning!)

95

You do know her career ended because of a lip syncing scandal?

If you look at a lot of music project documentaries you’ll see a lot of Fostex, Sony and AKG being used.

2 Likes
96

Doesn’t the foam index to not cover the driver?

The foam pieces are these:

Can’t find them on AKGs site, the link to “parts” is just an email address.

1 Like