How does the Beyer T5p stand up against the Fostex TR-X00 massive seeing as it’s a full closed back?
Edited…Especially with the TH-X00
Anybody here happen to be selling their tr-x00 purple hearts?
I can’t speak for the t5p, but I would imagine that the X00s would be more fun and isolate less (being semi-open as exposed to closed). The X00s have amazing dynamic slam, especially in the bass. The midrange is warm while the upper mids are a bit recessed. The highs are a bit elevated for some people, but are very clear and detailed. With little more than a pad swap, Lawton driver side tune-up, and some attenuation rings (a totale of at worst $130 extra) the X00s can be a nearly perfect budget “endgame” imo.
2 Likes
You’ll have to pry mine from my cold dead hands. A good option might be to see if you can find a pair of mahoganys for cheap (as they are the least saught after) and then get a set of purple heart cups from E-MU for about $150. It will probably be easier t9 find the mahoganys and won’t cost any more than an original purple heart.
I can’t find the email to buy the cups but I know others here have baught them, so hopfuly they can provide.
1 Like
Do you have a link for this? I looked the other day and they don’t make it easy to find.
It would depend on which X00 you pick up. I just compared the purple heart to the gen 1 T5P and it has a much more warmer intimate sound compared to the T5P which has a more analytical sound with more emphasis on treble. The T5P picked up more detail and the vocals really stood out while the vocals on the purple hearts sounded a bit more laid back. The purple hearts also had way more bass than the T5P which was is known to not really have any which is odd for a beyer. This T5P has an extra bass port mod done and it still couldn’t compete with the stock purple hearts. The T5P also has slightly better separation and a slightly wider soundstage and isn’t as sibilant as some of the other beyer models.
This specific T5P has a bass port mod and modded detachable mod running on custom pure copper litz cable. The purple heart has the lawson driver side mod with dekoni x00 sheep skin and dekoni rings and running on a custom pure copper litz cable. Both were tested on a 789. I was too lazy to compare it to the gen 2 T5P but can check it out for you if you’d like. I know they slightly changed the tune of the gen 2 compared to the gen 1.
2 Likes
TR models are getting harder and harder to find. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to just order a pair of EMU w/ detachable cables along with the ebony or purple heart cups. Also I recently hit EMU up again and they said there were some complications with the delivery of the lacquered version of the purple heart cups. Think they still have the matte versions if people were still interested.
1 Like
Are we sure the matte versions are for the Fostex headphones and not for the drop x E-MU PH?
When I spoke with them a couple months I was looking for the lacquered pair for the X00 specifically and they told me deliveries for them were months away but they stated they had the matte version. I’m sure they would clarify if you email them.
1 Like
I have a pair of TX-X00 PH. The H part being the ones with that godawful attached cable. A few weeks ago I spliced into that stock wire and put a pair of 3.5mm jacks inline. It was not much to look at but effective. They had dangly bits:
I beg you not to stare.
Since that was butt ugly I got braver and just today finished installing 2.5mm jacks in the cups:
Required a bit of internal work:
But everything is working and sounding just fine. I won’t go into painstaking details because I don’t know how many out there still have TH-X00 you want to do this too. But if you have one and want help, PM me.
8 Likes
I hadn’t listened to these much post-mod because I was going all-in on Elegia for awhile. My memory may not be super trustworthy here, and I may just be proud of my handiwork on these and thus more forgiving, but I swear these X00s sound wider, clearer, and more detailed since I did this mod - and I’m saying that after listening almost exclusively to the very clear and detailed Elegia for 2 weeks. If that is indeed the case, my hypothesis is replacing all of the stock wiring helped. That stock wire was shit. Inside the stock wire there was a lot of fibrous material, some foil, and at best 4-5 copper strands per lead:
That wire of course ran all the way to the driver in the stock configuration:
The fibrous bits and foil or whatever else was in there was making it nigh-impossible to solder that wire onto the pins of the 2.5mm jacks I used for this mod. Cutting back the extra stuff and trying to solder just the copper strands didn’t work well either. The strands were very brittle and kept breaking. I finally gave up and replaced that stock wire with some of the wire that came from the jacks I used for the “dangly-bit mod” of which I have a picture above in my previous post. Here’s a pic of an extra of those wires:
You can get a 10 pack of those for $14 on Amazon. The end opposite of the jack on those is pre-soldered - “tinned” - already. I soldered that end directly to the drivers’ terminals:
cut and stripped about 3 or 4 inches from those soldered ends and soldered those leads to the jack pins. I don’t think wires really change sound until you get into the really high price ranges of gear, and then I’m mostly taking @M0N’s word for it because he hasn’t led me astray yet. But, a poorly made wire can adversely impact sound. I think the stock wire can fall under “poorly made.”
Again, this may not be as big a difference - or a difference at all - because I’m going from memory and can no longer A/B. But putting these cans on after Elegia I expected them to sound claustrophobic, not as clear, and less detailed. They are more close-sounding, less clear, and less detailed than Elegia, but not by much. I’m actually really surprised. They sound a lot better than I remember. I do think this re-wire may have something to do with it.
2 Likes
You should try the lawton driver side tune up. It refines the sound a good bit, so you might find the gap between them and the Elegia to shrink even more.
These are still my favorite headphone and I suspect that won’t chang until I break into the kilo-buck range.
3 Likes
The plan is to do a full Lawton makeover later this year or early next, including new wood chambers. These came with a big crack in the right cup. It doesn’t affect the sound but I am worried about longevity. So don’t worry! It’s in plans. Just gotta save up the cash after an amp upgrade - which is next on the saving docket.
2 Likes
I prefer my TR-X00’s to my Elegia. That bass is so appealing.
5 Likes
I can see that. For some kinds of music and w/o eq’ing up the Elegia’s bass, the X00 is more fun, IMO.
2 Likes
Hello,
Just a stupid question about the headphones.
The Fostex Tr x 00 has the removable plug.
Who ever had the headphones apart knows that the connection to the driver is soldered with a thin ribbon cable which is very sensitive.
I was wondering if the thickness of the cable is really enough?
Wouldn’t it be better to solder a thicker cable?
On the Denon D2000 for example this is the case and when I hear both of them I have the feeling that the Tr x00 lacks a bit of juice.
I have to say that the Fostex has a 6.3 mm jack and the Denon XLR.
I don’t know if it’s really the XLR alone or the ribbon cable where it’s so thin.
I’m still not sure if I should solder the cable directly to the driver, or just the cable from connector to driver, or leave it as it is.
Totally your call. Personally, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
1 Like
I would be surprised if the wiring to the drivers is different between the X00 and the Denon since they are both based on Fostex frames and drivers. The difference is probably in the XLR vs 6.3mm connections. Which amp(s) are you using?
1 Like
Hello,
But the wiring is different.
On the Denon D 2000 you solder the cable directly on the driver.
With the Tr x 00 it has only been extended with a very thin cable from the driver to the connector.
Currently I have the Singxer SDA 2 amplifier where it works great.
I am also of the opinion that there are already quite differences between 6.3 and Xlr.
It seems to me that the Tr x 00 with the 6.3 connector is weaker than with the Denon which has the Xlr on it where everything is wider and more open.
With the Tr x 00 I have the feeling it wants but is throttled, more inhibited in the sound.
I can try to build a cable with Xlr and the Fostex connector and see if it still has inhibitions after that I would say I solder it directly to the driver like Wave Theory did.
I’m honestly not a friend of such plugs either, I always prefer direct as possible.
Because I mean that these plugs and adapters always lose something.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)