The Fostex T50RP Modified by Mayflower

[h264]

 

Background

 

So I’ve got to be totally up front about something on this review.  I personally feel that modifying headphones to make them sound better, especially without a dummy head and a series of double blind listening tests, is really a bunch of hooey.  Sure, swapping the pads, fixing detachable cables, and adding padding to the headband is one thing, but adding some extra material, say foam or cloth, inside of the cups of the headphone to change the sound signature, will be full of all the same biases that makes designing amplifiers and DACs by ear such a disaster.  Maybe the only saving grace for headphones is the differences can be very obvious, making it less likely you’ll hear a difference when there is, in fact, none.  Not to mention you won’t damage the amp in which you plug the modified headphones if you lay out the foam the wrong way.  Of course, hypocritically, every review I do will come with EXACTLY the same set of biases.  I mean, did I REALLY hear a bass complement on the SoundMAGIC HP-100s or was the formaldehyde smell making me loopy (who cares! I couldn’t stand what it did to either of my senses!)?  While buying a headphone and making it sound different by poking holes here and there in a deliberate attempt to extract more “airiness” from the drivers can be quite the fun hobby, I’m starting to feel like head-fi has started going off the deep-end with headphones much in the way it went off the deep end with headphone amplifiers.  I’m pretty sure this modification craze started with the original economy boutique audiophile headphone, the Grado SR60i, which at a price point of $80 was fun to mod and not much to lose if your poking went right through one of the drivers.  We worked from humble tinkerers all the way up to MrSpeaker’s commercially-modified Alpha Dogs, which feature fancy lacquer-gloss painted 3D printed (that’s right) cups, a clunky looking sheet-metal headphone stand, all enclosing the same driver as the stock Fostex T50Rp for the very reasonable price of *COUGH* $600.  It happens to be the same headphone that Mayflower is modifying, but he’s spared a few expenses and kept the original cups in-tact, all for about a third of the price.  Well, whatever my feelings about modified headphones, he was willing to send me the pair, after ShearMe, to try out, so I’ll be putting aside my differences and judging this headphone just like any other you’d get off the shelf.  Also note I’m only getting about 18 hours to listen to this sucker, but since this headphone is already clearly broken-in (or burned-in) I think I’ll be able to draw conclusions about it quickly.  I’ll be using a new review format I’ve been toying around with a while: The “good, the bad, and the ugly”.  The good is what’s right, the bad is what’s not, and the ugly is what’s just annoying to me in general.

 

The Good

 

This is one comfortable headphone.  The headband has the pads portion of the Sennheiser HD600 headband affixed to the stock Fostex headband, and it’s VERY soft.  The earpads are also extremely soft.  We’re talking fluffy kitten on your face soft.  I’ve worn it for about 3 hours straight and the only thing remotely uncomfortable about it is the seal on the earpads makes your ears sweat a bit.  I think this mod is worth it for this consideration alone, frankly.

The sound is very detailed.  Much like my Hifiman HE-500s the bass is full all the way down to the very bottom of the spectrum without rolling off.  There’s also very noticeable bass compliment, and may I say it’s quite thumping, if you’re into that.  The highs are very sparkly as well.  I’d say this headphone sounds like a Sennheiser HD650 with the cup grills covered.  Overall it’s very detailed for a $200 headphone.

It’s a VERY sturdy looking headphone and seems to take its cues from the Beyerdynamic design pattern: screws, replaceable parts, and thick plastic and metal components.  The cable is even detachable.

 

The Bad

 

You’ll need all that extra padding, since as I’ve mentioned before, the main downside of a planar magnetic driver is that while it certainly sounds good, it’s also very heavy compared to a conventional dynamic driver.  This headphone is no exception.  Also, like every other planar magnetic driver ever made, it’s pretty darn hard to drive.  For comparison, it’s about as hard to drive as my HE-500s.

The bass and treble are strong, but the midrange is noticeably weak, especially in the 4-5Khz frequency range.  It’s a bit more pronounced of a V-shape compared with my Beyerdynamic DT-990pro, but it’s not a deal breaker by any means.

The cord terminates to a ¼” jack, which is fine if your amplifier has a ¼” jack, but it’s an extra expense to buy an adapter if you don’t.  There may also be a replacement cable that terminates to a 1/8” connector, but I didn’t get the chance to look.  The cable is really long, thick, and unruly (that didn’t come out quite right) so it’s quite prone to being a tangled mess if you don’t wrap it up.

 

The Ugly 

 

This is the part of the show where I really drop the major issue I have with ALL modified headphones manufactured by hand and sold in bulk.  How do you make them sound exactly alike?  If the material used is even a smidge off in any direction or not thick enough, it can throw the frequency response of any sample headphone in a batch off significantly and audibly.  I’d venture to guess that for about every 5 that Mayflower makes, only 3 or 4 of them will be good enough for him to put his name on.  I’m not saying that making modified headphones in a deterministic way is impossible, I’m just saying from my perspective and from the anecdotes about the older MrSpeakers Mad Dogs, it seem unlikely any of these modified Fostex headphones will be audibly similar sample to sample, whether they be Alpha, Mad, or just flowered.  I guess the silver lining to this gripe is, if you buy a pair and like - or convince yourself that you like - the result, chances are you’ll never come across another sample that sounds “better” than yours.

Since the replacement earpads are too small for the cups, Mayflower’s solution is to glue the pads to the cups instead.  Which is fine until the pads wear out and you need to replace them.  Mayflower tells me while they are replaceable, pulling out the current earpads will damage them.  I guess the concept is when they finally fall apart you just rip off what’s left and super-glue in a new pair.

 

Conclusion

 

Well, that was a lot of mud to sling onto a relatively new product I barely had any time with, but I think the major take away is that my review sample, at the price-point of about $230, is a pretty good deal if you’re interested in a planar magnetic headphone on the cheap.  I certainly found nothing about it obtusely offensive while it was sitting on my head.  As long as you’re willing to give up certain things like the ability to drive it with a portable player to very loud volumes or the ability to replace the earpads, it definitely stomps all over those SoundMAGIC headphones.  I’d love to tell you it played with the Sennheiser HD650, but it’s not quite THAT good (but its close!).  The Sennheiser HD650 is twice the price though.

I think the modified headphone sub-craze (it's a craze WITHIN a craze) is just getting started.  I’ll know it jumped the shark when they start modifying them to light up or something else that’s really silly.  What we definitely need is a kit with a stock pair of these so you can try your hand at modifying them yourself.  Heck, this whole forum’s theme is pretty much just that.  Oh, that already exists? Well, nevermind then.

[ShearMe]

I think the modified headphone sub-craze (it's a craze WITHIN a craze) is just getting started.  I’ll know it jumped the shark when they start modifying them to light up or something else that’s really silly.  

 

I concur that this is silly. It's one thing to mod a cheap headphone for fun - quite another to "improve" upon an expensive model. I was just trying to Google a place to buy FA-003 pads and saw someone modding a pair by stuffing cotton inside the housing. Hey, if @LinusTech doesn't like his original Momentums as much as the on-ears, he should mod them, right?  :rolleyes:

[stevv]

After this and @ShearMe 's review, I took the headband of the HD650 and put it on the Fostex... wow, what a difference haha.  Nice little mod for under $10... 
 
 

...
This is one comfortable headphone.  The headband has the pads portion of the Sennheiser HD600 headband affixed to the stock Fostex headband, and it’s VERY soft.  The earpads are also extremely soft.  We’re talking fluffy kitten on your face soft.  I’ve worn it for about 3 hours straight and the only thing remotely uncomfortable about it is the seal on the earpads makes your ears sweat a bit.

 
Breathable cups and headband cushion would be two simple things to make the stock one more usable. 
 

 
 

I’d say this headphone sounds like a Sennheiser HD650 with the cup grills covered. Overall it’s very detailed for a $200 headphone.

 That's harsh man  :lol: .  
 
 
 

There may also be a replacement cable that terminates to a 1/8” connector, but I didn’t get the chance to look.  The cable is really long, thick, and unruly (that didn’t come out quite right) so it’s quite prone to being a tangled mess if you don’t wrap it up.

 
There is, and Fostex sells it separately, but only 1 meter long :rolleyes:.  The stock cable is relatively thin and flexible... are they not including the stock cable?

[MayflowerElectronics]

After this and @ShearMe 's review, I took the headband of the HD650 and put it on the Fostex... wow, what a difference haha.  Nice little mod for under $10... 

  

There is, and Fostex sells it separately, but only 1 meter long :rolleyes:.  The stock cable is relatively thin and flexible... are they not including the stock cable?

 

The headband is almost a necessity with these headphones.

 

We looked into re-terminating each cable to 1/8'' jack, but takes too much time and money. It's easier to just use the high quality adapter we sell.

[h264]

 That's harsh man  :lol: .  

 

 

 

 

There is, and Fostex sells it separately, but only 1 meter long :rolleyes:.  The stock cable is relatively thin and flexible... are they not including the stock cable?

 

HD650 stills sounds good even with the cups covered, it just has a much bigger bass complement IMHO.  I could've called it a Frankenstein fabric muffler earmuff set if I wanted to be harsh.

 

1/8" jack AND 1 meter length?  Sounds perfect for portable use.  At least they wouldn't have that enormous loop of cable like on your stock cable there.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Quick google search shows this as an alternative.

 

http://v-moda.com/audio-only-cable/

 

I'll be buying a few and seeing how they work out. I'll update everyone if this is a good solution to the 1/4'' adapter.

[ShearMe]

Quick google search shows this as an alternative.

 

http://v-moda.com/audio-only-cable/

 

I'll be buying a few and seeing how they work out. I'll update everyone if this is a good solution to the 1/4'' adapter.

 

Yeah I read that too somewhere, but thought it'd be silly to use anything that wasn't a 90-degree connector.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Yeah I read that too somewhere, but thought it'd be silly to use anything that wasn't a 90-degree connector.

 

It's not that bad, it looks like this.

 

[ShearMe]

I didn't mean silly-looking. My V-Moda's have been returned so I'll test it.

[sperkowsky]

are they soft like a cat

[ShearMe]

are they soft like a cat

 

What? The pads? No, they're made of leather and memory foam and cats are made of fluffy fur.

[TheMissxu]

Cool.

[stevv]

HD650 stills sounds good even with the cups covered, it just has a much bigger bass complement IMHO.  I could've called it a Frankenstein fabric muffler earmuff set if I wanted to be harsh.

 

1/8" jack AND 1 meter length?  Sounds perfect for portable use.  At least they wouldn't have that enormous loop of cable like on your stock cable there.

Hm, Frankenstein fabric muffler earmuff set for HD650 wouldn't be a bad idea to use in the office haha.

 

Yeah, the 1 meter cable is advertised for portable, but expect to tag along an amp.  The HD650 cables are super long too, but I'm glad they are not extortionately expensive since I constantly run over them with my chair wheels.

 

 

Quick google search shows this as an alternative.

 

http://v-moda.com/audio-only-cable/

 

I'll be buying a few and seeing how they work out. I'll update everyone if this is a good solution to the 1/4'' adapter.

Weird that their page says "audio only" but it has four contact points. (mic too?)

 

 

are they soft like a cat

with no hair  :lol:

[ShearMe]

Weird that their page says "audio only" but it has four contact points. (mic too?)

 

Pretty sure it's just the wrong picture. The "regular" cable that came with my V-Moda's is a 3-pole.

[MayflowerElectronics]

We have cables from them for sale now, they work fine, look great and are cheap. They're the perfect length as well, good for both portable and home use.

[Focux]

It's not that bad, it looks like this.

Me GUSTA!

[Florimer]

I've been actually pretty interested lately in Fostex t50rp potential. The bad part of this "only starting "craze"", is that not much youtube reviewes are available. Even the eversofamous Mad Dogs by MrSpeakers mod have literally 1 review, and it is of an older model...
 

[ShearMe]

I've been actually pretty interested lately in Fostex t50rp potential. The bad part of this "only starting "craze"", is that not much youtube reviewes are available. Even the eversofamous Mad Dogs by MrSpeakers mod have literally 1 review, and it is of an older model...

 

 

Personally, I don't think there's much to do about the sound. Sure, the nice pads change the sound a bit, and Mad Dogs completely change the earcups, but I personally didn't hear a difference between the review sample and the "defected" sample I purchased latter. I haven't listened to a stock T50RP, but it can't be too much different.