The Orthodynamic Thread

[Guest sacd lover]

Yay! HP/YH-3 FTW!

I have both the YH-3 and HP-3. The do sound excellent modded and recabled. But, I think once I get the T50RPmk2 modded they will surpass the YH-1 and YH-3. In fact, I think they will better my modded / recabled YH-1 as well. I guess smeggy and I have similar tates.

[ludoo]

I have both the YH-3 and HP-3. The do sound excellent modded and recabled. But, I think once I get the T50RPmk2 modded they will surpass the YH-1 and YH-3. In fact, I think they will better my modded / recabled YH-1 as well. I guess smeggy and I have similar tates.

...or you miss the special felts in the HP-3.

[Smeggy]

...or you miss the special felts in the HP-3.

Grrrrr.....

I demand a recount!

I can't wait to get an HP/YH3 or 50, should be fun playing with them. I'm gonna copy what you did to see if I can finally get a Yammy that tweaks my nipples

I just have to wait until everyone buys the RP so the prices come down

[ludoo]

Grrrrr.....

I demand a recount!

I can't wait to get an HP/YH3 or 50, should be fun playing with them. I'm gonna copy what you did to see if I can finally get a Yammy that tweaks my nipples

I just have to wait until everyone buys the RP so the prices come down

If everything goes according to plan, there may be one I'll send on tour shortly. The first stops will be you and Donald.

Bah, I came hope expecting to see the YH-1 package, but no luck yet. Waiting is so hard...

[Kabeer]

If everything goes according to plan, there may be one I'll send on tour shortly. The first stops will be you and Donald.

Bah, I came hope expecting to see the YH-1 package, but no luck yet. Waiting is so hard...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi2dGBf09kw

[Dusty Chalk]

I saw on head-fi that you guys were also waiting on my impressions of the T40RP MkII's, so here they are:

they're good.

Yeah, I know, overly concise to the point of useless, but (a) they're not even burned in yet, and ( not sure about the amplification, will take my Supra++ home this weekend and give it a more extended listen, and © I don't have any prior ortho experience, so can compare it to no other ortho's other than the T50RP which I got at the same time. I'm not even sure I have a Mk II of the T50RP (curved vs. flat pads? I'm not sure I understand...).

So you-all will have to settle for pictures.

[dBel84]

so can i play with the big boys too ..dB

[Smeggy]

so can i play with the big boys too ..dB

Hiya Don

It's a veritable flood of othofontists.

Is an orthodontist someone who cut his teeth with orthos?

[dBel84]

sounds about right. . I have been having some mega ortho fun recently, we are going to have to get you down here or come up there and spread the love ..dB

[wualta]

Actually, "they're good" is good enough. If the T40RPmkII DC bought had the original pads, I have the feeling he'd be throwing them at us and mumbling about mass hypnosis and flavors o' the month and other behavior of crowds.

.

[wualta]

Hey! where are the pictures?

[mypasswordis]

Hopefully Dusty is coming over sometime in the next few days and I can take pics if he hasn't already. My usual pics, the ones with poor lighting, poor photography, on a poor sad camera.

[Dusty Chalk]

Actually, "they're good" is good enough. If the T40RPmkII DC bought had the original pads, I have the feeling he'd be throwing them at us and mumbling about mass hypnosis and flavors o' the month and other behavior of crowds.

"They don't suck."

[Salt Peanuts]

I should have a pair of T50RP coming my way soon. I've been reading the thread in prepping for applying some mod and a question - are reflex dots simply circular sticker/paper adhesive you can buy from an office store?

[TomB]

OK - I'll have to modify my initial opinion. After just a small bit of burn-in, the T50RP's are really starting to improve. Highs are coming in quite nicely, which is a bit strange compared to dynamic phones - it's the bass that comes in later, or at least a sweetening of initially-harsh highs. They also seem to be taking more volume travel to get the same sound level, but maybe I'm going more deaf as I go along with these things. They're still not at the level of the effortless highs of Colin's Yamah YH-3's, but the bass on the T50's is as tight as any I've heard.

You guys have posted about this, but that locking mini-plug and socket is the pits. I'm going to have to use my model railroad Rail-Zip on it shortly to improve the contact and stop the cutting in and out on the right can ... very irritating for brand new phones.

[ludoo]

As that other site is always unavailable, I'll regale you with my straight ticket to the special hell for noobs who mangle good projects: my half scale version of the Cyburgs Needles, using the 120ohm SFI.

Cardboard, three old wool socks for internal damping, lots of hot glue. Sound, as expected, is not particularly impressive but could be worse and is much better than many pc speakers I heard: lowish volume from the Starving Student, little bass (though the little there is goes quite deep), maybe a bit too much treble.

Now I'll have to pester the dyiaudio guys to design proper half scale needles, as they are the perfect size for my desk.

[swt61]

This thread is getting lots of good attention lately. As Head-Case is very much my prefered forum these days, and the Ortho thread was my favorite thread on HF, this makes me very happy!

[dBel84]

This thread is getting lots of good attention lately. As Head-Case is very much my prefered forum these days, and the Ortho thread was my favorite thread on HF, this makes me very happy!

I had resisted "crossing over" to yet another forum as I have a hard time keeping up as it is but when SACD-lover posted his new amp I couldn't help myself. Never posted anything right enough but the deed was done and this felt the right place to start off.

Very inventive Ludo, not sure those little drivers are going to move enough air to produce enough bass presence. Perhaps a small 3" woofer into the mix.

@ salt peanuts - yes, even a small bit of tape cut to size, anything will do.

@ tomB - very cool to see Colin has roped you in too. If it weren't for ericj, I would never have began my journey.

Now off to play some laser tag with my kids

..dB

[mypasswordis]

I should have a pair of T50RP coming my way soon. I've been reading the thread in prepping for applying some mod and a question - are reflex dots simply circular sticker/paper adhesive you can buy from an office store?

Typically that's exactly what they are, although anything that reflects backwave can serve as one, as I found out after taking off a layer of filter material I was supposed to be using as damping. They don't even have to be circular.

OK - I'll have to modify my initial opinion. After just a small bit of burn-in, the T50RP's are really starting to improve. Highs are coming in quite nicely, which is a bit strange compared to dynamic phones - it's the bass that comes in later, or at least a sweetening of initially-harsh highs. They also seem to be taking more volume travel to get the same sound level, but maybe I'm going more deaf as I go along with these things. They're still not at the level of the effortless highs of Colin's Yamah YH-3's, but the bass on the T50's is as tight as any I've heard.

You guys have posted about this, but that locking mini-plug and socket is the pits. I'm going to have to use my model railroad Rail-Zip on it shortly to improve the contact and stop the cutting in and out on the right can ... very irritating for brand new phones.

Are you sure the bass is tight? Is your T50RP still stock? I had the impression that the sound was muddy. Only when I damped the chassis did the bass hit hard and fast. I did experience the exact same effect of the highs coming in a bit more and needing a bit more turn of the volume knob for the same sound level after a day or so of burn-in.

I luckily have had no contact problems with my locking plug.

[Smeggy]

I think the RP diaphragm is initially tight, and as it's a clamped/glued assembly in a square, I believe they need a good couple of days high SPL playing to bed them in and loosen them up to where they perform best. The sound improves a lot over new and then you apply some heavy duty damping to the baffle and cup along with a little felt for absorption and maybe a small reflex dot and they sing beautifully.

Of course they do sound different from the Yammys and which you prefer is a matter of personal prefs. However, these are new, easily available and probably very easy to do a standardised modding checklist. It's a winner all around. Especially for those of us who really need circum phones for long term listening. Supras can't generally stay on my ears for any more than an hour or two.

I love them

Ludo, you crazy loon, everyone knows you need a line array to make it moar better. You can fit at least another 5 per side there

[wualta]

We're going to have a whole new burn-in 'sperience with the T50RPv2 because the old earpads wouldn't let you hear the results, and the new pads will, plus the T50RP diaphragm (which is now universal across the Fostex RP headphone line) is unlike any other ortho/iso. It's square, it's finely zigzagged, it's copper and it's small, and it sits in the most powerful magnetic field ever used in this type of driver. So expect the unexpected. It's a brave new diaphragm.

Yes, it's going to need some sort of treble assist. Even the Queen Goddess Yamaha Herself needs something for her saggy top. This can be anything smooth and reflective and thin. You could use a dime or a little square of sticky tape as dBel says or a little slip of aluminum foil. I've never experimented with long, thin shapes to see if they create a different sound, so if any of you try that, let us know your results.

By all means, dip the locking cup-plug in contact cleaner. Fostex has used this arrangement for more than 20 years, and only recent headphones have had trouble. Just don't use WD40.

Ludo, I loooove your teeny ghetto 1/40th-wave transmission-line knockoffs. You can miniaturize a big speaker for computer-speaker use, but if you want something that doesn't tend toward the treble-heavy, try changing the shape of the cabinet. To support the midrange, you want a decent sized baffle, at least 30cm wide-- audio wavelengths don't miniaturize well. Of course, the big flat sections of cardboard will need bracing, so it's a tradeoff. And a line source array isn't a bad idea at all. Buy a bunch of SFIs and spell out your name on a false wall behind your computer, stuffed with fiberglass. Make little cardboard dodecahedrons and put an SFI on each face. But I've said too much already.

Those of you happy with your T50RPs should send thank-you cards and little cupcakes to Faust 2/3D. He Took One For The Team and freed you from the tyranny of the SFI. Just a thought.

[swt61]

Tony was gracious enough to buy two pair of T50RP for he and I. They're shipping to me directly, and I'll mod them ala Smeggy. Smeg I may have a few questions for you when the time comes, hope you don't mind.

[TomB]

<snip>Are you sure the bass is tight? Is your T50RP still stock? I had the impression that the sound was muddy. Only when I damped the chassis did the bass hit hard and fast. I did experience the exact same effect of the highs coming in a bit more and needing a bit more turn of the volume knob for the same sound level after a day or so of burn-in.

I luckily have had no contact problems with my locking plug.

Well, I will never claim to have a golden ear. However, it seems to me that the bass is very tight and very dynamic. What I do notice is the resonance or tinny, off-kilter sound signature caused by the thin plastic can shell (my guess). That definitely adds to a sense of muddiness, but if you can stand to raise the volume, the dynamics of the driver drown this out - sort of. IOW, the driver sounds great, but the housing ... not so much.

Or, I could just be full of BS. Come to think of it, that's probably the more likely case.

<snip>

@ tomB - very cool to see Colin has roped you in too. If it weren't for ericj, I would never have began my journey.

Now off to play some laser tag with my kids

..dB

Yeah, I'm going to have to figure out how to pay him back for this one. I can barely listen to any of my other phones after getting used to the highs on that Yamaha.

We're going to have a whole new burn-in 'sperience with the T50RPv2 because the old earpads wouldn't let you hear the results, and the new pads will, plus the T50RP diaphragm (which is now universal across the Fostex RP headphone line) is unlike any other ortho/iso. It's square, it's finely zigzagged, it's copper and it's small, and it sits in the most powerful magnetic field ever used in this type of driver. So expect the unexpected. It's a brave new diaphragm.

Yes, it's going to need some sort of treble assist. Even the Queen Goddess Yamaha Herself needs something for her saggy top. This can be anything smooth and reflective and thin. You could use a dime or a little square of sticky tape as dBel says or a little slip of aluminum foil. I've never experimented with long, thin shapes to see if they create a different sound, so if any of you try that, let us know your results.

By all means, dip the locking cup-plug in contact cleaner. Fostex has used this arrangement for more than 20 years, and only recent headphones have had trouble. Just don't use WD40.

</snip>

Marvel Mystery Oil is much better ... but seriously, I don't know what's in the stuff, but I've used this RailZip junk for years on Walkmans and such - works great. It was developed to cut down on oxidation with rails in model railroading. Plus, it doesn't dissolve plastic, which many similar formulations will do.

http://www.internettrains.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PAA-PT23&Category_Code=BMCCATWAL

This may be obvious to many of you, but the highs are much better when I hold the cans away from ears. So, as you say - a small amount of reflective material might just do the trick.

[Smeggy]

Tom, I think you have the situation covered and it coincided with all my findings.

Steve, happy to help however I can.

[mypasswordis]

Even the Queen Goddess Yamaha Herself needs something for her saggy top. This can be anything smooth and reflective and thin.

A bra? Or are you talking about some jewelry to take the eyes off the sag?

Buy a bunch of SFIs and spell out your name on a false wall behind your computer, stuffed with fiberglass. Make little cardboard dodecahedrons and put an SFI on each face. But I've said too much already.

Beyond badass.

IOW, the driver sounds great, but the housing ... not so much.

You're definitely spot on about that. I just thought it was a little weird that it sounds like the stock T50RP has tighter or as tight bass than the heavily modded YH3.