Fostex T50RPMK3 Professional Studio Headphones

Great value for the money - once you replace the ear pads!**Update: I've since obtained a set of Dekoni Blues (modded T50RPs), and between them I prefer the stock T50RP. The Dekonis do have more sub-bass, but the bass is boosted everywhere and seems a bit loose in comparison to the stock/un-modded T50RP. That said, I have used the Dekonis for a few hours straight where, possibly by virtue of psychoacoustic adjustment (read: it's all in your head), they work well and the bass doesn't seem particularly bloated. But I did not experience the same instant feeling of "I love these!" when I tried the Dekonis that I did with the stock T50RP. For reference, I had not been listening to the stock T50RP that day prior to unboxing and listening to the Dekoni, so my reaction wasn't based on a direct comparison. The Dekonis sound a lot more like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X - I did a very brief comparison and they're not the same, but they have some similarities. Again, my point is to say that the stock T50RP sounds pretty good out of the box, at least as far as it suits my listening preferences.Got these on a lark after reading & watching numerous write-ups/posts and videos about these and their modded progeny. As others have noted, the stock pads are not so great. Besides not providing a seal for your ear, they also allow your ear to touch the inner ear cup, something that leads to physical fatigue after a while in my experience. However, the $35 ear pads I got here on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X1L287G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) resolved those two problems, and I find myself really enjoying these cans. FWIW, I think these earpads are as comfortable as the Dekoni hybrid pads that came on the Dekoni Blues.Doing a direct comparison of the Fostex T50RP, Sony MDR-Z7M2, and Sennheiser HD 560S using Wye Oak's "Sick Talk" from the Shriek album and no EQ: the Sony has the best sub-bass extension and bass slam - but it can get a bit muddy too; the Fostex has slightly brighter treble than the Sony, and solid bass with good impact, though it doesn't extend as far as the Z7; and the Sennheiser sounds like the most neutral (flat) with somewhat airier soundstage, the brightest treble, and the least boosted bass - the treble is not overwhelming, nor is the bass lacking. Overall, I think the Fostex strikes the best balance on this track, based on my listening preferences, which probably explains why I have been having so much fun listening to these cans since I got them almost 2 weeks ago.One caveat: As others have noted, you will need a decent amp to drive these as they're not terribly sensitive. I've mostly been using a Topping A50S, with the volume around 1 o'clock in low gain mode. For the 3 headphone comparison today, I used a Monoprice Monolith 887. For the Fostex, I set it to medium gain as the volume knob was almost maxed out in the low gain setting, whereas the Sony & Sennheiser were fine on low-gain.In conclusion, I really like these headphones, and more than I thought I would. In fact, I don't even remember what I was expecting when I ordered them other than that I'd probably have to mod them a lot to make them sound good and I was willing to tinker. And I did tinker a bit: but with just a pad swap they are greatly improved over stock, and so much so that I don't want to take them apart. Now I really want to hear the Dekoni Blue & Modhouse Argon!

EDIT: After a few weeks of ownership and constantly daily use, I guess they "broke in" and now the bass is just, bad. The mid bass is way too high. I find that I essentially have to reduce the 250hz band by about 5db in order to smooth it out to more neutral bass. So be warned, these are mid bass heavy. They didn't start out that way, but I guess after 3w of power driving them they wore in. I absolutely loath how they sound now after this break in period. Most headphones I have owned never had a break in period. Not even the HIFIMAN Sundara which are planar magnetic like these. After the break in, these are not worth it all. I even decided to put different cups on it to fix the issue. Nothing works. I even tried covering the vents on the back, and they still sound horrible. If I were YOU, I would hard pass, and simply save up $300 for a set of Sony MDR-1AM2's which are lightyears ahead in fidelity and neutrality.Where to start. I have been buying headphones on Amazon for quite awhile now. Its literally turning into my hobby. Buying them, testing them, seeing how they sound based on my own setup.My setup. Well, I have the Sound Blaster AE-9 sound card in my PC. Its op-amps have been swapped to muses 01 and 03 respectively. And then the RCA out from there goes to my Schitt Magni 3 Heresy headphone amp. I can power pretty much ANYTHING no sweat. And I mean ear blistering levels.So where to begin. Comparing them to other headphones? How about I start with the HIFIMAN Sundara, which are a $350 dollar pair of headphones. I would say the upper end is way more natural on these T20RP. The Sundara have been tested to have a huge bump around 8k which some people don't like. The upper end on the T20RP are pretty crisp. Listening to some Drum and Bass, some Progressive House, and sure enough that top end is way more crisp than the Sundara. I would say the way to explain it, the T20RP are CRISP while the Sundara's are BRIGHT. Now one thing I love about the Sundara, is that I can EQ in the bass that its missing. They are by all means "audiophile" in the sense that they lack the bass. Now listening to these T20RP, they have some bass, but they are FAR from "bass cannons" that are claimed by some youtube reviewers. In fact, trying to add bass in through EQ just ends up with driver buzz aka bad for the speaker and bad for listening. So if you are the type to try to EQ your headphones to perfect neutral or even real "bass cannons" these will not be for you at all.... As of typing this, I just landed on some Kenny G, and I have to say, it sounds darn nice. (yes I have a wide taste in music).Now, lets compare them to my Sony MDR-1AM2, a $300 pair of headphones. I know, it doesn't seem fair to rate them vs more expensive cans, however, in the first rant above, the T20RP hold their own vs the HIFIMAN cans.... So, how do they rate against the Sony's? I will say the highs, again, are more CRISP than the Sony. However, I would say the Sony has a way better neutrality to them. From top to bottom, the Sony are very "reference" in terms of EQ flatness without "flavor". I would dare to say the bass from both without EQ are on par. Which means the T20RP does have neutral esk bass. However I would argue that the crisp highs on the T20RP do cut down on the thump a bit as your mind is more focused on that crisp top end. Now one thing for bass heads, again, these are not for you. The T20RP cannot EQ more bass in. I tried the 32hz range and 60hz range, and neither like being boosted at all, not even a little, very akin to other cheap headphones I have tested like Audio Technica's.... HOWEVER, with the Sony's, if I get in that "extra-bass" mood, I can for sure smash the EQ up a bit and enjoy the thump a bit more. These T20RP you just can't..... I also want to point out that the Sony are typical drivers, while the T20RP and HIFIMAN are both planar magnetic, so they are hard to drive while the Sony can work great even for cell phones (for average users, for me I need blistering loud so yeah)So, would I recommend these, sure, they are not bad for the price. HOWEVER, you will need a strong amplifier to power these. They wont run off typical hardware due to their driver being very inefficient. But if you have a cheap headphone amplifier, they should come to life pretty well and get pretty loud. Don't expect mind rattling bass, these aren't capable of it. They are not bass cannons. I would actually say the bass is neutral, with solid mids and crisp highs. So far I haven't been able to take them off because I am not used to crisp highs, I am used to either neutral highs or flat highs with other headphones. Its kind of refreshing. For the price, you can't go wrong. Based on the idea that these T20RP have the most bass compared to the other two offerings, I probably wouldn't recommend either of the other versions. Some youtubers mention the highs being "murderous" for the T40RP, which if the highs are already THIS CRISP on T20RP, having MORE and harsher highs would just make me sick mentally. You only need so much. Funny, listening to some more Kenny G, the crisp highs remind me of headphones back from the early 2000's which had similar crisp highs with neutral bass.... takes me back. ROFL.