Fostex TE-02n "Final+1": Mod yourself a pair of killer IEMs!

Turns out I had some forgotten comply tips with wax filters lying around. These definitely help tame the treble, but they may be pushing the bass further than I would like. I need to do some more testing. In general I like comply tips and use them on my Andromedas without issue.

Edit: Okay, the foamies without wax guards that CA packs in with their IEMs work even better than the Comply. They tame the treble too but don't pump up the bass as much and retain the sense of space I get with the silicones. I'm listening to Van Morrison's Saint Dominic's Preview and these sound so damn good!

 

Btw, here's a heads-up to "Final+1" Mod owners. Since micropore tape is slightly elastic, the nozzle filter holes on newly modded units may have a tendency to close up again. So, if the tonal balance seems overly warm, do check your filters. The holes should be clearly visible. If not, then carefully reopen them with a needle!

 

Unfortunately, this particular market place seller doesn't even ship outside of Italy. All is not lost though... a few days ago, I stumbled upon new budget IEMs that might have what it takes to become worthy Fostex 02n successors. Don't want to go out on a limb atm, other than saying "they might". But things are looking pretty good imho...[/QUOTE]

Ooooooh...this is exciting.

 

I have had a pair of these for ages lying around, i never use them cause IEM's make me feel sick. PM me if anyone wants them (UK prefered)

 

Right.

So this one is of the last few remaining stocks locally. Got it for about the equivalent of $42. Not that cheap actually for an average Indonesian but there got to be less than 5 total remaining TE-02n for sale around, and at least two of those are already jacked up in price at > $60. All thanks to the growing popularity of SBAF and @james444 thread here.

Will try to familiarize with its factory tuning for a couple of days. Then if somehow I can find a cheap 40 gauge felting needle around, will proceed on doing James' mod.

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Impression from about 5 hours of intermittent listening (stock form):

• Seems a bit inefficient for an IEM. Still a bit soft sounding at volume level 45 on an A&K Jr which is roughly 60% of the device's maximum volume. Played in a relatively quiet room. Probably won't cut it at this volume level if worn in a busy commute.
  
  
• Rendition of female vocals are quite good. Organic and detailed enough. No apparent veil. No complains.
  
  
• Resolution is good enough. Not HD800 level of course but good enough to picks up small details in tracks without having to put conscious effort into it.
  
  
• Pianos and acoustic guitars are rendered surprisingly really good. Very believable. Haven't got much experience with how clarinets and the likes really sound on live but Kenny G albums sound awesome. No complains.
  
  
• Treble is grating at times but surprisingly a much less occurrence than I expected from reading through other's impressions. Most notable sizzle are from the usual serial sizzlers such as most J-Pop and K-Pop, and nowhere as grating as listening at those pop songs through HD800 for example. No complains personally since I'm already used to the occasional torture session with stock HD800, the ear scalpel supreme on bad tracks.
  
  
• The bass and slam are unsatisfactory. This is the most prominent trait of this IEM that immediately strikes from the get go. Using the largest stock tips currently, probably going to need to find a memory foam tips for better seal. Every songs with bass components sounded thin and limp as a result.

 

Definitely sounds like you're getting inadequate seal. Would highly recommend some comply-type foam, which does tame the sizzle too. My experience with this was that I felt that the stock tips were rubbish- I used the largest tips too.

 

Can't find a 40 gauge felting needle so I did it with a pin that comes with the Victorinox knife instead.
It's component #31 in this picture:




The pin is a little thicker than the usual sewing needle so I guess it should do the job. No turning back anyway. Warranty void if hymen is broken as how the fathers say.




Got some 3M Micropore, white in color compared to James' brown-ish. Wonder if that difference affects the result of the mod but anyway proceed to make four piercings around. Got to wiggle the pin a bit while stabbing the micropore so the holes are larger and more apparent, and to prevent those puncture holes slowly closing back after the pin is removed.




Now for James' last steps I couldn't find suitable tools for it. It can wait I guess. What does enlarging the vent supposed to do again, @james444 ?

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Post-mod impressions, at about 3 to 4 hours of intermittent listening:

• The bass and rumble improves a bit. A tiny little bit. The EDM tracks definitely improve in the bass quantity department, not nearly as much on the quality though probably because those tracks are mastered poorly anyway. @Untilted suggests that it happens because I haven't found a good seal yet and I too believe that is the case. Still, this is an improvement and although small, a tangible one.
  
  
• The stray sizzle is mostly taken care of. Can't believe this. Major stuff. Street magic stuff. It's really seriously taken care of. Only reappears on those shitty modern pop songs with high pitched females which are thrash songs, unworthy of being part of the history of human civilization anyway.
  
  
• The clarity of the vocals is untouched or at least changed only so slightly that it is undetectable by me. By the gods seriously this IEM is proficient at its rendition of vocals. Clear and detailed. I can definitely love this TE-02n for this one aspect alone. Sounds superb with tracks playing good acoustics and vocals.
  
  
• Timbre is untouched, just as above. String instruments and pianos are just as good.
  
  
• Overall the presentation drift towards a warmer tone now. Slightly. A very welcomed drift nonetheless. Now it plays nice with most songs in my playlist.
  
  
• Due to the slightly warmer tones, I find that this IEM now even requires more volume for a dedicated listening session. At its stock form the volume level on A&K Jr is about 40 - 45 for a comfortable session in a quiet room; post-mod it's > 48.
  
  
• And probably something that is not really related to the James' mod but I just realized that this IEM has an excellent center imaging. Hard to describe this. It's not like an arbitrary line that ever so slightly sways and drifts. TE-02n really makes it stands out, a very distinct, hard, solid vertical line that clearly marks where the center of the stage is, and makes me very quickly realize if something or someone in the recording is offset from that center. I think it's one of the a cool feature of this product.

 

The port works like a tuning port on a vented speaker enclosure. The size of it controls how much pressure there is in the housing and how much air the driver can move behind it. Larger = less restrictive.

 

Sqveak's correct. However, in case of the 02n there's a second membrane behind the driver that actually limits the amount of air movement, hence the rear vent mod makes only a very subtle difference.

@rayfalkner: I'd rather try to get a better seal than mod the rear vent. By looks of that hole you made through the front membrane, these should already sound like bass cannons... ;-)

 

@james444 Wait, wait... that hole, I'm not supposed to pierce the front membrane completely?

EDIT: Sorry I misread that.
You meant I'm not supposed to make a hole that large isn't it. Damn, just when I thought I can compensate being lacking in certain size by leaving behind a larger hole on some innocent membrane. But hey, on the bright side it should be a bass cannon with the right tips! For better or worse...

 

@rayfalkner: yup, that's what I meant. A hole that large should give you more than enough bass.

In other news, there's one remaining "Final+1" modded Fostex 02n available to US members. If interested please PM me.

 

They're great and well worth the money in my experience. Thanks again @james444 for your work on these!

 

the bass on that thing is amazing, fast like balanced armature driver with the texture of dynamic

 

A little update:

Using the Spinfit CP230 tips solve the problem for me. Probably not the most optimal solution since CP230 is the only biflange offerings from Spinfit that fits the nozzle diameter of TE-02n which is ~5.5mm but it works substantially better than the XL default tips.

Spoiler: How it looks with the Spinfit:

Even though it feels like a bit more intrusive to the canal, now the seal is definitely there! The bass finally works and yes there are plenty of slam no complains about the quantity!

The quality of the bass though I think still leaving me wanting for more and probably that's the limit of what the driver can achieve, but then I'm unable to make fair A-B comparison with other IEMs currently, especially against those at TE-02n price range.

Yes this IEM is definitely a keeper. A pleasant to listen. Thanks again to James for sharing his experiment to the public.

@james444 man, if you know any other hidden gems in this hobby you really need to spit it out, for the sake of betterment of humanity!

Spoiler: Bonus reference chart for the Spinfits:

 

As I said in my mod instructions, the hole through the diffuse membrane is crucial, since it determines bass quality. Yours came off a tad larger than it should, and as a result you're getting plenty of bass (with a good seal), but quality is a little below the limit of what the driver can achieve.

On top of that, Spinfits are in many cases not an optimal solution, because of their tapered sound tube. I have no experience with the CP230 in particular, but it might pay off to try alternative tips. Any tips that fit the Sennheiser CX300, IE8/80 or UE Triple-Fi 10 should fit the TE-02n as well.

I have another budget IEM in the works that I like quite a bit and will post about soon. Don't expect a reincarnation of the TE-02n though, it sounds quite a bit different and probably won't be for everybody...

 

I'm listening to these now. My mod is only removing the grill and using comply wax guard tips. Even with this simple mod, these are easily the best cost:return piece of audio equipment I've owned.

I have no idea why Fostex doesn't pretty and accessory these up a little, maybe do something about the grill, charge 99 USD and have the best "audiophile sounding" sub 100 USD IEMs on the market.

 

I was hoping for the TE-04 to be just that, but they can't hold a candle to the 02n. It's quite possible that Fostex never realized what a gem they had at hand.

 

Have you heard the TE-05? Available in Canada for $CAD 119, but I don't know anything about them.

 

IIRC, these have the older generation drivers (similar to the 02WP, predecessor of the 02n) and sounded quite aggressive when I tried them.

You're right, I don't believe in mods that go against the nature of the stock tuning. I only trust myself to perform minor adjustments here and there, but not to turn apples into oranges via modding.