Fostex T50RP mk3 mod failure

Discussion in 'DIY' started by Fallenangel, Jun 19, 2021.

  1. Fallenangel

    Fallenangel Friend

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    Hey guys,

    I just joined and found the diy forum, yay.

    I have a pair of fostex t50rp planars that I tried to mod and burned a driver, I think.

    All else should be good, if you consider "good" being half modded with sticky goup on the drivers and fluff meant to dampen vibrations.

    I'm sure there's an article out there for how it's supposed to be done.

    Anyways, I'm offering it to anyone who has a driver and wants to fix it.

    I would ask for a driver and fix it myself but I haven't had the time to play with my tools for years. Don't entice me. :)

    Cheers
     
  2. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Welcome... "back"? (many oldies here) , hopefully you get inspired to 'pick up your tools' again.

    .. dB
     
  3. Philimon

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    Hi Pavel! Good to see you. D!Y
     
  4. Armaegis

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  5. Armaegis

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    Well I mean... I have a practically new in box T50rp-mk2 just waiting to be shipped out to somebody for modding nostalgia...
     
  6. Fallenangel

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    After my failed attempt, I would rather not. These are annoying to work with and the mod relies on careful tweaking of dampening material. Read as : absolute pain in the ass.

    First attempt resulted in no bass. I opened them, removed some foam, added that sticky putty to the driver, tried again, and each side sounded differently. I thought I got polarity wrong, and that's when the driver contacts burned and I couldn't get it back.

    Just a pain in the ass.

    I don't recommend working with these, too finicky.

    I haven't been this annoyed since Ultrasone HFI-780 modding, lifting a solder pad and Ultrasone refusing to sell a single driver.

    I haven't found anyone selling a single driver at a decent price.

    This feels like a project that just irritated me too much to continue.

    Another very long story short - if you have a driver or willing to find one, as a welcome to this community, I'll gladly give you the headphones. Please be nice and pay for shipping.
     
  7. Fallenangel

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    Hi, I'm sorry that I don't recall your name, but thank you for the welcome, I appreciate it.
     
  8. Fallenangel

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    I found an email from long ago

    [email protected]

    They could sell a single driver at $56 but had 9 weeks waiting time
     
  9. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Ive dealt with jam before recently trying to get Fostex parts. After informing me on parts reference numbers they redirected me to fullcompass for purchasing. They seem to be pretty slow on fulfilling special request orders not listed specifically as in-stock on their site.

    You could’ve guessed my name was Phil. I won a PPAS amp you built and donated to San Francisco meet approximately a decade ago. I used for years. Then found in storage last year and it wouldnt turn on so I gave to @Merrick and he fixed and liked. Just needed new batteries. :) It was your vintage Grado RS1 at that meet that got me hooked on Grado for the longest. If you’re still slightly keen on Grado then there have been some exciting new developments you may be interested in. Check Grado threads here.
     
  10. Armaegis

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    Oof yeah, the pads on those drivers are finicky. The vintage ones even moreso as I believe they were an aluminum solder.

    Eventually I learned to just snip out and leave a little pigtail of the original wiring on the driver to reattach later.
     
  11. Fallenangel

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    I will start with "kids, don't do drugs, especially, don't smoke a lot of weed in college because it will leave you with questionable memory for life". After that joke because I actually have a very good memory, it just tends to be selective.

    Anyways, I'm really happy you got that amp and enjoyed it. NiMH batteries don't last forever, gotta replace every few years.

    Oh God, please don't bring up vintage RS-1, they were always my favourite headphones. When I still lived in San Francisco, I even purchased a pair of Grado PS-1. Yes, those ones. $2400 at the time and I kept them for a week. Old RS-1 and HP-2 are the only ones for me. Well, the Stax SR-007 are on the list, but that's all.
     

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