Fostex T-X0 review

I just purchased a used as of these (Serial #00094), and color me impressed.

Note: mine have been miffed by the previous owner with cotton in the cups.

Note #2: this is just initial impressions.

EQ and Sound:
Most descriptions here very accurate. They remind me of my old Denon D2000's (RIP), but more detailed and airy. Slightly aggressive and slightly U nearing V shape. Bass is slightly bloated, but not too overdone. Treble slightly peaky in the 5K range, but tons of air and details. You can really hear the compression aritifacs in YouTube with these.

I don't know who said they don't have good separation, but maybe if you are only used to open planars or other super high end headphones. I think for closed or semi-open, killer separation. Layers and layers. Anyone who has heard T-50 variants should know. However, they could be better at overall imaging and placement. Still, not a surprise for a modded T-50, if you want to really push things.

Overall the first headphone in awhile that I don't want the song to end and in a rush to get to the other test songs. The moment I put them on I got pure enjoyment out of these. They make me listen to the music, not rhe headphone.

Drive:
They are power hungry, but not as power hungry as Alpha Dogs. They will still sound halfway decent on a portable souce, just quiet even at full volume. However, I felt they ran fine on a Fiio A3, which is not that powerful, but way more powerful than an Android or iPhone.

Comfort:
Cups are very spacious and comfortable. Also, lighter weight than my T20 V2's. The shorter cable is also appreciated although a bit plastic-y feeling.

A bit of fussiness:
Leather band is not as supple as the band from Mr. Speakers. Not bad, but appears as laminate cheap belt material, not softer genuine leather.

Speaking of the leather band, the screws are star or torx with a center stud. Really? We need a specialty screw for this? Anyway...

Headband could use a bit more clamping force, then again I have a smaller head. Without the band, the adjustment would be bottoming out on me. I guess I just need to bend the headband a bit.

In closing:
So typical starting modded T-50 sound right out of the box for only slightly more than stock T-50, and with better comfort. I am pretty sure Massdrop and Fostex designed these to show off what planars can do with a wide appealing sound signature that will suit most on entering hi-fi. Basically, it's a gateway drug...like most of the stuff on Massdrop.

I think I found my perfect work headphones.

 

Sorry, but these are a muddy mess (and that's with the vents taped shut) compared to the T50RP mkIII with Dekoni pads I have. Not even in the same ballpark clarity wise, and I have these, alpha dogs from 3d printer files, and several other modded mkII's. So I'm familiar with the Fostex T50 driver.

 

I miss my Vibro Mk2 and Ori. I want them back.

 

Ok, mine may be slightly modded with the "Rite Aid mod"? "Cotton within cups" was all that was mentioned in the ad.

And from there I think it comes down to taste. Some like low bass, sone like ot it to be dead even. I prefer a bit of bass hump, especially listening at low volumes, which is how I listen at work.

I got rid of the Alpha Dogs because I never felt they had good low end, never sounded balanced to me, and sounded strained on less than stellar recorded material, even to me even if I did enjoy the details and holographic sound.

But anyways, mine are different than dead stock T-X0, which may account for the difference. My apologies for not noting that in my previous post. I forget how touchy these drivers are with just a slight change or two.

PS - thanks @JK47 for catching me on that. That is a good call out.

 

@rtaylor76

Hiya. I sold you those. I meant to pack the box with the leftover rolls of cotton to help you save some money in case you were going to try some mods yourself. The rite-aid cotton is recommended in the BMF thread and shipping costs from rite-aid is more than the cotton itself.

My thoughts on the cotton mod and more:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fostex-t50rp-incremental-mods-and-measurements.618659/page-164

Basically the cotton mod was a subtle change but an improvement and a flatter freq response if the change matches the measurements.

This was my second set of t50rp mkii. I wanted to try them again after some years and after having had the HE400i and not liking it wanted to try another planar but without the ortho wall. I have the 4XX now and like it so nevermind that ortho wall.

I also had a D2000.

Im not sure what it is but I find some headphones literally painful. My Beats EP measure pretty flat but if I dont get a good seal then appears a mid-bass bump which can hurt. In both cases thats alao why I sold the t50rps- too much bass. I liked it but when I modded for less bass I created other issues which I describe in the HF thread. Im not a good modder and Im too lazy and the pain frightens me of hearing loss. FYI I listen at low volumes.

Also I remember my old t50rp being better but that one I modded thoroughly. I think adding mass to the driver baffle must be significant which I did not try on the T-X0 because I wanted to keep weight down for comfort. Also, on my old t50rp I had acoustic dampening material on the ear side which Im sure played a part to what I remember being a more resolving headphone. Also, back then I had amps and dacs so my words are trash now. I just do headphones for portability and podcasts, its now speakers otherwise. I just got 58X and its so good I dont feel Im missing too much just out of the iphone... OT

 

I might have figured someone here had these that were slightly modded and with a low serial. I guess they only made 2000 or so.

I opened up one side before I even read @Philimon's post, and lo and behold there is cotton layers in the four corners of the driver and no baffling between the vent and the rear of the driver. Here is a pic:



The no baffle behind the driver might attribute to the steely sound. Although it is only slightly distracting to me. It kind of reminds me of Aeon's, but with less detail of course.

Some modeling clay on the baffle will likely do wonders. I may pick some up from the hobby store this weekend. And maybe some felt lining material for the cup side for deflections.

Anyway, don't want to turn thos thread into a modding thread, but now we have more explinations so my comments and why my impressions are different than stock T-X0.

 

I have a pair of these stock, and the sound seems very smooth, warm and distant. I'd like to bring vocals forward, and add a bit to the treble. Are there mods for this effect on the t-x0, or am i working with the wrong canvas to begin with?

 

The T-X0's are slightly modded T-50RP II's. So all of the writeups, forums, etc. will directly relate.

Here is a list of mods that make up the difference between a stock T50RP II and a T-X0 from what I can tell. Others feel free to correct me or add

• Comfort headband
• Pads changed to focus type pads with inner vent holes
• Padding in rear cups added
• Three of the 4 tiny vents from baffle are covered up
• Screens on driver side and on rear vents

That is about all I can tell. The three of the 4 baffle vent holes covered and the no blockage of the rear port attributes to the large bass response. To lift the treble and reduce the bass, some damping is going to be required from behind the driver.

So to answer your question, I think it is a great canvas to begin with.

 

I picked up a used pair of these fairly recently (with the intention of opening them up and poking around) - I’ve not heard T50 mods before, but I’ve found them to be good fun indeed.

My one complaint thus far is that the pads aren’t deep enough for me personally. Would you say pad rolling is where to start with modding these? I’d be quite intrigued as to how an angled set of hybrid pads would change the sound.