2. misc-audio
  3. 150390-100071

Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...

I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...


For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...


His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...


Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...


I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
128x128mahgister
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,094 posts
 
Precisely that, I read it like a serious opinion then I give my take on it, without prejudice, for me plain solid rocks works, and powder reduced one too in different application like on cable...

By the way I added some Fo.Q tape 2 days ago on my Fostex headphone, they already have some of this tape on them dated from 2 years ago, with success... The Fostex TH 7 B is a TOTL headphone unbeknown to almost all reviewer  at cheap cost (less than 100 bucks new) , a miracle wonder, but plagued by heavy resonace all across the spectrum because of his plastic made cups...Damping them with sorbothane but mostly Fo.Q tape transform them in the better headphone I ever listen to...Herkimer stones in the inside cups achieve the job and they are spealer-like now with natural timbre and organic imaging...For 50 bucks new at the times I receive them, I underestimated them for years, because of their price and bad resonance...After I tweak them WOW, upgrading them is impossible at a cheap cost...

This Fo.Q tape is composed of powder reduced crystals of some kind...Like you already know crystals are efficient for damping also...
whostolethebatmobile
290 posts
 
Good thing for me you didn’t patent teeny tiny crystals 20 years ago Geoff. Otherwise my rampant and dangerous free sample spree might be over before I set the tweek industry reeling with my ambitious goal to give away 10 units worldwide. One of them to you I was vainly hoping, to satsfy my egotistical desire for advanced tweeker peer recognition.
whostolethebatmobile
290 posts
 
Geoff - I probably meant electromagnetic interference. Anyway, it's not vibration because the hood works at a considerable distance, even when not touching the equipment.
clearthink
1,421 posts
 

whostolethebatmobile"I probably meant electromagnetic interference."

You mean you don't know what you meant??? Then how are we supposed to know what you meant!
whostolethebatmobile
290 posts
 
That's your problem, clearthink.
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