FostexT40RPMK3 Professional Open Headphone, Black

Nice signature. It is somewhat harmanesque. My description will be based on comparison with AKG products which claim to follow the Harman curve. The key differences would be the T50RP has rolled off highs, far less mids, meatier bass. Vocals are not in your face, although still a bit hoarse perhaps due to a hump which peaks as we enter the treble. The t50RP's are considerably easier to listen to at louder volumes and very enjoyable when done so. At moderate volumes, bass is more subtle but still a good degree.My suggestion, if you experience plastic creaking, try tightening the pairs of screws on the plastic parts above the ones which are part of the earcup sliding mechanism. I found doing so also made the plastic pieces flush. Build quality is fine.Bass may be a bit lean for some but mid and low bass is very much present, just never stands out unless intended. At about 30 Hz it falls off.The bass is different on each earcup, this is because one cup (the left) has a socket with small gaps for the cable locking mechanism. (This also means the left is slightly heavier than the right.)The pads are not great, they need more space to fit my ears, they are half in half out. I'm not actually sure how to wear these.... But with my earbud usage this is a delicate area.The 3.5mm cable is horrific, I'm not sure why they even include it. You get kinked rubber with lots of phonics and it uh, is lifted at ~45 degrees all the way to my dac/amp, I can't keep it down. The 1/4" cable is sent in a better manner, somewhat kinked but useable, with more reasonable material and great strain reliefs.

These sound superb in games , movies and rock music.Like wearing a clamp though , top headband padding is too thin and unless your ears are flat to your head and small the earpads are just too thin ( really thin , less than a cm).Changed the pads to hybrids , this made a huge differance in comfort , just got to make a comfort strap now (i;m eyeing up my missus's orange leather belt for that).Put some coffee filter paper behind the earpad mesh just so i can say i modded them (have not got a clue what it does but people on forums said that makes them sound better).Out of the headphones i have these and my DT770s are the ones i use all the time.Needs some power though , in fact quite a lot i have a Creative G6 DAC/AMP (not uber powerfull but i like the features it has) and need the gain on and volume at 80% for it to be loud compared to the DT770 250ohm that are more than loud enough for me at 60% without gain.Not just power for the volume though but to hear more things going on in the background like in Pink Floyds On The Run you can hear the flight announcer clearer (dont know what the audio term for that is).

Bought these open box from Amazon Warehouse, paid circa £80 - curiosity really, didn't realize I'd just bought some of the cheapest planar mag headphones on the market. At least a third of the price of anything comparable,they sound be amazing, imaging, clarity, soundstage,it's all there, semi open back so nice and natural sounding too - try a live album like Wishbone Ash Just Testing Vol 2 - you could be there - just lovely sounding across the sound spectrum, excellent dynamics, no eq required - really I'm blown away, even comparing these to my Meze Neo' ( which I thought had no competition up to now under £200, even with a balanced cable, these Fostex hold their own.So what's the catch.1. Pug ugly - like the 70's never went away, and abs plastic had just been invented - shinier than a 10 year old Toyota dashboard. Although I do like the orange cables. Build quality looks cheap, but actually they are quite solid, except...2. Earpads are horribly skinny, but this is because you need to stay close to the planar mag drivers ( less than 18mm ideally) or bass thins out. Not that comfy out of the box, tolerable, but you'll prob want to spring for some better pads, so a few extra quids required here.POWER - before you fire them up a quick call to the local power station to turn on an extra generator is a good idea. Thes will only really run off a proper hifi, dedicated headphone amp, and even then your talking at least a desktop HP amp than a pocket portable - my Ffio BTR3 just about drove them, but it fell short for the first time,band as for my phone, unaided, forget it - these are not headphones for the casual commuter/ gym bunnies. But, feed them raw power from a recent source - I run mine off a Zen DAC - they sound simply superb. Think they are fast becoming my favourites.

An absolutely beast of a headphone. But buy with caution.Pros:The crispiest sound you will hear from a headphone at this priceYou will hear things you never knew existed in your music, harmonies. The instrumental will be clear without meddling with the vocalsGreat build qualityBUT, and this is a HUGE BUTCons:The pads are the thinnest you can find around, comfort is absolutely garbage if you have bigger ears.Changing out the pads is an option but imo makes the sound quality take a dive. I tried the shure valore one which made the mids too muddyPlanar magnetic. Translation: you NEED an amp to use this. YOU CANNOT PLUG IT IN YOUR PHONE/ LAPTOP/ PC AND EXPECT IT TO WORK, it will sound like TRASH.I use dragonfly red/ fiio k5 pro the drive it and it sounds great.

So i got these headphones along with a sap ii to power them , good news for sap ii owners or any of the sap range amps , they'll power them to 1 o'clock to deafening levels.Anyways the headphones came up and my Christ were they uncomfy and siblant so siblant it made my dt 990s less hardcore sounding. Which if you watch any reviews , dt 990s sound siblant AF.Mods :Hybrid pads the normal ones , it takes away the peak it has in the highs somewhere but keeps the bass volume if not slightly widening the sound stage.Hd 600 comfort strap glued ontopAfter mods : Comfort --They become really comfy to wear and put on like my Fidelio x2s and my moded k702s.Sound --The peak it has in the highs where the ssss sounds like it's going to Pierce your skull lessens . The bass is taken a little further and the mids really shine. The soundstage widens a little and by little I mean not too far off the k702 , but still keeping its imaging so accurate .Also it says they're semi open but like I don't get the seashell effect with closed pairs which is good cause that drives me mad with the MDR 1as I had. Or my friends qc35...Build:These are built in the most utilitarian manner and really easily moddable I can trust them to not break like my x2s . Unlike my k702s which feel fragile in contrast.And even if they do break because of the moddable nature you can get parts or replacements or Frankenstein something.Overall :Maybe just maybe a little overhyped , just a smidge . If I'm wanting to kick back and relax I'll get my k702s for the wide soundstage or the x2s if I'm out and about and need the extra bass extension and maintain being open. These for me are perfect analysis and gaming headphones cause of the imaging so foot steps foot steps . Overall after any mod you do you'll be happy with them and you'll get sentimental values to them as you spend the time to baby them.