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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
12,536 posts
 
I just completed a 2 hours headphone listening and wow!... The sound in my headphones was dramatically improved like with the speakers by my last move : only one more connection to my grid with a thin copper cable from a nephrite sitting beside 2 S.G.s and connected also to them... The nephrite is a marvellous stone imparting always a velvety touch to any musical timbre and last but not least always increasing the imaging in the headphone also like with the speakers....Only one connection added and a dramatic effect... The reader must know that I have around one hundred cables connected to perhaps 50 different stones of different kind...I am amazed that only one connection made a so strong effect...Audio is pleasure but also mystery...Science is only scratching mysteries...

My cheap Fostex are now King of my heaven...Incredible for a 50 bucks headphone bought new many years ago...All this years I dare not to use them because I think these are 50 bucks cheap Headphone...How would I have dared compared this cheap gear with a TOTL legendary AKG K 340 or the legendary Stax SR-5 gold ? Or an orthodynamic Hifiman paid many times more....Or the impressive all rounder AKG K701...I dont listen no more to any of them now...None of them owns an holographic speaker like imaging with a large and tall soundstage not even the 701 because his soundstage is large but  incoherent... 

We are human indeed and if we pay more we think this must be better....:)
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,536 posts
 
I listen the cd named "Tabla Tarang" with these headphone Fostex, NEVER I have pleasure to listen to this cd before because none of my headphone were able to communicate in a speaker-like manner the encircling subtle plays of the hands of the master on these I think 12 tablas adjusted for special tonalities around him...OUff 
And more than that it is imperative that an headphone must gives the natural timbre of the tablas if not all sound the same and artificial, and the notes are not circling you but linearly before you... With my Fostex in my grid the notes are circling like in a danse around me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qGt4VTZbdI
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,837 posts
 
Mahgister here is something of a headphone miracle you might appreciate.


I have a pair of these Audio Technica on-ear headphones.


https://www.google.com/search?q=athfw33&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS603US603&hl=en-US&prmd=mvin&...

I cannot believe how good sounding they are even off a standard iphone dongle. How do they do it? Everything is crystal clear and the bass is extended and clean despite the small size. No headphone amp needed. I’m betting the unique crystal like faceted form of the enclosures help.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,536 posts
 
Wow they are more than beautiful...They need almost no power this is interesting indeed...Thanks very much Mapman I will read about them with interest....I dont own quality headphone that I would use with a micro dac/amp... This seems promising.... Thanks from my heart for your information...The impedance is 100 Ohms tough...


https://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-FW33-FashionFidelity-BIJOUÉ-Headphones/dp/B008AT6DMC
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,837 posts
 
They are not expensive if still around and worth finding.

I also have multiple Sennheiser phones that I use a Chord Mojo portable DAC/amp with. The little jeweled AT phones are very close...no special amp/dac needed. Then I also have grado sr80e phones that I believe GK also owns and tweaks to sound their best. Not bad alone but they do benefit used with the Chord Mojo.
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