My Audiophile Nirvana : The Orthodynamic Headphones

titana

titana

Adept
First of all, what the heck are these :

Short version : Vintage headphones which after some tweaking kick the butt of current production dynamic headphones.

Long version : The 900+ pages long orthodynamic thread at head-fi

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/orthodynamic-roundup-111193/

Fostex T20v2 : recabled with Belden miniquad cable







Yamaha HP-2 recabled with mogami miniquad, also seen are ghetto DIYed lambskin pads(soon to be replaced)







another T20 snap:



Together :





Sound Impressions : Almost perfect , from deep subwoofer like bass to crystal-clear mids with smooth extending highs.

Imaging is razor sharp & the transients are lightning fast. :clap:

The best I have ever heard. Period !

Cons :

1.) Soundstage is rather small though it is compensated a bit by superb imaging.

2.) They sound this good only after modding, stock they are only decent.

3.) Vintage meaning old , really old - about 30 yrs. in case of yamaha ones.
 
These look very comfortable to wear in comparison to IEM's. Yeah i know, different environment etc.

How many hours could you wear them for a listening session ?
 
@desiibond : thanks.

@Ritvik : At head-fi, where else !

@blr_p : the yamaha one are extremely comfortable, you can forget that you are even wearing them. The fostex ones are quite heavy though & can get uncomfortable during a long listening session.
 
Just when I was about to take a "firm" decision not to buy any more headphones for sometime :no:

Anyways, really nice set of headphones to own. Congrats titana :hap2:

Sometime ago, I found a Fostex on Amazon, but those guys never confirmed whether they were T20RK or the not so good mkII. Other "diversions" cut me off from thinking about them after that. So, more expenses after I complete my current "diversions" :p
 
^^ They can't confirm because they just don't know about different versions.

All 4 version of T20 are labeled T20RP.

Its a risk one has to take.
 
Shite! These are the ones I noticed in the behind-the-scenes videos of GOW3, being used in the audio labs of Santa Monica Studios. I noticed those 'OSTE' engraving on the plastic atop the head but did not realise these were *this* great!

Congrats man! :D
 
^^ Orthodynamic is a different type of driver technology which combines the power of 'dynamic' driver with speed & precision of 'electrostatic' drivers. Details :

Isodynamic (aka orthodynamic) - Wikiphonia

@Desecrator : yes, the Fostex T20RP are one of the world's most famous studio headphones but stock they do not have much bass & treble extension probably because of intended studio application. After the mods, its a different story though.
 
My Xonar STX does a good job at driving the T20 but struggles with the HP-2 with some 'quiet' vinyl recordings.

The marantz AVR has enough power to drive these but deficiencies of its headphone out are brutally exposed by these cans.

I need to buy a powerful desktop amp soon.
 
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