Hello guys.
A few days ago I got a new headphone.
It's the Fostex T50RP 50th anniversary edition.So not a T50 in a standard way because it has T60 drivers, T60 earpads and a different headband.My old headphones were audio technica ATH-M30.
I'm only driving them through my PC.
Mainboard is an AsRock B650E Steel Legends Wifi with a Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec sound chip.
The biggest difference compared to my old headphones was that the Fostex headphones were a lot quieter which is probably normal given that they are way harder to drive and given that they are planar headphones. Usually I was using 30% volume on windows and that was more than enough for me. Now with the Fostex headphones I have to use something between 40-50% but I still have the feeling that somehow punchiness is missing. They are way more clearer and more detailed compared to my old headphones but my old headphones had more punch (as in bass). At least that's what I'm thinking.
I read a few days regarding this "issue" and some people mentioned that the Nahimic sound driver could be an issue. But I tried both... With and without (completely uninstalled everything that was related to it) and it made zero difference. Now when playing songs I can hear still random noises in the background but it's at the exact same place where it was when listening with my previous headphones. That gives me the impression that a DAC would be a good idea.
My question is now: Is there something I can change on the windows settings to make my Fostex headphones fuller and louder without damaging my ears or is an amplifier the only solution here? Because originally I haven't planned to purchase amp and/or DAC and finding a good budget option is hard. Already tried looking for something on AVexchange but most people selling CONUS only or one guy doesn't even reply anymore (he sold a JDS Labs Atom stack but it seems like he is either banned or didn't came online anymore for a few days now which is a bummer). Also it's hard finding good options because I'm from Germany so majority of amps would cost extra taxes like Schiit stacks or JDS Labs stacks. But I read about quite a lot of issues with Schiit (ground issues, overheating issues, some headphones died when you did not turn them off etc.). For iFi it's a bit similar. There seems to be an issue with the autoplay function where everything is delayed somehow. I really don't know what to do at this point.
Thanks for everybody who is able to help.
The headphones just have a different sound signature, the M30x has more bass than the T50RP. Getting an amp wouldn't change how the headphones sound, just make them louder. If you think the bass on the T50RP is lacking, you have two options: either use EQ or buy different headphones.
That's really sad... I liked the overall sound signature of the audio technica.
It's just that they were already around 12 years old and were falling apart which is why I was in need of new headphones. Never thought that new headphones would sound so bad compared to older ones. And I am already using them since 8 days now so I should've getting used to the new sound signature. Too bad but I really don't like it.
Initially I wanted the Denon AH-D5200 but they were too expensive in my country (599€) so I was going for the Fostex ones because the older Denon models were using Fostex drivers as far as I know and I liked the Purplehearts in the past so I thought that these new headphones could sound similar...
Sound is very subjective and you might want to see what sorta sound signature your OG headphones had. Then try to get a similar sound signature.
Example my Fostex TR-xx Ebony's are complete base cannons and will rumble your jaw if your not careful.
While my T1's have a much more Treble heavy sound that I enjoy.
Then there are more neutral headphones like my Atticus and Amirons (still a bit bass heavy).
Yes it's really hard finding a good replacement for my old audio technica headphones because I don't have the option to test that much. We only have standard electronic markets in here (MediaMarkt, Saturn and stuff like that) but they don't have really much audiophile headphones. They only have something like Bose, older Sony's and a few Sennheisers. So it's hard for me finding the right ones.
They were using fostex dynamic drivers, not planar drivers. Totally different.
It looks like you've done a lot of reading up but are misunderstanding a lot of things.
You'll need an amp for those headphones, bass will sound better. If you want more bass then change the earpads. T50RP are very susceptible to this.
Just get an ifi dac. Those a good and have a little button for extra bass.
I already returned them.
After using the same headphone for 12 years everything that has a different sound signature is gonna sound jarring.
Your best bed would be to either return these then go to an audio store and test headphones one by one until you find something that sounds agreeable in stock format, or give yourself a couple of weeks to get used to a new sound signature, or tweak the sound signature to your liking using EQ.
Yes I already returned them.
I haven't read into the equalizer apo stuff and I would need a few days to understand all these things so by the end of these days the return window for these headphones would've been gone. It doesn't matter much. If the stock tuning is not enjoyable for me then there's really no sense to invest more time into them.
And yes you are right. I will never blindly buy any other headphones from now on without being able to test them before. Problem is that there isn't a big variety of headphones to test in our stores where I live so I will probably end up with some cheap 20€ headphones lol...