Sanity Check - Budget Planar aka Dekoni Blue by Fostex

[Draghmar]

Hi
Sorry but I need to take quick sanity check to ensure myself that I'll spend my hard earned money properly.
I want to buy myself Dekoni Blue by Fostex. There are two main reasons: my current headphones (Superlux HD-330) are slowly dying and I always wanted to have planar headphones.

I choose Dekoni Blue mostly because I like the look, seems decent enough from the few reviews I've seen, have only one cable going into the cans (I really hate cables) and I was a little bit disappointed with my first choice (HE400i 2020) - but to be honest I'm not sure if having Xonar-only setup didn't affect that feeling.

Having that in mind...Do you think they are really "good enough" choice for someone who listens multiple genres of music (although mostly rock and metal), game a lot when all of this will be driven by combo of Xonar DX and most probably Schiit Heresy? Are there any other planar headphones worth looking at, at that price point? Do mind that the price is already a bit of stretch for me (hence the first choice).

 

[_thelaughingman]

I had a pair of Foxtex T50rp that I slapped on the velour dekoni pads which are what a Dekoni Blue is and they were worth having a listen to everyday. Sadly I dropped my T50 and they broke. It’s well worth the money to get them because they are very good headphones , not to mention many people like them.

 

[Draghmar]

I had a pair of Foxtex T50rp that I slapped on the velour dekoni pads which are what a Dekoni Blue is and they were worth having a listen to everyday. Sadly I dropped my T50 and they broke. It’s well worth the money to get them because they are very good headphones , not to mention many people like them.

Thanks for your input! It's really great to get some level of comfort

BTW Does the difference between T50rp and Dekoni Blue are the pads only (beside colors)? I though there was some tuning involved.

 

[_thelaughingman]

AFAIK, there isn’t a specific tune performed on the Dekoni version. I happen to perform a mod that was done by Archimago on his blog for my T50rp that included adding sound deadening foam to the cups which helped tighten the bass and prevent cup rattle. I would assume that the dekoni blue has some form of additional mod done.

 

[EJ3]

Hi

have only one cable going into the cans (I really hate cables)

I only use cordless cans because I hate cables. I have been using SENNHEISER cordless cans for many a year. Don't know how they would do on Amirm's rig.
But for me, cable free is of = importance to sound quality. Maybe there is better but I am satisfied enough that I haven't bothered to look & see if there is better.
Being attached to a cord is as much a no-go as bad sound. I am sure that there are corded ones that are better.
But the fact that there is a cord eliminates me from even considering them.

 

[extrasuper]

Thanks for your input! It's really great to get some level of comfort

BTW Does the difference between T50rp and Dekoni Blue are the pads only (beside colors)? I though there was some tuning involved.

Other than the pads they are almost the same, the only other difference being a that a different (denser) material is used for damping the baffle around the driver (on the outside of the baffle). There is no additional internal damping.

They sound great but need a fair amount of power to get the best out of them - not crazy amounts, but you'll probably want around a full watt.

They definitely sound a lot better than the standard T50RP3, but I can't tell you if this is just down to the pads (though I suspect that is bulk) or if the denser foam on the baffle makes a big difference too.

 

[Soandso]

Draghmar, -
Feature: relative loudness T50RP = 107.02 dB/V SPL ..
Feature: efficiency T50RP = 94.28 dB/mW SPL ...
Feature: T50RP using an amplifier of at least -0.02dB/V provides 90 SPL; in noisy situations recommendation is to use an amplifier of at least 11.98 dB/V ...

Source citation is "...//reference-audio-analyzer.pro ..."; you can find it typing into search engine the phrase FostexT50 ohms. There are more drop down details on it's pro page category options.

Among those categorizations various T50RPs are parsed as follows. Note: changes in respective average Ohms for each also occurs, and those ohms are presented in brackets....
Feature: For efficiency (in dB/mW SPL) the semi-open Original = 94.3 [53.2]; vs. semi-open modified MKII = 92 [49.1]; vs. semi-open MKIII = 89.3 [53.6]; vs. closed back modified= 84.9 dB/mW SPL [51.7 Ohms] ....
Feature: For sensitivity (in dB/V SPL) the semi-open Original = 107; vs.semi-open modified MKII = 105; vs. semi-open MKIII = 102; vs. closed back modified =97.8 dB/V SPL

All data is summarized from that presented by Kuznetsov Roman the founder of Reference Audio Analyzer.