Fostex Lawton Mod

I’m looking to start a Lawton Mod project and I’d like to know if anyone has had experience with it. I’ll be using either a TR-X00 or TH-900 mk2, probably the former. I’ve spoken with Mark Lawton and he was very helpful and informative. At this point I’m waiting on availability of a particular cup. Any feedback, thoughts, or comments are appreciated.

6 Likes

Chambers (cups) finally ordered! I’ll post pictures when they arrive in 2-4 weeks. :flushed:

Edit:
General information:

Lawton Tune-Up, Chambers (wood ‘cups’), and Pads can be found here:
https://www.lawtonaudio.com/

Foster Drivers are found in the following headphones:

Fostex- TH900mk2, TH909, and TH610
https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/range_intros/Headphones_-_Consumer.shtml

E-MU-Teak
https://www.emu.com/teak.html

Denon- Current Models are not listed under Lawton website
https://usa.denon.com/us/product/portableaudio/overear

5 Likes

Looking forward to hearing about your experience with it!

1 Like

Thanks. I’ve been wanting this for a while (4 months according to this thread! :laughing:)

I’ll post pictures of the modding process here as well.

4 Likes

@TylersEclectic

If you were interested in a modding project…

https://www.lawtonaudio.com/chambersinstock.html

4 Likes

What do you want to know?

5 Likes

Awesome! An ‘in house’ expert.

Just your general thoughts and impressions.

I see you have two mods, is one a TH900mk2 and the other one of the Massdrop variants (1 Tesla drivers)?

The Lawton Modded D5ks have been my favorite Fostex Drivers that I’ve heard

and at present I have a Bill-P modded D5k that’s quite nice, rolled off past 40 but flawless otherwise from there up

My point, I think the drivers have a lot of potential and modding is worthwhile, Lawton mods being some of my favorite D#K mods

1 Like

Absolutely! Foster did something quite right with their Bio Dyna drivers.

Due to cost, I’ll probably be using a TH-610 for the mod (I wasn’t going to start the mod until I secured the chambers that I wanted).

I know it’s not the better of the two Foster drivers, but if I feel I want/need more I can always swap my chambers out to a TH-900mk2 in the future.

Mark Lawton is good people. He’s very helpful and informative. I’m glad I’ve been able to start my mod.

2 Likes

I’ve been chatting with you over at the HiFiGuides about this. The two headphones I’ve modded with the Lawton Mods have both been TR-X00 Mahogany. I also have the TR-X00 Ebony which I do not intend to modify.

I enjoy the TR-X00 enough to buy three of them. I love the frequency response, timber and dynamic slam. The Lawton mods have allowed me to improve the comfort of the TR-X00 and actually get it to be over ear and in my opinion even improve upon the already very impressive sound characteristics of the TR-X00. Not to mention Mark has so many beautiful wood choices to choose from. His cups are phenomenal!

The main drawback of this overall headphone though is it’s build quality. It feels quite fragile compared to all my other headphones, especially Focal and ZMF. This is another reason I have bought as many as I have, I want to have extras on hand if something happens to one of them.

2 Likes

Haha! I thought the tone of your writing sounded familiar!

My chambers/cups are expected to arrive in 2-4 weeks. I’ll be ordering my ZMF pads next week, and possibly the Pilot Pad, as I’ve read that Lawton mods are heavy.

1 Like

@ProfFalkin

I moved the conversation over here to not clog up the ZMF thread.

The Lawton mod to the drivers (called the Lawton Tuneup) tames the highs and generally evens out the frequency response. Making it more neutral-ish, and not so v-shaped.

Ultimately I’m gonna have to try different pads till I get it “right”.

I was originally going to use the TH610 drivers (same as Massdrop TR-X00’s), but now I’m thinking of saving up a little longer to get the TH900mk2. It’s the “better” driver of the two (higher energy).

1 Like

I guess it depends on how much the Lawton mod tames the highs, because the 900 is… well… damn. I’m not going to say my ears were raped as badly by those as they were by Ultrasone (I still get nightmares…), but it’s close.

What does the 909 use? Cause I thought that was quite a decent headphone. Might need a bit more in the mids, but wasn’t offensive for a V shaped response unlike the 900.

3 Likes

Haha! Yeah, their pretty resolving.

The TH909 uses the same 1.5 Tesla drivers as the TH900mk2s.

Drop and E-mu use the 1 Tesla drivers of the TH610. Denon uses both depending on which model.

I’ll post the build as it progresses. So far I’ve ordered the chambers (cups), and I’m ordering the ZMF pads tomorrow, and maybe a Pilot pad.

1 Like

Also, I think the highs were tamer on the 909 because of the open back design.

Less highs reflecting back into your non consenting ear-hole. :eyes:

1 Like

Here’s the link for the Tune-Up instructions.

https://www.lawtonaudio.com/fostextuneupinstructions.html

I did file a police report. There was a rape kit involved. The investigation is ongoing.

2 Likes

Oh, so you did try the Nuraphones…:smirk::rofl:

2 Likes

I think putting those on is consent. :thinking:

2 Likes

Mark Lawton’s website.

https://www.lawtonaudio.com/index.html