I might add that HART AUDIO does cables wired correctly for the RAD-0, even ones that will use their modular system. They have a good range custom cables and jackets and are not microphonic. They make no special claims about their cables, but are a good value for the price. Now they also have silver/silver plate options and various braids.
I just like the modular system, and liked the ability to pick ones that go with the color scheme.
Do their headphone-end connectors actually mate properly with the cable entries in the cups? Or are they narrower and only supported by the plug itself?
Thatās the biggest issued I see with 3rd party cables for the RAD-0.
They are slightly narrower, but Iāve not had any issues at all. Hadnāt even noticed until you pointed this out. The quality of their connectors is very good, so thereās been no noise, and I have never had anything fall out with a gentle tug. If that were a problem, Iād probably put a thin coat of flexible UV resin around the top 16th inch or so of the plug.
Rosson went to great pains, it appears, to make it difficult for 3rd party cable makers to be perfect.
Itās less about things falling out, and more about them wiggling around and weakening the connectors over time.
Most of the connectors Iāve found that will insert properly arenāt thick enough in the shell, and theyāre long enough they would periodically rub on my shoulders, which wasnāt doing them any good.
I wound up layering transparent heatshrink on the barrels to make them fit properly.
A 3D printer and rubbery TPU plastic have solved many sleeving issues for me. Dead easy CAD project and prints in minutes.
Edit: For example, I bought a mini hand crank wheel from McMaster-Carr to replace my Bottlehead Crackās volume knob. After cutting off the bottom shaft extender, the slip-fit hole was way too big, so I made a custom sleeve for the .25" pot shaft. It was about $24 for the wheel. Itās unique if nothing else.
A question for @taronlissimore, @Resolve, or anyone else who might have knowledge of this:
What has become of Alex Rosson and Rosson Audio Design?
I ask not out of only idle curiosityā¦ I and quite a few others have ordered replacement pads on the Rosson site, which have gone unfulfilled with zero communication back from Rosson when inquiring what was up with the order. All recent instances of this have required initiating a chargeback to recover fundsā¦
The site is still up, but has virtually no inventory available, and afaik no development or announcements to the public. Alex doesnāt owe us an explanation, but if heās out of business the webstore should at least get shut down if he is unable or unwilling to fill an order.
For anyone needing replacement pads the Dekoni LCD-5 pads fit the Rosson, and their hybrid one is the closest in terms of like for like construction.
Itās unfortunate for everyone if Rosson is defunct, hopefully weāll hear from Alex in the futureā¦
Hey unfortunately I wouldnāt be able to say as I have not spoken to Alex in a while.
Iām not sure how long the delays have been but I imagine Alex is currently dealing with the fires in California at the moment and I hope that him and his family along with everyone else affected is safe.
I noticed this many months ago, and that the website still says Ā©2023 Rosson Audio LLC. Iāve been wondering if heās going out of business, which has me concerned about earpads replacements.
Yeah donāt order pads on the site, you wonāt get them.
Dekoni pads for Audeze LCD 5 work, the hybrid pad is closest so all is not lost.
But if you look on the headfi thread for RAD-0 no one who has ordered pads going back to last summer has received themā¦ 
I am currently having issues with seemingly one ear cup. The right side sounds significantly quieter and maybe darker than the left. This issue happened all of a sudden. I have not dropped the headphones or damaged them in any way. I tried swapping the L/R tips of the stock cable for each cup and tried different audio output sources, but the issue remains consistent. Has anyone had a similar issue? I would send them in to Rosson Audio if needed, but it seems Rosson Audio has been out of business for quite some time. I am not very familiar with the HIFI-community, but does anyone know if headphone repair/diagnostic people exist?
Good question. I donāt know offhand, but follow this area as I also have a pair.
I will shout out in the dark for you.
@Torq
@PaisleyUnderground
@Nuance
@Resolve
@generic
Thatās how my HiFiMan HE560 planar driver died. In their last few months of life they started requiring more and more power (turning the volume higher and higher), and began to sound distant and hollow. Then one side went quiet.
Close up of my dead driver with numerous cracks and divots:
I think the pit on the lower left resulted from a cracked and peeled trace causing a short. The functional driver on the other side had just as many cracks but only small and shallow pits.
I suggest that you remove the ear pads and coverings to get a close look at the dead driver from all angles. One of the solder joints may have broken loose, or you may have had a short.
I fear that planar technology has a relatively short lifespan versus dynamic cones because flat drivers are subject to constant vibration and flexing. This is not good for metal nor for soldered connections.
From Reddit, hereās an example of a functional planar magnetic field revealed by iron filings:
So sorry to hear that. Have you tried a different amplifier, or perhaps another headphone with the same amp? I think itās a good idea to rule out any gear upstream. If itās not the source gear, I fear it may be a blown driver. Following the advice of @generic to inspect the driver is a good idea.
Thank you for shouting out!
Thank you guys for responding! I was doing some more research last night, and found that contact oxidation is a possibility for the issue I am experiencing. I ended up inserting and removing the jacks(no contact cleaner, just dry) from the ports 15-20 times and this seemed to alleviate the issue significantly. I did not mention this in my first post, but when the issue was at its worst, I played white noise in mono and had to pan 32R for the signal to practically sound mono. After repeatedly inserting and removing the jacks, I now only need to pan 5-10R for the signal to seem mono. Itās still not perfect, thank god I can rule out a driver issue. I am still unsure if the issue stems from the jacks or the ports.
My apologies if the above is an obvious thing to check first, I am a newbie when it comes to this stuff. Anyway, is it safe to clean the jacks/ports with DeoxIT D5?
DeOxit should be fine. I would probably spray the jack, insert, remove, clean repeat, Alternative would be to us 100% denatured alcohol.
