I went with the V1 for two reasons: I've been happy with the ARC2, O2 and overall customer service from Mayflower and wanting to try another Fostex mod apart from my Modhouse Argon. I find the V1 to be much more comfortable than the Argon in addition to preferring its overall sound. The DSP of the ARC2 does a nice job of bringing heft and punch to the V1's bass with no bloat. The V1 also has a clarity and soundstage that reminds me of the Sundara while having better isolation and comfort as well. I'm finding I'm reaching for the V1 more than other headphones in my collection for movies and gaming.

Disclaimer: Everything in the review is entirely subjective. Paired with the right equipment, these absolutely shine. Comfort is great, the pads are luxurious. Aftermarket headband padding is optional with this revision. Just get the V-Moda cable. I love the sound signature, my only gripe with the sound is that any music that wasn't mastered well sucks (not a bad quality, just make sure your files are of a high enough bit-rate and/or have decent imaging). A very cozy, day off on the couch type of headphone; not at all sibilant (or portable), while still having ridiculous detail. One of my least guilty impulse buys.

Speedy delivery and they've done a great job modding the Mark III's. I highly recommend these pair of headphones for anyone who enjoy good sounds.

These are my second Mayflower/Fostex purchase, still using and enjoying my originals, reports of good improvements without degradation gave me cause to add these to the shop. They are comfortable - I still like my originals, fitted with the big foam headband insert and Beyer pads, but these are a tad lighter, the factory headband was definitely 'upgraded' in material and construction, and the Shure pads seem to provide a bit more 'space' around the ears. They felt 'friendly' right away. They are accurate. They are clean. They have good low, mid and high detail, nothing to excess, from gentle volume right up to painful power levels. If your idea of great sound is enough bass to bounce a compact car at a stoplight, don't buy these. Oh, you can twist knobs to make your eyeglasses fall off if you're so inclined, but that's you distorting the music, not the headphones distorting it first. If you want to hear what was supposed to be heard, and in the proportion it was recorded, these will deliver. And if you use them for any sort of studio/engineering workflow - if it sounds good on these, it'll sound good on just about anything, or at least sound as good as that thing is capable of delivering. Maybe not as good as on these, but that's the world of sound - it's always different on something else, or in someone elses's ears. Overall, a very nice improvement over the previous generation Mayflower/Fostex. Just better where there was room for improvement, without going too far and without losing anything already appreciated. (And thanks for not adding colored lights or other pointless embellishments)

This is my third pair of T50RP's from Mayflower. I had the Mk. II V1's, and those were great. Fantastic, flat, well renowned headphones, even more so after the mods done by Mayflower. The plastic bracket connector on one of the cans broke. Not Mayflower's fault, I wore them for about 6 hours every day for almost two years. Second pair was the Mk. II V3's. These were fantastic as well. More bass heavy, very comfortable, nice upgrade from the V1's. But always a little on the heavy side. Between the leather cups and the big padding on the strap, they would tend to slide down or give me headaches. Despite that, sound quality was great for all types of music. But these- the Mk. III's. These suckers are perfect. The response is flatter than the V3's, like the Mk. II V1, and the comfort level is in another world. These fuckers are COMFORTABLE. They're much lighter than any of the previous Mayflowers I've had, I think it's due to the pads. They're almost like a memory foam. The stock band from Fostex feels great too- the custom padding on the V3's created some pressure points on my noggin. This one is smooth. The sound quality is amazing. It's definitely better than Fostex's Mk II. And that's saying something. The clarity of these things is just ridiculous as times. It's the best sound you can buy for $500. Wait, shit. How much were these things? For real, you won't find a better semi-open pair of headphones than these for this price range or even $150 more. On top of that, the design looks more professional. They've dropped the orange colored aluminum rails for some nice gray ones, which a bright orange cable. The stock 3.5mm cable it comes with leaves a bit to be desired, it's super springy and plastic-y feeling. The 1/4" cable seems fine.... grab a V-Moda cable for a perfect match. If I had the time know-how I would mod them myself (you probably should too if you're capable) but I would definitely say Mayflower's version is worth it. Aside from the pads the internal mods give it that much more clarity and "heft." THAT SAID- You need an amp. You. Need. An. Amp. Without a decent amp these things are more silent than the ghost of your great grandpa's dead uncle. They're not portable. If you have the power, you won't regret picking these up. Highly recommended. Tyler- ya fkn killed it again m8. Good work.

This mod of the T50RP MK3 has certainly proven its worth. My set was originally a stock T50 mk3 that I purchased around a year ago. In December, after watching Zeos review of the Mayflower V1, I knew it was time to upgrade. On a side note, the 1540 pads are infinitely comfortable. This upgrade does two very important things to the stock sound. First off, the treble is brought down just a hair; in stock form, it was very slightly sibilant to me. Not sure if its the clay, the foam or the stiffer baffle replacement foam but its noticeably better. The second change is to the midrange. It comes forward quite a bit, almost gaining a liquid quality. This is my favorite of the two sound changes. What is left untouched is the bass, which on its own is great. Note: I did my own small mod to these headphones (the T50's were made to be modded, why not). There are 8 rectangular curved slots hidden under the baffle foam that surround the edge of the driver. Simply remove the earpads and foam, then use some tape to seal off 6 of the 8 slots. This brings up the entire bass and sub-bass frequencies, adding some rumble to the equation and filling out drums a bit better. No this does NOT turn your V1 into a V3, it is only a user-friendly adjustment. So now you got the liquid mids, tame highs and now some added bass rumble. Well with that all set up these are just pure magic. I have yet to find another headphone to compete with them sonically, and the entire cost = improvement has completely gone out the window for me. My beloved MrSpeakers Alpha Primes had finally met their match, eventually they were sold. I recently tried an audeze LCD-X, and while technically better and super accurate, did not even come close to the engagement and fun factor of these V1's. I bought an Ifi iCan SE shortly after obtaining these V1's ONLY to use with them..they need the power and they ARE worth it. I am highly tempted to buy another Mayflower V1 and lock it away just in case something happens to my current one. Highly, highly recommended!

They feel great, sound great, and look great. I love them. I would definitely recommend purchasing the V Moda cable with them.