Ultrasone HFI780 ALO Mod

[raffy]

Originally Posted by vvanrij

Yes I did.

What are your impressions comparing the two?

[zzz_044]

Hi,Dude:
I have three questions to disturb my mind.
1. I want to straight connect with my Beosound 2, but sounds like ALO HFI-780's mini-plug is obstruct by the edge of the "UFO", is there any solution to fix this problem?
2. I had review some of the impression, they compare with ED9, does ALO-SR225 has different sound style with ALO HFI-780?
3. I have a silence guitar that need a monitor headphone, is that ALO HFI-780 fit the sound of Acoustic guitar?
Thanks!!!

[abellaw]

I am seriously considering getting the alo modded 780's i have been researching and saving so i have the money.

But i just wanted to make sure that my setup would do these cans justice

i am planning to have laptop -> nuforce icon amp/dac -> alo-780's.

If anyone has any knowledge of the alo-780's unamped that would also be really helpful. Thanks for any advice

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by abellaw

I am seriously considering getting the alo modded 780's i have been researching and saving so i have the money.

But i just wanted to make sure that my setup would do these cans justice

i am planning to have laptop -> nuforce icon amp/dac -> alo-780's.

If anyone has any knowledge of the alo-780's unamped that would also be really helpful. Thanks for any advice

With the Jenna Labs cable they are very transparent and not bright at all (or sibilant) so they should be fine with the Nuforce, but they also sounded good from a 3G Nano out of the headphone out (with the 1/8" plug on the cable). But, I would consider the ALO SXC 22g which is very transparent and has smoother upper mids vs JL cable (while the JL cable was smoother and more transparent than the Vampire Wire version - I had both). In the end I only sold mine because they were close enough to my Edition 9 to make them redundant and I worked a good trade for a Gibson Explorer guitar for one of them.

[musicmaker]

Yes definitely consider the ALO SXC wire. It is a VERY nice sounding wire.

[abellaw]

Thanks for the help guys i think i am going to get the alo-780's with the alo sxc and as long as i can control myself it will probably be the last headphone i buy for a while...while i consider other aspects of my audio chain...

I just hope that after all the modification i will get the bass i am looking for...i.e. how would you compare the bass on these to the portapros

[Anouk]

Hello, I am bumping this thread because i, too would like to know how th ealohfi780(sxc) compares to the pro900 (you can ge tthese new for around the seem price)....
Thanks
Greetings, Anouk,

[Evelia19]

Just got these modded cans from ALO 4 days ago, using a SXC wire. Sounds pretty good just out of the box!

Bass is right on like everyone said, tight and not boomy, although the mid and high are kind of tense, most of the vocals are a bit metallic... But definitely hearing the great potential in this one! In burn-in process now, burn-in while sleeping for 9-10 hours, then let it rest for an hour or two and goes again

In 66 hours now, and have been in hell period for the last 10 hours, very depressing Bass is lacking and too laid back compare to the awesomeness in the first 2X hours, apparently hiding somewhere... Hope this go away soon, will try to report later!

P.S. Please excuse me for my poor English :P And Ken is a very very nice person by the way, very patient and helpful!

[KB]

Originally Posted by Evelia19

Just got these modded cans from ALO 4 days ago, using a SXC wire. Sounds pretty good just out of the box!

Bass is right on like everyone said, tight and not boomy, although the mid and high are kind of tense, most of the vocals are a bit metallic... But definitely hearing the great potential in this one! In burn-in process now, burn-in while sleeping for 9-10 hours, then let it rest for an hour or two and goes again

In 66 hours now, and have been in hell period for the last 10 hours, very depressing Bass is lacking and too laid back compare to the awesomeness in 2X hours, apparently hiding somewhere... Hope this go away soon, will try to report later!

P.S. Please excuse me for my poor English :P And Ken is a very very nice person by the way, very patient and helpful!

Hey Evelia

Thanks for the impressions, yeah it might be a sort of roller coaster ride for a while. It should settle down a bit at some point soon.

Yours was I think was made with the smaller gauge wire? 20awg? I think.

Ken

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by Evelia19

Just got these modded cans from ALO 4 days ago, using a SXC wire. Sounds pretty good just out of the box!

Bass is right on like everyone said, tight and not boomy, although the mid and high are kind of tense, most of the vocals are a bit metallic... But definitely hearing the great potential in this one! In burn-in process now, burn-in while sleeping for 9-10 hours, then let it rest for an hour or two and goes again

In 66 hours now, and have been in hell period for the last 10 hours, very depressing Bass is lacking and too laid back compare to the awesomeness in 2X hours, apparently hiding somewhere... Hope this go away soon, will try to report later!

P.S. Please excuse me for my poor English :P And Ken is a very very nice person by the way, very patient and helpful!

I have posted many times that the Ultrasone headphones will sound nice and fun out of the box but just need a little more bass control and a little less treble harshness, and as burn-in progresses they will at some point go south and sound worse (24-48 hours), and then return back to better than before (75-125 hours) and continue to improve until some later point when they stop changing (250-400 hours).

You are hearing exactly what I would have predicted many times.

[Evelia19]

Originally Posted by KB

Hey Evelia

Thanks for the impressions, yeah it might be a sort of roller coaster ride for a while. It should settle down a bit at some point soon.

Yours was I think was made with the smaller gauge wire? 20awg? I think.

Ken

Hi Ken

I'm the one who should be thanking you! I'll try my best to write as soon as i hear any changes, which I'm waiting excitably
Mine is a 18awg sxc cryo wire I think, about 70 hours now and it's getting a little better already!

Evelia

[Evelia19]

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

I have posted many times that the Ultrasone headphones will sound nice and fun out of the box but just need a little more bass control and a little less treble harshness, and as burn-in progresses they will at some point go south and sound worse (24-48 hours), and then return back to better than before (75-125 hours) and continue to improve until some later point when they stop changing (250-400 hours).

You are hearing exactly what I would have predicted many times.

Hi there

Thank you so much for the detailed info!

I know, I've been expecting it, just can't help worrying and keep getting paranoia for crazy things like "Is something going wrong? Wire?! Driver?!" or "Am I burning in too much? Too hard? ...Hold on a second, what's that noise?!!! " , just like over protective parents worrying their kids endlessly while knowing they're not really becoming a bad person, they're just being teenagers!
The changes of these cans are quite a shock indeed! They were so nice at the beginning...

Hope it'll be over soon, and it's already getting a tiny little bit better!

Evelia

[Evelia19]

121 hours now... still not getting really better except the mids shrillness is almost gone...
The bass is still not so good, everything sound messy and hearing quite a lot microphonics but i didn't hear any at first... Is that normal? I only burn in with normal volume (10 o'clock direction using CD player directly) and at least let it rest for 6 hours everyday (1-2 hours separately everytime)...
Getting really worry here

Evelia

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by Evelia19

121 hours now... still not getting really better except the mids shrillness is almost gone...
The bass is still not so good, everything sound messy and hearing quite a lot microphonics but i didn't hear any at first... Is that normal? I only burn in with normal volume (10 o'clock direction using CD player directly) and at least let it rest for 6 hours everyday (1-2 hours separately everytime)...
Getting really worry here

Evelia

121 hours is when they just start turning around to sound better, you'll need 250-350 hours total. I would play music at loud volumes but not max volume, cover them with a pillow or something, and with music they don't need a rest (just with pink noise/white noise). And amp will help tighten up the bass till they are burned-in.

[KB]

Originally Posted by Evelia19

121 hours now... still not getting really better except the mids shrillness is almost gone...
The bass is still not so good, everything sound messy and hearing quite a lot microphonics but i didn't hear any at first... Is that normal? I only burn in with normal volume (10 o'clock direction using CD player directly) and at least let it rest for 6 hours everyday (1-2 hours separately everytime)...
Getting really worry here

Evelia

Evelia,

Also what are you using? source amp and interconnects? then are you able to compare them with some other phones? and lastly you might just have too high expectations/taste, the E9s have a much better controlled bass with really good grip and focus. Sill I would not call the 780s bass "messy". Also the microphonics, I am a little puzzled. Are you rubbing up against the cable, walking or moving around? Microphonics would have no correlation with the bass.

Kb