Ultrasone HFI780 ALO Mod

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by tommy_uk77

hi larry,how about Travagans Red compare to Travagans white?which one matching modded HFI-780 better?

They sound very much alike - the main reason I like the Red more is

(1) I can fit a pair of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter in it. Because of a limitation in space and internal layout, the best I opamp I was able to fit in the White was a pair of OPA627 on a compact 2:1 (with SOIC chips on the top and underside). Obviously, in my review I found the AD743 opamps to sound better with the modded HFI-780 than the OPA627, so the Red is the best option for those.

(2) The speaker outputs do a good job driving Stax electrostatic transformers, and the White has no speaker outputs.

[tommy_uk77]

i see,where can i find pair of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter ?

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

They sound very much alike - the main reason I like the Red more is

(1) I can fit a pair of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter in it. Because of a limitation in space and internal layout, the best I opamp I was able to fit in the White was a pair of OPA627 on a compact 2:1 (with SOIC chips on the top and underside). Obviously, in my review I found the AD743 opamps to sound better with the modded HFI-780 than the OPA627, so the Red is the best option for those.

(2) The speaker outputs do a good job driving Stax electrostatic transformers, and the White has no speaker outputs.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by tommy_uk77

i see,where can i find pair of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter ?

PM HiFlight and he'll make you up a set and ship it out. He was also impressed with the sound quality of the Red and AD743 opamps, but he sold it because the 5-watt speaker out wasn't good enough for his AKG K1000.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by tommy_uk77

i see,where can i find pair of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter ?

Here is HiFlight's mini-review of the Red with AD743 - I still feel you should be happy with it listening to your ALO-780, assuming you can't afford the ALO Amphora which would be even better:

Originally Posted by HiFlight

Larry...

I have used the Red with my EX3S and Sony F1s, in addition to the K1Ks.
With the 743s, it is the equal of far more expensive amps. Dead silent, realistic imaging, and all around very pleasing performance with all of my phones and music genre's.

I am now leaning toward keeping the Red, as it can do double duty for speakers and headphones.

It showed a huge difference with the 743s. Most amps sound considerably better with this opamp, but the Red showed by far the most improvement of anything I have tried them with.

As they say in the military, "It's performing way above its pay grade"!

[sinisterm]

Damn you guys. I haven't even received my (recabled) AKG701's yet and I'm thinking of selling them to get these.

I guess there ain't any European retailer for these? Damn those VAT's and taxes, raises the price by over 25%.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by sinisterm

Damn you guys. I haven't even received my (recabled) AKG701's yet and I'm thinking of selling them to get these.

I guess there ain't any European retailer for these? Damn those VAT's and taxes, raises the price by over 25%.

If it helps, I thought the 2MOVE and ALO HFI-780 sounded good together.