Ultrasone HFI-580

These are my first pair of over-ear headphones, and my "nicest" pair of headphones before this were some 30$ skullcandy earbuds which at the time sounded amazing to me.

I can't do much comparing to other sets of cans but I can say I am completely satisfied with the quality of these for their price. I have picked up on some things after many hours with these on. The bass is pretty good without being overpowering. I ride the shuttle to class everyday at my university and they are very loud and the engines idle at terrible levels creating very uncomfortable pressure on my ears but since using these I hear virtually nothing from the bus engines. They seal pretty well too even when the music is pumped up fairly loud so others aren't disturbed by my bad taste in music . I have walked behind someone wearing over ear Beats and heard every word from some rap song playing through the overpriced ear bling, but that's not the case with these Ultrasone's.

The silver on black design is pretty slick looking and I've pretty much gotten over feeling ridiculous in public with over ear cans on. These look nice, so they definitely helped!

My only complaint is the mids are pretty recessed in some songs. Some songs are worse than others, but its unnoticeable to my untrained ears for the majority of my music library.

Oh, and the cable is like ten feet long which is good for my gaming, but I've temporarily braided it which cut it down to about 3 feet for walking around campus until I can mod these to make the cable removable. I've also seen complaints about clamping discomfort but they feel great on my fairly large head. My ears sweat a little but I rarely even notice it, and there's never any pain.

I can't tell you which cans these are better than but I can reinforce the pretty positive vibe floating around headfi for these hfi580s. For the price and SQ I feel confident recommending these to anyone!

These are damn good headphones when driving them with my FiiO E11 headphone amp, but without an amp they still sound very good, but hey, they're  supposed to be driven by a good amp to perform at their optimum, right, like any headphone?

Some people say the bass in these 580's is huge, but actually no, they don't have huge bass extension at all, they do resolve down to 10hz, but they do not present the bass in a boomy fashion, just tight and controlled; i can hear that they reproduce most if not all relevant bass frequencies, but anyway if i switch my FiiO E11 amp to its second and third setting, well hey, these are capable of delivering any amount of bass, but regardless, in a general sense the bass in these is just right, these Ultrasone 580's do a good job of presenting a pleasing amount of punchy bass and without infringing on the other frequencies.

Some people have said that the 580's produce lots of bass, i say no way, my Denon D1100's have more bass than these, so what does that say, the Denon D1100's extend down to 5hz in the specs and you can easily hear the excessive bass extension very low down.

Overall what's so good about the Ultrasone 580's is that they treat the whole sound spectrum with sheer class, high-definition and clarity, and it gives a very good impression of any bass in the original recordings with a bit of extra extension, but not in a shoddy way, but if the bass in the original recording is more tightly focused and not so deep, then that's exactly what the Ultrasones will give, it all depends on the source music.

Anyway, as-far-as midrange and treble in the Ultrasones, the treble exhibits 'natural' accurate clarity and not in a sibilant or overt manner, but rather with a pleasing realistic tone; i have heard many stereo's turned up too high in the treble range and some people love it, but the Ultrasones do not show excessive or sibilant treble, just a tad brighter than most other conservative headphones.

As-far-as the mid-range is concerned, it is clear and present, no doubt about it, however, if i had to fault it, i would say that the upper midrange is ever so slightly recessed, but most people won't even notice 90% of the time, because for the most part there is still enough detail to be heard there anyway.  

The stereo imaging in these is 'bang-on,' not to shallow, and not to wide, just very realistic with a nice sense of spaciousness without overdoing it.

All-in-all these Ultrasone HFI 580's put in a superb performance when amped, i deem them a rare gem in a world of 'me too' headphones, striking a nice balance between accuracy and high-definition of the whole frequency spectrum. There really is no obvious drawbacks to this headphone, it offers a sense of clarity and excellent overall presentation that sounds very pleasing to the ears...

I spent half an hour comparing these Ultrasones with the Audio Technica ATH-M50's both on the same FiiO E11 amp, and although the M50's do sound generally nice, they seem to lack the overall clarity and definition and stereo imaging of the Ultrasone 580's, and the Audio Technica ATH-M50's have less bass which actually equates to not enough in my book. When putting on the Audio Technica MTH M50's immediately after listening to the Ultrasones, the M50's sound boxy in comparison with less definition, but regardless of that, something about the M50's does still give a sense of intimacy and seemingly nice presentation that sounds good in its own right, and if i had no other option i might use the M50's, but i would definitely say that the Ultrasones are clearly superior in every way over the ATH M50's; the Ultrasone 580's are simply a more refined and professional sounding headphone in every respect IMO.

EDIT: I have just re-edited all of this review after 30 hours burn-in, and all i can say is... OMG! The increase in fidelity is audible. Make sure you do not judge these headphones until you have used them for thirty hours, because the burn-in period transforms the Ultrasone 580 into the best headphone i have ever heard, and i am not generalizing or exaggerating at all; i dare anyone to spend any amount of money up to $2000 on any headphone and amp combination, and yet you will not find a better headphone on the planet than these Ultrasones, i bet my life on it. Forget AKG, forget Audio Technica, forget Sennheiser, forget Beats by Dre, after buying 7 different pairs of headphones plus auditioning pretty much every high-end headphone on the market including all the so-called best audiophile one's, well after 30 hours burn-in these Ultrasone 580's simply excel unashamedly, they are very accurate and high-definition, and the overall sound is nicely balanced, it is almost impossible to fault them. Simply buy a FiiO E11 and these Ultrasone 580's and not much on the planet can beat you, i'm not kidding, Simply wait for the burn-in period and subsequently you will not be disappointed.

note- I actually have the Ultrasone DJ1 but since they're essentially the same as the HFI-580 (For those that don't know, the DJ1 is the same headphone with a different colour scheme / logo, and a coiled cable), I decided to post the review here for more exposure.

I bought these phones to compliment my Grado SR-225i as a sealed headphone for more bass-intensive music like electronic and hip hop. These phones are pretty hyped around here, many people quoting them to be a basshead's headphones. This might be true for you depending on what you consider basshead to mean. If a basshead, to you, is 'I WANT MOAR!', these have potential because you can EQ them to be very bassy, but they will disappoint you out of the box. If a basshead, to you, is someone who likes some bass emphasis but more importantly great bass quality, then these should be quite satisfying for such a budget.

The headphones are quite sturdy, the plastic and metals used feel and look quite tough. It's also quite a good looker, it's much nicer in person than in pictures (but that's almost always the case for me). I like that it uses a screw-on quarter inch adapter, I think they're unendingly superior to the regular clip-on variety. The headphones isolate well, too, so they fulfil that purpose if that's important to you.

The bass is definitely the stand-out in the sound department of the HFI-580. It's tight and well defined, with good punch. It does have a mid bass hump, and rolls off moderately into the low sub regions, but I find that deep bass is represented quite satisfyingly, just not as in your face as the upper bass. I find the bass to bleed very, very little (if at all). It knows it's place. The mids are as reported, recessed, at least compared to something as mid centric as the Grados. They lack flair and the rich tonality of the Grados but they're hardly of poor quality at this price range. They just take a slight back seat in comparison to the bass and aren't quite as rich as I'm used to. Female vocals sound further back and a slightly buried in comparison, but the mids are definitely satisfying overall. The treble is my real gripe with the sound of the HFI-580. At times they manage to make the Grados sound almost conservative in comparison. The Ultrasone's can be hamfisted with the treble, which isn't an issue (if not beneficial) for dark recordings. However for bright recordings it makes the music far too piercing and shrill. Sure, the 225i's are trebly, but the airy sound of the headphone makes it sound considerably more natural (and therefore less fatiguing) than the HFI-580. It's simply too bright a headphone.

I have a few design and material issues with this headphone. The pleather they used is not good quality. It's hardly the worst stuff I've ever encountered, but it went hard very quickly for me. It's nice and soft to begin with and it feels relatively thick which was a good initial sign but noticeable hardness started setting in after a fortnight. My significantly cheaper Sennheiser HD448 (which I used for 18 months before selling it off) stayed as soft as the day I got it. Now, sure, you could argue that the earpads are replaceable so it's not an issue. I'd agree if it took a year or two for it to go hard, but for the affect to start setting in so quickly is disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make the earpads unbearable but it's simply not nice to feel on the skin, and once they harden they're prone to cracking. The same phenomenon occurs with the padding for the headband, which uses the same pleather as the earpads, however there's no headband padding replacements available. Whilst I haven't tried this, I would suggest attempting this headband modification (for both comfort and durability): http://www.head-fi.org/t/579875/comfort-mod-hd650-headband-padding-on-the-pro-900 

Speaking of the stock headband, I dislike it. It's a generic design (I've seen the identical design used on some Beyerdynamic headphones such as the DT660). It's uncomfortable, putting all of the pressure on a small area of the head with a small, stiff rectangle of padding (I was unpleasantly surprised at how hard that headband padding was out of the box). I'd also say the headband is the weak point of the headphone aesthetically. My ears also get quite sweaty in the earcups. If you live in a very cold area then you should be able to avoid it, but once it gets anywhere near the mid 20s (Celsius) or above it gets uncomfortably warm for me (unless I'm sitting directly under an air conditioner or something). The headphones do clamp quite hard, too. They do feel very secure on your head but I prefer a more loose feeling. It's just too much pressure for my liking, I really don't move around much when using headphones so the clamp is of little use to me (other than assisting isolation which is quite good). Overall, I find these cans less comfortable than the 225i, which certainly isn't a comfort king, itself. Another problem with the headband is that the adhesive used to hold the padding on started to come off on one side within a month . Whilst being an easy to fix issue, these are supposed to have a reputation for great quality. It feels cheaply fixed in place, and it's quick deterioration shows. 

So, would I recommend these? Unfortunately not. I ended up giving them to my Dad for Christmas to plug into his guitar amp (He's much less fussy than me, and considers the $160 I paid for them to be "extremely expensive" ) after failing to sell them on eBay multiple times. They definitely deliver great bass, and respectable mids, but the treble is just too much. Maybe if you pair them with the right amp to darken them you could fix that issue. However that still leaves the build, design and comfort issues. It's a shame, because it's a pretty darn good sounding headphone for $160. It's very full sounding and pretty detailed, not to mention a pretty good all rounder if you ask me. If they fixed the comfort and brightness it would be a damn good headphone, but the flaws of the HFI-580 are too distracting for me to recommend or enjoy it fully.

So it’s been a couple of weeks now since I picked up the HFi-580s and I thought it time to give my impressions. For reference the cans have been tested on the following:

Apple iPad 1^st Generation 16GB Wifi Model

Samsung Epic 4G Android Phone

Creative Fatal1ty Professional PCI-e Entertainment Profile, no FX,  through Behringer Xenyx 1202FX Mixer through Foobar 2000 ASIO Playback

My comparison is going to be against my previous cans, Shure SRH440s w/ 840 pads. I will not be drawing comparison to the Monoprice cans, as I haven’t used them enough to draw an educated opinion. So let’s begin.

Packaging: The package for the HFi-580s is straight forward cardboard. In the box is the included S-Logic test CD, the cans themselves, warranty information paperwork and a screw on 1/4^th adapter. This adapter also fits the 440s screw on tip which is nice. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the headphones to you in one piece.

Comfort: The HFi-580s are a relatively comfortable set of headphones. The pleather on the cans as well as the headband is rather stiff on initial unboxing. After use the pads do soften up a bit and become more comfortable however neither the pads, nor the head band pad are as soft as the 840 pads on my Shure’s. They aren’t an uncomfortable set of headphones, but the clamping force as has been mentioned in other reviews can be somewhat fatiguing. Over all I’ve been able to listen to these headphones for several hours with only short breaks to relieve the pressure the clamping for creates. Overall I still prefer the comfort of the 440s, but the memory foam pads do add to that.

Sound Quality: For reference I used the following CDs to test these headphones critically, though other casual listening will be taken into account –

Daft Punk – Alive 2007 320kbps MP3

Radiohead – OK Computer 320kbps MP3

Eric Claption – Unplugged – 1000kbps FLAC

Metallica – Ride the Lightning – 320kbps MP3

Deadmau5 – 4x4=12 320kbps MP3

The most critical of these was Alive 2007 as I feel it plays to these headphones strengths the most.

Bass & Lows: In a word, fantastic. They have an ability to produce bass I’ve not experienced in a headphone before. I’m not even sure what the proper term to describe the response these headphones give in the bass department. Bass signatures I’d never noticed before made themselves startlingly apparent. Parts of Alive 2007 I didn’t even know existed shone through with a lovely, vibrating resonance. Bass lines from Ride the Lightning that sometimes get hidden beneath the guitar sections present themselves in full force. If you want a pair of cans that have an authoritative punch these will likely suit you. However this color to the sound does have a tendency to detract from….

Mids: The mids in the HFi-580 are recessed. This is typical in closed cans to begin with, but the bass can occasionally overpower the mids in tracks. If you happen to have a CD that is poorly mastered to begin with (Brandon Boyd – The Wild Trapeze, which is already blown out from a bass perspective) it is completely unlistenable with these headphones. These are phones that you could certainly lose something on mid centric music. Eric Clapton – Unplugged certainly loses a step when compared to my Shures. I can’t imagine how many steps these would lost to something like a set of Grados (Though hopefully soon I’ll get to find out) The bass doesn’t completely wash out the mids for standard rock music, but I still prefer my 440s for genres more mid & high focused. Speaking of Highs..

Highs: The highs on the 580 are solid. They extend well, and there’s a hint of sparkle. OK Computer was a great CD to listen to through these as there is such diversity in how the songs are composed. The mids are still recessed of course, but the highs shine through and are complimented well with the ample bass. In my comparison the 440s extend a little further than the 580s, but not by much.

Burn In: Some swear by burn in, some don’t. I would say these phones definitely benefit from it. I mostly burned in while listening because I wanted to see how the sound changed. The mids definitely picked up more as I listened more but as mentioned several time still take a back seat to the bass & highs. The bass also extended further as I listened more. They certainly benefit from some burn in, and from the other reviews I’ve read it’s likely mine will continue to change through more use as I would estimate I am only at 100 hours so far.

Overall: The 580s are a joy to listen to if you’re looking for something with a nice bass focus that still delivers a good high end response. They fared best for me with Electronic/Dub/Hip Hop albums but have a nice presence for rock as well. If you’re looking for a set to listen to classical music or something acoustic or very vocal driven I’d probably recommend something else. I debated a long time before I ended up with these, but they’ve proven a lovely compliment to my 440s. If you want thundering bass at a good entry price I can’t recommend the HFi-580s enough.