So what's the word on the new Ultrasone HFI-780???? - Page 143

Nice to see it somehow seem to work out for you decently... Still a lot more hours before you get the final sound so to speak so hopefully you will enjoy it even more. Treble will smoothen out but that takes time

I'm at about 180 hours of use with a pair of stock HFI-780. The bass has cleaned up really nicely so that it rarely feels like there is too much bass. And I've entered into, and am coming out of, the strident-highs period. At this point, the highs are nicely prominent, and the bass firm and solid, and in good proportion with the lovely mids. It's not at all unusual for the highs to be fully lovely - without any detectable edginess, or anything else which would detract from their sonic beauty. Another noticeable improvement in this burn-in period is that its dynamic range is deep enough to provide what I'll call "aerial perspective" depth to the sonic image. Sounds which are of lower volume and are less distinct or have more reverb in them give the ear a credible sense that they are coming from a place that is further away because it is in a deeper place in the sonic image. It's a very nice improvement which helps give a credible increase in depth to the soundstage presented by these phones - to go along with the enjoyable width of the soundstage which was evident from the start.

Also at this point, I'm enjoying the sound enough that I have decided that it is worth it to me to have the ALO Mod done on them. Given the number and degree of the improvements contributed by the ALO mod to a pair of SR225, and those which resulted from using an ALO HD650 replacement cable, AND given the degree to which I'm already finding the HFI-780 to be powerful and immersive, I'm wondering, with the ALO Mod, whether I'll be "Lost in the Phone Zone" forever. If so, then "What a Way To Go!!!" I HAD a life once - it is a highly overrated experience.

When I get this set of HFI-780 transmuted into an ALO-780, and it has had a chance to settle in and blossom into its stable fullness, I'll add my listening observations to those already posted here.

For now, the subtleties that the stock HFI-780 are expressing, enabled by the depth and scope of their dynamic range, are adding very nicely to the credibility of the spatial presentation of the sound it provides.

And, very much like the pairing of the HD650 with the Purity Audio Caliente, because of the transparency and control of the bass through the Caliente, as well as its competency as an amp to portray the spatial aspects of the music, the bass with the stock HFI-780 is NOT too much of a good thing, but rather a welcome and very enjoyable abundance - a solid foundation on which to support and backdrop voices in other regions of the acoustic spectrum rather than a distraction or an obscuring presence to them.

The TTVJ Portable Millett Hybrid and the Mapletree Ear+ Purist HD (tube-rolled with a Tung-Sol double mica-grey plate 5751) also make the most, to my ear, of the sonic capabilities of the stock HFI-780 for some impressively immersive listening.

If the HFI-780 eventually settles into sounding as good as it does right now, it is probably going to (continue to) be my "other" desktop headphone for the times when I want more exciting sound than what the HD650 offers. The HFI-780 is very lively, clear, and attention-grabbing. The "S-Logic" effect seems to work for me, too, resulting in some outstanding soundstaging. My only real complaint at this point is that the bass can get a bit thumpy sometimes, negatively affecting my enjoyment of certain tracks.

If someone out there is looking for a "fun" headphone to contrast with the HD650, I'd recommend looking at the HFI-780. Definitely better than the DT770 Pro 80 ohm (mine is in its box), IMO.

I disagree that the HFI-780 sounds bad at a higher volume (I'm pretty sure I've read this comment many times in this thread); I think it sounds great at a higher volume level. Really dynamic and "alive" when turned up a bit.

This is where I am happy to make suggestions about amplifiers that have better synergy with the HFI-780. To listen to the HFI780 on the Woo WA6 you have ordered, you MUST get the Sophia Princess 274b rectifier for the best match with the Ultrasone and that tube works great with all my other headphones as well. I might venture to say the Sophia offers a bigger improvement than having the WA6 maxed. The stock Sovtek 5U4G and other similar tubes will not be too bad with it but might be a little darker and bassier sounding than you want. But a GZ34 rectifier tube doesn't seem to work very well with the 780 (but was great with Grados and HD600).

As a cheap SS alternative, if you can get a Travagans Red ($180) and a set of AD743 opamps on a 2:1 adapter from HiFlight (guessing $50-60), you will appreciate the sound very much on a tight budget. This was the only dynamic amp that I brought with me to a head-fi meet last year for people to try my Edition 9 and HFI-780 with.

Another budget amp that should sound good with the 780 (which were similar in many ways to my Edition 9 is the iBasso D10 if you swap the opamp to an AD8599 or AD8066. I just have never tried it with the 780's which I traded for a guitar before I got the D10.

There are several other amps that sound nice with Edition 9 as well as HFI-780, such as the Head-direct EF1 or Grahm Slee NOVO, and Apogee Duet/mini-DAC. I preferred the Travagans Red with the upgraded opamps a little more than those.

Finally, for others watching this thread - if you have a bigger budget ($995) the ALO/RWA Amphora had the best synergy with my Edition 9 of any amp I have tried, and should be a good match for the 780 as well. See my Amphora Impressions thread in the ALO Audio forum.

Didn´t like my EF-1 that much with my PRO 900. It seem to do better with the 650 though.

The Fiio E5 works good for my HFI-780's.

Hmmmmm my 780's have really opened up! They sound great with Rock/Punk and Electronic. Its making my wonder what the Ed.9's are like, or even getting a recable over the stock POS cable Out of all the headphones ive owned these have dragged me in the most. Sheesh! I want a pair of laid-back phones to compliment them, but not real sure yet. They are really energetic and never leave me un-interested with any music i play.

There's new portable Ultrasone Zino that may come out as early as June if you can wait, I wonder if it will have the same laid-back sound characteristic of iCans. Just today http://zino.ultrasone.com/ went up but 80% of the links don't work as of my writing this and it appears they just show the iCans specs (especially reference to a solid iCans box, in the photos you can clearly see the Zino has a hardcase instead).

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/u...e-zino-418342/

I traded my beloved Senn HD580's with the usual 600 grills and 650 cable for a pristine pair of 780's with about 200 hours on them. They were good, but a bit bright and brittle, boomy, and sort of all over the map. I decided to go against my initial reaction to call BS on the 400+ hours of burn in. I struggle with burn in for cables and stuff, I agree in theory for capacitors and probably tubes. I'm not so sure with cables and semiconductors. I have pretty limited experience with cables though. Speakers and headphones - Absolutely! They are a mechanical device that will definitely change as they are exercised, but 400 hours? Come on! Anyway, I burned them in in my nightstand drawer with the radio, an ipod, and my macbook pro and pico for another 200+ hours with spot listening. They were anywhere from excellent to almost unlistenable during that burn in. They are now very pleasant, still a bit bright for my usual taste, with nice tight yet very pronounced bass.

Some of the change is traceable to my replacing the stock pads with velvet ones from Beyer 250's (I think 250's). This was done for comfort reasons - the pleather was untenable for me. It has changed the sound slightly, and for the better.

Some of the change is I'm sure me getting used to the sound signature also. I have owned Proline 750's, so I'm not new to the Ultrasone sound though.

I have some dynamat, as well as another damping material from Parts Express, and some of the smaller mogami (2893?). I am now convinced that these phones will be worth the additional effort. I had my doubts at times during the burn in, though!

Here's what I'm planning:
1) remove the diode board, I can't see that it will do much for me.
2) Mogami recable. I'd love to stay single entry, but a brief look under the hood has me thinking that fitting two mogami connectors from left to right earcup won't fit, so probably dual entry.
3) dynamat in the "cups" behind the drivers, the parts express stuff on the front of the driver plate, with cutouts for the rectangular holes and for the driver of course, sort of along the lines of kkwarth and Markl.
4) Maybe some polyfil or felt behind the drivers ala kees mod.

I'll check in again once I get around to these mods.

Also, if anyone has experience with the mogami recable, I have a couple of questions, so if you'd like to help, shoot me a PM. Same goes for the damping mods.

Does anyone know where I can get Beyerdynamic 250 ear pads in Europe? Absurd as it is, I really can't find replacement parts from a German company in Europe...

I purchased mine in the US, but they are Beyerdynamic OEM packaging, so they are an original beyer part. I did not see them on the website, but I wonder if a phonecall to their customer service might get you a pair? Mine were a bit less than $25 USD shipped to me, from and to a US address. Best of luck!

Thanks aamefford, good idea. I might give them a call/mail.

Ok, I've just joined the club here!
Think I got a good pricing here so with express shipping and a bit of luck, very soon I'll get a new toy to unpack.

Hmm... where do I find them Beyer pads??

I started the thread linked below a little while ago, first to compare my current two sets of headphones, and then to add the slowly evolving saga of modifications to my 780's. I thought I'd just post a link over here in the definitive 780 thread, for those who might be interested:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/esw...i-780s-420797/

I would love to hear other's modding experience, especially those outside the more common ALO, S2 and APS recables and mods.

There's some great info there aamefford!
Mine just arrived on Thursdayand was looking forward to having a first listen.

Out of the box the 780s are unlistenable! I wouldn't pay more than 50 bux for them - really!
After 24 hours of constant burning, a glimpse of decent sound appeared. Now the midrange was instrument separation and a bit of soundstage was discernible. although the bass was tighter, the greatest advances were made on the highs - initially they sounded like... plastic... wierd... crap! Now there was some extension. The cans were beginning to sound nice.
Today as I woke up and took the first morning leak I rushed to have another listen and now we're talking! Finally they were worth the money invested. Since these should run for about 400 hours for completion I'm sold to the Ultrasone sound.

A few years ago i would've hated the Ultrasones. I was on a missionary trip for truthfull audiophile sound... a phase I suppose, like many others we go through in life.
These 780s are very engaging. Best colored sound I've heard in a while. I think I could be turning into a bass head or something because it's really an addictive thing lol

As for fit, I have no issues with clamping - they fit as if they were custom made. I was expecting some isolation from these, but they isolate almost as well as an IEM. The wife talks all the time and it's really great how good they "seal" - I had her screaming just a few minutes ago - perfect!