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Originally Posted by Del Griffith  Those who find the highs harsh...Is it grado-ish highs or triple.fi highs etc? I want some big bass with clear highs. I love my triple.fi highs and want some full size with big bass and similar highs to the trips. Dt770 just didn't thrill me. I can get them for $149 shipped and would not want to recable due to extra cost.
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I first bought stock HFI-780, and, after about 250 hours of use, decided that they were worth the recable. But, I put in some careful listening to them stock and I can offer you my observations about their highs. My first observation has been made repeatedly by folks who have commented on the HFI-780 highs - they are NOT as forward as Grado highs. I, too, really enjoy the clarity of the highs of my IEM's (ER4S and SE530). And, I have to say that the HFI-780 highs are not as clear and pure as those highs. I've never heard the triple.fi so I cannot make that comparison. My own take on the highs of the HFI-780 is that they provide a well-matched counterpoint to the qualities of the bass in the stock can. They ARE clean, clear highs, to my ear (using a MAD Ear+ Purist HD tube amp, and a Purity Audio Caliente), AND they are attention-getting enough to be heard well through the abundant bass of the HFI-780. More forward than the highs of a good IEM (which tend toward bass-liteness or bass-neutrality), but a good bit less forward than the highs of a Grado (and I enjoy the highs of a Grado, when driven with adequate current). These are my observations of the stock HFI-780 vis-a-vis the question about their highs.
Anyway, I did NOT find the highs of the HFI-780 to be harsh. I went ahead with the ALO mod/recable because I could hear the unclaimed potential in the stock cans and wanted to claim it. And, I'm not disappointed at all. It was a very good investment in a fine listening instrument.
For what is obtained from a stock HFI-780, the $149 shipped you can get them for is a good, solid value. By the way, is that $149, plus some "helium-filled shower curtain rings" (Del Griffith)? I would liken the quality of this stock phone to be at the level of a Grado SR225 (though different) with elements of what I really enjoy about the HD650 (though even more so, with the HFI-780). I found that it took about 250 hours of use to get this can to where I was hearing what it could really deliver - and I liked it. No need to rehash what that is here, though. It's been posted repeatedly by the pioneers who blazed the trail on this once-new-and-unknown set of phones.
Thanks I'll try not to break them tonight.
