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So what's the word on the new Ultrasone HFI-780???? - Page 30

post #436 of 2328
2/24/08 at 10:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamato8 View Post
So what do you think of their value for 200 dollars? I have read a couple of other places about the top end. Such an easy thing to fix it is too bad the manufacture didn't do just a bit more work as I do not like top end brightness or as you put it, sizzle nor do I like lack of depth.
I think they represent good value for $200, given that they isolate well and do offer a lot sonically. But I agree, it shouldn't have been so hard to deal with the extra treble energy.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
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post #437 of 2328
2/24/08 at 10:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torzwo View Post
I think I may be getting closer to selling them. The sibilance is certainly there on a lot of things I listen to along with neverending bass that is hard to tame. Fatigue and actual physical pain sets in after a few minutes from the pressure within the cups- and yes I listen at the absolute lowest and yet still audible volume.

Ah well I guess it might be a return to the AKG camp or the IEMs I originally planned on.
What source and amp do you have??

K701's high isn't easy to deal with too, IMO.
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post #438 of 2328
2/24/08 at 11:07pm
The HFI 780's do have to much clamping force. You really need to work to loosen them up. I also think once you have got fatigued listening to these, it takes days to recover. I also got fatigued and now stayed away for a few days. I went back to the Denon's which are softer and my ears are recovering hehehe

Yes these are aggressive can's and if you listen just a little to loud you will get fatigued. I was listening to them for maybe 5 hours a night or more for a week and had to slow down hehehe.

I also think, there is always people who will not enjoy them for whatever reason. These are my favorite Headphones for now. I also like the DT990 and Denon 2000 a lot and will keep them as well.
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post #439 of 2328
2/24/08 at 11:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iozz View Post
So the real question is: Are the Edition9 really worth their price compared to the ALO-780?
In a nutshell, yes.

There is still something special about the Edition 9, and so far nothing I have can replace them yet. Several things come close, but no cigar.

The 780 stock make a great knock around can and a fun can - with the re-cable, for some people could be their only can. But once you go Edition 9 where the chrome is black, there's no turning back.
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post #440 of 2328
2/24/08 at 11:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torzwo View Post
I think I may be getting closer to selling them. The sibilance is certainly there on a lot of things I listen to along with neverending bass that is hard to tame. Fatigue and actual physical pain sets in after a few minutes from the pressure within the cups- and yes I listen at the absolute lowest and yet still audible volume.

Ah well I guess it might be a return to the AKG camp or the IEMs I originally planned on.
i have to stress that your amp and source can really affect the bass and the treble or sibilance. I found the 780 to be more pleasant with my Dark Voice 336i and Marantz CD5001 not my Meier HeadFive. And, it is pretty easy to stretch out the headband to not clamp so tight.
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post #441 of 2328
2/24/08 at 11:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
i have to stress that your amp and source can really affect the bass and the treble or sibilance. I found the 780 to be more pleasant with my Dark Voice 336i and Marantz CD5001 not my Meier HeadFive. And, it is pretty easy to stretch out the headband to not clamp so tight.
And you must also stress the fact that some people just don't like sibilance, and that's that. For example, many complain about the 325i sibilance, while I LOVE the 325i sound, and the sibilance doesn't bother me one bit (in fact, I don't even hear it, either I'm crazy or the others are).
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post #442 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
i have to stress that your amp and source can really affect the bass and the treble or sibilance. I found the 780 to be more pleasant with my Dark Voice 336i and Marantz CD5001 not my Meier HeadFive. And, it is pretty easy to stretch out the headband to not clamp so tight.
Yeah for about 2 hours now I've been using the Philips I mentioned earlier and it has toned down everything I disliked about it to where I may find it usable. They're sounding quite decent now.

I have no problem with the headband. The pain is from sound pressure within the cup most likely from the bass that has been reduced greatly with the switch to the Philips.

I wanted a closed headphone to increase isolation over my beloved K-501s and $200 isn't a trifling amount for me so I'm really trying to work with them. I've been intrigued by Ultrasone for a while now and I wanted a little more impact so I've given these a try.
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post #443 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by souperman View Post
And you must also stress the fact that some people just don't like sibilance, and that's that. For example, many complain about the 325i sibilance, while I LOVE the 325i sound, and the sibilance doesn't bother me one bit (in fact, I don't even hear it, either I'm crazy or the others are).
Maybe your ears have a high frequency cutoff. :^) Lucky you.
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post #444 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:20am
I've been burning mine in with pink noise a bit above normal listening volume (20 minutes at a time), followed by 2 minutes of silence for the last 6 days. My 780s now have ~130 hours or so. I've been listening to some indian fusion for the last couple of hours and they sound great.

Thus far:

-Bass. Deep & tight. Impressive !
- Forward but great midrange. Very clean vocals that convey mood and emotion of the music.
- Soundstage is ok. The separation is pretty good but the soundstage is just ok IMO. I cant quite put my finger on it. I guess I just had high expectations given the marketing surrounding "S-Logic"
- Treble has a bit of extra energy or "sizzle" (as Rob put it). But burn in has significantly smoothed it out. Its there on some recordings (especially the not so great ones) and non-existent on the others. It really doesn't bother me at all. Its largely recording dependent (ie these are extremely revealing of the source and your setup in general). In my case, the microdac is adding some warmth which might be helping. Wish I had the iBasso D1 in the dac to compare !
- Comfort. I actually like the way these fit. They did grip tight a few days ago. I left them in an expanded position and now they are actually quite comfy. I have them on for the last couple of hours. No discomfort at all.
- Isolation. Terrific.

Overall for $200, I think these are just *great*. I can relate to why people may characterize them as "in your face" but they do it without causing fatigue. Grados are much more in your face.

I also compared them to my HD25s for grins, switching back and forth. The 780s sound significantly better. Much more detailed. The bass specifically is just night and day. The HD25s dont have much soundstage for starters, so the 780s are better in that regard as well obviously.

For reference, here's my setup:
iRiver ihp-140 (optical out) HR microdac (lineout) Larocco PRII mkII (headout) HFI-780
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post #445 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:31am
nvm..
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post #446 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:37am
Kamal, here's where I got em

RMC Audio - Offering the best for less since 1993 - 877.222.7457
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post #447 of 2328
2/25/08 at 1:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by musicmaker View Post
I've been burning mine in with pink noise a bit above normal listening vollume (20 minutes at a time), followed by 2 minutes of silence for the last 6 days. My 780s now have ~130 hours or so. I've been listening to some indian fusion for the last couple of hours and they sound great.

Thus far:

-Bass. Deep & tight. Impressive !
- Forward but great midrange. Very clean vocals that convey mood and emotion of the music.
- Soundstage is ok. The separation is pretty good but the soundstage is just ok IMO. I cant quite put my finger on it. I guess I just had high expectations given the marketing surrounding "S-Logic"
- Treble has a bit of extra energy or "sizzle" (as Rob put it). But burn in has significantly smoothed it out. Its there on some recordings (especially the not so great ones) and non-existent on the others. It really doesn't bother me at all. Its largely recording dependent (ie these are extremely revealing of the source and your setup on general). In my case, the microdac is adding some warmth which might be helping. Wish I had the iBasso D1 in the dac to compare !
- Comfort. I actually like the way these fit. They did grip tight a few days ago. I left them in an expanded position and now they are actually quite comfy. I have them on for the last couple of hours. No discomfort at all.
- Isolation. Terrific.

Overall for $200, I think these are just *great*. I can relate to why people may characterize them as "in your face" but they do it without causing fatigue. Grados are much more in your face.

I also compared them to my HD25s for grins, switching back and forth. The 780s sound significantly better. Much more detailed. The bass specifically is just night and day. The HD25s dont have much soundstage for starters, so the 780s are better in that regard as well obviously.

For reference, here's my setup:
iRiver ihp-140 (optical out) HR microdac (lineout) Larocco PRII mkII (headout) HFI-780
Very very nice comments there. I'm looking forward to getting mine more and more every minute. I'm excited to get a in-your-face CLOSED pair of headphones.
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post #448 of 2328
2/25/08 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by souperman View Post
Very very nice comments there. I'm looking forward to getting mine more and more every minute. I'm excited to get a in-your-face CLOSED pair of headphones.
thanks. Please post impressions when you get yours and give them some burn in. These seem to take a few hundred hours to settle down.
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post #449 of 2328
2/25/08 at 4:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by souperman View Post
And you must also stress the fact that some people just don't like sibilance, and that's that. For example, many complain about the 325i sibilance, while I LOVE the 325i sound, and the sibilance doesn't bother me one bit (in fact, I don't even hear it, either I'm crazy or the others are).
Oh, I don't like sibilance any more than the next guy. I'm just saying that sibilance can be exacerbated by the source and amp, and even program material.

I first noticed sibilance in my 780 when using my iRiver H140 optical into iBasso D1 into Meier HeadFive. Switching to my Dark Voice 336i improved that noticeably. Switching my "sizzley" RCA VT-231 preamp tube for a Hytron 5692 brownbase tube made it even better. I posted that elsewhere.

So, I share this for those who don't like sibilance. And, even with the hot VT-231 tube these are not as bright as my STAX. I should note that I don't use bright interchangebly with sibilance. But some other people do, and I think the 325i are bright, but hadn't really noticed sibilance when I tested them. Again, they may have had the right amp or source to test the 325i. Yet, I gave HeadphoneJunkie the same amp and source advice before he bought his 325i recently.
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post #450 of 2328
2/25/08 at 4:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict
I have to stress that your amp and source can really affect the bass and the treble or sibilance. I found the 780 to be more pleasant with my Dark Voice 336i and Marantz CD5001 not my Meier HeadFive. And, it is pretty easy to stretch out the headband to not clamp so tight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torzwo View Post
Yeah for about 2 hours now I've been using the Philips I mentioned earlier and it has toned down everything I disliked about it to where I may find it usable. They're sounding quite decent now.

I have no problem with the headband. The pain is from sound pressure within the cup most likely from the bass that has been reduced greatly with the switch to the Philips.

I wanted a closed headphone to increase isolation over my beloved K-501s and $200 isn't a trifling amount for me so I'm really trying to work with them. I've been intrigued by Ultrasone for a while now and I wanted a little more impact so I've given these a try.
I'm glad to hear you discovered a way to enjoy the sound more. With amps or interconnects and such, you can tune the sound even more.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
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