So what's the word on the new Ultrasone HFI-780???? - Page 54

I wish they would make some music recordings like this on a regular basis. Just a minute, I don't like bags over my head, man, don't do that again!! Why are you moving around so much? Just cut the hair. Hey, you splashed me, geez what kind of place is this, hey! don't hit my head. Yeah, snap this. . . . good get the, hey, watch out for my ears man. No blood. . Out of my ear with that electric razor. . . Oh man, I don't want it off my ears like that. . what a hack joint. What, you can't go outside for a walk. . just get this hair off my back. . . And don't put your lips next to my ear again. . why I auta . . oh he left.

LOL ya... it's a great recording LOL it really shocked me when he whispered right beside your ear

I bought a pair of used HFI-780 from a fellow Head-Fier. When I received them and plugged them on I almost put them back up for sale, the sounded horrible! Overdone and bloated bass w/ no highs and miserable mids.

I was very disappointed, specially since the seller indicated they had about 200 hours of burn in. Instead of panicking and just selling I have been been burning them in. I have alternated a 12 hour period at the normal low volume I listened at followed by 12 hours at ear splitting volume (12 o'clock on my Musical Fidelity X-Can V2). I then repeated it for a total of 48 hours of burn in by me.

Well the change has been for the better, the HFI-780 are sounding much better and IMO they are a keeper. I will make my final decision after another 200 hours of burn in. In the interim I will meet w/ another Head-Fier Saturday and get his opinion. By that time it would have about 110 hours of burn in by me plus the 200 hours the original owner (all two weeks) put on them.

If this develop as indicated by many it may receive a re-cable. Here are a couple of pictures of the HFI-780. Please remember to click on the thumbnail to view the full size picture.

Thanks !

Funny, the bass I have right now, what around 25 hours of use (not much burn-in yet) is anemic and too tight and lacks much below 40 hz. This is a phase but interesting. On Hotel California, from Hell Freezes Over the Eagles, the bass that comes in at the first is just fantastic, deep, solid and rattles but not right now. I am not worried.

Ok, I just ran test frequencies and I do have lower bass but in music it just doesn't come across right now. It did after a few hours of use. On some of these frequencies there is a oscillation from low to mid frequencies up and down so will just use repeat. Should give the drivers a real workout.

I posted that as having happened to me to, and then I also warned mrarroyo to expect the same thing in a PM, as his did this too.

Seems pretty consistent to me, between different users and 780's they do this every time, where the sound goes to hell after about a day and by the third days is back to normal, then by the 4th day it seems to get brighter and takes another week to smooth out (the diode board sucks the life out of these during burn-in).

Yes, I need to pop these open and get rid of that board. It is insurance for the company, decreases blown transducers but they aren't the best for sound.

On Jackson Browne, Solo (live), the sound is very enjoyable and gives promise to the sound that I hope is coming down the pike.

How does removing the diode board increase SQ?

Well in sensitive circuits it can produce a slight distortion, when used to bypass a DC accidently connected incorrectly. Now in a headphone circuit or speakers it can affect the sound in a minor way that may not be noticeable at first or until it is removed. It could be a slight "white noise" that is perceived as distortion or not really noticed at all but can add to a small amount of listening fatigue. There are no absolutes but you want as little as possible around the signal path that can affect the sound.

I don't know if it does, as mine was removed at the same time as the recable. But, the Vampire Wire re-cabled 780's didn't go up and down and go through as many changes in sound. And, the re-cabled 780 were burned-in to a blissful state by 180 hours, and the stock ones still weren't settled down at 250 hours. All fingers point to the diode board as the culprit.

Well the diode board is there to handle transient spikes and shouldn't cause any problems to the sound but in real practice this is often not the case but they will always cause some deterioration of sound from very minor to more noticeable, depending upon where they are implemented and the type of circuit.

do the pro models also have this diode board?

anyone hear from dex about the comparison between the 680 and 780?

By the way, havent really seen a comparison of highs. Are the 780s highs better than the 750s and 2500s?

Post much?