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Upgrading from Ultrasone HFU-780 to Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm - Good idea for me?

post #1 of 14
1/6/12 at 4:28am
Thread Starter 

 

Hi fellow Head-Fi'ers!
 
I am currently a happy and satisfied user of the Ultrasone HFI-780. I use these 60% for portable on-the-go use (commute, walks etc.) and 40% for home listening. I listen to a lot of genres, but mostly acoustic folk (Bob Dylan, Sufjan Stevens), pop music (Broken Bells, Mat Kearney, Ivy, Feist, Jason Mraz) and trip-hop (Bonobo, Cinematic Orchestra, Morcheeba).
 
Although I love the HFI-780, as a real Head-Fi'er I'm always looking for an upgrade. Because of this, the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm caught my eye. Currently though, I'm not yet sure they will be a good upgrade. That is where I need your help! My requirements for the headphones are as follows:
 
  • I will be running these from my iPod classic most of the time; they should achieve good sound and volume from this source. For home use they will be amped from a Vivid V1 USB DAC/Amp.
  • I like bass in my music but I strongly prefer punchy sub-bass to more "flobby an deep" bass. For example I used to own the Denon AH-D2000 but their bass wasn't attractive to me at all, it had a lot of noise but no shape to it.
  • One of the reasons I'm upgrading is because the HFI-780 has almost no soundstage; some soundstage would be greatly preferable for me (but my upgrade must be a closed can, see below).
  • Sound leakage has to be virtually non-existent.
  • Outside sound blocking is a big plus; my HFI-780's preform great in this regard.
  • A short cable is also a big plus (or like the HFI-780, a short cable that can be extended).
 
So these are the thing I am looking for in a new pair of headphones. Will the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm bring me this, or won't they? And if not, what are some other headphones I should consider?
 
Your help and replies will be greatly appreciated dt880smile.png !
 
 
For reference, I owned these full size cans:
 
  • Sennheiser HD485 - Super comfortable, a bit lacking in detail.
  • Audio-Technica ATH-M50 - Strangely I found them lacking in bass, especially unamped.
  • Denon AH-D200 - Way too boring sound for me, especially unamped.
  • Ultrasone HFI-780 - Actually a great pair of cans I am super happy with, but narrow soundstage and mids could be better.

 

 

My only-portable cans have been:

 

  • Sennheiser PX100 - Great value but ultimately too small to bring the sound I want.
  • Audio-Technica ATH-FC700 - Great portability but too plastic-y and ultimately too small sound.
  • Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 - Great headphones, but the cable was very prone to tangling so a pain to deal with.
  • Sennheiser HD238 - Great sound, but open cans so leaked to much sound.
  • AKG K518 - My current portable headphones, great bass and sound blocking, comfort could be better.

 

 

 


Edited by leokennis - 1/6/12 at 4:31am
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post #2 of 14
1/6/12 at 5:50am

I'm not sure if the DT770 Pro/80 would be an "upgrade" from the HFI-780. As I understand it they have pretty recessed mids (I've only heard the DT770 Premium 32) and also I thought Ultrasone's S-logic means they do sound-staging quite well for closed cans.

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post #3 of 14
1/6/12 at 6:10am

 

Quote:
Although I love the HFI-780, as a real Head-Fi'er I'm always looking for an upgrade. Because of this, the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm caught my eye.

 

Like Shamrock, DT770pro isn't an upgrade from HFi780, more a slightly downgrade imo, but you ll have more soundstage, but recessed mids and less quality bass.

 

 

Quote:
One of the reasons I'm upgrading is because the HFI-780 has almost no soundstage; some soundstage would be greatly preferable for me (but my upgrade must be a closed can, see below).

 

HFi780 has a good soudstage for a closed can but you were used to listen to D2000 which has a huge soundstage for a closed headphone, but the majority of closed headphone have smaller soudstage than HFi 780.

 

I think you search something that doesn't exist. You want very good isolation, great bass and mids, portable with a huge soudstage and a short cable:) very hard to find,lol.

 

Your budget?

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post #4 of 14
1/6/12 at 8:42am

I have the HFI-780 and DT-770 250 ohm version (slightly different than the 80 ohm version, but close enough).  Both of those are great for trip-hop, especially the DT770 due to larger soundstage and sub-bass slant.  On the other hand, I don't think either are that great for acoustic folk and pop.  I like a v-shaped frequency response in general, but I don't like it to be as pronounced for that sort of music, which benefits from more prominent mids and less prominent bass than the 780 or 770 will give you.  The 780 runs fine from an iPod, the 770 sounds flat without more juice from at least a more powerful player and ideally at least something like an E7.  Your bass preference is a little confusing.  The 770 is definitely more sub-bass oriented, but I wouldn't describe sub-bass as "punchy," that's more what I'd call mid-bass, more where the bass drum hits.  The 780 is more balance between mid and sub-bass, with maybe a bit of a slant towards mid-bass.  It hits quick and fairly hard, is very tight, and what I would describe as the opposite of "flobby" (I think you meant "flabby?"). 

 

I find the 780 to have a reasonably large soundstage, especially for a closed can.  Some people's ears or possibly head shapes do not get along with the S-Logic driver positioning, and you may be one of those.  But S-Logic aside, the DT-770 has an even larger soundstage (and the D2000's is supposed to be even larger).  People generally say (and graphs seem to show) that the DT770 has better isolation than the HFI-780, but they seem about the same to me.  The velour pads on the DT770 seems to leak a bit more to me, but neither are that bad.  The 780 cord is certainly short, 1-2 feet too short for me personally, but you may like it.  Not sure on the DT770 Pro 80-ohm cord, but the 250-ohm is mostly coiled and when the coils are compressed is around 6 feet. 

 

The Pro 900 would be an upgrade, but isn't really the best choice for acoustic music, not quite as isolated, and the cable might be longer than you'd prefer (though it is detachable, so you could buy a shorter one).  The DT770 would only really be an upgrade if you went all out and had it modded to be a Darth Beyer.  At that price the Thunderpants are also an option.  In terms of side grades you might consider the M-Audio Q40, AKG K-550, Sennheiser HD25-1 II, and Shure SRH-840, though only the K550 will probably have the soundstage you're looking for of those.


Edited by LithoJazoSphere - 1/6/12 at 9:05am
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post #5 of 14
1/6/12 at 8:59am

Wouldn't the Pro-series be the more natural upgrade from HFI 780?

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post #6 of 14
1/6/12 at 9:47am

 

Quote:
Wouldn't the Pro-series be the more natural upgrade from HFI 780?

 

I don't know, i like HFi780 better than pro900 because EDM isn't my first choice in music, but Pro900 is, of course, technically better than HFi780.

 

HFi780 is a very good all rounder unlike pro900.

 

I think, the more natural upgrade from HFi 780 ll be ED8, based on reviews.

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post #7 of 14
1/6/12 at 10:10am
Thread Starter 

Hi! Thanks for all the replies. I guess I got my terminology wrong in my initial post; indeed I like punchy mid bass and have no appetite for "flobby" sub bass.

 

Considering the replies, the Beyerdynamic DT-770 are probably not the can I'm looking for. The Ultrasone Edition 8 look great, but they are not so much an upgrade as I will have to sell my left leg to finance them cool.gif

 

I am however very interested in the M-Audio Q40. Are there any Head-Fi'ers who tried both these and the HFI-780 and could shed some light (since the are described as a sidegrade)?

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post #8 of 14
1/6/12 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DVDRey View Post

 

 

I don't know, i like HFi780 better than pro900 because EDM isn't my first choice in music, but Pro900 is, of course, technically better than HFi780.

 

HFi780 is a very good all rounder unlike pro900.

 

I think, the more natural upgrade from HFi 780 ll be ED8, based on reviews.


Hmm, okay, it might be an interesting can to check out as a portable compadre to my Pro 900. From what I've heard, it's a little more fun than the Pro 900. 

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post #9 of 14
1/6/12 at 12:06pm

 

Quote:
it's a little more fun than the Pro 900.

 

I ll say more engaging, but if you prefer EDM, i m not sure that you ll like HFi780.

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post #10 of 14
1/6/12 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DVDRey View Post

 

 

I ll say more engaging, but if you prefer EDM, i m not sure that you ll like HFi780.

 

Hmm, okay, then I might just stick to the ones I got.

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post #11 of 14
1/6/12 at 1:11pm

I'm not sure why anyone would conclude that the HFI-780 is more "fun" than the Pro 900.  The 780 has less bass and is less comfortable.  The main thing I could see as potentially being more "fun," might be that it's a little bit more direct due to the smaller soundstage.  Then again that's more applicable to some rock or metal that feels better "in your face."  In that sense it's more like a closed Grado.  But for genres like electronic music the bigger canvas that the Pro 900 has to paint on gives more space to all of the sounds swirling around in your ears. 

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post #12 of 14
1/6/12 at 1:16pm

Yeah, what they said. Please don't buy the Pro 900 for folk, haha! That would be... interesting.


Edited by pyrokid - 1/6/12 at 3:52pm
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post #13 of 14
1/6/12 at 2:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LithoJazoSphere View Post

I'm not sure why anyone would conclude that the HFI-780 is more "fun" than the Pro 900.  The 780 has less bass and is less comfortable.  The main thing I could see as potentially being more "fun," might be that it's a little bit more direct due to the smaller soundstage.  Then again that's more applicable to some rock or metal that feels better "in your face."  In that sense it's more like a closed Grado.  But for genres like electronic music the bigger canvas that the Pro 900 has to paint on gives more space to all of the sounds swirling around in your ears. 



Quite honestly, for EDM the Pro 900 is the best headphone I've heard so far. It does very little wrong IMO. The wide soundstage, the energy, the punchy sound (it feels like everything gives a "seismic" feel, even the distorted guitars through VST synthesizers in Daft Punk gives a vibration on my ears - might be due to the mid-bass) and so on. Listening from Electroclash to F.O.O.L. or Overwerk to 80's New Wave through the Pro 900 is everything I expected from a headphone.

 

Oh well, going to stop stealing the thread. Sorry TS.

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post #14 of 14
1/7/12 at 11:03am
Thread Starter 

Haha no problem...I'm very tempted to ave some money and get the PRO 900 now. 

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