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Tested and compared: Ultrasone PROline 550, 650 and 750 + the HFI-550 and 650. - Page 3

post #31 of 44
1/29/07 at 7:34am
Thread Starter 
With the recent "craze" about the Ultrasones, I thought it could be interesting to revive an old thread. :-)

It took a while to catch on... ;-)
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post #32 of 44
1/29/07 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JensL View Post
With the recent "craze" about the Ultrasones, I thought it could be interesting to revive an old thread. :-)

It took a while to catch on... ;-)
Don't worry. It didn't go unnoticed.
I'll propose you as honorary member of Club Ultrasone and we'll call you: Jensl ULE PROline the First (HFI).


A belated thanks for the review.
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post #33 of 44
1/29/07 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 
I almost felt a little silly for liking the 750s that much, when it seemed that no one else did. I guess my ears didn't let me down after all. :-)

But I still think the design/construction leaves a lot to be desired. ;-)
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post #34 of 44
1/29/07 at 5:29pm
I quite like the construction actually. Maybe it has changed but it looks and feels extremely sturdy.
No frills.
I imagine it would look and feel exactly the same after 50 years of heavy (ab-)use.
My kind of style.
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post #35 of 44
1/29/07 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
It might have changed, but it sure looks the same.
I think it could be quite sturdy, but it looks and feels a little cheap, especially for the original price of nearly $400.

It sounds very good, no questions about that.
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post #36 of 44
1/29/07 at 8:49pm
Used to be a great review and still is. One vote for sticky!

JensL, do you think the Proline 750 could be used portably or at least semi-portably? I've been thinking about getting a pair of easy-to-drive headphones for use with my Macbook directly from the headphone out and the 750 looks it might fit the bill. I'd be carrying the headphones every day in my messenger bag and the Ultrasones' foldable aspect is nice but I'm still somewhat reluctant towards Ultrasones based on my experience with the HFI 650 and HFI 700, which both had rather untolerable highs in the long term around 6Khz, and not enough lower midrange making the sound a bit thin-sounding. Are the Proline 750 or the lesser Prolines similar in that regard?
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post #37 of 44
1/29/07 at 9:26pm
Kudos to Jens for truly being the first real Ultrasonista!
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post #38 of 44
1/29/07 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by saint.panda View Post
Used to be a great review and still is. One vote for sticky!

JensL, do you think the Proline 750 could be used portably or at least semi-portably? I've been thinking about getting a pair of easy-to-drive headphones for use with my Macbook directly from the headphone out and the 750 looks it might fit the bill. I'd be carrying the headphones every day in my messenger bag and the Ultrasones' foldable aspect is nice but I'm still somewhat reluctant towards Ultrasones based on my experience with the HFI 650 and HFI 700, which both had rather untolerable highs in the long term around 6Khz, and not enough lower midrange making the sound a bit thin-sounding. Are the Proline 750 or the lesser Prolines similar in that regard?
To get the best out of the PROline 750 in a portable application a suitable amplifier capable of providing decent current is a prerequisite, in my experience.

While the low impedance (40 Ohm) of the 750 allow them to achieve reasonable listening levels out of low-voltage amplification as provided by a MacBook or an iPod, the quality of that loudness is insufficient in comparison to what the 750s are truly capable of, so soundstage is somewhat flat, highs are unsatisfying harsh at higher volumes, and overall sparkle is not what it should be.

So proper amplification injects life back into the equation in addition to loudness. I've been getting excellent results from my Go-Vibe V5 with an external 18-22V battery pack (2x9.6V rechargeables) that I constructed for less than 5 bucks.
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post #39 of 44
1/29/07 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpelg View Post
Kudos to Jens for truly being the first real Ultrasonista!

Jens and also Jan Meier, who was the first to bring my attention to these babies and even exchanged private email with me about them. I wish I had realized then that it was best to study the Ultrasone sound in isolation to get a proper feel for their sonic texture. At my first Head-fi meet, after auditioning so many great open-air headphones, the closed HFI-650 just did not stand out very much after a cursory examination. I put them aside and never seriously considered Ultrasone again until I noticed this thread.
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post #40 of 44
1/30/07 at 8:52pm
I've just re-read Jens' review for the first time in a few months and I'm really impressed by his exemplary organization and writing style.

The only caveat I find is that the degree of burn-in on some of the models (3 days?) may have been insufficient to draw final conclusions upon.

I would love to set the Wayback Machine to send Jens examples that had been absolutely, properly burned-in and then unleash his substantial writing prowess on them.

For while it's evident that he was approaching the heart of the matter with his most perceptive impressions, nonetheless, I can't help thinking that he didn't hear them at their full-potential (after all, who could have guessed nearly 3 years ago that 150-200 hours could be a minimum for a pair of cans to fully blossom?).

So well done, Jens, and I hope you get another crack at them one day!
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post #41 of 44
1/31/07 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, the titanium drivers of the 750 might need some extra burn-in, but the hours they got, were done by fairly bass-heavy and intense music.

I definitely would like to try the 750 again, though. :-)
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post #42 of 44
12/13/07 at 2:48pm
i tested 750 already, and it just awesome...
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post #43 of 44
4/16/09 at 4:47pm
so i am a big bass head i have a 15 inch soundstream in the house and i get in trouble cause i live in apartments. I am a big bass head so u reccommend the 550 or 650 and will they be something to rattle my head with lol

and will they be better than dr dre beats headphones
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post #44 of 44
1/27/10 at 5:34pm
Could you call the 550 or 650 a serious upgrade for someone who started with a MDR V6 for I'm seriously considering one.
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