[cgrums]

Hello All,
 
     After quite a period of contentment with my Ultrasones I find myself in a position of needing to change out my work 'phones.  I work in an 'open' office with cubicles separated by open-top dividers.  Isolation is crucially important as there are times when the office is very quite.
 
     I've been fairly happy with the 750's.  I appreciate the soundstage and presentation of instrument separation.  I love the texture and presence of the bass.  I'm very happy with the reproduction of vocals and mostly satisfied with the reproduction of guitars.  My issue right now is with the leakage.  For a closed headphone these seem to leak a fair degree of sound; to the point that I've had comments from a few coworkers.
 
    My music tends towards lot's of rock; darker/heavier (floater, tool and similar), industrial, metal, some electronica, and hip-hop.  I will say that the 750's are fantastic for anything electronic, especially the ambient down-tempo of soma.fm's 'groove salad'.  I dearly miss my SR-225 Grado's and have to say I've been trying unsuccessfully to replicate that sound in a closed headphone.  With my experience so far and the ridiculous amount of reading I've done I realize that this is not a realistic goal (closed Grado).
 
   With that said I've made a short list:
 
- Beyer DT770
- Shure SRH840
- AKG K271S
- Senn HD25-1
 
I had a chance over the weekend to stop at a guitar center and do a brief listen of a few of the above cans: 
 
The DT770 (80 ohm) fit very well and seemed to isolate like a champ (as I've read).  The headphone station was not powering these very well so I'll refrain from making a final judgement on the sound.  At the low level I listened they didn't grab me very strongly.
 
AKG K240: Not very involving...I think the same issue of power level.  Seemed a bit overly dry for my taste.
 
Shure SRH840: For whatever reason these were powered to a higher volume level then the other headphones.  I don't think it a fair comparison until I can match volume levels.
 
I would very much like to hear the HD25-1.  I've had a pair of HD580's that I wasn't very impressed with.  I've read that the 25's have a different presentation (more forward/aggressive).
 
I'll be powering these with any of the following three amps; a Morgan-Jones 6DJ8, a CK^2:III or a Bijou (provided I can fix the power supply). 
 
Thoughts?  Am I on the right track?  Any other suggestions? 
 
Thanks!
Charlie

 

[NapalmK]

I'd take the DT770/80 off your list. The boomy bass and recessed midrange will kill you coming from the Pro 750 especially for rock. The 840s and HD25-1 II are great my preference being the latter. I've never heard the AKG so I can't comment on that one. If you have a guitar center nearby I believe they have the DT770, 840, and possibly the HD25 you can audition.

 

[cgrums]

Quote:

I'd take the DT770/80 off your list. The boomy bass and recessed midrange will kill you coming from the Pro 750 especially for rock. The 840s and HD25-1 II are great my preference being the latter. I've never heard the AKG so I can't comment on that one. If you have a guitar center nearby I believe they have the DT770, 840, and possibly the HD25 you can audition.

 
I've been thinking along those lines for the 770...There's a large guitar center in downtown Seattle...I'll drop in and see if they have the HD25's.

 

[Mr Joboto]

Quote:

I'd take the DT770/80 off your list. The boomy bass and recessed midrange will kill you coming from the Pro 750 especially for rock.

 
Very much so.

 

[techenvy]

id often wanted to try the beyer's  but thought they would be too big like dx1000
 
and what didtnt you like about the hfi 580
 
i am just about to try either those or the hfi 780?
 
any suggestions?
 
 
thanks
 
good luck

 

[1Time]

FWIR, the HD25-1 II seems the best candidate for isolation and the music you listen to. 

 

[Azathoth]

I really like the Ultrasone HFI-780 for rock/metal, their forward presentation suits them well. The SQ improves with a recable too.

 

[haloxt]

If you open the pro 750 you will see two tiny holes, one of them filled with internal wiring, the other one empty. By filling the empty hole with something like Mack's pillow soft earplugs which is just silicone, you can increase isolation. But I really wonder, if coworkers can hear your music, maybe you need to lower the volume? The isolation isn't perfect, but it's decent. Besides, ultrasones sound best at low and mid volume, sounds weird at very high volume because of the V-shape frequency response.
 
http://img532.imageshack.us/g/cimg0545.jpg/
 
Here's pics I just took of my ultrasones with silicone outside both holes. I did this because I put DIY internal wiring through both holes instead of just one, and I used so much because when you rotate the cups it bends the silicone and I didn't want it to break the seal. You should put silicone on the outside for the hole with internal wiring, and inside for the empty hole. Although this helps, it isn't the only cause of leakage though, also big leakage through thin plastic earcup and detachable earpads.