[bballaSR19]

Is there a picture of the HFI 780's on someones head, i swear i have looked at every page in this thread and haven't found one. I saw a couple of people requesting this too, and found no pictures of it. If you can find a picture of them on someones head either on this site or another one and send me a link that would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

 

[slwiser]

They are about the same size as the Edition 9s. So if you have seem the UE9 then you have seen the size of the 780.

 

[dfkt]

I asked the same question before, but nobody dares to post their melon, it seems.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are about the same size as the Edition 9s. So if you have seem the UE9 then you have seen the size of the 780.

How is the ear opening compared to the 9's? I have some 9's on order as you know and the 780's opening is ok but much smaller and I will not be sure of the fit unless I roll my ears up.

On the sound of my 780's, they are maturing very, very nice. They have smoothed out more in the last day and the sound is better integrated with the high frequency emphasis pretty much gone. I am hearing good nature detail with nothing over hyped and the bass has taken on a good full bodied sound but is neither slow nor does it crowd out any of the lower mids. Hall size is not as large as the 750's but maybe it may never be. That is ok because I have the 750's and the 780's are like a little different seat (closer) in the audience.

 

[slwiser]

The inside width of the UE9 and 780 pads are the same. The inside top to bottom length of the pads has a the 780 with a slightly longer dimension but not by much.

At least that is what I just measured.

Yea, rolling up of my ears is what I think gives me a little different take on these phones. My ears are larger than the inside opening. I also think the amp that I use, the Yamamoto HA-02, gives both something that others may be missing that have not appreciated them. It is called synergy.

 

[jamato8]

The 9's are small then. What did they think tiny ears or is surgery mandatory? :^) I guess I will practice rolling my ears up.

 

[souperman]

How is it compared to the 750's (pad-wise)?

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif How is it compared to the 750's (pad-wise)?

Not sure if you mean the 9's or the 780's but the 750's seem huge after wearing the 780's and the 750 for me are more comfortable, by a long shot. I like the velour but they don't seal as well but the comfort. I can always feel the 780's on my head but the 750's I can forget about.

 

[Contrastique]

Just got back from the meet and I'm really tired so the impressions will be kept somewhat short but I listened to the 780's today and....I don't like them at all. I don't understand the hype about them after listening to them.
The bass is simply toooooo much. The highs feel more pronounced (didn't think that was possible after hearing many people complaining about the Proline-highs, but it is) and at times they even hurt my ears. The headphones were fully burned in, like had 500hrs on them so that's not the problem. I listened to them via the Larocco and Ipod.

The music I listened to was Talkie Walkie from Air, some stuff from Pleymo to check out how they handle the metal-part and to see how they would cope with more 'busy' music. I also listened to Pink Floyd.

With Air, the song was Alone in Kyoto for example, it sounded not too bad except for the bass. Compared to the Proline 750's they are less transparant, have more pronounced mids and highs and because of that I think it's more difficult to listen to each part in the music seperately which is something I really like about the 750's. (I don't know if it's because of that, I'm not knowlegable enough to describe it properly I guess).

I decided to feed them Pleymo which is really heavy stuff, with lots of different things in it to see how they would handle it. Disgusting. The bass went real low but it sounded muddy and absolutely awfull. Way too much there. You have a certain string in one song which was so piercing they hurt my ears. They have absolutely no control when it gets heavier in the music. The 750's are much calmer to listen to and you can focus on everything seperately without losing harmony. Their bass is not bloated and stays very controlled whatever you throw at them. Yes, I am a 750 fangirl, simply because I like them. If you find the 750's to bright or not like fun and because of that you wanna hear/have the 780's please look into the Proline 650's. Much more pleasant to the ears. I also enjoyed the 680's more because they had less bass. They did sounded a little flat to me but much much more pleasant than the 780's.

I also don't understand why they are being compared with the ED9's, they are totally different animals. Qua presentation of sound, control and transparancy the Prolines resemble them way more.

Oh, one good thing about them, they were quite comfy!
They isolated better than the 750 probably because of the pleather.

P.S. please forgive my noobish way of descibing my impressions, but I hope they make sense and you can catch my drift.

 

[jamato8]

Yep, I modded mine with some absorbent material in the cups behind the drivers and it really changed them for the better. It evened them out. The bass is in no way overdone, and I do Not like heavy bass, and the highs are much better. More time is needed.

 

[bballaSR19]

I just bought a pair of the HFI-780's from RMCAudio and i hope i made the right choice considering when you open them you cant return them. I have never owned a nice pair of headphones, so i cant imagine i wont love these and from the sounds of people on this thread they are very nice headphones.

 

[Cry Havoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrastique /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just got back from the meet and I'm really tired so the impressions will be kept somewhat short but I listened to the 780's today and....I don't like them at all. I don't understand the hype about them after listening to them. The bass is simply toooooo much. The highs feel more pronounced (didn't think that was possible after hearing many people complaining about the Proline-highs, but it is) and at times they even hurt my ears. The headphones were fully burned in, like had 500hrs on them so that's not the problem. I listened to them via the Larocco and Ipod. The music I listened to was Talkie Walkie from Air, some stuff from Pleymo to check out how they handle the metal-part and to see how they would cope with more 'busy' music. I also listened to Pink Floyd. With Air, the song was Alone in Kyoto for example, it sounded not too bad except for the bass. Compared to the Proline 750's they are less transparant, have more pronounced mids and highs and because of that I think it's more difficult to listen to each part in the music seperately which is something I really like about the 750's. (I don't know if it's because of that, I'm not knowlegable enough to describe it properly I guess). I decided to feed them Pleymo which is really heavy stuff, with lots of different things in it to see how they would handle it. Disgusting. The bass went real low but it sounded muddy and absolutely awfull. Way too much there. You have a certain string in one song which was so piercing they hurt my ears. They have absolutely no control when it gets heavier in the music. The 750's are much calmer to listen to and you can focus on everything seperately without losing harmony. Their bass is not bloated and stays very controlled whatever you throw at them. Yes, I am a 750 fangirl, simply because I like them. If you find the 750's to bright or not like fun and because of that you wanna hear/have the 780's please look into the Proline 650's. Much more pleasant to the ears. I also enjoyed the 680's more because they had less bass. They did sounded a little flat to me but much much more pleasant than the 780's. I also don't understand why they are being compared with the ED9's, they are totally different animals. Qua presentation of sound, control and transparancy the Prolines resemble them way more. Oh, one good thing about them, they were quite comfy! They isolated better than the 750 probably because of the pleather. P.S. please forgive my noobish way of descibing my impressions, but I hope they make sense and you can catch my drift.

You're more than entitled to your opinion here.

I think one thing you might have missed is that typically the 780s that have been compared to the Ed 9 were the ALO recabled version. I think at this point it's not even considered "hype", as several experienced Head-fi members have made the same observation. I would say that there is a lot to these headphones that cannot be compared upon first listen.

I can also understand why you would find them harsh coming from a (comparatively) laid-back can like the 750s. These headphones are right in your face, especially for rock. They are very much like a punch in the face if you aren't prepared for their sound signature. My Denon C700s were much the same way, the mids are just SO overpowering until your ears become accustomed to them.

Keep in mind also that these are $200 (or $250) cans. They might not sound as refined as the 750s and especially the Ed. 9s for good reason, as that is a plateau that is nearly impossible to reach.

I will agree with you that some songs have certain notes that force me to turn the music down (particularly something with a very sharp repeating beat, like claps that have been overemphasized for the sake of those that use iBuds), but by and large I feel the sound is respectively balanced, if unapologetic. The 780s seem to just pack as much sound as possible into them for the price, therefore you hear a lot of detail, but again, it's not as refined as it could be. Which is where the ALO 780s probably succeed: They take the detail from the cans, and resolve everything better.

I really think the 780s are an acquired taste, especially with rock music. Going from HD600s to SR-60s would be a mindwarp, much like these headphones can really put you off if you haven't acclimated yourself to them.

I will say this though: Man, I am loving these cans. I can certainly say they aren't for everyone, but I'm listening to Atreyu as I type this, and I can hear so many little notes of detail that I've never heard before. Just little pitchfalls and rises that usually bleed into the background. It makes the entire listening experience much more enjoyable.

 

[jamato8]

I do agree the 780's are something different and may take some getting used to, which I don't always agree with but as I have mentioned, they are like a different venue. Anyway they take well to modification and for me that is the saving grace or I would not be happy with them.

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cry Havoc /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're more than entitled to your opinion here. I think one thing you might have missed is that typically the 780s that have been compared to the Ed 9 were the ALO recabled version. I think at this point it's not even considered "hype", as several experienced Head-fi members have made the same observation. I would say that there is a lot to these headphones that cannot be compared upon first listen.

I think I have read over that part here. And on top of that, ALO does more than recabling so that could alter their sound in a positive way. As I haven't heard the modded one I'll redraw my statement about the comparing them to ed9's.

As in getting used to, maybe. I'm not an unexperienced Ultrasone listener and have heard several models in the past and today. The 780's are the only ones that made me wanna throw them off. I know the money is not that much but instead of putting as much in them for that little money, I would have left things out, the bass for example, and they would be more pleasant to the ears. The bass sucks imo. It scared me. And I do like bass.
And when you have to pay another 200 bucks to make them sound good, well, sounds strange to me. If it's good, it's good no probs for me but then I'd rather buy a nice sounding hp from the beginning. Just imo.
Edit: I just heard it was a little more than 200 bucks, like 600 and some bucks for an ALO-780 OMG!
Indeed, the 750's do sound laidback compared to these headphones. Never thought I would say that haha! But the 780's are not for me. I'll save up and buy the ed9 instead.
Looking forward reading the impressions from Dex which we can expect any time soon now. He's finished their burning in I believe so he'll hopefully start writing soon!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrastique /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just got back from the meet and I'm really tired so the impressions will be kept somewhat short but I listened to the 780's today and....I don't like them at all. I don't understand the hype about them after listening to them. ...

Contrastique, your review was like ...

Very refreshing.