[Fballboy23]

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[Roller]

Quote:

Alright. Thanks for the information once again, this just seems to be a tough choice especially now that I have looked more in depth and gotten more information around the HFI-580. I would prefer the 580 over the 780 sound signature it seems just because of that extra bass and high focus rather than the balanced approach. Do you currently have a pair of the 580's that maybe you could listen to the same song I posted above and give me details on it just for a side by side comparrison purpose directly to the M50 on the same song? Obviously there are going to be differences in setup but I think it'd give me a better idea of the difference in quality between the M50 and HFI-580 (Which is the one im ultimately leaning towards currently)

 
 
While the HFI-580 aren't as general purpose as the HFI-780, they are a quite fun set with a somewhat V shaped signature, and between the M50 and the HFI-580 I wouldn't consider the M50 at all, its drivers are simply too slow, something similar to what happens on headphones like Denon AH-D2000 that was also mentioned here previously (quite good general purpose headphones nonetheless). The M50's description from obobskivich regarding bass and treble is spot on, something that simply doesn't happen on the HFI-580.
 
The last time I listened to a set of HFI-580 was already a few months ago, unfortunately. But out of curiosity, please link the song you had in mind.

 

[Fballboy23]

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[obobskivich]

I've done a lot of looking through the Ultrasone reviews as well as comparisons to the M-50's but as far as the SMS's I haven't personally looked up much except on amazon so those will be my next stop in research. That was a big bother for me as well with the V-Moda's because adjusting the headband and earpads (they weren't big enough and had a imperfect seal) just got to consistantly annoying to bare at times. One thing I do like about the PRO models is the detactable cable, comes very handy considering my original headphones I was upgrading from (about 10 repeat buys of 35 dollar HP headset ones) the cable would short out on me every 2 months or so and thus left me spending another 30 or 40 dollars on another pair. 

On the replaceable cable note - depending on what exactly you're doing that is causing the cable to break (for example, are you snagging it on things?) it may still cause damage with the Ultrasones. This is because their cables are threaded and "lock" into the headphones, so you can still rip them up by pulling on the cable. The Bose, Sennheiser, and SMS headphones aren't as ruggedly connected (the SMS headphones just have a TRS jack on the left earcup, and can take any common TRS cable as a replacement, the Bose/Sennheiser headphones use a normal TRS plug but non-standard shape - but iirc their respective replacement cables are only like $15/ea).

Here's some pictures to show what I mean:
Bose:
(the Sennheiser one is equally weird shaped like that - in theory you could probably jam a TRS plug in there, but it won't look right, and it may not lock correctly)
Ultrasone:
(this is from here: http://www.head-fi.org/a/ultrasone-owner-s-guide-the-missing-manual; I'd suggest reading this if you're considering Ultrasone).

Also I just looked at the literature included with the PRO2900 (they include a pamphlet that shows all of their other models), and it lists the HFI-580 and HFI-780 as lacking removable cables. The only HFI model with such a feature is reported as the HFI-2400 (I assume this is 100% correct, but the HFI-2400 is the only HFI I've tried).

They have that literature online too:
http://www.ultrasone.com/images/stories/files/products/ultrasone_gesamtkatalog.pdf

So that puts the 580 and 780 in the same boat as the M50 with no removable cables.

Once again thanks for understanding and coming back to help me in my descision, this has just been a really frustrating process for me to find the just-right pair of headphones for me.

We've all been there.

 

[Fballboy23]

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[obobskivich]

Just keep in mind that the HFI-2400 are open-back, and if you need isolation from outside noise, they will offer none. However if you're using these at home and don't need any isolation, I'd strongly suggest just making the jump into open headphones (like the HFI-2400) and the improvements they bring.

Also a shame to hear that $30 headphones are such crud these days. I actually have owned a few pairs of such inexpensive headphones (and still have the Koss R/80 sitting around here somewhere) - while not great sounding, they certainly didn't disintegrate over the course of a few weeks or days.

 

[Fballboy23]

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[obobskivich]

Well I wasn't expecting them to be that great honestly considering they were made by a computer company dabbling into other things like headphones and such. Im sure there are still reputable 30 dollar headphones out there but incase anyone is reading this, I strongly recommend against ever buying HP Digital stereo headsets unless you only need em for a week and care less afterwards. 

And imho that shouldn't be what $30 gets you - I mean good grief, I have some $5 buster headphones that are better together than that. Even AFTER I've ripped them up and had my way with them. Oh modernity...:tongue_smile:

My biggest gripe I have with open headphones isn't so much that they leak sound, its that they leak sound in. Sometimes I sit here ideally while looking through things with no music playing but my headphones still on so that background noise and what not is somewhat drowned out (conversations in the hallway/living room etc) but I think once I find a good entry-set level of headphones for closed-back I am going to make an adventure into the open world of things for my more mid-focused taste in music (such as rock and alt rock 90's and so on)

Yes, that's what I meant by "no isolation." Honestly most closed-back headphones don't provide tons of isolation though - not like IEMs or good ANC at least. But I do understand the sentiment; I have a closed-back pair of cans for that exact purpose. Not as quiet-inducing as they could be, but it's enough when I'm sick of listening to the aircon or birds outside or whatever else - and worlds apart from what my normal listening fare provide.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrLOwvQyTjc
 
That has been my comparrison song thus far just because I find it has a good mixture of low/mid/highs as well as things playing at the same time (Such as around 1:10ish when the bass kicks into it and the highs are playing) And yea, that also was confirmed from a few different reviews I had saw when comparing the HFI-580 to the M50's, but they both seem to have pros and cons. Ugh. I wish I could breed em and make 1 perfect headphone. At this point, im thinking im going to just go with the 580's and depending on how I like S-Logic (Read a few places that its a hit or miss kind of soundstage for people) and overall sound signature that it would determine if they are keepers. The support behind the 580's just are really strong it seems.

 
 
For some reason I was expecting an entirely different song
 
In any case, Ultrasone has always been a polarizing brand, with people either loving or hating them. S-Logic plays a big part on this.
 
I can certainly relate to your isolation desires, especially about blocking external sound. Open headphones have a more effortless soundstage, but I'm quite satisfied with my Pro 900 on that regard, as despite it being a closed set, S-Logic does work for me quite well.
 
I might be totally mistaken, but I feel you're on the HFI-580 -> Pro 900 -> LCD-2 path...

 

[grokit]

I had the Pro 900 for a few weeks, the wow factor wore off for me pretty quickly. The D2000 sounds just as good as the D5000, heck I like it as much as the Edition 8 I had. Like the ED8, the D2K benefits from modest amping but also sounds good straight out of a DAP/laptop. Best value in a closed headphone IMO.

 

[Rocko1]

Quote:

That I guess is one thing I am looking towards is the bass quantity, but then again you can EQ towards it. While im listening to it currently on Un-amped LP2's the vocals are there, a little distant, but when the bass comes in everything else dissapates from the song really. The highs and mids survive but the highs are extremely bright and behind everything else. The soundstage doesn't seem to really be anything either, at least in comparrison to my old Uptowns when I had listened to the song. The bass though, is exactly what I am looking toward. It has the sound there and you can hear it but it is also accompined by a good kick in the lower area of things. When the bass cuts out, the vocals come back they seem recessed again behind the highs. Im not the greatest at describing my hearing as the song is playing and what not as you can probably see.
 
Ultimately as I stated in my original post, I want that type of bass. Something that is present, going to give you a nice kick/punch whatever you want to call it, but also have the quality aspects of bass in tact while retaining mids and highs, mids less so than highs. The thing concerning my right now is the comfort issues surrounding the M50's, I wear my headphones a LOT, usually 60-85% of the day depending on whats going on. 

 I think with that kind of wear time, comfort needs to be near the top of the deciding factors and I love the M50's, but I could not see wearing them for more than 4 hours a day. In comparison, my less expensive Panasaonic HTF600's which are about a 1/3rd of the weight(build quality too) are like having a feather on your head-those I could see wearing a full work day if I had too.
 
 I think best bet is to narrow it down to a couple choices, buy both on Amazon and return the one you don't like.

 

[DarSevn]

The M50's definitely get a little warm on your head after a while.  With my E11 alone they get quite bassy (more than enough for me) and when I add the E17 in there it is even more so.  Been using my 598's and Grado 80i's a lot lately, so, let me grab those and give you a little more detail.
 
First song:

 
With my E11 and E17, bass on the 2nd setting on E11, the bass is very much there and sound great, almost like standing near the speakers in a club.  Sounds clean, and definitely not as laid back as when I use the 598's.  If I set the bass to 0 on the E11, it has less punch but still sounds good.
 

 
Vocals sound pretty good on this, but there is a lot less soundstage than I have become used to.  HIghs and mids still sound very good to my ear though, and the bass is there, sounds great with no increase on the amp.
 

 
Hard hitting bass, doesn't overwhelm the vocals.  Track sounds great on the M50's.
 
Overall, these are my impressions based on my usage of the Grados, Sennheiser, and then M50, so take it as you will, though I definitely love the M50's for rap and electronic music.
 
One definite plus about the M50's compared to my other 2 headphones, it is closed and keeps the sound in infinite times better than the other 2, if that is even an issue for you.  It can get quite loud without anybody being able to hear it.

 

[Fballboy23]

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[Fballboy23]

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[Fballboy23]

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