[CStheGreat]

Hey Head-Fi,
 
First off, I really want to thank you all for such a great website. The information found on here is very informative. I've owned a pair of Monster Turbine Pro Gold's for several months and I'm definitely enjoying them, however, I'm looking to compliment them with a pair of full-size headphones. My budget is between $150-$300 and I'm looking for something that can be driven (for the most part) without an amp. I listen mainly to Hip-Hop/Rap so I'm looking for something that has a good amount of bass and an aggressive sound signature. I'm definitely not looking into a neutral pair of headphones with a neutral sound curve. I want to enjoy my music regardless of how "unnatural" the sound is.
 
My friend has a pair of Beats By Dr. Dre and while I found them enjoyable because of the hefty amounts of bass, I did notice they sounded a bit "muddy." Now, before you start yelling at me and saying the Beats are terrible, I'll just preface by saying I'm looking for something along the lines of the Beats but with better response and clarity. Searching the forums, the most common answer I'm getting are the Ultrasone HFI-780s. They have good bass response, they are aggressive, look fairly nice, and they work well amped/unamped. A couple of other suggestions were the Beyerdynamic DT770 pro/80s as well as Denon's and a Sony model. I'm definitely leaning towards the Ultrasone's right now, especially with the price Amazon has them for currently (below $180). Should I pull the trigger on these or go with another brand? Also, is it worth buying (below $100) a portable amp to power them? I really don't want to but if there is a significant sound difference I would be willing to save up some extra money. Thanks in advance.

 

[CStheGreat]

Bump

 

[logwed]

I got the ALO-780s recently (modded HFI) and I generally like them. I listen to prog rock / indie rock mostly with a dash of electronic, so consider my impressions in that light.
 
Listening to music, the first thing that I really notice is that the Ultrasones love the synthesizer. Keyboards really rock out, sometimes to the point of drowning out a lot of detail. They're really not detailed cans, which is probably fine for rap/hip hop. They do wonders with male vocals, there's a lot of life and emotion in mid-range male vocals. Another really impressive part (probably the 2nd best thing) is how real drums sound and feel. There's a lot of impact from every part of the kit, and the cymbals are never sibilant.
 
They do just fine straight through the ol' iPod compared to my setup, you don't miss terribly much. I blame it on the lack of detail
 
TL;DR: Great synth and male vocals (strong mids, most likely), thumpy bass and crisp/clean/forward drums. Probably damn good with hip-hop, definitely my favorite electronic cans that I've heard.
 
I vote that it's for you!

 

[shnitz]

The Ultrasone DJ1/HFI-580 (same headphone) are more along the lines for you.  They are closer to the sound signature you're looking for.  The 780's are more about detail, less bass, overall a more "refined" sound for mixing and movies.  The DT770 is solid as well.

 

[alantt]

I own the Denon D1100s. They are really bassy yet with good clarity.

 

[CStheGreat]

Quote:

I got the ALO-780s recently (modded HFI) and I generally like them. I listen to prog rock / indie rock mostly with a dash of electronic, so consider my impressions in that light.
 
Listening to music, the first thing that I really notice is that the Ultrasones love the synthesizer. Keyboards really rock out, sometimes to the point of drowning out a lot of detail. They're really not detailed cans, which is probably fine for rap/hip hop. They do wonders with male vocals, there's a lot of life and emotion in mid-range male vocals. Another really impressive part (probably the 2nd best thing) is how real drums sound and feel. There's a lot of impact from every part of the kit, and the cymbals are never sibilant.
 
They do just fine straight through the ol' iPod compared to my setup, you don't miss terribly much. I blame it on the lack of detail
 
TL;DR: Great synth and male vocals (strong mids, most likely), thumpy bass and crisp/clean/forward drums. Probably damn good with hip-hop, definitely my favorite electronic cans that I've heard.
 
I vote that it's for you!

Thanks for the information, it does sound promising!


Quote:

The Ultrasone DJ1/HFI-580 (same headphone) are more along the lines for you.  They are closer to the sound signature you're looking for.  The 780's are more about detail, less bass, overall a more "refined" sound for mixing and movies.  The DT770 is solid as well.

 
Hmm, these two posts seems to contradict one another a little. I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of bass for more detail and clarity. I've heard the 580s are great for Hip-Hop music. This is making my decision a bit more difficult.
 
 
I'm also curious about how the Denon AHD-2000 compare to these? They look really nice and people have commented on their great bass response.

 

[CStheGreat]

Bump

 

[astroid]

Beats Solo HD are what you are describing.  HD not the standard Solos.

 

[shnitz]

Look man, do a little bit of searching on this forum on your own, if you read something that "seems to contradict." Don't just sit around and wait for people to do everything for you, did you really just sit around for a day for someone to do the searching for you?  Here, pay attention to the first thread, second post:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/406669/ultrasone-hfi-580-vs-hfi-780
Post #7 in this thread, someone that knows what they're talking about:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/359777/ultrasone-hfi-580-or-hfi-780-or
A recent thread, about this very thing:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/524277/hfi-580-or-hfi-780/15#post_7097882
 
Just because the 580 have a better bass-style sound doesn't mean that the 780's have zero bass.  I didn't contradict any other poster.  Just because the 580 are what you are looking for, doesn't mean that you won't get any pleasure from the 780's.  It's just that based on your current situation, the 580 will be a better fit for you (and for most people, actually.  If you'll research a bit on your own, you will see that the 780 have a "better" sound, but it is a less enjoyable sound).

 

[carnival]

My experience with the 780s has not been an enjoyable one.

I don't know why they are so well liked or recommended, personally. They have incredibly aggressive highs, from my experience. Regardless of high or low quality songs, I have found that listening to 's' sounds through the HFI780s is like stringing a piece of barbed wire through one ear and out the other, and flossing my head with it.
They really aren't all that great unamped, and again, the sibilance is unbelievable.
Also, while this doesn't affect the sound quality, they really easily can get scratches and dings.

I also have found them to be unbelievably uncomfortable after lengthy periods of time (people will mention how the clamp down on the head).

However, every pair of headphones has something redeeming and so here's where I be nicer to the 780s.

They work well if you enjoy bass and your songs are more bassy. They're very punchy, and can be a bit overwhelming.

Also, though this may be strange, they sound fantastic with classical music. You wouldn't assume so, but when I play Haydn through these, I forget for a little while that the 780s and I aren't on speaking terms.


YMMV.

 

[WhiteCrow]

 
Quote:

The Ultrasone DJ1/HFI-580 (same headphone) are more along the lines for you.  They are closer to the sound signature you're looking for.  The 780's are more about detail, less bass, overall a more "refined" sound for mixing and movies.  The DT770 is solid as well.

this, music with the HFI 780 can be tiresome, as the titanium on the driver tends to give it a very high peak in the upper frequencies.

 

[Randy F]

The HFI-780 is a gold plated driver- not titanium. It has a 20-30 hour burn-in time and it will then sound less harsh and aggressive in the high-end . Also, the headband comes tight but can be loosened up so it is not as tight. With one hand on each side of the head band, just bend it backwards a few times to loosen it up. I hope this helps.