[aamefford]

I finally completed the recable!!!!! A bit late, but I finally had a bit of undisturbed time. I used a 4 wire Litz flat braid with Navships' 24 AWG silver plated copper in teflon insulation. Note to self - next time, don't use 4 strands of white...

Pictures are posted in the DIY Cable Gallery, page 303, post #4544: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/diy...ml#post5932552

I'll refrain from too much in the way of impressions right now, and update with an edit later - Why you ask?

Well, my Pico made a soft "whump" sound and quit working back in July. I mailed it to Justin at Headamp for repair. Justin's a busy guy, and only he knows when I'll get my beloved Pico back. That leaves me with a Macbook pro headphone out, a first gen. iPhone headphone out, and a second gen. flashcard modded iPod mini headphone out, and no amp, much less a DAC. Not much in the way of source / amp combos. Note that I find the Pico to be great, it competes well (betters?) the much loved Apogee Duet as a DAC / amp combo.

Anyway, lame sources, and no burn-in on the cable (ok, I don't actually buy burn in on cables, but noted for the record...). The brittle highs are finally gone, the bass is fuller and more controlled, the detail and clarity are impressive. The improved bass control is noticeable because previously without the Pico, the bass was full, but pretty sloppy. Sibilance is much improved - It is virtually gone on Diana Krall's "Girl In The Other Room." Sibilance is not eliminated, however - I still hear it in Sarah McGlachlan's "Mirror Ball."

I'll update later, when I have my Pico back, or access to another source and amp.

So far, these have REALLY responded to modification, and are a fine headphone. Now if I can just fix the chisel-like headband pad...

 

[mrarroyo]

Nice work on the recable! Glad you are still enjoying the HFI-780, so am I.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice work on the recable! Glad you are still enjoying the HFI-780, so am I.

Thank you! (blush

)

They were laid up for about a month mid recable. It's nice to have them back!

 

[charliex]

I love my ESW10JPN's - my 2nd favorite phone with HF-2s taking top spot and my HD 580s in 3rd.

 

[n0ah]

is it possible to upgrade the 780 cable without all the diy work? ie an upgrade cable that plugs right in on one side like the stock cable?

 

[aamefford]

This seems a good thread for a quick post to pad my count as I make a run for 500 posts

.

To my recently departed ESW10's:

I morn your loss, but you were so beautiful, I hated to risk pulling you out for fear my 4 year old would accidentally trash you, or worse, I'd do it.

I hope you enjoy your new home, and I hope your new home enjoys you as much as I did.

Missed, gone, never forgotten...

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n0ah /img/forum/go_quote.gif is it possible to upgrade the 780 cable without all the diy work? ie an upgrade cable that plugs right in on one side like the stock cable?

Yes, but in doing so you would still have the right side being fed w/ the original cable which is IMO lacking. Furthermore the diode board would still be there. A good alternative and one which is reasonably price is to get in touch w/ Warrior of S2 Audio for his re-cabling services, he uses the stock entrance point. Good luck.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, but in doing so you would still have the right side being fed w/ the original cable which is IMO lacking. Furthermore the diode board would still be there. A good alternative and one which is reasonably price is to get in touch w/ Warrior of S2 Audio for his re-cabling services, he uses the stock entrance point. Good luck.

Well, that pretty much seconds the advice I sent in my PM, so there you go!

 

[DoYouRight]

After about 6 months of off and on use my ESW10s sound better than ever. I dont believe in burn in. But the difference is incredible.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif After about 6 months of off and on use my ESW10s sound better than ever. I dont believe in burn in. But the difference is incredible.

This is very funny!

 

[aamefford]

I finally got my beloved Pico back from Justin at HeadAmp. Turns out there was nothing wrong. All I can figure is that I didn't get the charger plugged in on one end or the other, and ran the battery dead... Anyway, I got the new battery while it was out for repair.

So... I've been listening to my finished (for now anyway...

) Ultrasone HFI 780's, finally with what I consider a decent source for these headphones.

Impressions, from a non-audio review guy:

The bass these cans are known for is still quite present, but very controlled, much tighter. Not boomy, not loose. The decay seems more accurate, there seems to be just a bit less "hang time."

The Mids are very recording dependent. On some songs, they still seem just a bit recessed. On a decently recorded song, the balance is just fine, and the mids are nice, present, much "smoother" than before the mods.

The high end is still quite bright and forward by my standards. Note that I really like the presentation of the Sennheiser HD580 and my Shure SE530's, so I tend toward a more laid back presentation on the high end.

I find these headphones very engaging, very fast, very, very detailed, and quite revealing of source and recording quality. They sound great, and they are a blast to listen to. They are not my ideal style, as noted above. That said, I like them a lot, and I really like the fact that they fold flat and also collapse into a ball. They are perfect office and traveling cans. They are also not things of physical beauty like my dearly departed ESW10's were, so I actually listen to them!

In summary, I think the velour Beyer pads are mandatory. I think the damping mods are absolutely mandatory. I am surprised actually to find that the cable also made a very significant difference. I'm an enginerd, I struggle with the idea of hearing significant differences in sound due to cable construction differences. The wire in the stock cable really is crappy and tiny, though.

Overall, the mods took a BRITTLE, BRIGHT, FORWARD, IN YOUR FACE headphone and made it a fast, detailed, smooth, tight, controlled headphone that I really enjoy.

I had a blast doing these mods. I highly recommend this project to anyone that feels capable. A used pair of HFI 780's can be had for a pretty reasonable and fair price, and the materials for the mods are not that expensive. I probably have a bit over $300 in these including a fair price on the headphones. That includes having to buy enough Dynamat to do a few more pairs, and wrecking 10' of Mogami, 2 neutrik mini plugs and a bunch of heat shrink before I got the cable properly complete. The end result with the Navships Litz braided 24AWG silver plated copper came out great, is a really nice cable (IMHO...) and sounds really great (again color me surprised regarding the improvement from the cable).

I suspect these are quite close in sound to the professionally modified versions, at a lower dollar cost, but a bunch of time spent. After taking on this project, I think the pros charge a fair price for their work. If one feels up to it, I suspect this project will give the professionally built HFI 780 mods a run for their money. That and as I said, it was a very rewarding project for me.

 

[BlueFalc0n]

Great write up aamefford. I'll be tackling this a little bit at a time myself. I'm nervous about the recabling and will save it for last. Love the pad mod and will work that after I get my Beyer pads in that I ordered on my 780's. I'll be hitting you up later with questions I'm sure.

 

[aamefford]

It was a fun project. My latest is a pair of Denon D5000's. I'll either Markl mod them or sell them. I'm on the fence. I'm not sure they are close enough to my style to do the mods. Then again, I'm curious enough to want to find out what happens...

Edit, March 17, 2010: For what it's worth, and off topic, I did sell the D5000's and got a pair of D7000's. I think they will be it for closed cans for a while. For my taste, I like them better than the HFI 780's and the D5000's. I had a great time modding the 780's, and I'll always remember them for that. Plus they sound great - just not as much to my taste as the Denon's.

 

[nullstring]

I'd also like to thank you for the write up.

These are definitely on my list.

searchable keyword: HFI-780 mod

 

[Palpatine]

I love my esw9...I can only imagine how much better the esw10 sound. I wish I could try them one day.