[StuartRog154]

Until a year and a half ago I had never listened to music with anything other than the cheapest earbuds I could find. I decided on a whim to try something else, so I checked Amazon and found a pair of headphones that I could easily purchase without even making a dent in my bank account. I knew nothing about headphones (I still don't know much) and based upon some concept I had floating in my mind I decided that over the ear headphones would offer me the best audio quality. I settled on the Sennheiser HD202 model because it had tons of reviews, a great average rating, and a low price. I also purchased a fiio e5 amp because I thought I might need it. I let them burn in and loved the sound I got from them. They made everything sound great compared to what I had before. I could tell that they weren't perfect but I was ok with that because I didn't have the money for anything else at the time. Unfortunately one of my neighbors broke them during an extended loan and I bought a pair of nuforce earbuds off amazon rather than getting a replacement for a reason that is lost to me now.
 
That experience led me to the the following. I recently decided that I want something better because my new living situation has made it impossible to listen to music with my desktop speakers most of the time and the earbuds I have just aren't cutting it. I set my budget at $200 USD and set out to look for a general purpose pair of headphones that would sound awesome for infrequent gaming, movie watching, and music listening. I enjoy a wide variety of music. Every artist has at least one song I can enjoy. After reading for a few days I decided on the Ultrasone HFI-780. They are close to 50% off on many sites at this time so I figured that I might as well try them out now before the price goes up, so I purchased them off of overstock.com (Amazon kept deleting my order because they said my card wasn't working but it went through immediately with this other site). I felt confident in my decision to purchase them because I felt like I had read enough good and bad reviews that they balanced each other out and it just came down to personal taste. That is until I read the following thread http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/466611/review-shure-srh-840-versus-the-ultrasone-hfi-780-my-journey.
 
I should have asked before I made the purchase but I didn't so I'll ask now. Did I make the right choice? Are they good headphones? Will they sound good across many genres of music? Was I right to assume that a persons choice in headphones is simply a matter of personal taste or are there cold hard facts that make one better than the other?

 

[bradhyper]

I've found that most descriptions of headphones 'round these parts are usually meant to exaggerate differences that are initially hard to hear. I have the 840s and I thought they sounded "smooth." Everything seemed to be in the music, but nothing was "fun."
 
 
It looks like the 780s are "fun" headphones. Instead of being flat/neutral they have louder bass and treble. I think it's mostly going to be preference at the end of the day. Are the 780s the best choice for you, for that price? That's not something someone can tell you. You have to try some headphones and see if you like their sound. If so, keep them.
 
 
Don't fret about "wasting" money on cans you might not like before you even get them. Either way the 780s should sound loads better than what you're used to.
 
 
Hope you like them when they show up.

 
 
This is a response to the TLR version of that review if it makes you feel better,
 
 
Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfatdynamo /img/forum/go_quote.gif TL: DR Version: The Ultrasone HFI 780 headphones are an overhyped abortion of a headphone that is more style than substance. They made listening to music a chore. The Shure 840 headphones are not perfect, but are much more listenable and provide an enjoyable experience that actually makes me want to do nothing but close my eyes and listen.

Ultrasones have a sound that is refreshing from the typical laid back headphones that I am used to. It really takes a certain kind of taste to enjoy the Ultrasone sound. Actually, I am quite upset that you had to word it in such a way that would turn away potential listeners from ever tasting them. I ask you to try maybe reconsidering your final summary of the headphones, or putting a disclaimer by the powerful words. I think its unfair to the newcomers of the Ultrasone sound that such a comment might deter their interest in the headphones. I'm sure I'm not the only one that believes it could use a bit of rewording.

 

 

[zazex]

Haven't posted in a long time but I read here often.
More importantly, I guess, I listen to a lot of different headphones.
And a lot of music.
 
 
 
Within certain parameters, a person's choice in headphones is a matter of personal taste.
But there are limits to that.
 
I've owned (and sold) both the Ultrasone 780's and the Shure 840's.
I prefer the 840's.
But the 780's are very good headphones. 
I wouldn't think it surprising or unreasonable for someone to prefer them over the 840's.
 
 
These are my opinions, of course.
I don't want to write "IMO" or "in my view" etc. in front of every other sentence.

 

[StuartRog154]

Thank you both for responding. I kept telling myself that most of the reviews I've read are based primarily on the reviewer's opinion, but I'm so used to reading hardware reviews on other things where there are major physical differences, or obvious flaws that can be pointed out visually, or described in a way that anyone could understand without handling the device itself. I guess I just needed some reassurance but you've both provided that. Now I just need this weekend to be over so they'll be shipped. I am definitely looking forward to listening to some of my FLAC files with those puppys.

 

[200poundsofamp]

Quote:

There was brilliance to the treble that not only emphasized the high-hat but made Alicia Keys sound as if she was killing a cat while singing.

I wouldn't worry too much, it doesn't sound like he let the 780's burn in at all. Just be warned that that's probably a really good description of what they're going to sound like out of the box!

 

[StuartRog154]

Yeah I don't know why so many people don't believe in burn in. I did a Google search on it the other day and many of the top results had tons of people trying to play it off as some psychological effect. The cheap Sennheisers and my current earbuds needed burn in before they sounded their best. The earbuds volume nearly doubled after burning them in for just a day.

 

[Chris_Himself]

I used to work in car audio. Burn-in is very real there, so much that if you are an idiot and blast your speakers the first weekend you get them and blow them out, we wouldn't cover it.
 
Burn in is noticeable within the first 50 hours. I used to think it sounded stupid, but then again I now firmly believe in CABLE burn-in with IEM's and cans.
 
Honestly these days I just encourage people to buy headphones from good brands in general. Ultrasone has a cult following of people and I've listened to them in person. The construction is superb on the 780's and I really like them. Don't look for reviews that affirm that you've made the right purchase. I used to do that for like 4-5 days after I'd order a new pair of cans back in the day while waiting for them to come in. These days I'm just glad more and more people are joining head-fi and getting into a good pair of cans!
 
Customer service is awesome too, but you won't need it if you take good care of 'em haha