[haloxt]

They charge $30 for a pair of normal earpads, $200 (or was it $150?) for a pair of ethiopian sheepskin earpads. Something between 780 and ed8 would probably be ~$1000, but maybe worth it if only to avoid that OEM headband.
 
I would love it if Ultrasone made headbands as light as the two strips of metal with nylon mesh on sony sa5000, but the headband on the ed8 also looks nice, sadly there will probably still be the same OEM headband on pro series headphones for the next few years.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

one thing's for sure, the SS on the HFI-780 is literally eye-popping

 
It's borrowing some R&D from the Ed.9 apparently -this one doesn't look very comfy either(still the same lousy chinese OEM shell)- but the Ed.8 sure much be quite a blast...too bad they don't have any in-between those 2. If they had a 780 w/ a better shell and less mushy mids for ±$500, I'd be all over it

 
Maybe they will do a Pro 800 for the ED 8... Or they jump that and do a Pro 1000 from the ED 10?. Pro 900 uses the ED 9 driver in a shell made in taiwan not China. More R&D from the ED 9 then the HFI-780 I would believe.
 
Soundstaging on the ED 8 is perhaps a bit to small on less then the best systems for most that are used to the full sized Ultrasones.. Smaller ear cups and better isolation then the Pro 900 is the big villains here I believe. Probably said that before. Compensated some by less resonances issues with the cups but it´s still not number one choice here for movies or games. Music just about any I can dig out it´s a blast with surely though
 
As for headband it can be improved certainly but I don´t like the SA5000 headband all that much either. I don´t want that net though I love the look and feel of the magnesium

 

[Ultrazino]

The headband is a strong issue!
It's too big for me and it doesn't extend far enough for others. It's also huge and uncomfortable.
 
Beyerdynamics are so much more comfortable I can't believe Ultrasone gives up on comfort just that easily.
Something has to be done!

 

[leeperry]

@oqvist: Taiwan is owned by China AFAIK, and much gear that says MIT is actually MIC...it's made there and then rebadged/assembled in T.
 
the Pro900 FR curves make it look like a major bass fart, are there hard clues that it's using the Ed.9 drivers? Why would they discount those drivers? Anyway, that OEM shell is horrid...even SkullCandy is using it, hah..

 

[oqvist]

Ultrasone themselves mentioned it. They just took the driver from the ED 9 and produced it in Taiwan to cut costs. I doubt the driver is the big cost for the ED 9 isn´t that mostly R&D costs? Bass boost stock definiatly yes. Can easilly be adjusted with KeeS mod though.

 

[majkel]

How the S-Logic works is dependent on the ear shape. The ED8 work very well with my ears while older Ultrasone models not so good, and I had no complaints regarding the soundstage. The S-Logic Plus from the ED8 suits me well, better than the angled drivers of the HD800 and the T1.
I heard the Pro 750 with three different amps, as well as the Edition 9 and the Pro 2500. I don't believe the transducer was the main cost of the ED9. I guess the housing, damping materials and other solutions make it so special. I slightly prefer the Edition 8 to the ED9 as I find them more transparent.

 

[blueyan]

Quote:

@oqvist: Taiwan is owned by China AFAIK, and much gear that says MIT is actually MIC...it's made there and then rebadged/assembled in T.
 
the Pro900 FR curves make it look like a major bass fart, are there hard clues that it's using the Ed.9 drivers? Why would they discount those drivers? Anyway, that OEM shell is horrid...even SkullCandy is using it, hah..

.Are you sure ? Taiwan is not owned by China , Hong Kong is . I'm Singaporean Chinese , I often visit Chinese forum and saw them each other (Taiwan VS China)...sorry for being out of topic

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

.Are you sure ? Taiwan is not owned by China , Hong Kong is . I'm Singaporean Chinese , I often visit Chinese forum and saw them each other (Taiwan VS China)...sorry for being out of topic

That statement is enough to start a war. China views Taiwan as a renegade state that needs to be reunited with the mainland and has passed anti secession laws to guard against such declarations. That said, the current political party in power in Taiwan isn't that anti unification with China as the former one.
 
sorry for being OT as well haha.

 

[leeperry]

well, before typing my message I did check on google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan and they confirm what I said...as I used to work for an IT taiwanese company whose products said MIT but where actually MIC 

Taiwan has been governed by the Republic of China since 25 October 1945 [..]
Taiwanese companies manufacture a large portion of the world's consumer electronics, although most of them are made in their factories in mainland China.

 

[hawat]

 
Quote:

Ultrasone themselves mentioned it. They just took the driver from the ED 9 and produced it in Taiwan to cut costs. I doubt the driver is the big cost for the ED 9 isn´t that mostly R&D costs? Bass boost stock definiatly yes. Can easilly be adjusted with KeeS mod though.

Are you sure about that? I remember ultrasone saying that they used similar driver in pro750 2500 and ed9. Just the difference was that the ed9 one was more tested and better matched.
At the release of the pro900, I read that it was a new driver. And when I compare the ed9 to the pro900 they do sound completely different.

 

[leeperry]

I've found a shootout in french of the Pro900/Ed.8/Ed.9: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Flabo.generationmp3.com%2F2009%2F11%2F24%2Fultrasone-comparatif-edition8-vs-edition9-vs-pro900%2F
 
He says that the Pro900 kills(he doesn't mention hearing too much bass???), that the Ed.8 doesn't really justify its price and that the Ed.9 is the best of the three, sounding very natural and most impressive.
 
Too bad the only one that doesn't use that lousy OEM shell is the Ed.8.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

 

Are you sure about that? I remember ultrasone saying that they used similar driver in pro750 2500 and ed9. Just the difference was that the ed9 one was more tested and better matched.
At the release of the pro900, I read that it was a new driver. And when I compare the ed9 to the pro900 they do sound completely different.

Quite sure yes. You can add Pro 900 to the list. That they don´t sound the same is probably due to the dampening materials or lack of, different housings, ear pads, different tweaked FR on the various models mainly.
 
 

 

[Ultrazino]

Quote:

Too bad the only one that doesn't use that lousy OEM shell is the Ed.8.

True. But they don't seem to care. They think the headband is very comfortable:
 

"Le confort est un des points forts de la marque Allemande, et les trois casques sont là pour le crier haut et fort.

Rien à redire de ce côté-là, les trois casques peuvent se porter plusieurs heures sans gêne particulière. L’Edition8 est exemplaire et sort gagnant dans cette catégorie, là où l’Edition9 est un peu en deçà de ses camarades de jeu."

 

"Un des points forts" What?! "Le confort" will be the reason I will cheat on Ultrasone one day!

 

[leeperry]

yeah, and the guys on that site usually use crappy sources...plus if you check the photos w/ the phones on his head, he doesn't seem to have a big head. I think their OEM shell must be great for kids and small/medium heads. I've got a large head, and the only phone I can stand for hours and hours is the cd1k/cd3k. There's so much room in the cups that "you could fall in love with an orangutan" in them

 
I also caught that site saying that the Firestone Supplier PSU didn't make an audible difference....humm: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/410199/
 
After a few hours, the HFI-780 was crushing my ears real bad and hurt the top of my skull like hell...I know another guy who ditched his for the very same reasons. The Ed.8 looks darn sweet, but if I were to spend $1.5K there would be other contenders.
 
It's too bad their phones seem half-*rsed...the HFI-780 had so much potential, all it needed was a more comfy shell and less mushy mids...it's a trap to make you buy an Ed.9 

 
OTOH, this guy was also blown away by the Ed.9...which would appear to fix most of the SQ problems of the HFI-780: http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=9338
 
He also speaks highly of the CD900ST, but it costs 130€ in Japan and +200€ shipped to Europe...and it'd be vastly uncomfy too. I think I'll get a sa3k and use sa5k earpads on it

 
the drivers are angled to death: http://assets.head-fi.org/9/9d/9dbc85a3_DSC02476.jpg
 
the sa5k earpads are as comfy as can be, and there's plenty of room in the cups: http://www.edu.lahti.fi/~klagerbl/Laitteet/Vanhat/Sony%20MDR-SA3000.jpg
 
Maybe someday Ultrasone will get their **** together

 

[oqvist]

cough cough have a SA5000 for sale ... Though if you have elefant ears you will probably get into the same issues with the SA5000 as you got with the 780 or 750.