stang
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2009
- Posts
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Decided to finally do a review of my rig and my new headphones, ALO-780. I hope everyone likes it, it's going to make me a 500+ head-fier
I will be using 3 songs, although I mainly listen to metal so I hope this review will still be able to express what I think of these great cans. I will review to the best of my ability, please don't expect miracles, as I am fiarly new to the Audio world.
Cable: Jena Labs cable with a Furutech 1/4" plug makes them fairly heavy but looks wonderful. The cable isn't very flexible but I guess that's alright, as I am not going anywhere with these 'phones, strictly to be used with my setup
Cups: I like the look of the cups, although they could have used someething other than plastic painted silver. The Ultrasone Logo and the L and R on each cup seems to be made of some sort of metal, which is nice to see. Sorry, I am not experienced with different types of materials.
Headband: Terrible IMO. It's made of plastic, but it seems sturdy. The pleather part on the headband whicih rests on your head is very hard and hurts. It is digging into my sunburned head (damn beach
). This may sound funny but I actually now rest a handkerchief on top of my head where the headband rests to relieve the pain, it is working great.
Ear pads: VERY uncomfortable during the first 5 hours or so. They dig into my jaw which hurts and gets annoying, but I have toughened up now
. They are now fairly comfortable, less so than my previous headphone, Grado SR-225. I have ordered the DT250 velour pads though and will comment on them when they arrive of course.
Well enough about all that, let's get onto my setup.
Source: Foobar 2000 with ASIO4ALL>Evga X58 Classified>Coax
DAC/amp: Zero DAC with OPA627 and brown caps snipped off to get rid of the bad high's and bass.
I usually use my Qinpu A-3 but dislike them with the Ultrasone's, it's beautiful with Grado's though!
My song picks are not to most people's likings, as I do not have anything better. I usually listen to metal ALL the time so I tried switching to a different genre to give the ALO-780 more of a fair chance. I know, only one song, but I don't listen to this genre much, if at all, so for me I do not find it too important to review it.
Songs:
In Flames - Moonshield
Lamb of God - Ruin
Black Eyed Pees - Be That Way (Complicated)
SOUND QUALITY
[size=small]In Flames - Moonshield[/size]
These Ultrasone's produce the bass beautifully in this song, almost perfect for me. It has a nice kick to it without being bloated or taking over the mids and high's. The drums are presented nicely, I can hear clearly which drum Björn Gelotte is hitting. The acoustic guitar at the start suonds very nice and I can hear when the guitarist slides his finger over each string and if one string is looser than the other, I can hear it vibrate very easily, this is very nice, as it is revealing to the quality of the recording. This particular album -The Jester Race- is probably their highest quality. I feel as though when the electric guitar comes into place, it is almost in front of me. The S-Logic doesn't fully work as it is supposed to IMO, but nevertheless sounds great. The cymbals sound AMAZING! They are absolutely perfect to me. When they need to be heard clearly, they are, with amazing detail. I can hear the cymbals pretty clearly throughout the rest of the songs, whicih is Just as I like it. I dislike when all the instruments can be heard as clearly as each other, to me, that just isn't how it's supposed to sound. The vocals are presented a little less than the guitar. This is great, as I have been to a Lamb of God and DevilDriver concert not long ago and the guitar and drums are very clea and the vocals a little laid back.
[size=small]Lamb of God - Ruin[/size]
Yes, Lamb of God poorly record their albums, but that's always good fore reviewing, as I can tell you about how revieling these cans are to the flaws. This song, as I am just realising now, as I am listening to this song, is fatiguing. There is an exagerrated bass which, looking at the Spectrum monitor in Foobar 2000, is very clearn. The bottom end is very present and there isn't much of the high's. The guitars are presented as being very aggressive and not all that detailed, taking over a bit of the rest of the spectrum. The vocals are very clear though, I can tell what the vocalist's face is like when he is screaming and how far away from the microphone he goes. Lamb of God does present their cymbals differently to In Flames'. They are presented more in your face and not as loud. I imagine I am in front of the whole band when I listen to this song, so soundstaging is more combined and in your face, as expected by a heavy band like LOG.
[size=small]Black Eyed Pees - Be That Way (Complicated)[/size]
Most people won't know this song, as it didn't make it to the release of their album, but nevertheless sounds great with these cans. WOW, this sound amazing! Everything is just so clear, detailed and isn't fatiguing one bit, even when the bass kicks in. These cans make me want to listen to more of their songs, but I really shouldn't
The instrument (if you can call them that) seperation is really mind blowing in this song I find. Even with 5 or 6 different effects plus vocals happening at one time, I can still hear each one individually and not get side tracked onto just one "instrument".
Conclusion
If you can bear with a headband that hurts on the top of your head after a while, then don't hesitate to buy these headphones! The ear pads are fine, as they cover my whole ear. They may be a tad uncomfortable, but nothing that time can't fix. These have a great tight, impacting bass that is very smooth. Mids that are clear and more in your face than most headphones and high's that sparkle and sound wonderful especially in electronically mixed songs. These headphones are $595 new from ALO Audio or can be found for roughly $350usd shipped worldwide, great value for the money. Now, I just need some recommendations for some new songs to listen to
I tried my best at describing everything, I guess I need more time to read more reviews, find out what all this "luscious mids" mean etc. Hope you enjoyed reading and I will update when I get the Velour pads to describe any differences and will review another 3 songs
Hopefully getting a Little Dot MKVII and Little Dot DAC_I sometimes fairly soon so I can describe the differences between that and this Zero DAC.
Cable: Jena Labs cable with a Furutech 1/4" plug makes them fairly heavy but looks wonderful. The cable isn't very flexible but I guess that's alright, as I am not going anywhere with these 'phones, strictly to be used with my setup
Cups: I like the look of the cups, although they could have used someething other than plastic painted silver. The Ultrasone Logo and the L and R on each cup seems to be made of some sort of metal, which is nice to see. Sorry, I am not experienced with different types of materials.
Headband: Terrible IMO. It's made of plastic, but it seems sturdy. The pleather part on the headband whicih rests on your head is very hard and hurts. It is digging into my sunburned head (damn beach
Ear pads: VERY uncomfortable during the first 5 hours or so. They dig into my jaw which hurts and gets annoying, but I have toughened up now
Well enough about all that, let's get onto my setup.
Source: Foobar 2000 with ASIO4ALL>Evga X58 Classified>Coax
DAC/amp: Zero DAC with OPA627 and brown caps snipped off to get rid of the bad high's and bass.
I usually use my Qinpu A-3 but dislike them with the Ultrasone's, it's beautiful with Grado's though!
My song picks are not to most people's likings, as I do not have anything better. I usually listen to metal ALL the time so I tried switching to a different genre to give the ALO-780 more of a fair chance. I know, only one song, but I don't listen to this genre much, if at all, so for me I do not find it too important to review it.
Songs:
In Flames - Moonshield
Lamb of God - Ruin
Black Eyed Pees - Be That Way (Complicated)
SOUND QUALITY
[size=small]In Flames - Moonshield[/size]
These Ultrasone's produce the bass beautifully in this song, almost perfect for me. It has a nice kick to it without being bloated or taking over the mids and high's. The drums are presented nicely, I can hear clearly which drum Björn Gelotte is hitting. The acoustic guitar at the start suonds very nice and I can hear when the guitarist slides his finger over each string and if one string is looser than the other, I can hear it vibrate very easily, this is very nice, as it is revealing to the quality of the recording. This particular album -The Jester Race- is probably their highest quality. I feel as though when the electric guitar comes into place, it is almost in front of me. The S-Logic doesn't fully work as it is supposed to IMO, but nevertheless sounds great. The cymbals sound AMAZING! They are absolutely perfect to me. When they need to be heard clearly, they are, with amazing detail. I can hear the cymbals pretty clearly throughout the rest of the songs, whicih is Just as I like it. I dislike when all the instruments can be heard as clearly as each other, to me, that just isn't how it's supposed to sound. The vocals are presented a little less than the guitar. This is great, as I have been to a Lamb of God and DevilDriver concert not long ago and the guitar and drums are very clea and the vocals a little laid back.
[size=small]Lamb of God - Ruin[/size]
Yes, Lamb of God poorly record their albums, but that's always good fore reviewing, as I can tell you about how revieling these cans are to the flaws. This song, as I am just realising now, as I am listening to this song, is fatiguing. There is an exagerrated bass which, looking at the Spectrum monitor in Foobar 2000, is very clearn. The bottom end is very present and there isn't much of the high's. The guitars are presented as being very aggressive and not all that detailed, taking over a bit of the rest of the spectrum. The vocals are very clear though, I can tell what the vocalist's face is like when he is screaming and how far away from the microphone he goes. Lamb of God does present their cymbals differently to In Flames'. They are presented more in your face and not as loud. I imagine I am in front of the whole band when I listen to this song, so soundstaging is more combined and in your face, as expected by a heavy band like LOG.
[size=small]Black Eyed Pees - Be That Way (Complicated)[/size]
Most people won't know this song, as it didn't make it to the release of their album, but nevertheless sounds great with these cans. WOW, this sound amazing! Everything is just so clear, detailed and isn't fatiguing one bit, even when the bass kicks in. These cans make me want to listen to more of their songs, but I really shouldn't
Conclusion
If you can bear with a headband that hurts on the top of your head after a while, then don't hesitate to buy these headphones! The ear pads are fine, as they cover my whole ear. They may be a tad uncomfortable, but nothing that time can't fix. These have a great tight, impacting bass that is very smooth. Mids that are clear and more in your face than most headphones and high's that sparkle and sound wonderful especially in electronically mixed songs. These headphones are $595 new from ALO Audio or can be found for roughly $350usd shipped worldwide, great value for the money. Now, I just need some recommendations for some new songs to listen to
I tried my best at describing everything, I guess I need more time to read more reviews, find out what all this "luscious mids" mean etc. Hope you enjoyed reading and I will update when I get the Velour pads to describe any differences and will review another 3 songs
