[jjanuary]

Quote:

I don't know if this is true for the 750, but I think for the Pro 900, you'd have to own some other headphones as well. The Pro 900 are my favorite pair of headphones, but I'd go nuts if I had to listen to music through them all the time. I find the D2000 to compliment my Pro 900 quite well - they're like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The D2000 is Dr Jekyll, the nice doctor that is good for you, that actually makes you feel well, much like a real doctor. Very few flaws and almost perfected to a degree of boredom. Then Mr Hyde comes along. The Pro 900 has attitude, almost to a degree of being dangerous. Still you can't really distance yourself from them. When the D2000 is done with you, you're bored but healed. Then the Pro 900 takes over and beats you over and over again until it's time for the nice Dr to heal you up once again. (LOL)

well I do have more than one headphone in my collection and thats the problem...the 750 is my more expensive unit but it doesn't make my toes curl the majority of the time.  I'm not in the market to spend the money to own a $500+ headphone.
 
 

 

[jjanuary]

from what I've read the 900 is bassier than the 750 anyway.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

well I do have more than one headphone in my collection and thats the problem...the 750 is my more expensive unit but it doesn't make my toes curl the majority of the time.  I'm not in the market to spend the money to own a $500+ headphone.
 
 

Well, if you want a bassy headphone that works well enough with most music, there's always the D2000 that can apparently be had for under $300. 

 

[pietcux]

As this is the Ultrasone Fan Club, I suggest to try out the PRO 550. It is under 200 €/$ most of the time and provides a very good bass and overall performance w/o sibilance. And it can run without an amp from any EU DAP but also scales very well with amplification.

 

[Roller]

For people in doubt between some HFI, DJ1 and Pro series, do remember that the HFI-580 is the exact same set as the DJ1 and the Pro 550 is the exact same set as the DJ1 Pro, only the exterior is different.
 
Both the HFI-680 and the Pro 550 are more balanced sets than the HFI-580, HFI-780 and Pro 750, for instance.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

I have to ask you, since you and me both own the Klipsch S4. Do you find them to be bad? I've seen some very negative reactions to them on head-fi, but I can't say I agree with them. I know you've owned your fair share of headphones and I'd like to hear your impressions.
 
Do you dislike them, or are you like me, find them to be a pretty good pair of IEMs (especially considering the price)?

the S4s are good, I actually only use them on flights and when silence in a noisy area because they are super compact and have excellent isolation; in terms of audio I don't think they are terrible, I also don't think they are amazing, I haven't tried any other IEMs so I can't really comment on that. I think my personal taste leans towards over and around ear (that may be why I'm not crazy about IEMs).
 
Talking about price to performance ratio, I find the Koss PortaPro and Ultrasone Zino (which also get a decent amount of flak on head-fi) to be better headphones at the price point compared to the S4, but again thats likely because I don't like IEMs. In general I've learned through my audio experience that price point and branding doesn't matter, all that matters is that you enjoy the headphone - a lot of head-fi'ers may disagree with my impressions of top tier headphones like the T1, LCD2, and HE500s but headphones are very personal and its a "to each his own" type thing.
 

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

I don't know if this is true for the 750, but I think for the Pro 900, you'd have to own some other headphones as well. The Pro 900 are my favorite pair of headphones, but I'd go nuts if I had to listen to music through them all the time. I find the D2000 to compliment my Pro 900 quite well - they're like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The D2000 is Dr Jekyll, the nice doctor that is good for you, that actually makes you feel well, much like a real doctor. Very few flaws and almost perfected to a degree of boredom. Then Mr Hyde comes along. The Pro 900 has attitude, almost to a degree of being dangerous. Still you can't really distance yourself from them. When the D2000 is done with you, you're bored but healed. Then the Pro 900 takes over and beats you over and over again until it's time for the nice Dr to heal you up once again. (LOL)

Kind of agree and disagree with you on this one; I actually owned the D2000 and Pro900 at the same time and while they have their own strengths the one problem both of them had was their sibilance, the ultrasones were a bit worse but the Denons were pretty fatiguing to me as well. I actually found the HD650 to have nice synergy with the Pro900 as its mellow and smooth while the ultrasone is more in your face and fast paced.
 

 

[bengoshi2000]

I'm looking for a good set of 'phones for synth & techno that has tight bass but still presents a good soundstage.  I'm thinking about the HFI-450... they are 72 bucks shipped from B&H right now.
 
Any opinions?
 

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

the S4s are good, I actually only use them on flights and when silence in a noisy area because they are super compact and have excellent isolation; in terms of audio I don't think they are terrible, I also don't think they are amazing, I haven't tried any other IEMs so I can't really comment on that. I think my personal taste leans towards over and around ear (that may be why I'm not crazy about IEMs).
 
Talking about price to performance ratio, I find the Koss PortaPro and Ultrasone Zino (which also get a decent amount of flak on head-fi) to be better headphones at the price point compared to the S4, but again thats likely because I don't like IEMs. In general I've learned through my audio experience that price point and branding doesn't matter, all that matters is that you enjoy the headphone - a lot of head-fi'ers may disagree with my impressions of top tier headphones like the T1, LCD2, and HE500s but headphones are very personal and its a "to each his own" type thing.
 

 
Oh yes, one should definitely stick to what one enjoys regardless of how they are perceived on head-fi. As well as people may mean, I don't really follow advice on here anymore since I don't quite agree with any particular poster. I found the M50s to be on par with the D2000 enjoyment wise, and a tad bit worse on the audio quality - but for pure enjoyment, the M50s did it for me. Also I should add that I listen to music for pure enjoyment, not for analyzing headphones or other gear (as far as I can - when you spend so much money on headphones, it comes with the territory to start listening analytically to the headphones in question, I think).
 
The same with Pro 900. Of course, I am at a state where I am broadening my views side grade wise before going upwards. I am a bit skeptical that more expensive headphones automatically would do it for me, and to be quite frank with you, I don't even know what does it for me anymore. I am looking at the DT990 Pro (250 ohms) as a future possible sidegrade and Z1000/K550. But those are a little more into the future, I have to try the beyers first.
 
Quote:

Kind of agree and disagree with you on this one; I actually owned the D2000 and Pro900 at the same time and while they have their own strengths the one problem both of them had was their sibilance, the ultrasones were a bit worse but the Denons were pretty fatiguing to me as well. I actually found the HD650 to have nice synergy with the Pro900 as its mellow and smooth while the ultrasone is more in your face and fast paced.
 

As for sibilance, I tend to forget about that factor since I've never really been bothered by it. If sibilance is something that bothers you I guess someone else than me is better for advice, LOL.
 
Sometimes I even wish the Pro 900 would have even more aggressive treble than it already has.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

 

As for sibilance, I tend to forget about that factor since I've never really been bothered by it. If sibilance is something that bothers you I guess someone else than me is better for advice, LOL.
 
Sometimes I even wish the Pro 900 would have even more aggressive treble than it already has.

Oh yea, if you aren't sensitive to sibilance that really opens up the possibilities.. I have extremely sensitive ears and finding the right headphone that isn't fatiguing with excellent quality has been an expensive challenge lol.

 

[UnityIsPower]

Quote:

I'm looking for a good set of 'phones for synth & techno that has tight bass but still presents a good soundstage.  I'm thinking about the HFI-450... they are 72 bucks shipped from B&H right now.
 
Any opinions?
 

 
Ultrasone DJ1's are about 120 on amazon. Haven't tried the 450's. If you don't mind the color, its a better buy then the ~$190 HFi 580's as they are the same.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Oh yea, if you aren't sensitive to sibilance that really opens up the possibilities.. I have extremely sensitive ears and finding the right headphone that isn't fatiguing with excellent quality has been an expensive challenge lol.

How are those Signature Pros when it comes to sibilance and aggressivity in the treble area? Or... hmm, how would you compare the Pro 900 vs the Signature Pro? Not in terms of what's better (obviously the Sig Pros should be "better", their price tag alone indicates so, let alone the fact that it's a series above the Pro series), but as in how they differ from eachother, quantity of bass, quality of bass, mids, treble, soundstage, isolation and so on.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

How are those Signature Pros when it comes to sibilance and aggressivity in the treble area? Or... hmm, how would you compare the Pro 900 vs the Signature Pro? Not in terms of what's better (obviously the Sig Pros should be "better", their price tag alone indicates so, let alone the fact that it's a series above the Pro series), but as in how they differ from eachother, quantity of bass, quality of bass, mids, treble, soundstage, isolation and so on.

Signature Pros are not sibilant at all unless its a poor recording in which case they show the flaws. For example with the Pro900 I could listen maybe 30 minutes before the treble would become unbearable, with the Pro2900s 1 hr, with the Sig Pro I have no problem over 2 hours.
 
The difference in sound is both very apparent and yet truly ultrasone at the same time. The Sig Pros keep intact a fantastic bass (much cleaner and more natural than the 900/2900), the treble is smooth and more musical (with the 900/2900 the treble had a metallic character to my ears) and the midrange is equal or better than headphones famous for their midrange (LCD2, T1, HE500). To date, I think its the best headphone I've heard/owned as a whole. Its funny when I received the the Signature pro I thought (this is a excellent headphone), since that purchase nothing really wows me, not that the other headphones I mentioned aren't great, its just once you get to this tier its harder to be wowed (I'm still searching for the next big wow - maybe the Fostex TH900 - who knows) or maybe my gear - actually getting into vinyl; hoping vinyl + tube amps will be something amazing 

.
 

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Signature Pros are not sibilant at all unless its a poor recording in which case they show the flaws. For example with the Pro900 I could listen maybe 30 minutes before the treble would become unbearable, with the Pro2900s 1 hr, with the Sig Pro I have no problem over 2 hours.
 
The difference in sound is both very apparent and yet truly ultrasone at the same time. The Sig Pros keep intact a fantastic bass (much cleaner and more natural than the 900/2900), the treble is smooth and more musical (with the 900/2900 the treble had a metallic character to my ears) and the midrange is equal or better than headphones famous for their midrange (LCD2, T1, HE500). To date, I think its the best headphone I've heard/owned as a whole. Its funny when I received the the Signature pro I thought (this is a excellent headphone), since that purchase nothing really wows me, not that the other headphones I mentioned aren't great, its just once you get to this tier its harder to be wowed (I'm still searching for the next big wow - maybe the Fostex TH900 - who knows) or maybe my gear - actually getting into vinyl; hoping vinyl + tube amps will be something amazing 

.
 

Thanks for your response.
 
Yeah, I've been really wanting to own the Sig Pros for a while (or the Ed 8), but I'm a bit scared to make the jump to such expensive gear. At least it's expensive to me and I paid about $500 for the Pro 900, thanks to living in Sweden. What's even worse is that I think it was worth it, LOL. However, back to the Sig Pros. They really do pique my interest. Do you think you'd need another headphone as well to not go bonkers with the Sig Pros? Kind of like with the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde analogy I made about the Pro 900 earlier?
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

I have to plan how to portion out my wages when I get a new job after graduation in computer science.. LOL

 

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

Thanks for your response.
 
Yeah, I've been really wanting to own the Sig Pros for a while (or the Ed 8), but I'm a bit scared to make the jump to such expensive gear. At least it's expensive to me and I paid about $500 for the Pro 900, thanks to living in Sweden. What's even worse is that I think it was worth it, LOL. However, back to the Sig Pros. They really do pique my interest. Do you think you'd need another headphone as well to not go bonkers with the Sig Pros? Kind of like with the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde analogy I made about the Pro 900 earlier?
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

I have to plan how to portion out my wages when I get a new job after graduation in computer science.. LOL

 

Yikes $500 is a lot, I paid quite a bit less in the US for the Pro900s..
 
haha yea, in regards to your earlier comment, actually the Dr. jekyl is my D7000 and the Mr. hyde is my Signature Pro. But I guess to put it better, I use the Signature Pro more for music (because it has better detail retrieval) and the D7000 for movies (because they have a more expansive soundstage and is more comfortable to wear - both for long term & with my glasses on). 
 
You can't go wrong with the SP, I haven't tried the Ed8 so I cant comment on them, but from what I had read they were sibilant so I always stayed away . Oh and believe me this stuff has been expensive for me too, audio gear = debt haha. That said, I think its a more sound investment than other electronics.