Maybe its too early to get suitable feedback on this yet, but I'm helping a few of you might have listened to both the Ultrasone HFI-780 re-cabled and a markl-mod Denon D5000 and give me some feedback as to which might be a suitable can for me.
For some background, I have the ALO K701's (with 22g Jena cryo) and find that in many respects I enjoy my new UE triple-fi 10's more, as they feel less airy, with more body to the music. Switching from an Apogee Duet to a ZERO DAC with upgraded opamps has helped a lot, as the Duet is very analytical and not fun to listen to, whereas the ZERO with 627's is much more enjoyable, in both cases through a LD MKV amp.
Below is a post from cAsE sEnSiTiVe in another thread regarding the D5000's which prompted this thread of mine. Considering that 780's are half the price of D5000's, yet with re-cabling become 90% of a the Edition 9 according to people who've heard them, I'm scratching my head about what's worth getting.
Has anyone had a chance to compare both yet or have any other suggestions?
Quote:
For some background, I have the ALO K701's (with 22g Jena cryo) and find that in many respects I enjoy my new UE triple-fi 10's more, as they feel less airy, with more body to the music. Switching from an Apogee Duet to a ZERO DAC with upgraded opamps has helped a lot, as the Duet is very analytical and not fun to listen to, whereas the ZERO with 627's is much more enjoyable, in both cases through a LD MKV amp.
Below is a post from cAsE sEnSiTiVe in another thread regarding the D5000's which prompted this thread of mine. Considering that 780's are half the price of D5000's, yet with re-cabling become 90% of a the Edition 9 according to people who've heard them, I'm scratching my head about what's worth getting.
Has anyone had a chance to compare both yet or have any other suggestions?
Quote:
| Originally Posted by cAsE sEnSiTiVe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I started off with a stock pair of 701's. They were my first serious phone. At about the 400hr mark, and reading the positive comments of the phones coming alive with a re-cabling, I enlisted Ken @ ALO to work me up a second, new pair. 18awg, Jena cryo...the works. While the results were an improvement in transparency, adding a bit more lower bass to the picture, as well as slightly removing a bit of the rise in the upper frequencies I previously mentioned, ultimately it didn't turn them into something they aren't....which is something I can live with on a regular basis. At that point, I read what Markl was doing with the Denon cans, read the overwhelmingly positive comments on the result, and sight unheard, bought a stock pair and shipped them to Mark. When they returned, the very moment I put them on, mind you with very little burn-in time, it was a revelation compared to the AKG's. They are a VERY balanced headphone, much like a Vandersteen loudspeaker....for those that have heard them. These just do music. While I was breaking in the Denon's, the deal on the Ultrasone's from Northern Sound was too good to pass up, so I bought a pair. While these are my new reference phones, the denon's still get plenty of listening time, and are a very close runner up....which is a feat in itself, as it's damn near a 1/3rd of the price of the UE9's. I am enlisting Stephen (thrice) @ Rockhopper to build me a balanced beta22. With that, and the possibility of some "Jam" mods to the WA6, I'll have some of the best of both SS & tubes at hand. Since I have quite a bit of coin in them, I am going to keep the AKG's until such time as I can give them a dance with the Beta. If they don't improve in the areas I think they're lacking, then I will give up on them for good. YMMV 
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