Post 200 hour update
First off let me say that initially I was EXTREMELY nervous about receiving these CANS, the total cost including shipping was $609! Stock this phone cost around $200!!!! While waiting for delivery I kept second guessing myself, asking if the money would have been better spent on ANYTHING else!!??
Well, 200+ hours later, I can easily say that I am VERY happy with my purchase, and so far the ALO-780Js take care of my "closed headphone" needs!!
Ok, now with that out of the way here are my findings:
Treble: The treble has smoothed out a great deal. I listen to a lof ot music with trumpets blaring, and at a decent volume it doesn't cause any pain!! Now with my setup, anything past 12:00 on my amp dial will blow your eardrums apart, especially HF's! But, I think that's more a result of my system synergy as opposed to just the phones. No more shrillness or "metallic" sound going on here. At 0-20 hours that was the case, but not anymore!
Mids: Are very transparent! I'm given a clear window into the music here. I think in an earlier post I mentioned that I heard someone coughing in the background on a CD I've listened to numerous times, or on another CD one of the artists sniffling..(perhaps a cold, or a result of artistic endevours with white powdery stuff! I digress!!). The mids are slightly forward, but not in your face. Dare I say that it pretty much rivals stock K701s!!
Bass: Do I need to say anything about bass?? From the start the 780s had copious amounts of it, and at times BOOMY amounts of it, like a bass cloud, although it never really clouded out the rest of the frequency spectrum, which has not been my experience with other "bassy" type cans (i.e. DT990, HD650...etc..).. At this point, the bass has tighten up A LOT! It's still well defined, and full of impact, but controlled! I specifically tested this out on my bedroom rig, the source is an Apollo, which is not known for it's IMPACTFUL bass, but with the current synergy, that's not an issue.
Soundstage: For a pair of closed cans, these give me a great presentation that appears to be slightly outside of my head, not in the K701 range, but far enough that I don't feel like the music is in my face! Sometimes this is very much recording dependent, but for the most part there's the illusion of space around me. I can pinpoint the location of each artist in the ensemble. Once again, I think this is HIGHLY recording dependent! So bad recorded material is not going to "morph" (ha!) into something else.
Now is this the can to end all cans? No, of course not, no headphone is, or else this site would no longer exist. But, it is definitely one of the better modded headphones out there. I feel these are very much "musical\fun" phones to listen to, I would not use them for analytical listening, although with the level of details present, it wouldn't be too dificult to do! If you're looking for closed headphones, definitely put this one on your short list to evaluate.
Keep up the good work Ken!
