boomana

I didn't think Al was bringing his big rig. I certainly wouldn't blame him for not wanting to risk shipping it. It would be great, though.

Okay I'm back. Cat now attacking cut-up cardboard (best cat toy) and batting it safely across the tile floor. So, my experience with the 780s was not good, but I wonder how much had to do with lack of 200 plus hours burn-in as some will claim. I dunno. I know Miguel had a least some hours on them or he wouldn't have brought them. I listened to the 2500s with the same amps and sources, and had no problem. I like those headphones, just wish Ultrasone could fix the tone in mids and especially treble. The 2500s sounded like audio headphones, made for listening to music seriously. Not the 780s. Don't know why. I also didn't experience the bass as anything more than the 2500s, except the quality was boomier and, therefore, not as nice.

I agree with everything Al said, though my short experience with the 750s was a long time ago, so I'm not going to trust my memory to say anything. I also didn't listen to them with the 2500s at the same time. As mentioned, I really don't get how people are putting the HFI 780s anywhere near the sound signature of the Edition 9s. The 780s didn't even seem like high-end audio phones to me, more like...looking for right words...no analogies coming...okay...bad...they sounded bad, like a cheap starter electric guitar for a kid sounds in comparison to a good, cheap starter guitar for an adult sounds. One is just about getting some notes out, while the other may not have the best tone, etc., but sounds like it's aiming that direction. Did that make any sense? Yep also to the Edition 9s and Al's rig. Really nice. Again, these headphones aren't for me, but balanced with the right amp/source, there is a huge difference in the quality of the bass presentation. But here's where it's difficult to really know. Al's whole system is amazing (my dream rig), and his source alone would pay for the car I'm trying to buy. Balanced on Al's rig is probably not the same as on others' rigs, and people may not be experiencing the same advantages. That doesn't mean that balanced doesn't make a big difference, but it may not make enough of a difference on lesser gear to throw money that direction. Along the same lines, since the last tweaks and additions to my amp, I'm very convinced that I've lucked into possibly the best sounding single-ended rig for the HD650s, besting some balanced rigs I've heard. Johnny Blossoms is one of only a couple people who've actually heard what it can do outside of meet conditions. I am looking forward to CanJam (even though it's a meet) for people to hear why I'm so excited about it. So, if someone were to hear my rig and then a decent balanced one, it would be easy to say that there isn't much of a difference and dismiss the whole balanced idea. Yet, balanced does make a difference as a general rule. And then again, if you put Al's rig against mine, mine is still good, but not even close to being in the same league. Too many variables, but... my cat just tried to walk across the shower curtain rod and knocked everything down. Gotta go. Finish my thoughts later or not.

I actually saw an episode of Sports Night and remember liking it. I have also seen a few episode of Sex in the City and one very early Desperate Housewives. The words "complete disdain" come to mind when I think of them, and also "sadness" in that I think about all of thousands of young women who watch these shows thinking they say anything good or worthy about being a woman. I used to watch L & O a back in the early 90s. They used to film a lot of episodes in the park my apartment overlooked when I lived in NY. My local precinct was the one they shot for NYPD Blues in the 80s. I guess my neighborhood back then was the right combo of really seedy looking, edgy and yet attractive. Good for cop shows. Maybe I'll google the others to see if they're my type of shows. I've never had HBO, so I don't really know. Thanks, guys.

Choosing recipes for a kids' party.

Where's Al and John in this thread? John had the nerve to call me while on the way to Keith Jarrett on Sat or Sun or was it Fri (I already blocked it out). Where's the envy smiley? Do you have friendly access to copies?

YouTube already has quite a bit up, but the quality is pretty poor from what I've checked out.

Well, Mike, just so you know. I was officially jealous all weekend. My co-workers who went insisted on calling me every couple hours while I was at work filling in for them just to rub it in. They're all 311 fans, which ain't my cuppa tea, but the rest sounded pretty good.

Can you rent these at Blockbuster or something? Yes, I'm that slow.

Okay, perhaps a bit embarrassing to admit I'm behind the times and have never seen any of the shows mentioned in this thread. But, let's say I wanted to check one or two out, what, based on what you guys already know or guess about me, would be a good series to start with (just realized this is like a head-fi noob question)? Can you rent these?

Nothing exciting, but it's the first thing I've bought other than food or gas in awhile. These are really nice, with longer fingers than my old pair (I have long fingers), and I needed the wrist straps. I wish they weren't leather, but the only non-leather pair in existence (one-sided mitten looking things) really don't work.

Congrats, Steve. You must post pics of your work when done. Damn, Reks. Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something. I don't know what, but you sure do have the worst luck.

Uh...there are products that can help you with that problem.

Postjack, aren't you coming to CanJam? You can find out for yourself.

Contrastique, Welome to head-case! slwiser gave you a bit of warning, but I suspect you can handle this place just fine. Now, when are you going to get some real headphones>

Go find your own pics.

No, I said not a nut. Contrastique.

If that ain't the stereotypical guy response, I don't know what is. If you like young, cute, skinny, and smart.

I like reading their meet threads. They look and sound like a fun group. Plus, you've got one of the only other female headphone geeks around, and she's not a nut. But you gotta tell her to lose those 750s. If she's going to represent my gender, she needs to have higher standards

Deepak whips out the new smilie. I love that stunned but noble mugshot doggie.

Ah, the Netherlands crew. Home of Ultrasonistas. Be very careful, Pandaman. I hear they're recruiting.

Very nice surprises. The Minibox E+ and the ESW9s were a perfect match. I'm a fan of the PRII with the 8620 and the Minibox uses the 8610, so I'm not sure how much of my initial liking was due to some familiarity. I'm convincing myself not to buy one, but its hard. I really liked it.

I listened to these headphones today and went in wanting to like them. They wouldn't let me. Miguel said that they weren't burned in yet, but my god, I thought there was a metallic sheen to the 2500s, but these were so much worse across the mids and the treble was point-blank painful. Vorlon1 ripped them off his head and said, "They hurt." He was talking about the treble. I'm not getting the comparison between them and the Edition 9s, which I'm not a fan of due to the overwhelming bass, imo, but at least the sound is clean, detailed, gorgeously smooth, listenable, and even enjoyable. I did not find the bass overwhelming at all in the 780s, which was one of the few good things about them. Due to the tinny mids and shrill, sibilant highs, the tone was so far off in music I was familiar with, I really couldn't stand them. In contrast, I tried on the 2500s, which I used to own. I had the same difficulties as before with the slight metallic sheen (never really changed much with mega burn-in), but much preferred these headphones to the 780s. I even liked them, not enough to own, and not in comparison to so many other headphones, but they come close. If Ultrasone could just fix that tone problem, I'd be all over these. Comfy too. Oh...was using a Denon DCP-100 with the K2HD sampler, as well as an imod with a varied selection. Amps used were the Millet portable (which I now have at home for a visit), and the MiniBox E+ (love). These amp are completely different in presentation, but I liked them both with every other headphone I tried. The HFI-780s aren't for me. Wait. Let me say it right: I hated them.

When I was in high school, there was a foreign exchange student from Oslo who always wore shorts, even in the Michigan winters, which aren't exactly warm. He called them "short pants," not "shorts.' I thought it was cute, but I was 14 at the time.

It's still snowing? What a strange concept. Shouldn't you guys be having Spring soon?