Ultrasone HFI-780

[Contrastique]

Ow yeah, forgot to mention...I'll have to get rich and famous first

[Dusty Chalk]

Awesome. Remind me to link to photographers' work more often.

Welcome to head-case, sorry about your thin skin, it's never/always lupus, House always wins, etc.

[Contrastique]

I can't dig the curly/short hair.

Me neither I had dreadlocks for 3 years and cut them off completely like 3 months before the pic. I hate short hair. It's a weird feeling after having had long hair for 20+ yrs and my headphones fell off a lot more easily haha

[postjack]

hey so, how about that HFI-780 vs. Ed9 comparison? still looking for some knock around exercise bike phones, wondering if the HFI-780 would fit the bill. do they rock out?

[n_maher]

hey so, how about that HFI-780 vs. Ed9 comparison? still looking for some knock around exercise bike phones, wondering if the HFI-780 would fit the bill. do they rock out?

I suggest contacting JBAudioPimp about some AT ES7's that can be had cheap, Jack.

[boomana]

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

[JBLoudG20]

I suggest contacting JBAudioPimp about some AT ES7's that can be had cheap, Jack.

:prettyprincess: :prettyprincess: :prettyprincess:

[n_maher]

yeah, that's a really good idea, JBAudioPimp is a great dealer.

you know i'm not talking about the asshat that sold you the amps, right?

[n_maher]

oh, the other one.

yeah, i'd never even joke about recommending the real prick from Audiogon.

[JBLoudG20]

oh, the other one.

:prettyprincess: :prettyprincess: :prettyprincess:

[Contrastique]

I'm wondering if anyone here heard the 750's and the 780's and is able to make a comparism?

[slwiser]

I'm wondering if anyone here heard the 750's and the 780's and is able to make a comparism?

I wish I had heard the 750s to see if they sounded like the 780s but I have not. But everything I read on the big Ultrasone thread said there was very little difference between the 2500 and the 750. If so, then there are major differences between the 750 and 780 but for sure I could not say. I did own the 2500.

[Contrastique]

I wish I had maybe the 750s would be almost like the 780s. But everything I read on the big Ultrasone thread said there was very little difference between the 2500 and the 750. If so, then there are major differences between the 750 and 780 but for sure I could not say.

I'm wondering since they stated the 780 has even more bass than the 2500's. That makes me go like ughh. Sounds like overkill to me since the 2500's are already no slouch in the bass-department.

I'm wondering about the mids, how they compare and the highs as well. Oh well, I'll probably find out upcoming sunday..;-) I'm just very impatient ha!

[Cankin]

Anyone heard balanced ultrasone?? do they improve much just like HD650??

[Contrastique]

Anyone heard balanced ultrasone?? do they improve much just like HD650??

ldj325 on head-fi did and liked them better than single-ended. He posted about it in the big Ultrasone thread if I'm not mistaken..

I believe also Sovkiller heard them balanced but wasn't really impressed by it.

All ed9 talking here btw.

From all the things I've read I think the 650's benefit more from being balanced though as they turn into a complete different beast.

[Cankin]

oh, I'd probably leave my PL750 as is.

[Voltron]

Anyone heard balanced ultrasone?? do they improve much just like HD650??

ldj325 on head-fi did and liked them better than single-ended. He posted about it in the big Ultrasone thread if I'm not mistaken..

I believe also Sovkiller heard them balanced but wasn't really impressed by it.

All ed9 talking here btw.

From all the things I've read I think the 650's benefit more from being balanced though as they turn into a complete different beast.

First of all, hello Indra and welcome to Head-Case!

I would say that there is a big difference in sound signature/presentation between the 2500 and 750, so that assumption seems wrong to me. And from something that I admittedly heard second or third-hand, the 780 isn't really an Ed.9, Jr. I thought Vicki was able to hear them in comparison, so maybe she will pipe up unless I am mis-remembering. [i just found her comments in this thread, so there you go.] If that is correct, then it would not seem like a good move from 750 even as an interim to the Ed.9.

Given that I own balanced Ed.9s, I would also disagree with the comment that they do not improve over the s/e version. I had my stock cable re-terminated with XLRs, and even that was a big change. It has more controlled and better defined bass and the high end gets more room to shine that way. At the MOA meet, a number of people commented that the balanced 9s on my SDS-XLR were the best they had heard those cans.

Just this past Sunday I was at Mikeymad's with JP#s for a few hours and we had Mikey's Rudistor RP100 and RSA Apache. The 9s sounded extremely good on the Rudi amp and really mated as well as Rudi and Ultrasone have made out. That is a very nice match. The 9s did not sound as good on the Apache. Just didn't drive them quite right, and I tried all 3 gain settings. JP and Mikey both commented on how much better the 9s sounded than other times they heard them, and in JP's case owned them. Interestingly, we found exactly the opposite synergy with balanced Equinox HD650s. They were muddy and dull on the Rudi and great on the Apache. Ray clearly voices for his favorite, the HD600, so that is not surprising.

If you have a balanced amp, re-terminating is a great option for the Ed.9, IMO. I am considering a re-cable at some point but I have not heard much one way or the other on whether it is a good change or who has done what.

[Voltron]

[n_maher]

Why so sad my robot buddy?

[Voltron]

Why so sad my robot buddy?

I tried to edit the post above and instead of hitting modify I must have hit quote so I ended up with a pointless post. Sad kitty seemed appropriate atm. Maybe I should have done or instead although it was my own screw-up.

[boomana]

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.

[boomana]

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.

[Voltron]

Your system is killer with 650s and other cans, Vicki, and for the money it is a knock-out. I am hoping to spend a little time with another Extreme Platinum before CJ08 to try and hear the difference your Special Edition (as if it could be repeated, lol) makes.

I am curious about these 780s simply because of the divergent reviews, and wonder if Ken's Jena wire can really make a difference in what you heard. If Blossoms got it right, you were not the only one to think they were bad at that mini-meet, right? Not to put words in other peoples' mouths but I thought he said another long-time HF'er thought they were shrill and painful sounding. Then again Ken Ball likes them and slwiser likes them and I believe there are others who make the "nearly Ed.9" comparison. I don't buy it, but haven't heard them yet.

[n_maher]

Al,

I'm really looking forward to hearing your rig at CanJam to see if there exists a system that I can appreciate the Ed9's on. So far I've heard them driven by one of Rudi's amps, a modified Krell and perhaps one other system and come away with at least a similar impression each time they aren't my cup of tea. I also hope to have a pretty serious single-ended HD650 rig ready for the meet but if I don't start ordering parts soon that'll be in jeopardy. Ugh, nothing like having to yell at yourself to get something done!

[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.