Any Audiophiles? Need help.

I've been looking for a closed set of headphones for a while now(for both gaming & enthusiast audio), and through the kind people at head-fi, I've narrowed it down to 2 models (3 variations of one model).

I've posted on overclock.net, but asked myself why not notebookreview? there should be at least a few audiophiles here, so I thought to ask your opinions on a few headphones.

Dennon D1100
HFI- 580/ 680/ 780
Beyerdynamic DT660

Intended uses:
Gaming
Electronic Music
Orchestrated Music

Priorities:

Quality - I would like my friends to get that "wow" factor when they try on the headphones, so I can prove to them that it's most definitely worth it . I'm not necessarily looking for the unnoticeable (to the untrained) marginal differences as most audiophiles do (such as differences between the HD600 and HD650), but at the same time I am still looking for the best quality I can get for my price range.
Type - I'm interested in circumaural headphones, it's really just the type I prefer.
Isolation - I would've put official noise-cancelling headphones in the list, but i really don't want to have to maintain a battery in my headphones
Comfort - As a gamer/student, I'll be wearing these for a couple hours at a time
Bass - Bass isn't super important, but I would like it to have that nice punch.
Highs/Mids - Clarity, important to all audiophiles. (Even though I don't consider myself one)
Soundstage - I don't usually play FPS games(I'm more RPG/RTS), but I am looking for the best soundstage I can get out of closed headphones.
Amp-less - I would like to not be required to use an amp to get the quality of my headphones, as I would mainly use it for my MP3 player/laptop computer.

I originally heard fantastic review from this and this thread of the Denon D1100's, but before I purchased them I was informed of the HFI's; Also found some Beyer DT660's for a good price, unsure if they can be driven amp-less.

My price range is really under $150, but if the higher end Ultrasone's are really worth it, then I'll spend a bit more.

I'd really appreciate the help

 

I would go with whatever the people on Head-Fi suggest.

I know the D1100's draw a lot of comparisons to the ATH-M50's and are known for their bass.

I would see which get the most positive comments on comfort, and it looks like the Ultrasone 780's aren't very comfortable.

 

Those are mostly bass heavy monitor type headphones.

For what you listed (classical, game, electronic) in my headphone collection I would say the Audio Technica A700 fit best.

Good neutral headphone so its great for everything, also extremely comfortable.

Amazon.com: Audio Technica ATH-A700 Headphones: Electronics

For classical alone and for gaming when bass is not important I prefer the AD700's for the airy sound and super wide sound stage.

Amazon.com: Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-air Dynamic Audiophile Headphones: Electronics

And so my final recommendation is these, they were not out when I got my A700's but they have become a popular alternative and I think they are similar to the Ultrasones

Amazon.com: Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Studio Monitor Headphones: Electronics

I do not think I have seen one person not happy with the M50's, though I love the wing system used on the A700/AD700 models for fit & comfort.


I have some Ultrasone Hfi 2400's also, they are what I wear most but they are not as comfortable as the Audio Technicas and not neutral at all, they are very dark and would not be a good choice as your only headphone unless electronic was the only listening you did, they are amazing at electronic music.

 

+1 on the M50's although they tend to squish my ears after a while, but I have always been called dumbo through middle school.

 

They are made by Japanese people, they dont have big American ears

That said the ear cups are huge on both the A700 and AD700 and by far much more comfortable than the Ultrasones I have. I cant even tell I am wearing the AD700 after about 20 minutes, you literally forget you have them there because the open soundstage and super light weight and great fit.

 

If your budget is really $150, the M50's the only closed headphone I could really recommend. Any other I can think of exceed the budget by about $100.

 

Any specific reason you don't want IEMs? My IEM's are amazing for gaming and sound better then some of the full size cans.

 

I prefer headphones to IEM all the time, I only use IEM when I am on the go.

I have two pairs of Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's what do you have?

 

Westone UM3x, JVC FX700 , and pretty much tried every other triple driver ba iem.

 

Wow I didn't expect so many responses, and so quick x]

I chose the bass-heavy (less neutral) headphones as I think I would enjoy the punch they provide. I want my friends to receive that "wow" in both detail as well as kick. The headphones I came up with are what the community @ head-fi consider "fun".

Headphones I'm aware of but not considering:
Beyer DT770 (Needs amp)
ATH-A700 (explained below)
ATH-M50 (explained below)
HD280 (less in quality in comparison to others)


There's a couple reasons why I didn't list the M50's, mostly because I researched how head-fi users compared them against the D1100 (and the D1100 barely won). Most said that while it definitely is a great set of phones, it was a bit too "vanilla"; The soundstage was also not up to par for gaming, a direct quote:
"ATH-M50 is bad for gaming due to small soundstage, I wouldn't consider it for gaming."

I value isolation & noise-cancelling as a pretty heavy priority, so that would cancel out the AT-AD700, as its open air. Also, this post deterred me away from the A700's:
Just ordered the new AH-D1100 from Denon --and he had the more expensive A900.

So now I'm basically down to either the Denon D1100's or one of those Ultrasones (I'm intrigued by the S-Logic, less harmful for my head xD)

The only others I might be interested would be either the Beyer DT660, or AKG K271MKII (unsure if it needs an amp).

 

I don't like IEM's...I don't know, I'm just not that type.

I'll edit the main post detailing how I'm looking more for around-ear headphones.

 

If that's how you feel, check out the Denon D2000. It's ~$220, but definitely sounds like what you're looking for.

 

The D2000's are most probably what I'm looking for, its a little light in bass, but I don't think I'd mind that; they are however sadly a bit too expensive for me =/ I'm using mostly Christmas money to finally begin my journey to audiophile-ism (I don't consider myself ANYWHERE near one, btw)

Also aesthetically, they are just a TINY BIT too large, I usually don't mind large headphones, but those are a bit bigger than what I would like. That's just a nitpick though; if it was cheaper, I wouldn't care at all x]

 

now im going to ask the really dumb question. what are you using as a source?

if you are using a laptop with the internal soundcard or an iPod you will never get the full effect. If you are using a more audiophile player like a Cowan playing lossless files etc. or a good mid range or high end DAC for the laptop you will notice it much more.

old expression ... garbage in garbage out. and this applies quite well to headphones as they can only compensate so much for a bad source.

 

Souce is two fold, not just the dac/amp but also the source file. No itunes ultra low bitrate stuff is fit for good headphones.

 

exactly, people whom think iTunes, iPods and m4a files is high quaity need to lay off the koolaid drinking and the glue sniffing. If you want quality its time to go looking for large lossless files.

 

I do use a laptop/iPhone D:

I usually stick with lossless files though, flac/ogg. In the future, when I get more money together, I'll either build a desktop with a good soundcard, or switch out the sound in a laptop (if that can even be done).

 

well depending on the iPod model and if you have the skill to mod it for a proper line out then you can make it almost acceptable. a high end player wil be quite noticably better.

Red Wine iMod (iPod mod) — HiFi Blog

as for switcing out a laptops soundcard ... not a chance but you can plug in a good USB DAC unt which will amaze you.

 

Awesome, im glad there are ways to get the most out of it; but before that, thy must select thine's headphones.

...i probably just butchered the shakesperian language x]

 

nah I heard worse, some of my Brit inlaws were here in Canada forthe holidays an we had them on real beer and rye ...... they killed the shakespearian language MUCH better than that.

good luck to you on headphones as im just a mere hardware and board level repair guy. not a true audiophile

 

Personally I think you will get more "wow" from your friends with a good neutral soundstage than with something over bassy like the Denon's.

Nothing is "good" about a distorted sound. Let the true clean sound shine through.

Boost the bass is what bose does, it makes people think there cheap crud sounds good, when you start finding real brands that you cant buy in walmart suddenly it becomes undesirable to find headphones that are not somewhat transparent.

I let a few of my co-workers hear my A700's with my uDAC-2 on my laptop at work and they were like "omg its heaven in my ears" and I kid you not.

I was ragging on somebody wearing Dre Beats the other day and told them about real headphones, and one of my co-workers jumped into the conversation "he is not kidding he brought one of his headphones to work and let me hear them and it was like having heaven poor sound into my ears" something like that. Made me feel all warm inside


Indeed if you listened to one specific type of music and one type only you may find a use for specialized headphones, or if it was your 2nd or 3rd pair, but for your first pair I would stick with something more neutral.

If you want more bass, then go ahead and crack out the EQ.

I waited until my 4th pair of good headphones before I got something "dark" like the Ultrasone Hfi 2400 and am very glad I did so and I am a total bass head, the kind of guy with a 12" powered subwoofer at his feet under the desk and soon to get an audio transducer for my chair

I have a feeling no matter what you get since your looking in the right area you will be happy, atleast your not grabbing something off the shelf at best buy, but still you can choose from quite a few different directions.

P.S. dont get a soundcard for your desktop, get a USB DAC the same you would do with your laptop. I have a Xfi Xtreme Music sound card, very good quality card but still its not even on the same field to compete with my DAC/AMP.

 

Oh I am very well aware of Bose's misleading techniques, I hate Bose for that reason. They're not HORRIBLE, they do have decent headphones, but that's all they are..decent; and they price them at ridiculous prices, they expect consumers to pay $500 for $50 cans.
..Don't get me started on the beats


I'm definitely not looking for distorted sound, and not looking for bass to cover up the crap quality of the headphones, but I do like a nice punch of bass. That's why when I read this from a head-fi thread:
"I guess you can have great bass without sacrificing mids and highs, because this is what the D1100 delivers. Compared to the A900s, these things sound so natural. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is due to a combination of solid mids and a wide soundstage. The highs are crisp, but not too bright. I never thought of my A900s as nasally and/or flat, but after the D1100s, that is what comes to mind. Oh and they beat WS70s, hands down."

I was semi-sold. I say semi, as I get really skeptical, so I tracked down some other impressions, but they do express a similar effect. The only issue I've read with the D1100's is that the bass may at time slightly recess the mids, but as arjeynol points out with his lengthy review, this can be circumvented with the right EQ settings to get the bass a little tighter.

The only thing I have nagging in my head is that someone said that one of the Ultrasones may suit my needs better, and I'm trying to find out how the HFI-580/680/780 compare to the D1100, but it's a really difficult thing to find out apparently. I'm trying to google the differences between the 580/680/780, then cross-google one of the mentioned models in comparison to the D1100, and see the quality chain connection, it gets exhausting x]

 

I was thinking of getting a pair of 580's at some point, but I expect them to be a super bass heavy closed can. Not something I would use as my every day headphones.

Just interested in them for the "punch" they should deliver due to the large drivers and sealed fit.

the Utrasone 2400 put out so much bass its scary, you can hear things that you should only hear on dedicated subwoofers, but there is no "punch" since they are open air.

 

Yea, it seems the only solid things I get from HFI owners is that the strap gets a bit uncomfortable, and you might be better off leaving them clamped on a box or computer case overnight, so they get slightly looser.

Another complaint I've read state that the HFI's slide off, which is in exact contradiction to what I'm reading about them clamping too hard x]

Still searching sound-quality wise how they compare to the denons

 

Should be same fit as my 2400's its kinda tight, doesnt move around at all.

I considered them pretty uncomfortable at first, but I was comparing them to my A700 & AD700 that are like having an angels halo floating above your head.

Others have said they are comfortable so I think I was just spoiled by the AT stuff.

I would not loosen them up too much the tight fit is important to how they sound, lose that tight seal and lose the bass.

I like how I can lay in bed with the Ultrasones on, they are small enough around the ears that its not a lot of pressure on them when laying down. I can not do that with the large AT stuff.

 

I'd throw the Shure SRH840's into the mix. Clean sound, an appreciable amount of lows, surprisingly wide soundstage for a closed phone - and it is actually closed and effectively isolating as well as comfortable (more so than the Ultrasones for example).

Makes you look like a dork, but apart from that, a great all-rounder for a fair price (well under $200)

And as for Bose, I quite like the Bose Triport around-ears - although it's trounced by the more expensive Shure for SQ. I don't feel the need to bash them to prove my cred - I think they do certain things very well.

I did consider the SRH840 for a while as portable headphones when I don't want to use my IEMs - but apart from being a bit on the large side, the lack of any meaningful style (for me - given that Head-Fi is basically dork central, I don't see that mentioned a lot) was a factor in their rejection, although I liked practically everything else about them. I ended up choosing the Ultrasone Edition 8.

 

Btw the Beyer DT770 comes in a lower impedance version too

If your on a budget, value for money the AD700 wins.

 

Headphones: Grado RS2i's... excellent, HUGE sound, great bass and they look the business too.

IEMs; The GR10s are out of this world, I own a pair, my girlfriend owns a pair, and they've kept both of our ipod nanos from meeting the rubbish bin.

Jason

 

I was actually considering the SRH840's, but when I mentioned it at head-fi, no-one seemed to say anything of it. When I researched it some more, a few claim the M50 to be slightly superior; and as I was considering the M50, I came across the D1100, and upon further digging, found they're considered less-neutral and more "exciting" without sacrificing quality.

I definitely considered the Beyer DT770, as I hear the Beyers' soundstage are top-tier, though I was told explicitly that they are very difficult to drive, and that fact doesn't exclude the 32 & 80Ohm version; amp was definitely required.

A700's were also considered, the wings got me really intrigued. I did get very worried though when I read that they have very weak bass, and when a user praised the D1100's over the A900's (which are supposed to be a significant upgrade over the A700's).

Unfortunately the Grado's are known to leak a lot, and at the moment I am more looking into circumaural headphones. The second I go after IEM's however, I will look into the GR10's first

 

I'm relieved to say I've made my decision, and the headphones of choice are the Ultrasone HFI-780


Headphones that were considered:
* = Heavy contendors

Denon 1100 * - I still really want to try these
Denon 2000 - Too expensive
Beyer DT800/900 - Open-air, weak bass
Beyer DT770 - Amp required
ATH-A700 * - Weak bass, described as unexciting
ATH-AD700 - Open air, weak bass (though incredible soundstage)
ATH-M50 * - Described as too "vanilla", recessed soundstage; praised for all-around great value though
Sennheiser HD280 - Doesn't match quality of other headphones
Sennheiser HD448 - Doesn't match quality of other headphones
Sennheiser HD555 - Open-air, weak bass
Sennheiser HD595 - Open-air, weak bass
Shure SRH750DJ - Users claimed they didn't fit my needs
Shure SRH840 - ATH-M50 was seen as better headphones in comparison
AKG K271MKII - Never really got an answer if these can be driven un-amped
Ultrasone HFI-580 - Too bass-heavy, might degrade quality
Ultrasone HFI-680 - Weak bass
Ultrasone Pro 750 - Expensive, intended more toward studio work, less exciting


I originally started out by being reccommended to the 555/595, some Grado models, and a AD700. This was however, before I realized that isolation is very important to me, and began my journey towards closed cans. Then i was pointed to both the ATH-M50 and Denon 1100's. Amp-less was important from the get-go, so all beyers were basically undoable (no matter how comfortable they looked D: )
I was still considering the A700's until I read this review claiming that the D1100's made even the A900 seem dull in comparison. (plus the lack of bass wasn't a hot thing for me in the first place)
I began researching the Denons more, and was advised that they were the better choice over the more-popular ATH-M50, due to the lack of large soundstage/3d positioning.

This review gave me a perspective of the differences between the D1100 and the widely applaud D2000. So for a while, I was leaning more towards the D1100's and was so close that I was a button-press away from sumbitting my order with amazon (litterally, I was all through the checkout process, waiting to click submit), when I noticed the HFI-580/680/780 & AKG K271 at a similar price-point.
I'm the type of person that needs to exhaust all different avenue's before I feel confident in my selection, so I went on to investigate. While I never really was able to get a straight answer on the AKG's (other than they were decent) I went further on researching the Ultrasone HFI's.

At first I was bent on getting the 750 Pro's, and even found this eBay ad selling them at a great price. I did some looking into how many users were satisfied with eBay purchases, and some were still skeptical over their cans since they were listed at a great price; Even if they sounded fine, they felt uneasy. Wanting to avoid that, I seeked alternatives.

Then I began reading this thread. I went through every page(out of 155) and read every post (over 2300, quite exhausting) before deciding that the HFI-780's were definitely my choice. Some claimed that they trumped even the D2000, and were comparable to the D5000. Extremely interested, I also began looking into the 580/680. I found the 580 were considered far too bass-heavy and recessed the mids, while the 680 was more neutral (and I was still looking for that kick).

The Ultrasone HFI-780 seemed perfect for my needs.

The only complaint being that they may require rewiring, and the pads are better off being replaced for comfort. But at the great price they are at on amazon right now, I couldn't help but buy it.

 

I know ampless was important to you, but one thing you may find is that your want to know how good your headphones can sound one day because no onboard soundcard will do them justice.

So you will end up spending $100 or so on a usb dac, and all of these dacs also have an amp on them.

I say going ampless is only really cause for concern if you plan to use them with a portable music player and not a computer/laptop, and for me personally I use IEM's for portable stuff I wouldnt walk around with my ginourmous headphones.

 

Wait...it's not over

I just discovered that there are Ultrasone 550 PRO's for a great price....

I need to know how they compare to HFI-780's, I can still cancel that order.

This is the very last information I need to find out x]

 

Okay, cancelled my order for the HFI-780.

Upon researching the 780 more, I've found more people stating their opinion of the 780's as "boring", even while very refined & accurate; as is the ATH-M50. While they are generally perceived as great headphones, they don't quite fill that exciting factor (to my suprised dismay).

Upon looking into the HFI-580 more, the general consensus is that they seem to provide a much more fast-paced, wonderfully bassy sound; though very slightly less defined than the 780.

Then a head-fi user pointed my gaze in the direction of the Ultrasone PRO 550, touting it as the 580 more refined, with a bigger soundstage.
So now it was between the 580 and PRO 550 for me, but considering the wider soundstage mentioned, and that I plan to use these for gaming, I started leaning towards the PRO 550.

The soundstage, the added comfort, the punchy bass, refined high/mids, and the importance of running ampless (the 780 was suggested to be with one, though not crucial) made the decision with me.

I cancelled my HFI-780 and ordered the Ultrasone PRO 550.
Done. They should be here Friday.

I'm very relieved to be done with this, it was the most hardcore googling I think I have ever done.
I'm just very excited, and as a bonus the PRO's seem so much more comfortable, and are quite the lookers. :]


In reference to the DAC's, I'll most probably start venturing into them in the future I'm sure; thank you very much for that recommendation.
I also have no problem walking around with headphones; I'd even walk around with the A700's x]

 

The Shures aren't always immediately impressive, for sure. And I think that's one of the problems with Head-Fi as an ever larger percentage moves more towards a 'it's got to wow me now' (ironically) increasingly Bose-like sound that they still mock - if it's from the 'wrong' brands including, well, Bose.

Look at the ATH-ESW9, one of the most popular high-end portable phones on Head-Fi - it's a flabbassfest with no real isolation but great first impressions from a really 'consumer' tone, also because it looks good/is wood, and it's from the 'right' name - it gets massive kudos over the 'wrong' brands, some of which actually represents better sonic bang for the buck than the A-T.

Kind of pathetic really, but that's how a peer-led community that's particularly susceptible to marketing tends to go. It's a bit like if Notebookreview were to increasingly lean towards Apples as the sole definition of high-end notebooks.


Anyhoo, grats on your purchase. Even with the Edition 8, I can't say I'm totally a fan of the S-Logic philosophy - I'm OK with the 'indirect firing' arrangement where they're at least making an effort not to basically kick your eardrums directly like a Grado, but the implementation always leaves some tonal / detail smearing problems in my book - especially in the highs. Let us know how you get on.

 

Yeah I am not a fan of the S-Logic myself, took some time to get used to it.

Even the A700 are slightly tilted but not nearly as extreme as the Ultrasone that put the drivers way off to one side of the earcup.

Try to put them on backwards just for fun

 

Bose have a decent set of headphones, don't get me wrong. I have been impressed by the Bose I've put on before, it's just the premium they have you pay are nonsensical; Most of their pairs are worth 1/4 what they're being sold for.

I was never really interested in the ESW9, me preferring circumaural as a reason. But I understand the point you were making, even within the "experienced" community that don't follow the name brand pattern of consumers (them being far too wise for that), they have themselves created a profile for other name brands, always touting them as "the best"; such as AT or Sens. Leaving them blind to potentially better headphones, just as consumers do. They become a victim of what they scrutinized the most.

From an audio engineering standpoint (not that I'm anywhere near an audio engineer) the S-Logic does make sense; giving you the sense of surround sound, while also protecting your ears. I've read that many people don't really notice the difference, but from what you're saying about it.. its making me a bit weary x]

Yea I read about that! putting them on backwards is supposed to put everything out of wack, I'm gonna try it when they get here xD

 

Well on the plus side, the 'natural surround' does actually work on every S-Logic closed Ultrasone I've had. You get a much more solid representation of the soundstage in terms of being a space as opposed to a plane. The problem though is that it's not as airy as even mid-class (in terms of soundstage) closed phones, and it can feel a bit enclosed and 'honky' from time to time.

 

Airy? I'm confused whether you're pertaining to the wideness or depth of the soundstage x] Would you know if the 3D positioning was good with the Ultrasones? (For gaming reasons) that's one of my main concerns at the moment.

 

Width = 'airy'
Depth = well, we're talking non-HRTF headphones here. This is a limited discussion - like 'just behind your forehead' as opposed to 'inbetween the ears'.

Yeah - without going HRTF (which IMO is more effective), the Ultrasones give probably one of the most game-usable soundstaging of regular stereo phones. The staging is 'close' as I said, but more tangibly layered than the flat plane of many headphones. The problem is that it's still not THAT effective in a truly game-changing (as it were) audio-cue way. It does help, but you still definitely need to see what's going on first.

 

HRTF? Im sorry i wasnt even aware of the technique..shows how much i know. Did any of the headphones i listed incorporatw HRTF?

Do you also think i made a good choice for my pricepoint? (paid $150, incl shipping). I wasnt neccesarily looking for anything game-changing with the ultrasones and their s-logic, the thing that really hooked me onto them was that they had the (reportedly) exact balance i was looking for: orchestrated & electric music oriented, gaming, isolated, excitement, good highs/mids, punchy bass). S-Logic was more of an afterthought, and i really didnt pay much attention as people said it was unnoticable. I did however like the 98% reduction of radiation, that pleased my hypochondriac side x]

 

I think no Ultrasone is bad value as such, but the S-Logic infusion can be an acquired taste. One of the effects of the S-Logic is, as Vicious alluded to, that the sound fires first at your outer earlobe instead of straight into your ear like most phones. This has, among other things, the tendency to take away slightly from the energy of the music you're listening to. It's not exactly dull, but the sound from an Ultrasone can lack relative 'sparkle' which many people look for in headphones.

This is IMO a good thing in the long run (less fatiguing) but many people find Ultrasones too 'slow' - especially after, as I said before, you've e.g. had a pair of (technically inferior) Grados assaulting your ears for a while, and even if you like it there are slight compromises in terms of the slight smearing, as I said. And in terms of listening fatigue, I think the relatively constricted fit of many closed Ultrasones is more of a fatigue issue than the way the sound is presented to be honest - but if you do find them comfortable and wear them all day, obviously the fatigue-reduced sound will be a benefit.

But this is all relatives - just give them a try and see whether you like the way the sound is presented. I'd probably be perfectly happy with a PRO as a beater portable / occasional indoor use if only they didn't make you look like you have a spoiler on your head

 

That's what I've heard of the 680/780's and other PRO's, while they are nicely refined they lack excitement; which is why I opted for the PRO 550's (supposed to be exciting/punchy, as its an improvement over the HFI-580).

May I ask which Ultrasone models you've experienced? I'm hoping you respond with anything other than the HFI-580/PRO 550, as I aimed in that direction for the excitement reason alone.

 

I got my Ultrasone PRO 550 in..and I have to say they're very good, though not quite exactly what I thought they would be; I have a few gripes.
Been listening for about 2 hours now, I'll do a quick mini-review (I don't consider myself an audiophile by any reach, so please take with a grain of salt):

Pros:

• Well-defined, clear highs (can get quite bright at times, which I think I like)
• Well-defined, very slightly recessed mids
• Well-defined, suprisingly clear bass
• Fantastic soundstage & 3D positioning (tested both in gaming & music)
• Comfortable
• Detachable cables
• Useful case
• Extra Pads

Cons:

• Bass not as punchy as hoped
• Poor isolation (I can still hear others fairly well WITH music playing, and other can hear the music as well)

These are quite a fantastic set. The soundstage is great; the music does seems as if it's slightly close to you, though that doesn't take away from the experience for me. Throughout the Ultrasone CD there were times where they added background vocal, and I seriously thought that my roommates had people over that I wasn't aware of, looking around the corners the times I heard a voices, I was impressed.

My main gripe is that while the bass is very defined, it's not as punchy as I hoped. I was looking forward to feeling some thumps/vibration on my ears, some impact; while I don't feel the thump of the bass, I do feel sometimes feel the very low vibration (as if I feel the need for my ears to pop, kind of like experiencing change in air pressure)..if that makes sense. The isolation was extremely disappointing, I can clearly hear others when listening to music; and they can hear the music I'm playing fairly well (from the next room over). If I wanted headphones to leak like this, I could've just gotten open-air and widened the soundstage alltogether.

I doubt that the lack of thumpyness is due to running un-amped as the set can get painfully loud at times. Would waiting for burn-in help with these cans? and would buying pads of a different material help isolation(and possibly bass?) as I do really admire them.

Or would I be better off going with HFI-580/Denon D1100's? Though I'm not sure how the PRO 550 would compare to the HFI-580, as the PRO is claimed to be the identical, though "enhanced" version of the 580.

 

Am amp may help with that bass.

I think the Hfi 580 would have been a better fit for you.

Here is a good little wrap up: Ultrasone Closed Headphone Review - Good Closed Headphones

I agree with most points made.

In the Hfi 580 vs the Pro 550 the pro comes with a lot of extra stuff like the case and cable for just a bit more money, so your probably getting a cheaper headphone overall in exchange.

 

I also e-mailed Ultrasone about the differences of S-Logic between the PRO 550 and HFI-580 (Since the HFI-580 is listed as S-Logic PLUS, and the PRO550 isn't) and they responded with this:

"Thank you so much for your great question. The HFI-580 incorporates the S-Logic PLUS because it is a newer model. All the newer models have S-Logic PLUS.

Here is some more useful information. The packaging of the Pro 550 is an improvement over the HFI-580 inasmuch it has easily removable ear pads (it comes with an extra pair), the Pro 550 also has removable cable (it comes with 2 sets- 1 straight and 1 coiled), as well as a very nice sturdy travel box. The HFI-580 does not have easily removable ears pairs and has a permanent cable. It does have S-Logic Plus which is an improvement in the soundstage over the Standard S-Logic.

Sorry for the long winded answer but I wanted to make sure I answer every part of your question. "


So now I'm also thinking the HFI-580 might've been the better choice x] Thinking of returning my pair for them; especially given the review you sent me.

EDIT: The PRO550's are also slightly bit too bright, they hurt my ears at times listening to people talk.

 

My 2400's are like the pro's it has the removable cable and earpads and all that jazz, just its part of the hfi range so no case & extra cable.

 

Have you tried the Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Sound headphones? I've owned a pair for about 2 years now, and they are fantastic for gaming (good directional detection with the surround sound), have solid bass, and are fantastic for listening to music. Very crisp and clear.

Downside: USB connector, but that's also an upside as it has a built in sound isolating microphone that is top quality.

Seriously though, the G35s sound better than most headphones that cost $150+ and are solely dedicated to music.

I wouldn't call myself the ultimate audiophile, but I have purchased/tried a lot of headphones, including the $300 Beats cans, and the G35 sound better than those for sure (G35's are almost as punchy bass, but maintain clearer highs/mids).

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I'm sure you'll probably be happy with any of the ones you listed. Good luck on your search!

EDIT: I see that you actually already got a pair, but that you might return it. If you do, the G35s do have good sound isolation from outside noises and are comfortable, though they are a little heavy.

 

7.1 Surround Sound?

I've never tried it..but reading what I have it seems so amazingly gimmicky :/

 

lol @ Quadron you lost all credibility when you said you bought the beats for $300

should have kept that a secret

 

lol @ beats.

If they called it Beats by Vanilla Ice no one would be buying that thing...