Ultrasone HFI-700 Headphones

[Rob Williams]

A relative newcomer to the high-end headphone market, German manufacturer Ultrasone is making waves in the industry with their competitively-priced offerings that deliver excellent sound quality and value. We take their HFI-700 headphones for a spin, and find plenty to get excited about.

You can read Rory's full review here and discuss it here!

[Rory Buszka]

To further comment on the headphones' "S-Logic" design, it's important to note that this involves no extra 'processing' whatsoever. The drivers are simply mounted 'off-center' in the earcups, to involve your outer ear in the brain's own directional processing of aural information. The effect isn't artificial, like many DSP algorithms can be - it's actually quite natural and subtle.

Another thing that I didn't think much about when writing this review is the long break-in time that I allowed these headphones to have before I formed any real conclusive impressions about the sound. When I first received these headphones and plugged them into a few various sources, I noticed that no matter which source I tried, these headphones seemed to be harsh and strident in the treble reason. However, over the course of several days' worth of playing time, they began to relax quite a bit. If you should happen to pick these up, and notice a harsh treble, give these headphones a little while to 'break in' - that is, allowing the materials to 'settle in' to their final mechanical properties - and you'll notice that these headphones become much more listenable as this happens. You'll find that you want to spend more and more time listening to them.

[madmat]

Could it not be that given time you grow accustomed to the sound? My friends all accused me of having enough treble in my car stereos to pierce ears and I never noticed that there was a lot of treble until I'd listen to a different system for a while and then go back to mine. After that mine would sound brittle for a bit but given time (about an hour or two) I'd no longer notice it.

[jfukuro]

These headphones still sound great, more than a year after I bought them! I use them not only for music, but also for skype, pairing them with Sony's ECM-719 miniature stereo microphone!

[Rob Williams]

Originally Posted by jfukuro

These headphones still sound great, more than a year after I bought them! I use them not only for music, but also for skype, pairing them with Sony's ECM-719 miniature stereo microphone!

I gotta get me a microphone like that. I had a USB mic, but it sucked. I'd rather plug one straight into the sound card.

I'm with you on the headphones. I've had my PRO 750's for almost two years, and I've put them through some rough times (I can't recall how many times I've dropped them), and they still sound pristine.

[2Tired2Tango]

Originally Posted by Rory Buszka

Another thing that I didn't think much about when writing this review is the long break-in time that I allowed these headphones to have before I formed any real conclusive impressions about the sound. When I first received these headphones and plugged them into a few various sources, I noticed that no matter which source I tried, these headphones seemed to be harsh and strident in the treble reason. However, over the course of several days' worth of playing time, they began to relax quite a bit. If you should happen to pick these up, and notice a harsh treble, give these headphones a little while to 'break in' - that is, allowing the materials to 'settle in' to their final mechanical properties - and you'll notice that these headphones become much more listenable as this happens. You'll find that you want to spend more and more time listening to them.

Nice review, Rory ... I may just give these a try. Been looking for something to replace my aging Koss set for a while and this seems a good candidate.

One thing you may want to consider is that due to the close proximity of the drivers to your ears and the resulting lack of free air around them, headphones can actually sound different to others than they do to you. I'm always amazed how much bass I get on headphones... almost to the point of disproportion, even on the good ones. This I eventually figured out is because of "high cheekbones" (a family trait) that tends to make the earcups sit differently on my head than most... Not that I mind... it's just one of those things you notice over time.

The break-in you mention is probably legitimate comment. If they have gold leafed the diaphragms on the drivers, it may take a while to overcome the "set" of the metal and get things moving freely.

Now... all I need is a Canadian distributor....