Ultrasone Early Christmas present...maybe

[Simon Paine]

I thought i would treat myslef to an early Christmas present, and picked up a pair of Ultrasone 750 headphones. I brought them home and listened to some music and was blown away with there performance. I was hearing things I had never heard before in recordings. But today i used them on a documentary gig, and I don't know if they are suited for production work.  It seemed like i really needed to crank the volume to hear properly. They seemed almost to "open" for lack of a better word, to really hear the detail of dialog. Do i just need time to get used to them, or should i go back to the 7506's ? Looking for anyone else out there that uses Ultrasones for production work.

[Jeff Wexler]

I had exactly the same experience as you... and a similar conclusion. The Ultrasones certainly have a terrific sound for music and I do feel that they come much closer to replicating an "open" speaker-like quality that makes listening to music with headphones much more pleasant. This open quality is not, however, what I feel I need when recording dialog for picture. It could be said that it should be an advantage that these headphones sound "more like speakers" and afterall, our work will ultimately be played over speakers, the things that we need to hear, the judgements we need to make, are not helped by the use of these headphones. This is entirely my own opinion and I do know there are lots of opinions out there about headphones and what we should be listening to (we even had a thread on this group specifically about this topic).

I abandoned the Ultrasones, all models, and have continued to use the SONY 7506's.

Regards,  Jeff Wexler

[Darren]

After years of using the Sennheiser HD25's and 7506's before that, I too decided to try something new.

I tried the Ultrasone Proline 750's and decided that they were much too sibilant, had a huge hole in their frequency response right in the dialogue range, and did not offer enough physical isolation from extraneous noise.  Even when listening to various genres of music, I still found these headphones to be uncomfortably sibilant.

Next I tried the Proline 650's.  These seemed to offer much better isolation and were much more natural with regards to sibilance.  However, they still had the same giant hole in the dialogue range and, like the 750's, this made the dialogue seem "distant".

Not being one to give up on an experiment too easily (read stubborn), I decided to abandon Ultrasone's "Proline" series and audition their HiFi-700 headphones.  What a difference!  I have been using them ever since.  To my ears, they are VERY natural sounding and make an excellent reference.  I also find that they seal well and sound equally natural on both music and dialog, (which to me means that their freq response is probably quite accurate across the entire spectrum).

As an added bonus, as many Ultrasone users have previously commented, they do seem to completely eliminate the "fatigue" that one can experience from monitoring via headphones for far too many hours a day.  I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Cheers,

Darren

[Guest Jeff Colon]

My Self indulgence was some Shure E5 in ears... Great for listening to music, tried them once on a sit down interview... Let's just say, I am sticking with the 7506's for work.

Jeff C

[Eric Toline]

I think I might have been one the first Ultrasone adopters, going on 2+ years now. They do take a while to get used to as you you have to relearn how to  listen and evaluate what you're hearing after years of 7506's.

As Jeff and others have said, they do sound closer to what you'll hear on good monitor speakers and that I believe is very important.

My frame of reference is my home system that uses a 275wpc power amp to drive a pair of 6' tall Magnapan speakers that have exceptional transient response, midrange detail and are very neutral sounding. I've played back tracks that I've done on that system and the Ultras come very close to matching the sound of the Maggies.  

Comparing the Ultras to the 7506's I find that the Ultras are not as compressed sounding as the Sonys, offer more detail and less fatiguing to listen to.

Obviously they're not for everyone but I love mine and have put the venerable 7506's on the shelf.

Eric

[Jeff Wexler]

Not being one to give up on an experiment too easily (read stubborn), I decided to abandon Ultrasone's "Proline" series and audition their HiFi-700 headphones.  What a difference!Cheers,

Darren

I did not try the HiFi-700's and on your glowing review I will try and "audition" a set and see waht I think.

Thanks,  Jeff Wexler

[greg sextro]

i use the hifi-700s when editing dialog (and sometimes sound effects if i can't use speakers).  i also find them very non fatiguing.  at first they pinched my head a bit, but loosened up just enough after a bit of use.  i have tried using them a couple times in the field, but always seem to come back to sonys.  maybe for reasons of ruggedness?

in the end though, i like the 700s because of their sound and because they don't pinch my ears like 7506s do (i actually don't use 7506s, but different sonys which i can't remember the name of at the moment...)

i will say however, that i do not like the 700s for music.  i have not heard the 750s, but understand that they are much better suited for that.

-greg-

[Darren]

Greg Wrote:

"I have tried using them a couple times in the field, but always seem to come back to sonys.  maybe for reasons of ruggedness?"

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I've been using mine in the field for about a year now.  So far so good with regards to durability.

Greg's right about the fit.  I had forgotten that they did seem rather tight for the first couple of days but then became quite comfortable after that.

Cheers,

Darren

[greg sextro]

i realised two reasons small reasons i haven't been using the 700s in the field:

1) long cable.  not coiled.  seems to get in the way if i don't keep it tied up al the time.

2) terminates as a 1/4 inch instead of mini stereo.  considering both my mixer and recorder have only mini stereo jacks for headphone monitoring, this kind of sucks.  i therefore use the short right angle mini to 1/4 inch cable that came with my 302 to solve this...which adds more cabling...

actually darren, hearing that you've been using them for a year now in the field makes me think i might take them out next time...maybe i'll change my mind about using them in the field.

i've recommended these to anyone looking for a new pair headphones.  specifically if that person deals with dialog.  i also have been bringing them with me to adr sessions because they hardly bleed at all and have a subtle openness that i think subconsciously helps out a lot with "untrained" talent. 

-greg-

[Darren]

Greg Wrote:

"...i realised two reasons small reasons i haven't been using the 700s in the field:

1) long cable.  not coiled.  seems to get in the way if i don't keep it tied up al the time.

2) terminates as a 1/4 inch instead of mini stereo.  considering both my mixer and recorder have only mini stereo jacks for headphone monitoring, this kind of sucks.  i therefore use the short right angle mini to 1/4 inch cable that came with my 302 to solve this...which adds more cabling..."

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Yes the cable is crazy long.  And it seemed to take months before it "softened" up and lost the bends that it had from being packaged.  I have dealt with the length by simply folding some over on itself at the plug end and then zip tying it together.

My Ultrasone Proline 650's and Proline 750's have 1/4" connectors on them but my HiFi-700's already do have an 1/8" connector; how strange that yours and mine have different connectors.  Oh well, connectors are not that difficult to change and could easily be done at the same time as shortening the cable if one so desires.

Cheers,

Darren

[Eric Toline]

My 650's came with a 15' cord. I cut out 11 feet from the middle. The standard termination on mine is the same as the 7506, 1/8" with screw on 1/4".

I also added a mounting stud on the left ear piece to hold a Shure WS20 headset mic for PL & slating.

Eric

[Eric Toline]

One addendum: The original HiFi 650 that I have is now known as the HiFi 700.

Eric

[Marty Atias]

As probably the first vendor to start promoting the Ultrasones (and turned Eric on to them), I can confirm that while the Proline 750's are great for music, the HFI-700's are best for production dialog work. While the effects of the offset drivers are more pronounced for some people, most appreciate the lower fatigue, increased isolation, and smoother frequency response.

We often replace the stock straight cord with a coiled cord terminated with stereo mini plus 1/4" adapter and does not void the warranty. Always be sure that the cord is on the left side of your head.

Marty Atias

[Fernando]

After years of using the Sennheiser HD25's and 7506's before that, I too decided to try something new.

(...)

Not being one to give up on an experiment too easily (read stubborn), I decided to abandon Ultrasone's "Proline" series and audition their HiFi-700 headphones.  What a difference!  I have been using them ever since.  To my ears, they are VERY natural sounding and make an excellent reference.  I also find that they seal well and sound equally natural on both music and dialog, (which to me means that their freq response is probably quite accurate across the entire spectrum).

As an added bonus, as many Ultrasone users have previously commented, they do seem to completely eliminate the "fatigue" that one can experience from monitoring via headphones for far too many hours a day.  I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Cheers,

Darren

So, have you been using them for dialog instead of the HD25 with good results?

For long enough so you can be fairly shure? (I've been using the HD25 for so long...)

Not missing the HD25 soundwise for dialog?

The HFI 700 are heavier than the HD25, do you feel this weight increase? (that can be a cause of fatigue for me)

[Darren]

FERNANDO WROTE:

"So, have you been using them for dialog instead of the HD25 with good results?

For long enough so you can be fairly shure? (I've been using the HD25 for so long...)

Not missing the HD25 soundwise for dialog?

The HFI 700 are heavier than the HD25, do you feel this weight increase? (that can be a cause of fatigue for me)"

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Hello Fernando,

Yes, I have been using them for dialog recording.

Yes, I have been using them long enough to be sure.  Well over a year now. 4 productions.  Definitely do not miss the HD-25's one bit and, while they are perfectly fine headphones, I am now uninterested in using them again.  I am not saying that the HD-25's are not good; I am saying that *I* prefer the HIFI-700's.  For reference's sake, I had been using the HD-25's for quite a few years prior to switching to the Ultrasones and had been quite satisfied with them.  I had been using the Sony's before that (which I never was that happy with).

Regardless of what the actual weight measurements may be, I have not noticed any weight increase or any increase in fatigue as a result.  I *have* noticed that my ears and brain are a *lot* less fatigued.  In fact, ear fatigue is no longer an issue at all.  That being said, that alone would not have been reason enough to switch.  For me, these headphones offer more realistic monitoring.  As we all know, monitoring is a personal thing and one can get used to anything as long as one is completely aware of the correlation between your headphone's sound and what is actually being recorded.  For me, as much as I did like the HD-25's (for a lot of reasons), I was always a little unhappy with their exaggerated L.F. response and slightly de-emphasized HF response.  I am also fully aware that some Sound Mixers *prefer* headphones with an exaggerated bass response.

One thing to note is that users, including myself, have reported that they may feel tight and therefore somewhat uncomfortable for the first couple of days.  They do loosen up a little quite quickly and then become very comfortable.  They will not continue to loosen, but maintain their fit after that.

Hope all this is helpful to you.

Best,

Darren

[Fernando]

Very helpful. Thanks Darren.