Ultrasone HFI-700 DVD Headphones

I’m a HUGE fan of German products; BMW, BOSCH, etc. When I was looking for a more “serious” pair of headphones I was delighted to discover Ultrasone. I stumbled across a great deal on a pair of Ultrasone HFI-700 headphones in a “special edition” DVD set…which basically meant they came with an extension cable that would allow you to sit further away from your (presumably large) TV and still use your headphones. The HFI-700’s are a fully closed, circumaural headphone. They isolate the listener from outside noise fairly well; the pads are covered in real leather, and it doesn’t take much volume to fill the earcups to drown out whatever other ambient noise there may be. Their sound quality is quite good and the 700’s require less power to drive than the HFI-600’s which is good if you plan to use them with portable devices like mp3 players. Here’s a heads-up though. The special edition DVD version of the HFI-700 comes with a 1/4″ (the larger) plug and a step down adapter to 1/8″ (used on most portable music devices). The Ultrasone site says the HFI-700 comes the other way around, with an adapter from 1/8″ to 1/4″. Ultrasone probably assumes that with the DVD set you’re using it to watch movies and you have a component audio system which typically sport 1/4″ headphone jacks. So if you want the HFI-700s for use primarily with portable music devices, opt for the non-DVD version.

How do they compare to to my KOSS Porta Pros? Well, it’s not an entirely fair question because the KOSS are semi-open and supra-aural, but if I had to guess what the PortaPros would sound like if they were fully closed I’d bet I’d have a hard time telling the difference…even though the HFI-700’s MSRP is nearly 5x that of the PortaPros.

One gripe I do have about the Ultrasones is a little bit of poor design in the headband. On each side, from the side of the headpad down to the folding joint of the ear cup there’s a cosmetic, plastic sleeve that covers the metal band. I found that if you’re not careful with spreading the phones to put on your head you can put too much stress on screws that hold that cosmetic shroud and it’ll start to crack. Mine ended up totally separating from the screws on both sides and I ended up just cutting them off. If I had paid full retail (heh, yeah right) I probably would have winced a lot more having to do that to such an nice set of ‘phones.

Overall, even though I had to perform minor surgery on the headband I often catch myself smiling when I have these on my ears. Soon after I got these I spent 5 hours straight with them on and barely noticed it. But I can also say the same for my PortaPros which cost a lot less. I’ve owned my Ultrasone HFI-700s for nearly two years now and looking back if I wanted to get closed, circumaural ‘phones I’d look closer at a KOSS product or possibly AKG. For me, the aural thrill wasn’t worth the bills; even at only 52% of MSRP. Which is what I paid; new

Conclusion: Thumbs Up-ish

KOSS Porta Pro Headphones

For a music lover like me, I consider having a nice pair of headphones to be one of life’s simple pleasures. I’ve owned my KOSS Porta Pro headphones for a couple years now. These are great not only because of their amazing sound but their price point makes them a great value. They are a semi-open phone so you can still hear what’s going on around you while you’re rockin’ out. This can be good or bad depending on your application. Add a limited life time warranty and what’s left to ask for? Yeah, their design may look a little dated (they did originate in the 80’s) but if you’re like me, there are somethings that you buy for their functionality and looks are secondary. I buy headphones for sound, not style. The fact that this model has been around for over 20 years indicates that KOSS created something special.

Conclusion: Highly Thumbed Up