Ultrasone, if you’ve never heard of them before, is that “other” German headphone company, but THE headphone company according to them. Of course, the other would be Sennheiser. They’ve been in business since 1991 and have several patented technologies. One of which is their S-Logic technology, which gives us this natural surround sound effect, and the other is their Ultra Low Emission (ULE) shielding that keeps your brain from frying by reducing radiation from the drivers by up to 98%.
Both of these technologies are featured in the Ultrasone HFI-680 Natural Surround Sound Headphones that we’re going to check out today.
Features and Specifications
When it comes to surround sound headphones the market certainly has its fair share of competitors. Some headphones use a full compliment of speakers on-board while some try to shape sound with some sort of audio manipulation technology. The bottom line is that both muck with the natural stereo experience and that’s downright unacceptable to audio purists.
What Ultrasone has done instead is create a technology that uses your outer ear instead of just your inner ear. The outer ear is what allows you to perceive distances and the location of sound. By decntralizing the driver, it takes into account your outer ear and as a result, you get a very big room from a very tiny set of headphones. It’s like the sound wraps around your head. The other aspect of this is safer hearing since the drivers aren’t aimed directly at your ear canal. According to Ultrasone, this reduces volume by up to 40% (around 3 – 4 dB).
The Ultrasone HFI-680’s use an improved version of S-Logic called S-Logic Plus which trickled down from their top end PRO series. This technology basically takes the S-Logic concept up a notch by further improving neutrality and increasing the amount of detail you hear. The HFI-680’s are a closed back headphone feature a 75 Ohm impedance and the 40mm gold plated drivers produce a frequency range of 15 – 25,000 Hz. They should set you back about $249US so they aren’t on the cheap side.
On paper, they definitely look like they favour the mids and highs using a set of 40mm gold plated drivers. For more detailed specs, you can check out the product home page. However, if you are about how they sound, we should get moving.
What’s Inside the Box?
Inside the box you’ll find the HFI-680s along with a gold plated screw on headphone adapter to bring it up to 6.3mm standard from the smaller 3.5mm size, a carrying bag, instruction manual, and a demo CD.
The demo CD contains a number of tracks from vocals to chamber music to sound effects that fully exploit the S-Logic technology. In other words, do bring your own material to compare because this demo CD will have you at the checkout before you know it. Their demos are VERY compelling.
First Impressions
The HFI-680s gives a great impression of quality weighing in at about 285 grams without the cord. This is also means that you’ll have to carry it on your head. Unlike audio components, I do prefer headphones to be a bit lighter weight but I do appreciate the build quality and construction. They should definitely last for quite some time.
Unlike a lot of other headphones on the market, these headphones are also made in Taiwan, which turns out quite a bit higher quality product when compared to mainland China counterparts.
The earpads are replaceable and can be removed with a bit of carefully concentrated effort. A pleather material is used to cover the pads. Once removed, we can see part of the S-Logic technology which is the decentralized driver placement. The outside of these shells is covered with an aluminum machined earcup which lends greatly to the quality look and build of these headphones.
The articulated headphone band features a thick piece of foam in the center, and good clamping force to ensure they stay put on your melon. They are also easy to adjust to fit your head thanks to the adjustments in the band itself and the swivel ear cups that allow you to pack the drivers flat for sticking it into a bag or wound up even smaller to save space.
This is all tethered to your audio source of choice using a rather long 3 meter cord. A gold plated adapter screws on to bring the plug from 3.5mm to 6.3mm securely. Since the cord is not coiled and is not removable, this makes the HFI-680s less versatile because no one wants to drag around a cord this long with their portable music device. I would have liked ot have seen a replaceable cord which would allow a shorter cord while travelling and a longer one when at home.
Comfort and Fit
Before listening to a note, I just tossed the HFI-680s on my head to see if I noticed the added weight and any fit anomalies (or annoyances). I probably spent at least an hour or two doing this. Far too often we purchase headphones without spending enough time wearing them and realize that they just don’t fit our heads and it happens even with the most adjustable headphones.
The added weight was noticeable, and was further compounded by the rather long cord. The longer I wore them, the more heavy they felt. However, unless you have a weak neck, this should not be a deal breaker. I did notice the clamping force of the band being a bit snug. I found gently forcing the headphones open a few times did loosen them up, making them abit more comfortable, but still, they did have quite a grip and I really started to feel that after about thirty minutes.
The articulated ear cups were appreciated and they fit right over my ears without revealing any sore spots over at least an hour of wear. I can’t say that for the outside of my ears as that clamping force was really starting to assert itself at the hour mark. Of course, they’ll never come off, but you’ll want them off if they feel too tight like mine did.
One other fit note was that the band must be placed just perfectly as the unpadded part of the band did tend to dig into my head. The foam piece was just too narrow and didn’t seem to do a good job of distribuitng pressure. Since I have natural cushioning on my head thanks to good genes and a full head of hair, it’s definitely not me.
Audio Performance
As eluded to in my review of the ASUS Essence STX Headphone Amp Sound Card, the Ultrasone HFI-680s do some things quite well. We’ll continue to use the Essence STX sound card as our source while we check out these headphones in depth with Music, Movies, lower quality sources like low bit rate MP3s and streaming audio. We’ll finish it off with a workout in some games that I play often.
Music
I took a large number of MP3s and WMAs ripped at high bit rates (greater than 320 kbps) and proceeded to listen intently. One thing that you will notice right away with any of the tracks that you know particularly well, is just how much bigger they sound in the HFI-680s. The S-Logic technology really brings out the space between the instruments and gets that sound out of your head and into a room. The effect was very natural and didn’t for a moment sound nasal and “blobby” like what some pseudo-surround sound effects can do to your sound. It’s definitely more like you’re there.
The other thing that I eluded to as we combed through the features was the frequency response and how I thought they’d be more apt to favour the mid range and the highs. That proved to be correct as the mid range was extremely detailed. The S-Logic Plus technology really takes the S-Logic up a notch and just goes to town pulling out every drop of detail in a track. The highs sparkled, but could at times be a bit shrill depending on what you’re listening too though.
The bass was punchy and accurate, but sounded a bit distant at times. These definitely aren’t headphones a bass head will like, but if you tend to listen to a lot of Jazz where the bottom end tends to be plucky and punchy to begin with, you’ll enjoy these headphones a lot.
Movies and Low Quality Sources
Since most movies are mastered for 5.1, you do come away with some crappy mix downs to 2.0 at times. Thankfully, the S-Logic Plus does a great job of improving the sound, giving soundtracks a lot more three dimensionality and detail. You’ll love them in movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Matrix” where gunfire tends to inhabit almost every scene. Dialogue was also very clear and you’ll even hear some moans of agony in the background, accurately placed of course.
Low quality sources like low bit rate streaming audio was made more palatable and the same goes for low bit rate ripped MP3s. With some high end headphones, you get the complete opposite which is the revelation of how truly crappy the source material is, but not so with the Ultrasones.
Games
The S-Logic Plus and the natural surround sound effect really becomes a factor in games where knowing where your enemy is hiding in Crysis is just as important as knowing which units to counter for in a game like Command & Conquer 3. With the detail and directional cues brought out by the HFI-680s, I was actually able to respond faster to threats. Even MMORPGs like Age of Conan benefitted because I knew something was coming up behind me, or I could tell that another group was having their asses handed to them. Most importantly it was very natural sounding.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The Ultrasone HFI-680s are great sounding headphones with a natural surround effect that faithfully reproduces the soundstage that audio should be listened in. By taking the sounds out of our head, we get back into the room with the musicians. The detail was stunning in many instances where I was picking up noises in live tracks that I couldn’t quite place before without the spatial cues.
Deep, resonating and sloppy bass is not where these will take you. However, if you want punchy and accurate, these headphones will give that to you. Hip hop just isn’t the same without those big sloppy bass notes, but Jazz, Rock and anything else that doesn’t rely on big sloppy notes will be a hit in the HFI-680s.
The HFI-680s have a fit that I have trouble getting comfortable with. The headband is way stiff, giving it great clamping force, but I don’t need my head clamped that hard. Also, there seems to be a lack of foam on the headband, which makes for a sore experience after playing a game for a couple hours. I really don’t know if further break in would have helped and I did take some time to try to stretch band out, but to no avail. I did find that wearing a hat with the headphones on top of it seemed to help. Maybe that’s how they tested them?
Overall, the Ultrasone HFI-680s get praise for their stunning audio performance, but they might want to take some lessons on comfort from their cousins that make those other headphones that start with an “S”. Funny that wearing a hat does make them more comfy, but I can’t see that being a realistic solution.
Pros
- Wonderous natural surround effect without being fake
- Detailed mids and sparkling highs
- Was forgiving to low quality sources and even made them sound palatable
- Very durable
Cons
- Somewhat uncomfortable when worn for longer periods of time
- Cord is WAY too long for portable use and cannot be shortened or replaced
Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10.0
Discuss This Review in the Futurelooks Community Forums
Ultrasone HFI-680 Natural Surround Sound Headphone Photo Gallery
