Ultrasone HFI-2200

Short-Term Use (4.00)

We didn’t think the HFI-2200 headphones were particularly comfortable. The padding on the band felt uncomfortably hard and the cup padding felt a bit itchy. While these headphones were more comfortable than, say, the iGrado headphones after six hours, they still weren’t the best wear experience we’ve had. We tend to prefer faux-leather coverings to fuzzy cloth, since it itches less and provides a better seal.

Extended Use (4.50)

Over the course of six hours, we grew slightly more accustomed to the HFI-2200s. By the end of the session we still thought they were slightly uncomfortable — the head padding still felt somewhat hard — but not so uncomfortable we wouldn’t want to wear them again. We recommend trying these on before you buy them, because if you happen to have a more sensitive head than we do, you might not like these headphones. If your head is made out of iron and muscle, then you might like these headphones just fine.

Cable Connectivity (19.65)

Until we make futuristic transforming headphones, over-ears will always be a bit awkward to lug around compared to in-ears. You can’t ball them up and shove them into a pocket easily and they take up a lot of head real estate. In addition to the size issue, the cords of over-ears typically aren’t made to be portable: they’re thicker and often twice as long as in-ear cords. In this case the cord is just about 15-feet long, which is quite a substantial amount of cord to be lugging around in your pocket. The only saving grace for the HFI-2200s’ portability is the ability to detatch the cord. Of course, this requires you to have your own audio cable, but it’s better than having a giant knot of cord in your pocket.

If you really want portability, however, there are far better options out there for you. These options will probably isolate you better and leak less sound than the HFI-2200s will.

Customizability (3.00)

The only custom options you have with the HFI-2200s right out the box are band extension and cup rotation. These are basic customizability options. There aren’t any bells or whistles included in the packaging that will alter the look of your headphones, such as face plates or different cup options. Very few headphones have good options for customization.

Portability (2.25)

Until we make futuristic transforming headphones, over-ears will always be a bit awkward to lug around compared to in-ears. You can’t ball them up and shove them into a pocket easily and they take up a lot of head real estate. In addition to the size issue, the cords of over-ears typically aren’t made to be portable: they’re thicker and often twice as long as in-ear cords. In this case the cord is just about 15-feet long, which is quite a substantial amount of cord to be lugging around in your pocket. The only saving grace for the HFI-2200s’ portability is the ability to detach the cord. Of course, this requires you to have your own audio cable, but it’s better than having a giant knot of cord in your pocket.

If you really want portability, however, there are far better options out there for you. These options will probably isolate you better and leak less sound than the HFI-2200s will.

Maintenance (5.00)

While you can’t outright disassemble the HFI-2200 headphones, you can get right down to the sound element in case you want to clean it, replace a part, or re-solder it. First you have to remove the cup padding. This should reveal the ‘MU Metal bufferboard,’ which Ultrasone says reduces field emissions.

The next step — assuming you’re not afraid of field emissions — is to unscrew the bufferboard. The screws accept a regular phillips screwdriver, so no need for specialized equipment. Some of the screws are red herrings that don’t actually hold anything in place, but we didn’t know this beforehand so we foolishly unscrewed them all. There are two lengths of screws, so you should remember to mark what you’re taking from where.

Once the screws are out, lo! Some wires and computer chips! The driver is actually attached to the bufferboard; unless you’ve got a tiny crowbar, a soldering iron, and a callous disregard for headphone privacy, you’ll have to admire the driver from afar. This is actually a bit annoying, since you’ll have to rely on canned air to clean it out through the holes in the bufferboard. Overall, however, we were impressed with the access we were given to the headphones’ internals.

Other Features (5.00)

S-Logic Natural Surround Sound

We’re guessing this added feature is partially responsible for the boomy bass. The box had this to say (and yes, those typos were on the box, faithfully reproduced here):

’With normal headphones you have the impression, that the music is being played in your head. ULTRASONE headphones with the patented S-Logic™ Naturlal Surround Sound give you a natural 3-dimansional sound."

We certainly didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, except maybe for boomy (slightly echo-y?) bass. Maybe we were just impervious to the psychoacoustics, but we didn’t think this feature added anything to our listening experience.

Battery

These headphones aren’t dependent on a battery. This allows them to be slightly more portable than a battery-reliant model and is also far less of a hassle.