After comprehensively reading the big Ultrasone threads, I deemed that there was one last headphone I wanted to hear in the Ultrasone lineup: it's the Edition 7. I have never thought it was possible to see such an expensive piece of equipment outside of meets or closed doors. Everything that happened was truly unplanned, and what a pleasant surprise it was.
This write-up is not meant as a review, but rather a compilation of impressions during the listening session.
And also, please note, that these are written based on memory and the notes I took on a piece of tissue while listening in the Hilton
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It was 4 days ago in Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, CA where I first saw a "true" company flagship. I have just finished my round in the South Course. I was walking around as I finished up my spaghetti while listening to my iPod. I looked left and right, people passing by, players putting in the green, foursomes teeing off. One thing caught my notice, one young man (~20 yrs old) next to the rails by the pro shop had a shiny blue looking headphone that I've never seen.
I came closer bearing in mind this might be something else... so I wrapped my Ed9's around my neck, iPod turned off.
I approached him with a tip-toe attitude and he suddenly started walking towards me. I kept looking at my neck and he was caught a look at mine... An ensuing conversation followed and he is in fact wearing an Edition 7 paired with Pico and 5.5gen 80gb iPod! We walked for a few minutes into the Hilton and proceeded to our 2.5 hour-long listening session...
Testbed:
Edition 7/ALO Edition 9 --> HeadAmp Pico/RSA Predator --> iPod 5.5g 80gb/iPod classic 160gb
Song genres tested: Rock, Trance, Jazz, Electronica, Pop, Classical, Modern Hip-Hop, and of course LIVE!
Edition 7's and Pico are fully burnt in
Edition 9's have ~280hrs; RSA Predator have ~350-400hrs
On both amps and iPods I couldn't really tell the difference in sound signature. Keep in mind that we listened to a variety of music, so I couldn't really sample nor remember all of the songs we sampled. Firstly, his Edition 7 had slightly less bass or in fact less prominent low end in general and a [barely noticeable] bigger sound stage compared to my Edition 9. This difference is so small I had to go classical and turn the volume up for it to show up. Just for gigs, I asked him this and he was able to confirm this. Drums in live music sounds slightly punchier in my Ed9 than his (I'm not sure if this is due to my maturing pair, so bloated bass?). But then again, my Ed9's ain't stock... Ken has souped this thing up. Sound quality wise the Edition 7 had a "very slightly" lighter flavor than my Ed9's, again not by much at all. Midrange is smooth on both and the highs are very similar likewise. Strings, violins, saxophones, entire piano and chorus pieces sounded pretty much identical.
One statement was clear with the Edition 7's though: build quality. This thing screams "EXPENSIVE" all over it! My jaw dropped due the overall look of the headphones. Those white pads felt very soft on my ears, and the blue finish just made me drool like the Niagara falls... The white cabling is very flexible and is actually surprisingly long (compared to Audiogon's pics)! o_O Oh did I mention we had people come to our little area just to look at our headphones from across the hall. These things are quite the bling-bling under the lobby lights.
Heck we even let this little 5 year old kid listen to both, and asked which one he liked better. It was quite funny to say the least. He liked it both but he said he like the blue better on 'that' headphone... DOH!!!!
Back to the point, the clamping force is there... just like the Ed9's. I thought his should be looser than mine due to age and wear; but was I wrong. His successfully retained the clamping force.
Unfortunately, the meeting had to be cut short and we parted ways. I had to go back to my room to shower while he had to drive back to his kids at home. I surely wouldn't have mind listening to his Edition 7 for a little while longer, because I have never heard a stock Ed9 in my life.
Concluding points:
1) Deal or no deal? No deal.
I wasn't exactly impressed after I heard the Ed7; also note that he had it for 2 years and it IS fully burnt in before he bought it used. It was quite similar to my non-stock Ed9's. Just ain't worth the extra grand :\
2) To the other guy, which one did he prefer?
He liked my Ed9's better!!
Apparently this guy is a basshead like me, and owns an L3000. When I asked him about the L3000 all he did was smile... (a series of bad mouthing and curse words ensues inside my head) He said it sounded different to both our headphones in the "fluidity"... that's the only word he used to describe it T_T (cry)
3) Positive(s).
- Build quality and aesthetics is [imo] a step above even the Ed9's.
- Cables are noticeably more flexible than my 18AWG's. It's a lot easier to handle and twist around.
4) Negatives(s)
- None really. It's a great headphone by all means.
5) So after all that which one do I prefer?
In all honesty, I prefer my ALO modded Edition 9, but not by much though
If someone handed the Edition 7 free of charge to me, I would gladly accept it
They indeed sound, feel, and look like siblings next to each other.
6) This does not really fit anywhere but I'll write it nonetheless. It's quite amazing how hobbies can bring people together. Whether it's golf, music, or whatever. I would have never thought a total stranger who I've never met in my life could ever do any of this... Thanks head-fi.
Final thoughts
To hammer the point, I do suspect Ken's recabling had something to do with this. It's quite strange for the Ed9's to be on par with an Ed7 :\ considering the price tag [yes I'm trying to hammer this down].
Does this make the Ed9 a bang-for-the-buck headphone? umm... a simple and resounding: NO! This listening session and his smile only made me even more hell bent to [hopefully] listen to an L3000 in a future meet. I just know the Leatherhead has something special to offer
It never ends does it?
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phew~
There we go
My first little write up in head-fi. I tried my best, so I hope you like it ^_^"
![Portable Showdown: Ultrasone Edition 7 vs ALO Edition 9 [Impressions]](http://www.head-fi.org/forums/iconimages/f4/portable-showdown-ultrasone-edition-7-vs-alo-edition-9-impressions_ltr.gif)
Portable Showdown: Ultrasone Edition 7 vs ALO Edition 9 [Impressions]
Good to see the new flagship maintains the same lofty heights as the old.
He may pop-out one of these days O-o
