Ultrasone Edition 8 Is The Search Over?

[monotune]

This is my first real post here so please give me a little allowance for my own adjectives.

I just received my Ultrasone Edition 8 (W/ALO Mod cable) today and I wanted to post to share my experience with other users as maybe I can help save a couple dollars or days.

I want to start by saying I have been on the search for a great sounding portable rig for nearly 4 years. My search started with a way to make the ipod sound better A challenge I know. I went to Headroom.com, I called them I chatted with the sales people. I walked away with a low end headphone amp and a pair of AKG 701's you know the white ones. Well I thought this is big but it sounds better. A week latter I thought this amp barely drives the phones I called them and the person I talked to this time said ya that's right you need the blah, blah... Next amp was better. Open back headphones soon turned out to be not the greatest portable headphone. I did not like being distracted by the outside noise and the people around me were distracted by my noise. I settled on some smaller AKG foldable headphones that did not need an amp. I was disappointed. It wasn't until I was ordering a new pair of phones that they talked me into the Dennon 2000. They also suggested a dock cable to avoid the ipod headphone amp... This is where things turned around for me. I received this with the new rechargeable headroom headphone amp. Wow it was a great sounding set up. The dock cable was a bit cheap. I looked online and found ALO Audio and Ken Ball. To cut a long story short. My portable rig now is:
iMod 5.5 Gen Red Wine Audio iPod 240GB HD>
iMod SXC Cryo Cable>
SR-71A Ray Samuals Audio Headphone Amp>
Ultrasone Edition 8 with 22G SXC Cryo Cable

This slowly happened over the last year. Many different headphones and cables and amps but I have to say when I plugged the Edition 8's in today in some ways I felt like the search was nearing an end. I could try different amps for different sounds but to my ears this is an amazing set up. As Ken said to me you have Doggie ears. It is true I spend a lot of time in the studio making music and listening. Lots of listening.

The lesson I learned was a I spent a lot of money on an education in portable audio in the year 2009. The ipod changed things. In some ways for the better and for other ways for the worse. Each person will go down their own path. Start at ALO Audio, read this forum ask lots of questions and trust your ears!

If you can scrape the dough together the Edition 8 Headphones are amazing out of the box, warm silky, really nice high end. They are a bit tight, a little closed but I figure after time they will settle in. I have no idea if they are burned in or not. I have been down that road. I think I will take Ken's advice and just use them and enjoy them. I spent an hour today with them listening to all kinds of music. They are much more neutral than I thought they would be. I owned a pair of the 780's with the ALO mod. They were fun but very colored and the high end was too much for me. It almost was distorted when there was too much going on. Ultrasone makes great headphones, ken makes amazing cable and has great advice. I really feel like I completed some journey today so that is what inspired me to write this. It is the first time I have written in a forum. I thought I needed to get it out there, Do your homework if you are new to this. There are some great people out there that really know what they are talking about. (Like Ken).

Thanks for reading. Try the Edition 8's they are really amazing.

[mrarroyo]

Nice impressions, but my wallet is broken after getting the Isabellina w/ HPA. How about posting some pictures?

[IPodPJ]

The UE8 is a very comfortable portable headphone. It sounds really nice too. I'd like to hear it with a recable because I know that 3-foot stock P.O.S. is holding it back. I personally think the UE8 sounds much more refined than than the UE9, and it's a hell of a lot more comfortable too. (I don't understand the love for the UE9. The bass is absolutely horrible.) To this day I still don't understand how Ultrasone can charge that much money for a headphone with such a garbage cable. I guess they truly believe cables don't matter, and the way the headphones sound with the stock cable is the way they were designed to sound.

[KB]

Originally Posted by IPodPJ

The UE8 is a very comfortable portable headphone. It sounds really nice too. I'd like to hear it with a recable because I know that 3-foot stock P.O.S. is holding it back. I personally think the UE8 sounds much more refined than than the UE9, and it's a hell of a lot more comfortable too. (I don't understand the love for the UE9. The bass is absolutely horrible.) To this day I still don't understand how Ultrasone can charge that much money for a headphone with such a garbage cable. I guess they truly believe cables don't matter, and the way the headphones sound with the stock cable is the way they were designed to sound.

IPodPJ,

I could not agree more with your post. At first I was like uh-oh the E9s are better. But after a burn in and some "getting to know you" session, I think the E8 is more refined and less colored than the E9s. Having deconstructed both the E9 and E8 into individual bits I can also report that the E8s are built really well, got it love the German builds.

Thanks for the post Monotune!

Ken

[dallan]

I am not thrilled with the earcups. That really put me off. I heard them twice, once at Canjam and then tried them a few times at the mega meet.
At first (both meets) I thought i liked the Ed9s better but on a second listen at the mega meet, I kinda got it-what they were after?? and then saw that they are more detailed and punchy than the 9s. I really think that it is a preference but the Ed8s seemed to control the bass better where the ED9s seemed smoother maybe. Still don't get the earcups though, they close in the soundstage and fit kinda weird....and for that price I expect near perfection.

Glad your search has yielded the results you were looking for. Can't go wrong with that ALO cable, I have the cotton, and a harness for my Lisa lll, a/b you can hear the difference, really opens up the sound. After rereading your post I can see that the 8s fit your circumstance well. I have esw9s that i got when they were first released and have never been very happy with them. I have never found a good closed portable that I can deal with but the 8s would be a good choice if it wasn't for the cost.

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by KB

IPodPJ,

I could not agree more with your post. At first I was like uh-oh the E9s are better. But after a burn in and some "getting to know you" session, I think the E8 is more refined and less colored than the E9s. Having deconstructed both the E9 and E8 into individual bits I can also report that the E8s are built really well, got it love the German builds.

Thanks for the post Monotune!

Ken

And I'm sure your cable is top notch! If you have an extra pair lying around one of these days, I'd love to have a listen.

[monotune]

Day two of the 8's. I have to say I am really happy. It was a big decision to drop that kind of money. My ipod setup should be insured .
I have to say that I would agree for the money Ultrasone is charging for the Edition 8 I would expect a better cable. I noticed this with most high end headphones. It is a little shocking. I have learned from years of playing music that cabling makes a huge difference. In the studio and on the road.
I am happy to hear people's impressions of the 9's versus the 8's. I was afraid that maybe not being able to get the 9's would have been my nemesis. I am happy that the 8's are seeming to win over some ears. I personally like the cup shape. It was a little strange at first but I am liking it now. It is not the most portable headphone but is very comfortable.
I will be very curious if the sound opens up as time goes on. I think it will.
If I can figure how to post a photo I will.

[IPodPJ]

Even if the 9s were better, which they aren't, they are unlistenable because you can't keep them on your head for more than a few minutes without your brain imploding. While they don't quite have the insanely painful grip of the RP-21, the 9s are still painful and I couldn't deal with them. The 8s on the other hand are very comfortable.

[dallan]

The 9s aren't portable are they?

[tangerinedream]

-

[Snacks]

Originally Posted by monotune

Day two of the 8's. I have to say I am really happy. It was a big decision to drop that kind of money. My ipod setup should be insured .
I have to say that I would agree for the money Ultrasone is charging for the Edition 8 I would expect a better cable. I noticed this with most high end headphones. It is a little shocking. I have learned from years of playing music that cabling makes a huge difference. In the studio and on the road.
I am happy to hear people's impressions of the 9's versus the 8's. I was afraid that maybe not being able to get the 9's would have been my nemesis. I am happy that the 8's are seeming to win over some ears. I personally like the cup shape. It was a little strange at first but I am liking it now. It is not the most portable headphone but is very comfortable.
I will be very curious if the sound opens up as time goes on. I think it will.
If I can figure how to post a photo I will.

Congratulations!

Welcome to Head-fi!

!tellaw ruoy tuoba yorrS
Wallet your about sorry!
Sorry about your wallet!

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by tangerinedream

The ED-8 is designed to be driven portable and i think the capacitance and resistance of that cable is right.It may go out of control if these parameters are changed

So what's the excuse for the ED9 cable then? It's just as horrible.

[KB]

Originally Posted by tangerinedream

The ED-8 is designed to be driven portable and i think the capacitance and resistance of that cable is right.It may go out of control if these parameters are changed

Out of control?.... out of control AwEsOme!

Seriously, I think I would opt for the improved cable any day.

ken

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by KB

Out of control?.... out of control AwEsOme!

Seriously, I think I would opt for the improved cable any day.

ken

Without question. I'd just want to make sure it had nice, soft sheathing around it. I don't personally care for the naked look of cables.

[monotune]

I am liking the naked cable look it works well with my clear ipod face.
I spent 4 hours listening to music the other day. I have never been able to do this with any other headphone. The closest was The Denon 2000's I have but they are very loose on my head and as I think I mentioned before the bass was all over the place. The UE8 is for me the best option and they are portable enough