Ultrasone Edition 9 sound signature

I would also like to hear about these headphones. I have heard good things recently about them but know all most nothing about them. Are they new to the market? Are they really a limited addition? How is the build quality...plastic? Where is the best place to by a pare?


I am looking for some thing more "hi end" this time around.

Thanks

I haven't heard any other Ultrasones, but I would describe the Ed9s as balanced enough, but a bit biased towards the lower end, so they sound thick and warm, but not overly bassy and definitely not boomy, with just enough treble detail to keep texture and detail, no extra. They're sort of the opposite of my SR80s, which have a fully revealing high end, with defined bass, but tend towards a treble bias, very similar to my old Ety ER6s, with a bottom end. Really, I find the Ed9s just a tad too warm for my taste, but *very* easy to listen to. Does that make sense?

I think the UE9 is so balanced that if one has any preference at all that they may seem light or heavy depending on that bias. Therefore, I think you will hear many different takes on the UE9.

I'm sure that's true if we're comparing headphones, which is why I made some comparisons, but if I had to evaluate the Ed9s in terms of real life, they sure don't hear things the way *I* hear them at all. For that, the Ety ER4Ps may be the most accurate phones relative to *my* real life that I've heard. But they're totally unengaging because of that, and I don't usually recommend them to people.

I tend to agree with this evaluation but I'm beginning to wonder if part of the warmth isn't due to the Opera amp. I see mdarnton has one as well. I have to lightly EQ down the 110-220 Hz region to get rid of some mid-bass and make the sound just what I'm looking for and I wonder how much of that is the Ed 9 and how much is the Opera.

The Ed 9 sound is slightly weighted toward the bass end, but if I EQ down the mid-bass a touch, the treble suddenly jumps out. I like a slightly bright sound so it suits me, but there are songs that are too bright even for me. I'm still working on that mythical 400-hour burn in (currently at about 350) and the sound signature has changed 2-3 times during that time so we'll see where it ends up.

I thought that was possibly it, initially, but they sound similar on my GoVibe 5, Move and direct out of my laptop and iPod, so I'm inclined to think it's the phones, not the amp. It's maybe exaggerated a bit with the Opera because the Opera is soooooo smoooooth on the upper end.

Out of my SDS and modwright SCD-777ES, the Ed.9 is bass heavy with some hint of midbass. They have great PRat and great impact; therefore, they are a very good headphone for rocks and heavy metals. However, they are not the best for female vocal or jazz dur to their presentation.

Now here is that personal preference thing, I love them for female vocals. I find that the Edition do a very good job of presenting what's on the recording. At least the female vocalists I listen to (and there is not a lof of bass on the recordings), are given a presence and authority with the Edition 9s. Just listened to Norah Jones and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I don't recall the bass ever overpowering the vocalist. Then again maybe I like a little more bass than Purk. (Or is Purk comparing them aginst his R-10s and of course they are going to come up short. And I agree that they are great rock headphones.

What I'd say to the opening poster is that if you like the 2500, it seems a really safe bet that you'll like the Edition 9s. The Edition 9s do everything better and with more refinement. They are in the same family, but they seem very different due to the refinement.

I've been thinking a lot about the reference of where (equipment-wise, let alone personal preference-wise) someone is coming from. I recently posted my impressions on the AD2000. Probably before owning the SE & balanced Edition 9s and the SE and especially the balanced Senn 650 I would have been much more wowed by the AD2000. But in the back of my mind I kept hearing them against what was possible with my Edition 9s and the balanced 650s. So sometimes in reviews or impressions, it would be ideal to determine who has a set up and has the personal preferences similar to your own. Unfortunately, this is not very practical, but it is something I have tried to keep in mind as I've done my research on equipment. So here is an update (love the edit function)to my statement. Compared to the mid and high end of the in production headphones I've heard (and I'll include the balanced 650s here), the Edition 9s are great for female vocalists. And I would take them over any of those headphones for female vocals, except when I am in the mood to kick back a little with the 650s. And that's my personal preference.

Ditto- used w/ a lavry DA10

I did like them quite a bit with jazz/vocals though, especially baritone jazz singers.. when they sing the lower notes it gives me the shivers

Personally, I don’t find the Edition 9s bass heavy at all. In fact, I think they’re immaculately balanced and very revealing of source and amp—but no so revealing that they become fatiguing or are uninvolving. If the amp or source are limited in some way, though, you’ll definitely hear it. I still prefer my R10s overall, but the Ultrasones are perhaps an even more complete headphone, and are my go-to can for harder rock and pop.

Definitely, it sure comes down to preference but then again, when I compare the Ed.9 side by side with R10, and L3000....I couldn't help but notice that the female vocal is slightly recessed and cold. IMO, the midrange of the Ed.9 is not bad at all, but just not in the same level as the R10 and L3000. Then again, that could be just me, but I'm a big vocal and jazz listener; therefore, midrange has to be one of the best quality of my headphone. Of course, I do love bass and bass impact, but I do get plenty of bass extension from my R10 out of my SDS-SE...maybe not the same bass impact that you got from your beloved Ed.9; however, when I need bass...I can always switch to the L3000. Recently, I just landed the HE90+HEV90 combo and trust me that the midrange on HE90 is definitely more in line with the R10 than the Ed.9. Unless you compare your Ed.9 side by side with other top tier headphones, you won't notice what I've stated above. Then again, you might end up prefering the midrange out of your Ed.9 more than the midrange of the HE90 and R10. Again, I still think the Ed.9 to be a very good headphone, but just not a 9/10 in vocal reprodcution.

They have been out for almost a year now, are not limited edition according to Ultrasone are very well made and the best place to buy is here,
but make sure to email them for a much better price than listed. Start back at maybe page 100 and scan through the big thread looking for the word edition in red.

They are certainly "high end"!







Purk, how is the base (ha ha) on the HE90 compared to ED9?

has anyone compared the Ed.9 to the GS1000 recently. those are the two cans (in production, at least) that i am most interested in at the moment.

No bass shortage on my HE90 man, in fact, it is beautiful. I really wish you can hear them. Of course, I prefer the bass on my L3000 over the Ed.9 anyday.