Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterDLai  How about a comparison to your Ultrasone Edition 9, just for fun? 
What aspects of the Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9 are close, and which aspects are blown away? |
This is possibly a mine field for me since I really don't ever like to say something bad about equipment that at least provides some real satisfaction for me as both of these units do.
Simply put the UE9 is like sleeping in silk on a cloud while the ESW9 is like sleeping in high thread count cotton sheets on my "Sleep Number Bed". The UE9 has a sound package that is more comfortable all around while the ESW9 still very satisfying.
Details....soundstage is more encompassing and precise with the UE9 and the ESW9 is more limited. Timbre is best on the UE9 but the ESW9 does almost as well on the mid-frequencies and lower highs. I hear the bass on the UE9 down to 25 hz with normal sound levels while the ESW9 only does this to 30 hz. The UE9 have better control in the bass frequencies.
The fact that the ESW9 is so clear and detailed for one quarter the price of the UE9 is very surprising.
In my office where the background normally ranges from 60-65 dB I have no problems with outside noise or leakage coming out of the ESW9. Isolation is not as good for the ESW9 as the UE9 for my part. When I put on the ESW9 in the office it cuts certain frequencies out but that allows my attention to focus on a range that sounds like white noise. This is not what I was used to with my noise canceling headphones, ATH-ANC7 This is only a problem before hearing music and between tracks. The ESW9 is much less fatiguing compared with the ANC7s. I guess this is because of the ANC of the ANC7. The ESW9 is simply superior to the ANC7s in music reproduction while the ANC7s is very near a stock HD580 in quality.
Maybe more later.
I do not listen to a lot of congested music but for the tracks with congestion that I have listened to the ESW9 shows real distance between it and the UE9 for those. From my viewpoint the UE9 is so much in control that it can make even music that I do not normally listen too listenable. Maybe after a more extensive burn-in period the EWS9 will provide more control over tracks with lots of things going on across many frequency ranges. The slightly sibilant highs that are mention above is again part of the ESW9s congestion problem I think. With lots of strings going on it sounds slightly sibilant, but I think it is just not in control yet and needs more time. I hope this is the case. It is great for acoustic music and jazz vocals.
