Ultrasone Pro 900 Appreciation Thread - Page 355

Hi gang. New to the site and looking for some kickass headphones. I ordered a pair of 900's and they will be arriving tomorrow. Can't wait to try them out. I am a little confused by the "S-Logic" thing. Is that some type of software/signal processing they do to the sound or are they talking about the unusual placement/angle of the Speaker Drivers? 

Edited by bareyb - 2/7/13 at 9:02pm

 

This.

Ah. Okay. Thanks. The term "surround sound" is kind of misleading. It sounds like signal processing or that they are intended for use with Home Theater. 

Edited by bareyb - 2/8/13 at 3:33am

 

Well that's what they're going for with the S-Logic driver placement and a lot of people have said it does in fact work really well for movies. ;) I haven't tried it yet myself... maybe I'll try watching a movie with my PRO 750s today and see how it does.

Yep I agree. Out of my iPhone 4 they are good, but out of my FiiO E11 they are fantastic!

How do the beats studio's compare to these?

Indeed S-LOGIC helps with imaging for movies/videogames (at least imo). Nice coherent 3D image, as opposed to over-wide or over-deep that many "soundstage" headphones have. Not to mention that Ultrasone headphones tend to be bassier, which makes them a good match with action films ime (like Battleship for example). They also tend to excel at gaming as well.

For more on S-LOGIC:
http://www.ultrasone.com/index.php/en/company/technology/s-logic.html?phpMyAdmin=F%2C10wyDPvdbTSUKb0bFsP82LYqa&phpMyAdmin=-bRZSviO4b0rfbpf62n-9Lwy159

The quick'n'dirty is that the driver is placed down and forward in the housing, with vents near the top of the housing. If the headphones are "centered" over your ears, it should have the effect of improving imaging. Ultrasone has done later research that shows that at least some listeners won't derive this benefit, and instead will perceive an overly bright/harsh presentation as a result (iirc it has to do with the shape of the outer-ear, which influences the FR the listener hears).

Anything in specific you're curious about?

IMHO the 900 are better across the board; build, accessories, sonics, etc. But that doesn't mean they're the best for you (either headphone for that matter); would need more information.

Wow. These things rock! I'm listening to some Dubstep on them and oh my GOD!!! So far I have not found them to be laid back in the midrange and the highs are detailed but not harsh. I still have to try the Beyerdynamic DT770s, they are supposed to arrive today, but it may be too late... I think I'm already in love with these... 

Hello,

I posted this same question in both the Ultrasone 900 and 2900 Appreciation thread since I need people with experience on both of these headphones. I’ve asked this question on another non-audiophile forum but getting some pretty generic responses.

 

I’m looking for a new pair of headphones. I’m using them for computer gaming primary but I love listening to electronica music as well. I consider myself the “Compromised Gamer” and I want headphones with good directional sound but has great bass to go along with it.

 

I’ve narrowed it down to 2 choice. Either the Ultrasone Pro 900 or the Ultrasone Pro 2900. I currently own an Ultrasone HFI-700 and very impressed with it but want to upgrade. I know the 900's are closed-back and the 2900's are open-back. I don’t care about sound leakage or whatnot. I am looking for the highest quality sound with good bass. I haven’t seen many comparisons between the two headphones. I've noticed though that the 2900's are not nearly as popular as the 900's. The 2900’s are more expensive than the 900’s though. Does anyone have any experience with these two headphones? Which would be better primary for gaming if price isn't a factor?  Thanks.

How odd... I just read this review/comparo on Headphonia and they are calling the 900 a "Hi Fi" phone. NOT a "Basshead" phone... I'm happy they are being appreciated (professionally)  for more than just their bass. 

 

 

 

 

I know right?  Can we trust anything from Headphonia now? 

 

Having said that, I DO agree that the 900 has the best spacial qualities of any closed back phone. 

Both image very well (and similarly), both are comfortable, both are very good with gaming and electronica. The 900 have more bass, offer isolation, but have somewhat withdrawn mids; the 2900 sound a bit more open, have less bass, and more present mids. Really either is going to be a good candidate. Price-wise, at current prices (they're actually the same list price), the 900 are probably a better "value" (I hate discussions of value though) - simply because they're ~$200 less via Amazon today. For just gaming, unless you have both to sit and A/B, I'm not sure you'd really notice a difference - both will be very good (especially compared to most of the "gamer headphone" garbage that's been put out over the years). For music listening, the 2900 have a bit sweeter voicing, but at the expense of bass slam (don't get me wrong, both are fairly bassy headphones). For electronic music this different isn't a huge problem imho, but for some genres the 2900 will probably have an edge.

Finally you must remember that the 900 and 2900 are both fairly unforgiving and bright headphones - nails driven on demand. If you listen to a lot of poorly mastered, heavily compressed, etc audio, the HFI-2400 would be a MUCH better suggestion (for gaming they're going to be just as good as the more expensive PROline models, but they're more forgiving, which will lend to listening to a wider variety of music - honestly you don't need high-end cans for quality gaming audio).

So the easy answer is "either" unless you're concerned about isolation (imho it's a good thing for gaming), or "neither" if you're intending to feed low quality media into them.

Honestly I'm more inclined to agree with Headphonia than the "rule of hype" that says the 900 are "bass and nothing else - bass!" While they aren't my favorite headphone for swing, jazz, or rock - they aren't slouches (and my primary complaints are similar to my complaints regarding the 2900 - they're somewhat dry and aggressive, and relatively unforgiving). The extra bass isn't mud-and-blood, and doesn't push itself in where unwanted; they get a bum rap as being good for nothing but modern bass-blast genres simply because they have good bottom-end extension and impact.

I couldn't agree more. I've auditioned several "Basshead" Phones and while these have some of the nicest Bass I've ever heard, these are not Basshead Cans. These are Audiophile Cans. There's no other way to describe the detail and vibrant quality these provide.  I've been listening to them all day and while they have a ton of slam, it's quality slam and it doesn't intrude where it shouldn't like some of the other Bass friendly phones I've tried. The Dynamics on these things are positively scary. What you said about bad recordings (and I'm talking badly done in the studio too)  is true, but it's worth it to get the deliciousness those detailed highs bring to 98% of my other recordings. I'm quickly falling in love with them and they are my favorite of the six headphones I have here. 

Edited by bareyb - 2/10/13 at 1:37am

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

I wrote something similar about a year ago, even though the discussion was about something else:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/527451/ultrasone-pro-900-appreciation-thread/4260#post_8190950

 

The point being that is more about the mastering than the genre.

Edited by Coq de Combat - 2/10/13 at 5:01am