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AMP for Ultrasone Edition 10? Please help a NOOB

post #1 of 12
12/18/10 at 7:22am
Thread Starter 

I am a noob of full size cans. I don't even have a proper source or desktop amp. Currently I only use my Hifiman 801 (playing 24/96 files) as source and output to RSA blackbird and then to the Ultrasone ED10.

 

I will consider an amp first then source. In my driving vicinity, the following amps are available:

 

1. Burson 160A

2. Phonitor

3. Meier Symphony / Concerto

4. Luxman P1u

 

I think the ED10's treble needs a bit of taming. I haven't fully run in them yet, and I haven't heard them on proper amps but the treble is on the bright side at the moment.

 

 Which of these would tame the treble a bit, or at least would not exaggerate the treble any further?

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone Edition 10
post #2 of 12
12/19/10 at 2:48am
Thread Starter 

Sorry... Are these amps so low-tier that no one is bothered to comment?

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post #3 of 12
12/19/10 at 5:02am

Very very few lucky bastards have access to the ED 10 so they can comment on what synergize well with them.

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post #4 of 12
12/19/10 at 6:14pm

I am using the Burson HA-160 with the Edition 10. It sounds quite good to me. The bass goes very deep and the music has a lot of prat in it. A lot of reviews on the Internet are quite positive about the Burson HA-160 in its price class. However, I do believe that the amps such as the SPL Phonitor may be better with its crossfeed circuits and virtual speaker simulation, but it is in another price class itself. You may also want to consider the Auditor as it is the Phonitor without the crossfeed and virtual speaker technology built in. The Concerto has some positive reviews too and should be comparable to the Burson HA-160. I am using Meier StageDAC as a source and I generally find Jan's products to be of good value. Have fun with your Edition 10 and a pleasant day ahead!

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post #5 of 12
12/20/10 at 3:22am

You're a headphone noob with an EDITION 10?!? Wow, just... wow. I envy you!!

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post #6 of 12
12/20/10 at 4:04am
Thread Starter 


Thanks dude. How does the Burson 160 go with the relatively bright trebles of the ED10s?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dynamic74 View Post

I am using the Burson HA-160 with the Edition 10. It sounds quite good to me. The bass goes very deep and the music has a lot of prat in it. A lot of reviews on the Internet are quite positive about the Burson HA-160 in its price class. However, I do believe that the amps such as the SPL Phonitor may be better with its crossfeed circuits and virtual speaker simulation, but it is in another price class itself. You may also want to consider the Auditor as it is the Phonitor without the crossfeed and virtual speaker technology built in. The Concerto has some positive reviews too and should be comparable to the Burson HA-160. I am using Meier StageDAC as a source and I generally find Jan's products to be of good value. Have fun with your Edition 10 and a pleasant day ahead!

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post #7 of 12
12/20/10 at 7:15am

I tried edition10 with both rsa blackbird and alo rx mk1 today, and I must say that I prefer the later setup. low end (bass) more controlled and punchy, overall the synergy with alo gave me smoother sound. I also briefly tried with burson ha-160d, very good combination IMO

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post #8 of 12
12/20/10 at 5:31pm

I am afraid the sibilance is still there with the Burson 160 unless the ear cups are place correctly. This will take some time to figure out which position suits you better. When placed correctly, the treble sounds all right to me. Having said that, the Burson 160 provides a clear treble. Harp music sounds especially nice when the E10 is paired with the Burson 160.

 

The E10 sounds very natural and makes you feel as if you are are a live concert. I remembered when I attended a live classical concert, the treble at certain times are also quite unbearable for me. In this aspect, I think the E10 replicates live music very well, but this may not be the preference of many. I suppose you can tame the treble with tube or op-amp rolling, but this will not be applicable to the Burson 160 since it comes with discrete op-amps.

 

The Burson 160 represents great value and performance for its price point but has limited customization options. If you want customization, perhaps a tube-based amplifier or even an op-amp based amplifier may be more suitable. After all, the great part of this hobby is to experiment in order to get the best sound possible out of you equipment. Have fun and a pleasant day ahead!

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post #9 of 12
12/24/10 at 5:08am

just run it with a good and neutral dedicated dac like CA dacmagic for an example and you will get much improvement in sound,, i haven't listened to ed 10 but I've had some ultrasone and they benefit  from decent and neutral sounding source better than from changing an amp.. 

 

my 0,5 cent

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post #10 of 12
12/25/10 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by googleli View Post

I am a noob of full size cans. I don't even have a proper source or desktop amp. Currently I only use my Hifiman 801 (playing 24/96 files) as source and output to RSA blackbird and then to the Ultrasone ED10.

 

I will consider an amp first then source. In my driving vicinity, the following amps are available:

 

1. Burson 160A

2. Phonitor

3. Meier Symphony / Concerto

4. Luxman P1u

 

I think the ED10's treble needs a bit of taming. I haven't fully run in them yet, and I haven't heard them on proper amps but the treble is on the bright side at the moment.

 

 Which of these would tame the treble a bit, or at least would not exaggerate the treble any further?


My Edition 10 are in transit to me but based on other owners looks like the Edition 10 are a little bit on the analytical side so I would not recommend the Phonitor or Auditor. I listen to the Phonitor with my T1 and to be honest i was not impressed. I think you would be better off with the Meier or Luxman. If you have a chance consider the Rudistor RPX-33 (or a higher model). The RPX-33 is very musical and in the warm side. It was a great match with my Edition 9. Other (cheaper option) I would consider is the Violectric V200.

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post #11 of 12
12/27/10 at 2:45am
Thread Starter 

Here comes the headphone noob again. Today I brought out my ED10 to a few headphone shops to try them out with different amps. Still can't make a decision, but here are my impressions:

 

1. Burson 160A

 

Great - very engaging vocal. The sibilance problem is gone with it, but the "cymbal" problem is still there, meaning that the sound of cymbals still sound harsh. These gave me very good impression especially given its price compared with others. 

 

2. SPL Phonitor

 

Good at highs but not as impressive as either  Luxman or Burson. Silibance problem not completely solved. Did not impress me very much (as far as the ED10s are concerned anyway)

 

3. Meier Symphony / Concerto

 

Haven't tried.

 

4. Luxman P1u

 

I haven't tested these out, but I tested a lower end version called D200 or something like that. Very neutral sound. Sibilance non-existent. Overall a very smooth feeling. Bass light.

 

The above were what I wanted to try out in the first place. I also stumbled upon two  other amplifiers by chance:

 

A.  Volectric 200

 

This is actually the the first amp I tried today. They used a seemingly very expensive CD player with it but the sound, to me, is quite ordinary. I don't know how exactly to describe it but the sound is just... eh... ordinary.

 

B. Harmonic something (don't remember second word). The guy said it's a Swedish brand. I tried two models, one of them with balanced outs.

 

This one is even more flat out than the Luxman, to a point that the main characteristics of the ED10 seemed to be compromised. The sound is... if I could describe it... boring... But the higher end model I tried is the most expensive headamp I tried out today.

 

I have yet to try the Chord Toucan... But so far Luxman seems to be my favourite (for the ED10).

 

My questions:

 

1. Can anyone confirm that the P1U is an improvement over D200?

 

2. How does tube amps fare against these? I have never heard tube amps, could anyone enlighten me as to how different they may be from solid state amps? Coz I am also considering the Woo Audio WA2 but there is none around to test with.

 

3. How about Rudistor? I saw someone mentioning this brand - anyone heard it with the ED10 yet?

 

Many thanks.


Edited by googleli - 12/27/10 at 3:02am
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post #12 of 12
8/18/11 at 2:20pm

I used a lot of headamp with my Edition 10. Actually i use Gilmore GS1 and Sugden Masterclass HA4. I prefer Sugden, very strong; but Gilmore is very good too. Lehman audio is good too; more relax.

The source and the cables is important too.

 

Best regards

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone Edition 10
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