Ultrasone pro 900 or V-moda m100?

Hello!

 

V-Moda M100 although I never tried any of those two but Ultrasone Pro900 kind of have somewhat negative reviews.... 

Just my 2cents

 

Billson :) 

I disagree. I've owned the pro 900 and it's a great headphone. I cant comment on the m100 because I haven't heard it but the vmoda m-80 sounds horrible imo. I think the best value Ultrasone is the HFI-780. It has better balance than the 900 and it's more portable.

Edit: btw I've never seen my friends more blown away by bass than when they listened to rap songs on my 900. Also know that it does have a lot of treble so hopefully you arent sensitive to it.
Edited by joeq70 - 1/15/13 at 4:43am

Strictly speaking in terms of bass, I guess the pro 900s have the upper hand. However, everything else on them is horrible. They have extremely hot and sibilant highs, the midrange is recessed, and the bass is much too emphasized. If the m100s are anything like the m80s,I would go for then over the pro 900's because I thought even the m80s were much better than them. Plus, the vmodas are built better, look better in public, and are more portable. The only thing I thought the pro 900's was edm, and even then I disliked them for a lot of songs because they were so sibilant. To be honest, the pro 900 is probably the worst high end headphone I've heard for that price range apart from beats. Imo, you should be looking into the denon d2k or the vmoda m100s. The pro 900's just aren't worth it for their price.
Edited by jwusoccer - 1/15/13 at 7:55am

I've never tried the Pro 900, but if they have a similar sound sig to the Hifi series Ultrasones, they might be better from a vocal standpoint. However, IMHO the M-100s have the best bass of any headphone in this tier. So if you like rap/hip-hop for the beat, go with the M-100. If you prefer the vocals to have more prominence, go with the Untrasones. Just be prepared for some... interesting highs with the Ultrasones. Make sure you buy from a place offering returns!  (I would try them both out) 

Edited by wes008 - 1/15/13 at 10:29am

I own the Pro 900, and have listened to the V-Moda M100 as well.

 

It really depends what you listen to and the sound signature you prefer.  The Ultrasone has the most and best bass of any headphone I've heard--if you listen to predominantly electronic music and you want to smack your ears with as much bass energy as possible, you can't do better.  The quality you get from the rest of the sound really depends on the overall fit you get--they are very sensitive to positioning.  That said, I think they sound fine overall, but you do need to be able to handle the somewhat sharp treble.

 

There's no question that the M100 presents an overall better value.  They have great build quality, and a more balanced sound signature.  They have solid bass, but it's not basshead bass (which will be either good or bad...)  They sound great across all genres, and have a really nice balance.

 

It may also depend on your source.  The M100 sounds fine out of a portable player, but I strongly recommend a dedicated low-impedance amp for the Pro 900, as it leads to a much better sound.

 

I hope that helps a bit.

 

Short version:  Ultrasone Pro 900 has best in class bass but requires more amping and the M-100 does have overall better sound quality and portability.

B&H will have them (M-100) in a few days, so I would check there when you get back to NYC.

 

At this price range, I would put you on a used/sale Denon D600 ($295 shipped from Amazon warehouse deal). Plus you can return it if you don't like it, no questions asked, if you use warehouse/amazon.

 

Very best,

V-Moda has a 60-day return policy and Amazon has a 30-day return policy. Returning items to either vendor is very easy.

 

I was actually in a similar situation a while ago, picking between the Ultrasone Pro 900 & M100. Didn't get a chance to try the Pro 900 sound, but I personally really loved the M100 sound signature.

wow. I think I've rarely seen M-80 being described as horrible. 

M-80 is my portable headphone and I use Sennheiser HD 600 with Fiio E12 amp at home and I still don't mind the sound from the M-80.

I have the Pro 900's and like them. I don't think they're worth anywhere near the $600 list price, but they're great at a lower price. Take all the negative reviews of the Pro 900's with a grain of salt; most of them were made when you could only get them at $500 or so. At that price, I suspect they disappointed some people. Most people looking for headphones at that price want something more neutral, and the Pro 900's are bass heavy. Now you can get them for $300 easily, and at that price they're pretty good. A lot of bassheads like them, and I like them even though I'm not a basshead. The D600's have gotten much more negative reviews, and the V-Moda m100's are so new that you can't really get them for less than the list price. I think their price will fall after they've been on the market for a while, like they have for all of V-Moda's other headphones.