RPGWiZaRD
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
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I don't know about Ultrasone Signature X but the Signature Pulse's are quite similar to the Q40's (but after EQ-ing. The Pulse's need less EQ). I consider the Pulse's to be a direct upgrade to the Q40's (better comfort and isolation, better mids and highs but roughly the same bass). I would agree that the Q40's are not worth actively searching for anymore, but the price of the Pulse's or other Signature headphones is much higher than that of the Q40's. You could get three or four Q40's for the price of one Pulse's.
I found Ultrasone Pro 580i to be the closest to the Q40's in terms of the overall sound and price (they're also more comfortable and have better isolation), but the Pulse's have a more consistent mid bass, which is sometimes underwhelming in the Pro 580i's. The Q40's side with the Pulse's in that regard. The Pro 580i's also need more EQ (about the same as the Q40's) to make the bass reach its full potential, so they also need a 10-band EQ. Stay away from the Pro 780i's though, they have poor bass reponse due to different drivers.
Have you had the opportunity to compare the Signature Masters as well? If I decide to give Ultrasone another try higher up in the range (because the creaking especially can be a bit annoying in the Signature X) I will probably either give Signature Pulse or Master a go. I'm not sure if I need that much quantity bass from the headphone, for me it's more important with the dynamics, punch, impact etc. that aren't directly related to the quantity but other factors, probably how much reverberation (the lower the better for me, how the phase response is etc). Ideally the less bass I hear and the more impact I feel, the better and here Q40 does very well which most other headphones I've tried just simple cannot deliver, it's more "hear" but lack of "feel". I literally can feel the cups shaking on the Q40 with bass, Signature X does this as well but with little bit less finesse overall I'd say.
It's a shame the S-Logic doesn't seem to work that great for me, for some it provides very nice soundstaging but to me both Ultrasone Signature DJ and Signature X has a bit of a "closed-in" sound, I really enjoy Q40's more open sounding soundstage that doesn't sound like the sound is packed inside a chamber.
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