[Usagi]

(First buzzard to circle over the stench of possible death)

I warned people about tolerance levels just under a month ago, but no one took the advice seriously. Now the city of Ultrasonia and Gomorrah will perish under fire and brimstone!

Post 1191
Quote:

Originally Posted by Usagi /img/forum/go_quote.gif [size=small]Warning:[/size] Deficient bass levels indicate blown speaker Recently, I acquired a Proline 750. During the course of a short break-in (eight hours), the 750 lost bass in the right speaker prominently below 50 Hz. Volume break-in levels were slightly higher than listening volume. My listening volume is relatively low. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2703187&postcount=1179]ldj325's claims[/url] of lacking bass levels with a store demo model (750) and my own experience is a strong indication of low sonic threshold levels. There is no clipping that usually indicates a blown speaker; just reduced bass levels. Exercise caution when cranking these things up. I now have a replacement pair and I'm recommencing break-in, but with extra care. On the other hand, I am very pleased with this purchase. The 750 is doing a lot of things right.

 

[ldj325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Usagi /img/forum/go_quote.gif (First buzzard to circle over the stench of possible death) I warned people about tolerance levels just under a month ago, but no one took the advice seriously. Now the city of Ultrasonia and Gomorrah will perish under fire and brimstone! Post 1191

How are the 750s(?) going for you? did you easily get a replacement? Had you used pink noise with your first experience of burn in? Have you used it since? Can you attribute the blown speaker to any activity on your part? I put a source interconnect in with low level power on near the time of failure--anything like that for you? Toasted any cities recently?

 

[z00ne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldj325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif zOOne, I am stunned and shocked right along with you. What a bummer, I know because if you go back a couple of days you'll see that the same thing happened to me, except it was the right channel and after about 300 hours. The store said they haven't heard of this happening. But now I've run into 2 defective Ultrasones. The first one, the store demo was obviously because of abuse. But mine were well taken care of. The only options I can think of are some negative effects of pink noise (I used it a lot), pulling in/out of cables causing electrical surges (I was guilty of this on occassion) or poor internal workmanship on Ultrasone's part. It was easy for me as I just went into the store and they gave me a new one. But I don't know what your availability is for that in Croatia. I feel for you. The fully burned in ones were wonderful so I am going to give Ultrasones a lot of chance, but this does give me pause to consider their durability.

I red your post about your deffective 750... At least i am not alone here, i am sorry for you but its good to know this already happened to others not only to me...
Yes, i was pulling cable off and on from reciever(turned on) because i was comparing 2200 and 2500... But 2200 are fine and they took lots of abuse, this didnt happened after pink noise, then by testing movie sound in Matrix... yes i turned bass to high level ... but thats not reason to stop responding... Because 2500 had same treatment or better than 2200... Thats the reason i think that was deffective pair from start but who knows...

 

[Dexdexter]

While my own experience with different pairs of Ultrasones indicates they are fairly robust, this recent cluster of reports of driver failure leave me wondering about the use of pink noise as a primary method of burn-in.

I think it might be best to exercise caution and use music alone until the drivers have fully settled before attempting to "season" them further with pink noise, and then only at lower than normal listening levels.

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it might just be that there are no reliable short-cuts to properly running-in. Hopefully, Ultrasone's warranty will ultimately provide those that have been disappointed with replacements that perform optimally, as all mine have.

 

[dw6928]

I think Dex has a point here. I used pink noise long after the 2500s were broken in and thankfully had no issue. Perhaps it is too stressful for "out of the box" drivers and must be used sparingly, if at all for the first 200 hours. I will email the mfg and see if they have any feedback. But one sided failure is probably mechanical and not external.

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldj325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh my goodness, the Angel of Death, You are the guy that we were all worring would show up--gulp So Mr. Angel, How are the 750s(?) going for you? did you easily get a replacement? Had you used pink noise with your first experience of burn in? Have you used it since? Can you attribute the blown speaker to any activity on your part? I put a source interconnect in with low level power on near the time of failure--anything like that for you? Toasted any cities recently? Nice talking to you Mr. Angel (please don't fry me ) You may address me as Mr. Secretary (Official Seal of Untrasonia) (Geez!! Now where is that King, and the President, and the Secretary of Defence. I'm sitting here dealing with the Angel of Death and those guys are no where to be found. Just like the government to run out on you when you really need them. That's it. We need a Secretary of State. They should be dealing with this guy, not me. I'm going back to the Interior.)

I had a replacement 750 in under 24 hours courtesy of HeadRoom. The second time around I took my time breaking them in and at low volumes. I can't say for sure (100%) if the failed driver was a result of neglect or lack of quality control. The first break in was slightly louder than listening volume for a couple of hours, but that is how I have always break-in my headphones. I never had problems in the past.

In any case, someone should pass this information on to Ultrasone so that this driver defect anomaly can be addressed. The more reports, the more seriously they consider correcting the issue; even if its a small one.

Otherwise, this is a good headphone.

 

[Kees]

I find it hard to believe that the pink noise is the cause of this problem.
If so, it would stand to logic that both drivers would have failed....
My guess is it's the threaded plug connection of the cable to the headphone.

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find it hard to believe that the pink noise is the cause of this problem. If so, it would stand to logic that both drivers would have failed.... My guess is it's the threaded plug connection of the cable to the earplug.

Excellent observation, Kees, that could certainly be a point of vulnerability.

Clearly, care must be taken in attaching/detaching the cord at all times.

 

[Contrastique]

3 models already dead...doesn't sound good...Find it hard to believe it's due the Pink Noise stuff though. The first couple of days my ones only got music and when I discovered pink noise I let it run every night below normal listening levels. The sound improved significantly. During the day there was just music for them. Kept this up till I completed the full 250 hrs of burn in. No failure can be detected so far. They also didn't run fulltime. During the day I had to work and I turned them off when I got there so they could also have a rest. Really donnow what's causing your problem..but it surely is not nice to read.
I hope it will work out for all of you with defective hp's and in the end you will be able to truly love them without loosing them to such a thing of failure.
(I give my hp a kiss every day....maybe worth trying...

)

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrastique /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3 models already dead...doesn't sound good...

It certainly does not. From a statistical standpoint, it's obviously not of epidemic proportions, but when it affects Head-Fi members in such quick succession, it is worrying.

I'm hopeful that these issues will be resolved quickly for our friends here and we can return to the more enjoyable areas of discussion.

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexdexter /img/forum/go_quote.gif It certainly does not. From a statistical standpoint, it's obviously not of epidemic proportions, but when it affects Head-Fi members in such quick succession, it is worrying. I'm hopeful that these issues will be resolved quickly for our friends here and we can return to the more enjoyable areas of discussion.

x2..I really hope that this is not gonna be the next "Ultrasone-Hype"

Never excpected this to happen though. Just glad mine are still ok.

 

[z00ne]

I recommend to stop discusing about this because we are unable to say 100% why is this happening... But thanks for trying to answer and thanks to dw6928 who is sending them mail... Just enjoy your ultrasones as you did now... and give them a kiss and hug before sleep as i do with my ex hfi2200

and they thanked me and gave in return to listen them when i wake up in the next morning... Yes that was love ... Ultrasones are like womens - give them a care and they want let you down

(Yes i was joking a little bit now but its almoust the truth)

So... tomorrow i hope i will get the same pair... And i will give them a lot of care in first 300hours which they seems to need... They deserve second chance

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by z00ne /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ultrasones are like womens - give them a care and they want let you down

Oehh that would make me something I am not haha

(SO off topic I know, forgive me for that but just couldn't help it..)

 

[tbritton]

To be on the safe side, do not yield to temptation to try to play the 16Hz and 20Hz and thereabouts tracks on the Bink test CD real loud to test if your hearing can go down that far. Also leave track 50 alone, and definitely do not play track 51, (these are the DC Offset test tracks). Quote from manual: "Track 51 is especially dangerous as it is full range -- the levels hit the digital ceiling and floor!" These are just Direct Current, plus and minus above and below zero voltage - nice for turning speakers or headphones into a toaster oven, or for blowing out your overload protection diodes. Nor track 49 - Crest Wave: "This track could damage speakers if played too loudly." And how about tracks 54-55, Square waves: "Watch out for these tracks! Turn your amps off first! Square waves are sometimes used in destructive testing at audio R&D labs... Don't run them at high volumes if at all... It is not ever necessary to send square waves out to amps and speakers in a normal live sound setup situation."" ...etc, so-on, and so forth.

These tests are for testing live sound systems (very large speakers with cones that move very measurable amounts!) and Crest Waves are for testing equipment with no speakers attached! Some of these tests could be very detrimental to headphones. I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole!

Track 58 - Pink Noise can be created as a loop with a two minute silence between to allow the driver to cool down, if that is really necessary, like Sovkiller suggests (a good, safe practice, though - thanks Sov!) It is a safe bet and a safe practice for using pink noise - even if played fairly loudly.

Track 59 is a track of silence you can use as a source for that section. If anything, this will stress test the darn thing so it breaks during warranty if it is going to break at all! Pink noise is an industry standard for testing and breaking in purposes - it cannot break things that aren't broken to begin with.

This is a nice, safe pink noise. Average RMS power= -12.2dB. Max RMS Power=-8.77dB. Min RMS Power=-14.9dB. Peak Amplitude=-1.65dB. Many thanks to Michael Knowles, the sound engineer who created these tracks.

These cases of disappearing drivers were due to defective drivers or internal interconnects, there is little doubt about that. Inconvenient, but as people found, the replacement warranty is no-questions-asked. These headphones are intended to be able to take extremely rough treatment.

Enjoy, and don't just play that Bink CD end-to-end!!! Please!!! (I hear at least one.."Why didn't you tell me!" - I tried!)

Terry

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbritton /img/forum/go_quote.gif And to be on the safe side, do not yield to temptation to try to play the 16Hz and 20Hz and thereabouts tracks on the Bink test CD, leave track 50 alone, and definitely do not play track 51, (these are the DC Offset test tracks). Quote from manual: "Track 51 is especially dangerous as it is full range -- the levels hit the digital ceiling and floor!" Nor track 49 - Crest Wave: "This track could damage speakers if played too loudly." These tests are for testing live sound systems (very large speakers with cones that move very measurable amounts!) and Crest Waves are for testing equipment with no speakers attached! Some of these tests could be very detrimental to headphones. I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole! Track 58 - Pink Noise can be created as a loop with a two minute silence between to allow the driver to cool down, if that is really necessary, like Sovkiller suggests (a good, safe practice, though - thanks Sov!) It is a safe bet and a safe practice - even played fairly loudly. Track 59 is a track of silence you can use as a source for that section. If anything, this will stress test the darn thing so it breaks during warranty if it is going to break at all! Pink noise is an industry standard for testing and breaking in purposes - it cannot break things that aren't broken to begin with. These were defective drivers or internal interconnects, there is little doubt about that. Inconvenient, but as people found, the replacement warranty is no-questions-asked. These are intended to be able to take extremely rough treatment. Enjoy, and don't just play that Binks CD end-to-end!!! Please!!! Terry

That is what I did:

(58 + 59 + 58 + 59 + 58 + 59) x 5 days = Nirvana!!!

Later on played Bonham Outtakes, (23 tracks x 2) that is drums alone, for another day to shake those baies out, and bingo...