[Bootleg]

Although I have never ever ever come even close to meeting the man himself, a friend of mine sells Stevie Wonder his audio gear. He claims that Stevie is a HUGE fan of the Ultrasone PROline 750's. Apparently he has bought upwards of 25 pairs and gives them away to his peeps like candy.

If true, and I'm not vowing that it is, it is a strong endorsement for the 750's.

 

[ldj325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Although I have never ever ever come even close to meeting the man himself, a friend of mine sells Stevie Wonder his audio gear. He claims that Stevie is a HUGE fan of the Ultrasone PROline 750's. Apparently he has bought upwards of 25 pairs and gives them away to his peeps like candy. If true, and I'm not vowing that it is, it is a strong endorsement for the 750's.

I think the 750 are a very good headphone. I'm told by my local pro audio shop that the 750s are very proular in the recording, film, and project studio world. I enjoyed thlot when I em a had them. Liking them so much was what allowed me to start thinking about the Edition 9s.

I hope that you enjoy them when your pair gets to you. Just know that they can take some erratic side trips in sound quality when you first start to burn them in. My experience is thay start to consistently sound good at about 150 hours. From there to approx. 250 hours they continue to improve. But I'd keep burning until about 400 hours as there can be some subtle changes in that range that are nice.

 

[slwiser]

I had the Proline 2500s and enjoyed them. I got them to test out what was all the hype about the S-Logic. Since I enjoyed them so much and after reading the thread concerning the UE9 and liked what I was reading I got them as well. Let me tell you that the Proline 2500 is a distance relative of the UE9. I found only one thing similar and that was the manner in which the acoustic guitar strings sounded with Earl Klugh. The UE9s are so much more detailed while being smoother, great articulate soundstage/headstage with the rolling textured bass. Voices are the sweetest I have ever heard when sweet is the right term. Those deep grainy males voices can't be called sweet but they have weight behind them that makes you feel them breathing down your neck.

The initial clamping forces of the UE9 can be surprising but either mine loosen up or I became comfortable with it. Either way it is not a problem with me.

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenkelby /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah I went to a local store and listened to standard but well burned in 750 and 2500 last week and the poorer sound quality compared to the ED9 was honestly noticeable instantly. This was through my iaudio U3 with flac. I didn't take my ED9 with me but as soon as the music played I thought "nope, these are nowhere near as good" with both of them.

steven, was that with or without external amplification?

 

[stevenkelby]

Dex, this is with no amp, just the little iaudio U3 2GB. It's what I'm using at the moment until my imod and/or external DAC get here. I do use the DVD player at home for discs, line out through the RPX-33. I have a Xin reference on order for portable use with the imod. By portable I mean around home or work, not jogging!

The U3 isn't too bad when playing flac, obviously has some detail and extension missing compared to a disc but doesn't disgrace itself. Very impressive little unit. Discontinued now, thats why I'm looking for another one for a mate. Which reminds me, time for a bump.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Although I have never ever ever come even close to meeting the man himself, a friend of mine sells Stevie Wonder his audio gear. He claims that Stevie is a HUGE fan of the Ultrasone PROline 750's. Apparently he has bought upwards of 25 pairs and gives them away to his peeps like candy. If true, and I'm not vowing that it is, it is a strong endorsement for the 750's.

Well indeed Ultrasone have an endorsement of a huge list fo professionals of the audio and recording industry as well, Eddie Kramer, among them, even Steve Hoffman got a pair of PROLines 2500 recently to try them out in his studio. In you are interested you can read more about those experiences here. I do not think that all of them are wrong...

 

[stevenkelby]

I should say that if I had never heard the ED9, I would have been impressed with the 750 and slightly less so, the 2500. I loved the DT-880 when I had it.

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenkelby /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dex, this is with no amp, just the little iaudio U3 2GB.

Well, in all fairness, to the 750 & 2500, steven, you hardly had the chance to hear them at their best there since they tend to fair rather poorly in the absence of proper amplification.

But there's little doubt in my mind, owning all three, that the Edition 9s are in an entirely different league altogether. I'm looking forward to trying out two different aftermarket cables for the PROlines soonish, so I'll have a little better idea of how much further they can be taken in that regard.

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexdexter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm looking forward to trying out two different aftermarket cables for the PROlines soonish, so I'll have a little better idea of how much further they can be taken in that regard.

Do you already have the cable from Hans??

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrastique /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you already have the cable from Hans??

Not just yet, Indra. Perhaps you can test-drive it tomorrow if it's ready.

 

[MaloS]

Btw...how hard is the Proline 2500 to get into balanced mode? By the look of it the cable is user replaceable, but completely single-ended -_-

 

[Bootleg]

The funny thing is that the only pair of Ultrasone's I have heard so far are 4N6's Ed 9's. I absolutely loved them.

Based upon that listening session, I asked my audio dealer buddy to order me a pair of Ed. 9's.

He then went into his Stevie Wonder story and he and I argued a little bit about the merits of the 750's vs the Ed 9's.

He then said he had a buddy who was an engineer type at Ultrasone's office on the East Coast somewhere and that he would call the guy and get his take on the 750 vs Ed 9.

A few hours later, my friend calls back and says that after some initial jockeying, the Ultrasone rep kinda "came clean" and stated that 90% of the difference between the two cans is "cosmetic stuff for audiophiles". He also mentioned that the 2500's are his personal favorite (even beyond that of the Ed 9's) because they have flatter frequency response.

After hearing this, I decided to give the 750's a try, and possibly the 2500's at a later date (At $400 vs $1500 he didn't have to twist my arm that hard). I opted for the 750's because I strongly prefer the isolation advantages of closed vs open...so long as SQ is approaching similar levels.

I'll have the opportunity to compare them directly to 4N6's Ed 9's in a couple weeks.



Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the Proline 2500s and enjoyed them. I got them to test out what was all the hype about the S-Logic. Since I enjoyed them so much and after reading the thread concerning the UE9 and liked what I was reading I got them as well. Let me tell you that the Proline 2500 is a distance relative of the UE9. I found only one thing similar and that was the manner in which the acoustic guitar strings sounded with Earl Klugh. The UE9s are so much more detailed while being smoother, great articulate soundstage/headstage with the rolling textured bass. Voices are the sweetest I have ever heard when sweet is the right term. Those deep grainy males voices can't be called sweet but they have weight behind them that makes you feel them breathing down your neck. The initial clamping forces of the UE9 can be surprising but either mine loosen up or I became comfortable with it. Either way it is not a problem with me.

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexdexter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not just yet, Indra. Perhaps you can test-drive it tomorrow if it's ready.

That would be nice

I also tried the first version of your cable but it didn't fit back then.
Looking forward trying the ed9 with the Larocco as well and see how they pare

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif A few hours later, my friend calls back and says that after some initial jockeying, the Ultrasone rep kinda "came clean" and stated that 90% of the difference between the two cans is "cosmetic stuff for audiophiles". He also mentioned that the 2500's are his personal favorite (even beyond that of the Ed 9's) because they have flatter frequency response.

Wauw, that's new to me...
Anyways, I hope you will like the 750's. They are truly amazingly lovely but I would prefer the ed9 over them any time.

 

[xinoxide]

i havent even had an ED9 on my head yet, im waiting for monday so i can get a reply about some info on the differences in the drivers themselves.

Who wants to bet against it being a difference in magnet streangths?

the diaphragm is the same, thickness, fabrication, etc, the driver encasing is the same.

the voicecoil may be of a bit more "pure" material. but judging by whats already in the 750 drivers it cant be that much a difference, as the prices for the entire range of drivers stays around the $45 a piece, other than the ED9 drivers, i havent received any quotes on them yet, as their availablity is limited.