[Dramlin]

I'm not sure why Thomann is always able to have such low prices, but they are legit. I've been buying from them for years. They are my go to for Ultrasones, and I can't recommend them enough.

 

[plakat]

I ordered the Signature Natural from Thomann on Wednesday. Any reason why the price is so much lower than normal? I did not order B-stock.

There's definitely nothing shady about Thomann, they are the biggest (I think) music equipment retailer here in Europe. I'm a customer for maybe 15 years, spending quite a bit there (mostly not headphones but PA equipment) and not a single problem.
Obviously they buy in big volume and have quite streamlined processing, so I'd explain their competitive prices that way.

 

[VinMAC]

I don't have any experience regarding previous gen ultrasones, so unfortunately, I can't speak on the differences. But the one I have is just terribly designed for a 950euro HP. For one, not only the pad opening is small, but the earpads are very shallow and the driver housing isn't angled and just flat. The worst part is the S-logic diffuser that produdes over the flat driver housing and digs into your ear due to shallow pad design. The leather and the earpads on the signature master is much softer than the other signature models, so they dig even further into your ear. For a HP advertised for studio use, I don't see too many people wearing these comfortably over an extended sesion. I have to constantly adjust the pads. And the headband cusion is on the stiff side too. Oh and don't even get me started on the gawdy looking goldplate on the earcups. Looks like the design hasn't changed much from the previous gen besides the tasteless gold plate. Sound wise, I don't have much issues. It has this unique and pleasantly diffused sound which I have yet to experience on other HPs. And that is the only reason why I still have these.

My experience was quite different: I found Edition 9 and Signature Pro much more uncomfortable than the new Signature Master. The Afghan leather deforms over time, so that the auricle has hurt me more and more. This has not yet happened with the Sig Master despite a year of intensive listening. If you have larger ears, the comfort of the Ultrasones could indeed become somewhat problematic in the long run. I have relatively small ears and therefore have no problems.

But in terms of sound, the Sig Master is a quantum leap compared to Sig Pro and Edition 9: Spatiality and resolution have increased to such an extent that I must say that the Master now actually plays two classes better.

 

[HP9000]

they buy in big volume

Yeah I suspected it was this, but wasn't sure. I thought maybe it was clearance.

@VinMAC Where do you think the Natural fits amongst the Signature Master, Signature Pro, and Edition 9?

 

[VinMAC]

Yeah I suspected it was this, but wasn't sure. I thought maybe it was clearance.

@VinMAC Where do you think the Natural fits amongst the Signature Master, Signature Pro, and Edition 9?

I have never head the Natural, but what I have read that it comes very close to the Master, which has only little more Resolution and spatiality.

 

[HP9000]

I have never head the Natural, but what I have read that it comes very close to the Master, which has only little more Resolution and spatiality.

Mine just arrived today. I'll be able to listen to it tonight and make impressions before burn-in.

 

[e-dub]

Mine just arrived today. I'll be able to listen to it tonight and make impressions before burn-in.

Nice, looking forward to reading your thoughts!

 

[e-dub]

I'm considering doing a mod on my Sig Pros to have them recabled to be balanced. Does such a service exist in the USA?

Anyone have any insight on this?

 

[e-dub]

I'm kind of surprised by this. After all this time my Sig DXP is still the best audio for the price that I've come across. They don't get much head time with me any more, but I'm still amazed at how good they are whenever I use them. They are built solid in terms of durability, but a bit cheap feeling due to being mostly plastic. The DJ's and Pro's feel a bit higher end due to better materials, but are built mostly the same. Comfort wise the previous line has always been acceptable to me. Not great, not bad. I've seen plenty of complaints about the clamping pressure though, which seems to differ from person to person. I can't say that I've ever tried the Studio's, or anything from the new line though. Did something change in the general build for this new sig series line up? It looks mostly the same from the previous generation.

I don't get this at all. For whatever it's worth, the Master I got seems to have a decent bit more padding in the headband vs the Pro I have.

 

[VinMAC]

I don't get this at all. For whatever it's worth, the Master I got seems to have a decent bit more padding in the headband vs the Pro I have.

The headphone frame has remained the same. A new type of leather is used, which I find to be more comfortable and durable than the old type of leather. Yes, the head pad has been thickened again. Overall I find the new Sigs more comfortable than the old Pro and E9. While the frame does look a little dated, it's a solid plastic construction that's almost indestructible.

 

[HP9000]

Packaging:
Premium feeling unboxing experience. In the box is a booklet of the Signature lineup, flipping to the page for the Natural offers a description of their goal. Below that is a big zippered case containing the headphone, three cables (one coiled w/ 6.35mm plug, and two with 3.5mm plug; one with a mic, one plain), and a pair of replacement pads. I like the length of the plain cable, it's not too long or too short.





Build quality:
No complaints, everything feels well made including the case and cables.

Comfort:
Firm clamping force, but never became uncomfortable. It feels light for its size, worn it felt weighty a little bit over time, albeit in one long sitting. The headband foam is hard, but this was only putting pressure on my head if I wore it angled back, after rotating the headband so it sits toward the center top of my head and adding a notch to the length of the adjusters for reach there was no discomfort. Also the clamping of the pads helps hold the headphone up so the headband is not just weighing down.

Sound:

Dap: QLS QA361
Firmware: WAV v1.0.6
Filter Settings: Super Slow roll off, Mellow
Amp Settings: High Gain, Double High voltage and current
Volume: 18, 19, 20

I listened for 5 hours these 5 albums back to back out of the box:

1. Sunik Kim - Zero Chime mastering Rashad Becker (24/44.1)

Unexpected separation, propulsion, the tracks are rendered with so much shape, really textured and spread. The sounds are planted yet there is no plodding.​

2. Swans - The Seer (16/44.1)

The quiet can be heard between drum hits of drum rolls. Microdynamics - fluctuations in volume like tremolos even if slow, slight, at a low level and with neighboring loud sounds are audible. Easy to pick apart overlapping voices. Ending of Avatar demonstrates grip without being a bass headphone. Continuous bright cymbal sections without harshness and I'm upper mid to treble sensitive. I've heard these tracks many times and through iems yet I'm hearing new sounds, shouldn't they be the ones that are detailed? Flourishes in Song for a Warrior and A Piece of the Sky glimmer with all these little notes that are distinguishable yet not disconnected. The drum solo that ends the album is rendered echoic and with tactile speed.​

3. Rosey Blue - Swans (24/48)

Detailed vocals, the tongue and lips become audible, you can hear the start and end of sounds. Acoustic guitars pop. The slowly-rising-in-volume drum hits that start the second track are immediate and swarm the space, the bass quality is heard at this part. Sounds feel like they are playing in a space. The Tower is delivered with emotion. The headphones place you in the center of songs, no exception for the last track The World.​

4. Desperate Journalist - Maximum Sorrow! (16/44.1)

The guitars, drums and vocals sound so good here, which is really all there are. The production on Fault sounds so crunchy.​

5. Charlemagne Palestine - Ding Dong Ding vs Sing Song Sing microphones Knif Audio (24/96)

The subtle tempo changes and the percussive and tonal qualities are relayed very well. It is fast and direct. The bells are loud and clear, the voice sounds large and everything reverberant.​

• Very good left right channel separation, and if a sound needs to be in the center or between the center and the sides then it can be. There is no rocky transition or hole in panning, as evidenced by the wide vocal pan in one of the Desperate Journalist tracks.
• Sounds can be located e.g. to the right of and below the center.
• Very good instrument size meaning sounds can be large and still have a center, small, so large they fill the space and form ambience, and sizes inbetween.
• Texture of individual sounds, and with separation there is texture from the whole mix of sounds.
• Sounds are tangible and solid without hardness.
• The frequency response does not bring attention to itself and the sounds feel let through with a wholeness. The headphones I've been using previous to this have high treble tones that will sound at the same time as other sounds, yet they feel disconnected. I am glad to come back to a single driver headphone.
• Tonal variation.
• Vocals do not feel at the forefront, in the background, nor middled. There is good vocal presentation as they are between the middle and very front. Good focus.

Noise, rock, and loud bells, 5 continuous hours, an exciting and stimulating sound from the headphone, yet no fatigue... I could have kept going but it was late and I was tired, but only because it kept me up, it is not a soporific sound. While I set different volumes, once set I did not have to change them from the beginning to the end of a given album. I come from hearing headphones with a Harman curve, this one seems more diffuse.

Pros: All of the above. I want to emphasize the speed which makes the drums sound memorable and amounts to articulation for instruments percussive or not. Good timbre and extension.
Cons: Slightly muffled, not a boundless sensation to the soundstage (granted it's a closed back), somewhat of a 'boxed-in' sound.
I'm sure the titanium coating, neodymium, and S-logic are contributive toward the pros, and break-in and different sources can move away from the cons.

I'd be glad I got this even if at the regular price.

 

[Dramlin]

Very nice! Thank you very much for sharing your impressions.

 

[e-dub]

Thank you so much for this, @HP9000! I've wondered about this and the old Signature Studio, glad to see they're good... but it also makes me want to check out a pair that much more...

 

[e-dub]

Using a new DAP to burn in some new headphones (rather meta, yeah). I've been peeking in on them from time to time. I've been burning them in pretty well non-stop since Monday at about noon (it's currently Thursday at ~8.30pm). As I mentioned before, the S Logic 3 presents music audibly different than the old Pro to my ears. Bass is about the same, but highs sound clearer. Same with the midrange frequencies.

My Saturday morning tradition is to set up shop at my favorite cafe to have breakfast, do some reading and listen to music in a place I love. Very much looking forward to bringing my new toys with me this go!

 

[plakat]

While I’m tempted to try one of the two lower models of the new signature series, the older Pros were never quite comfortable to my ears. I also don’t like the looks of that big headband which was not that well padded on the older models. On the new ones it’s a bit strange to have a very gaudy faceplate on a plastic headphone…

I’m always interested in headphones with strong sub bass that don’t have a midbass emphasis and don’t forget the rest of the spectrum — worth checking out the Signature Pulse?