This is going to be a long post, but I've got a correction to make. I've been doing a lot of further testing lately between the Pulse and other headphones. Previously I said that the Pulses were a straight upgrade from the older Signature DJ's. That's not accurate, my preference for the Pulse clouded my initial comparisons with the DJ so I'm looking to correct that here by giving more info between them. First off, lets talk about what the Pulse sounds like in general, not compared to any other headphones..
Signature Pulse:
The overall tone/timbre of the Pulse is darker than neutral. You might think that a darker than neutral headphone isn't ideal for electronic music, however the Pulse does some interesting things that makes it work very well. With the S-Logic 3 there are double deflector fins (DDF). Ultrasone says that this isolates and separates the low frequencies from the rest of the sound, and hearing the Pulse I agree that they work to do just that. Darker than neutral headphones typically sound is a bit muffled, and sounds can blend together. With the S-logic 3 on the pulse you get a thick dark sound around you all the time, but the bass, treble, and mids come off clearer than you would expect. Since the low frequencies are separated from the rest of the sound this ends up giving more space in the sound stage, and you get more defined sound placement and stage depth. The darker tone also gives way to having a great contrast between the treble which increases engagement.
Talking about the individual sound qualities, let's start with the bass. The bass is everywhere all at once, yet doesn't overstep to muffle other parts of the sound. That lovely S-Logic 3 does it's magic here. Since the bass is somehow separated it comes across cleaner than the old Signature series, and also hits with more quantity. The quality of bass doesn't match that of high end Planars. Don't expect absolute control, as there is still bass bloom here. It doesn't come across as boomy or overdone in any way though. I've had other headphones where the bass dominated the mids, booming over everything in a really bad way (looking at you OG Meze 99 classics...). The Pulse doesn't do that, the bass stays separated from the rest of the sound while being omni present and scaling when called. Most importantly, it's enjoyable. The bass is done right and gives that dopamine release that bass heads are looking for.
Mids, they are here but not the emphasis. Most bass heavy headphones scoop out the mids to gain more contrast (your typical V or U shape), but not here. The mids are there so you don't sense that something is missing from the sound. Don't expect Sinatra to sound his best. The mids are just serviceable to the point that I don't feel like something is missing.
The treble is best described as "sparkly", never bright or sibilant. For anyone who has/had a Signature DXP, it's similar if not the same. The treble against the darker backdrop gives contrast with each treble hit, giving a vivid effect that emphasizes the treble tones without having them come across as bright. Or in other words, it's fun and engaging, not boring.
Sound stage isn't super wide, but there is surprisingly good depth and clear instrument placement. The S-Logic 3 does wonders here compared to the older Signature series. There's a greater sense of depth compared to before with more space for instruments to be placed. The older signature series already had a good sound stage for a closed back, and now it's even better.
Detail: Similar to the older Signature series, doing some things better when compared to individual headphones in the old series. It's hard to describe detail without comparing directly to other headphones. Overall I'd say it's good enough, and surprises me in a good way sometimes. I don't find myself thinking that there needs to be more detail, even if it's not going to have the detail level of the kilobuck headphones and more detail would always be appreciated.
Overall the Pulse works very well for Electronic music. Vivid effects from the treble against a dark backdrop give the sound a lot of engagement, hard hitting bass comes across as a contrast to the treble, good placement around the stage from the S-Logic 3 furthers the detail and enjoyment, and there isn't a feeling that anything is missing in the mix. I keep referencing Electronic music as the Pulses do them best, but they also work as a good all rounder as well.
All that said let's talk more about the Signature DJ's and how they compare to the pulse...
DJ vs Pulse
- Treble: DJ's has a rolled treble which is great in the sense that nothing is going to be overly bright. However this lends to less engagement in the sound which is more boring than I'd like :/. The Pulse does treble better IMO, taking it's treble largely from the DXP which adds emphasis without being overdone.
- Mids: The DJ's scoop out their mids, enough that I constantly notice that something is missing in the music. The Pulse doesn't give me that same feeling, so again my preference here is the Pulse.
- Bass: Bass is similar, but more mid emphasized on the Pulse. The DJ scoops out the mids to achieve clearer bass that doesn't overstep, and has clearer sub bass. The Pulse is able to achieve mostly the same overall bass effects without having to take out the mids. With the overall clarity of the DJ I could see some still liking the DJ's bass over the pulse, but I prefer the Pulses here.
- Overall Tone: The DJ is clearer in timbre/tone whereas the Pulse is darker. My preference here is the DJ, but I think it does so by largely taking out the mids. With TV or Games the DJ's tone sounds more natural. With music, the Pulse sounds more enjoyable to me.
- Sound stage: DJ is wider. The Pulse is deeper going forward, but the DJ has a bit more stage behind. Due to the S-Logic 3 the Pulse ends up with better instrument placement forward and to the side. By comparison the DJ sounds a bit flatter. Overall the DJ sounds more enjoyable with the stage, even if the Pulse does some aspects of it better.
- Detail: This one is harder. The DJ has a more detail extraction on each note, but only for sounds that don't rely on the mids as much. So it's a little give and take. I'd say this is roughly a tie as they both do things a bit differently. Some sounds are better on the DJ, some on the Pulse.
- Comfort: The DJ has plush leather pads that are softer on the head and more comfortable. However, the DJ's pads are also thinner so my ears rest right on the driver. The Pulses pads are tougher and thicker, so while not as plush at least my ears aren't being squished by the driver. The pulse is better for longer listening sessions, but at the same time it feels a lot cheaper/hollow/plasticy compared to the DJ's.
Final Thoughts:
Going back and forth I realize now that I still like the DJ's a lot. They really are great in their detail and overall tone. I'm reminded now that the only reason I stopped using them was largely due to the scooped out mids and slightly boring sound (due to the lack of treble, and somewhat flat placement in the sound stage). Compared to the Pulse the DJ's look better (just an opinion, those glass side inserts are still awesome), feel higher end, and their sound can be preferred in some ways. Overall I do prefer the Pulse for Electronic music though as the Pulses are simply more fun with their sound. YMMV.
Lastly, the Signature X's will be released tomorrow and they are based off of the Pulse. Drop says they are tuned brighter than the Pulses, so they may be changing the overall tone from Dark to closer to Neutral. Not sure if that will be good or bad, but it's certainly going to be interesting in hearing how that will affect the overall enjoyment of the Pulse/X. I can post some comparisons and impressions once the new toy syndrome wears off in the coming weeks.
. I use the 5's daily for music. They are something else, and are my main reason for setting my sights on the Edition 15's. By all accounts I've read the 15's are the successors to the 5's, and that is really saying something with how detailed the 5's are in all areas. While trying to conjure up money for the 15's I got sidetracked here, hearing that the Masters are up to edition levels of detail. Now I've got 2 headphones to dream about and work towards eventually. This hobby is too expensive....
