[ConfusedDotCOM]

I know this has been asked before but after reading the threads I am not satisfied that I have had the answer / assurance i need to buy my headphones just yet.
 
Here is the dilema.... I have heard the beats pro and actually liked the heavy bass, LOAD and in your face sound. They go ideal with the hip hop I listen to.
I held off the purchase as £280 is quite a bit to spend without doing some research
 
I have tried very hard to demo a set of ultrasone pro 900 but no store will allow this in london. Only online stores sell them. It is for this reason I cannot make my own judgement. If anyone knows of a store in London that would allow a demo, i would be grateful.
 
I have heard other headphones by senheiser of a similar price range and found that the volume was VERY LOW and the bass was not as pumped as the beats when cranked up to the max!
 
I want to know if the ultrasone pro 900 bass is as much as the beats Pro. (in terms of quantity and quality). The beats pro really rumbled my cranium. lol
 
I also want to know if the Ultrasone pro 900 volume will be as high as the beats pro when both devices are being used on an IPOD.
I want a set of headphones that i can really crank up on my IPHONE / IPOD.
Something that is very bright and LOAD. NOT the clear headphones can only go up to a fraction of the volume of the beats pro!!!!
 
Am i safe buying the Ultrasone 900 based on my above outlined criteria or am i better off sticking to the beats pro?
I am aware that headphone selection is a very subjective matter.
 
By my mail you can see i am a complete audio novice and rely on your more experienced advice to guide my purchase.
Thanks in advance for you help.
 
 

 

[kebbin15]

Ultrasone Pro 900 has more bass and quality  than the beats pro. I've heard the beats pro at my local best buy and didn't like them at all. It's just something was missing but the build quality is top notch though. The bass of PRO 900 really goes deep (especially with Fiio E11 amp) without sacrificing the mids and highs and is easy to drive, meaning you can use with your iPhone without an amp but  will sound much better if you use one like the Fiio E11. 

 

[neopac]

Hi,
 
 
Quote:

 
I also want to know if the Ultrasone pro 900 volume will be as high as the beats pro when both devices are being used on an IPOD.
I want a set of headphones that i can really crank up on my IPHONE / IPOD.
Something that is very bright and LOAD. NOT the clear headphones can only go up to a fraction of the volume of the beats pro!!!!

 
we´re talking about 96db/mw for the Pro 900 compared to 107db/mw (that´s very sensitiv for full-size-cans) for the Beats Pro ... so if this is your main criteria, go with the beats pro, because you won´t get what you want, with an Ipod as unamped source out of the Pro 900. I get a pretty acceptable volume level out of my Pro 900 when using the Sflo2 (which is very powerful) no way an iphone could do this. 
 
besides that, it´s needless to say that the Pro 900 are far(!) superior to the beats pro ... though i´ve only heared the Beats at a lokal store under not so optimal conditions, we´re talking about different leagues here.
 
Edit: i´d suggest trying the Sennheiser HD25 1-II ... if you like punchy bass ... this baby will hit you hard ( even with an iphone as source )
 
cheers

 

[JackeShan]

It's a completely different league. Pro 900 has better bass quality and quantity, and not to mention everything else, but it requires amplifier to sound good.

 

[omerbu1]

PRO 900 is way better than the Beats pro,Nuff' said

 

[forsberg]

Beats if you want the bass all up in your face, no matter what frequency. It bleeds into the mids and the highs. They will cover up poorly produced tracks because everything is about bass.

Pro 900s if you want a subwoofer, but have clear mids and highs with incredible details. Any badly recorded tracks will sound garbage on these because of all the extra stuff you're hearing.

 

[ConfusedDotCOM]

Thanks for all your responses. Looks like if i need an amp to use the pro 900's with my iphone then this is not an option for me.
My only source will be my iphone so i need to select what works best with that.
I am simply using them for day to day commuter listening and while i go for a jog
 
Neopac, your technical input was very useful. In real terms, will the volume be noticably different between both headphones (without any amps)?
 
 

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

The higher end Sennheisers you heard (I'm guessing probably HD-600 or HD-650) are very dependent on having an amplifier with plenty of power to drive them, which is why they don't sound very loud from a device like an iPhone.  They also aren't really bass-heavy cans the way Beats are.  If you have no intention of getting an amp, you won't get the full benefit of the Pro 900.  I would look at the Ultrasone HFI-580 instead.  It is easily driven by a portable device.  A few other options to consider are the M-Audio Q40, Audio-Technica Pro700 Mk2, Shure SRH-750DJ, Phiaton MS400, Crossfade LP2, and Sony XB-500.  I've heard the Beats Pro in a few different settings, and while it's arguably the best that Beats have to offer, you can do much better for much less money.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

If you have no intention of getting an amp, you won't get the full benefit of the Pro 900.  I would look at the Ultrasone HFI-580 instead. 

X2
or Denons. 

 

[MrTwyst]

Actually, you do not "need" an amp for the Pro 900. It's a 40 ohm pair of cans, so they're easy to drive. The thing is, they will sound increasingly "better" with better amps. The Beats Pro are 32 ohms... Though they are slightly easier to drive, it's not by much.
 
When I crank up the 900s, my earlobes literally vibrate from the bass... I'm not kidding... it's a very unusual sensation.
 
Anyway... The Beats have a very muddy-sounding bass compared to the 900s. They are not as crisp and defined as the 900s. Not only do the 900s have a very tight bass (which doesn't bleed into other frequencies and take away from them), the highs are very sparkly and well defined. The Beats are more flat in the highs.
 
The music is so much more involved and detailed with the 900s. The sound quality is leagues beyond what you get out of the Beats. I'm sure people who've heard the two would understand what I mean by a "blob of bass," coming out of the Beats compared to a very tight, controlled, and punchy bass coming out of the Pro 900s.

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

Ohms are only part of the story.  Sensitivity (96 vs. 107) and other factors are also relevant.  From a more powerful source, like say, a Cowon, amping isn't quite as important.  But straight from an iPod, for full-time use, man, that's like driving a Lambo just to the grocery store and back every day.

 

[JackeShan]

 
Quote:

Actually, you do not "need" an amp for the Pro 900. It's a 40 ohm pair of cans, so they're easy to drive. The thing is, they will sound increasingly "better" with better amps.
 

So you do "need" an amp? IMO if a headphone sound much better when it's amped it's definitely a must to have an amp. It's rather to pointless to buy a headphone if you can't use it to it's potentional. You're better off going for something much cheaper.

 

[pyrokid]

Quote:

 


So you do "need" an amp? IMO if a headphone sound much better when it's amped it's definitely a must to have an amp. It's rather to pointless to buy a headphone if you can't use it to it's potentional. You're better off going for something much cheaper.

All headphones sound better with an amp, IMO. It's just a line of where you draw the cutoff for "MUCH" better sound. 

 

[JackeShan]

 
Quote:

All headphones sound better with an amp, IMO. It's just a line of where you draw the cutoff for "MUCH" better sound. 

That's true. For me, Pro 900 definitely need an amp to sound much better. Compared to D5000 on an iPod, Pro 900 sound horrible whereas D5000 sound pretty decent.
 

 

[jiggawhat]

Quick side question which do you prefer of your D5000 and Pro 900 and why?