[McPatD]

Hi I have a DXP just wondering if the X is really a major upgrade?

Haven't heard the Signature X, but I have a DXP as well, and as I understand it the Signature X is based on the Ultrasone Signature Pulse, which is a step up on the DXP generationally. So perhaps an upgrade but not a major upgrade.

 

[e-dub]

@Evshrug In the comments on the Drop page, someone says a balanced cable will be available at a later time. Do you know if this is true? And if so, do you know if Drop will be selling that cable?

 

[Evshrug]

@Evshrug In the comments on the Drop page, someone says a balanced cable will be available at a later time. Do you know if this is true? And if so, do you know if Drop will be selling that cable?

The Signature X works with my HD 560S/HD 599 cables (though it seems they don’t lock when you twist them), so I was thinking about picking up a balanced cable myself for giggles. If I find one I love, I might recommend it to Drop’s Product specialist, though since I’m just buying for personal use I’ll probably just buy one and not a bunch for comparison

 

[e-dub]

Ordered a pair the other day, I'm very much looking forward to their arrival!

 

[e-dub]

So I put in a listening session on Friday with my M17 (and had a successful first go with a battery pack that allows the player to go into Enhanced Over Ear Headphones mode - huzzah!) and ended up spending more time with the Signature DJ than my Signature Master. Now, the Sig DJ has the extra "protein" "leather" pads that came with the Sig Masters, because the OG pads on the DJs are super beat. I didn't like them with those pads at first... but I definitely came around on them. I just had to adjust where I wear them on my ears and they sounded great.

Makes me even MORE excited for the Signaure X!

 

[Evshrug]

Hey @e-dub, @TWerk , @RPGWiZaRD , @PopZeus , @Dramlin , and anyone else watching this thread, great news!!! The warehouse is back up and running, and nearly all in-stock orders are shipped now! There was a bit of lag with the Ultrasone X because they arrived at the warehouse while the system was down (so they couldn't be receipted into the system), but even those should be going out or are already on their way!!! Looking forward to reading impressions from others here!

More good news, after playing with a bunch of pads I had on hand (the Fostex TH-900 pads sounded pretty good with their small opening and angled foam, but they were too big to keep from slipping around and off the mount; T50RP pads, Beyers, and a bunch of others are just too big), I think I've settled on @DekoniAudio Shure SRH pads being a good fit for these. They stay on stable, their oval shape gives much more room for the ears (and air for bass, more on that in a bit), the memory foam is a bit more squish to mold to the contours of your ears and head, and give more contact area to spread out the clamp pressure. The particular example I have is their Choice Leather... it's a vegan option of synthetic leather, but it's more soft and almost fabric-like compared to normal leather. From experience, I know this pad usually adds a fair bit of darkness/bass to headphones, so I might recommend a protein leather option to most people... I think the M50x / MDR7506 Platinum pads would be a fit, and they might slightly bring the mids out a bit more than the Choice Leather, but I didn't have any on hand to test. I was able to streeeetch some prototype Dekoni Momentum 2 pads to fit... but stock Sennheiser sheepskin M2 pads from Sennheiser are way too small to fit. The smaller size did reign in the bass a bit, and may be the best choice for people who like the stock pad sound but just want a little bit bigger ear opening. With the choice leather Shure SRH pads, the sound does add a touch of rumble and wetness compared to stock... but not as much as you might expect, because your ears are still close to the drivers, and the Ultrasone's baffles and S-logic design seem to decrease the change in sound. And I don't mind it! Though I may be more of an HD 800S/AKG K612 kind of sound signature guy, the Signature X creates the kind of bass that can trick you to thinking you're feeling the bass on the surface of your body, and I'm finding that fun! https://songwhip.com/massive-attack/babel really has an immediate "wow!" factor, but then follow that with the amazing sense of stage in https://songwhip.com/gazpacho/death-room-pt-1 that shows soundstage wasn't sacrificed.

I also noticed that the HD 599/560S cables work in the Signature X. I admit I can't see the pinout inside the earcups... the HD 560S and 599 are wired TRRS with a balanced pinout, and this cable is working in the Signature X as I type, but I don't know if the Signature X is actually wired for balanced. I don't think it should work with the HD 599 cable if it wasn't, but I suggest you let me test this before you do, haha. I ordered a silver-plated OFC cable for $19, and that should arrive mid-February.

As you might guess from trying out pads (I'm not going to tell everyone to buy $45 pads, though it looks like Dekoni has a few of those M50x Platinum pads on B-Stock for $25) , even buying a cable for a headphone I'm not sure if Drop is lending or giving me (at least the cable will work with my HD 560S, lol), I'm actively spending time with this headphone and quite like it. OF course, I won't recommend that it's the ticket for everyone, because it's definitely a "seasoned" flavor like turning up the subwoofer volume in your car or home theater. If you listen to many bass-heavy songs in a row, you might get tired, but mix in something more normal like "Slabo Day" and non bass-heavy songs every once in awhile, and you won't be fatigued listening to poorly mastered songs like "Rockstar" (nothing can save "Demons" by Imagine Dragons, the Signature X is plenty able to show that the drums and effects sound like 96 kbps MP3). This may not be a studio headphone at all... but it's definitely got a special dose of fun factor.

 

[TWerk]

@Evshrug - Sweet! Awesome news / update - thank you!

Will look forward to reading more impressions as they start to deliver!

 

[Dramlin]

great news!!! The warehouse is back up and running, and nearly all in-stock orders are shipped now!

Yes! Thank you for letting us know! Looking forward to trying them.

More good news, after playing with a bunch of pads I had on hand (the Fostex TH-900 pads sounded pretty good with their small opening and angled foam, but they were too big to keep from slipping around and off the mount; T50RP pads, Beyers, and a bunch of others are just too big), I think I've settled on @DekoniAudio Shure SRH pads being a good fit for these.

Thank you again! I've been trying a lot of headphone pads on the Signature Masters. Everything I've tried so far is either a generic oval shape or intended for the ATH-M50X. Knowing the SRH pads fit these headphones opens up more pads for me to try. I'll give those Dekoni's a try once they are back in stock.

I think the M50x / MDR7506 Platinum pads would be a fit, and they might slightly bring the mids out a bit more than the Choice Leather, but I didn't have any on hand to test.

Yes, they do fit, although the ear opening is a bit smaller than stock so it can be a little cramped. I've tried both the Elite and the Platinum M50X pads on the Masters. If anyone were to try these I'd recommend going for the Platinum and avoiding the Elite. The Elites were boomy, uncontrolled, and a bit thick on the Masters. The Platinums actually sounded really good. I haven't tried either on the Pulse yet though, so I'm not advocating anyone go out and get these pads. Just wanted to chime in that the Elites probably won't work well on the X's and confirm that the Platinums may be an option.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I will definitely give some other earpads a try as well when I recieve them. I have suitably a new set of both SRH-840 and SRH-440 pads ordered from amazon since the SRH-840 pads on my M-Audio Q40 are already starting to tear in one spot. I ordered the 440 pads as well this time as I wanted to see if the sound characteristics might fit better with the headphones even if 840 one is the more "higher quality" one but 440 pads looks more closer to stock M-Audio pads. Also have some spare Beyerdynamic and Hifiman pads (both velour and leather) that might work and some brainwavz or was it some chinese-knock off (can't remember) angled thicker pads and some other random ones.

I haven't had that much luck with pad swapping before (talking sound quality / FR balance wise) but maybe this headphone will change that, sounded based on Zeos these are particularly well suited for pad swapping so.

 

[PopZeus]

Thanks @Evshrug for the update and the info on pad swapping! Part of the appeal with headphones shaped like this are the many pad options so it's good to get everyone sharing their experience.

 

[e-dub]

Just got the notification

I assume these are shipping via UPS Ground, @Evshrug?

 

[Evshrug]

Just checked the box, mine came via FedEx. I'm not 100% sure if that's the case with all packages.

 

[Evshrug]

(nothing can save "Demons" by Imagine Dragons, the Signature X is plenty able to show that the drums and effects sound like 96 kbps MP3)

I maintain that this version (also the live version) is better sounding:

 

[PopZeus]

My pair arrived today from UPS. Part of the big charm for me with these headphones is the ubiquitous form factor. The options for pads and cases (and maybe cables) is pretty vast and while I'm very much liking the headphone's sound, I am immediately going to order some ZMF ATH replacement pads. The deeper angled cup should get my ear off the waveguide baffle thing (this is an ergonomic must). Hopefully, they won't change the sound too much (though a little more mid would be fine) with S-Logic, but I'll be looking for other alternatives if I don't grok to the ZMFs. Again, the bonus with this form factor are the options, which is definitely part of the fun for me. I'm going into this with some optimism I'm going to customize it to my liking. For normal, non-obsessive folks, at least the stock pads sound pretty good. Overall the plastic feels a little more premium than some of the cheapo cans that use the same molds. The parts creak a little from head movement but it's fine to me. Expected, perhaps. No real complaints there.

As for the sound, I dig it! The S-Logic waveguide sorta localizes the source of audio right outside your ear canal, even though you can feel the bass rumble in the ear cup chamber and the rest of your head. Staging isn't tall but there's decent depth and width for a closed-back. I'd imagine a tuning change to include more mids would bring the stage closer, but it could be worth the change depending on one's tastes. Imaging is quite good though. Stereo separation is clear and spread across the stage evenly. Technicalities are good and price appropriate, I suppose. When I stepped up the source quality from the RU6 to a more expensive DAP, I noticed a bump in refinement. Bass texture is a bit soft, but it is pretty quick and doesn't have a lot of resonances. Mid and treble detail is pretty smooth and clean, not etched or edgy. Some problematic, bright fave tracks sounded pretty controlled in the treble region despite the slightly recessed mids. It's still easy to tell the difference between a 320kb mp3 and a CD-quality FLAC, or a bad sounding track from a good one, which is probably how it should be at this price. But it's not punishing.

I used to own the Fostex x Masssdrop collab, which I ended up selling. I could never find a good place for it in my collection once I really got into the hobby, but I kinda missed the sound. This isn't going to replace it exactly. That biocellulose driver is pretty unique sounding. But a fun, clean, bassy, closed back was something I was missing. Certainly on one level the Meze 109 Pro more than fulfills that niche, but as an open back and with EQ. It's just that over the past few years, working from home all the time, I've gotten a little tired of wearing IEMs and this headphone can be more of an EDC for me as well as a travel/work option. If I can get the tuning right with the pads of my choice, I consider that a big win. Props to the stock cable with mic, which is pretty decent, all things considered. I'll grab a balanced cable at some point, but I'm not in a rush.

 

[e-dub]

Nice one, thanks for sharing. Mine are slated to arrive tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it!