markl
Hangin' with the monkeys.
Member of the Trade: Lawton Audio
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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I received these headphones from Ultrasone this morning and have been listening all day.
At this time, there are several review samples floating around, and Ultrasone was not able to tell me precisely how many hours of burn-in my particular pair has. It's possible this pair was sent specifically for me and may have few hours on it. It’s equally possible this is the tried and true pair that has circulated widely so far. In any case, Ultrasone assures me it’s fully burned-in. However, before completing a full review (which will not appear here, but on the pages of Positive Feedback, for whom I now write), I will be burning them in for an additional 100 hours just in case. So, what we have here are the Cliff’s Notes of my first impressions only. I will provide links later to the completed review.
So, with all those caveats, what are my first, off-the-cuff-and-don’t-hold-me-to-them impressions exclusively for Head-Fi?
Build, Ergonomics, & Fit
-Quite well-built, very sturdy and solid. In fact, I would rate apparent build quality as well above average for a headphone at any price. Quite a bit heavier than many headphones, and you will feel this on your head for better or worse.
-TIGHT. These things will grip your head, almost relentlessly. They ain’t gonna budge, no matter how hard you rock out. I like a firm fit generally, but over time, even I find the Edition 9 mildly fatiguing, but I have a big head and big ears, so YMMV. Nevertheless, with its air-tight seal, expect your ears to sweat in summer.
-There is very little space inside the ear cup for your ears, mine only just barely squeeze in, and it’s not a totally comfortable fit.
-The headphone has an adjustable headband that works in a weird way. It has detents, but these are not firm and will not stay put. Nor are they numbered, so it’s a bit of a hassle to make sure you’ve got them extended equally on both sides before you slip them on. They also seem to suck back in to the headband after you’ve extended them and established a good fit, making them even tighter on your head.
-The box is nice, reminds me of the faux-Haliburton box for the Audio Technica W2002.
-In terms of best fit, you will need to move the ear cup as far forward as you can (given the limited space within) toward your nose in order get the best sound.
Sound
Let’s start with the positive:
-At appropriate SPLs, this is a formidable headphone. Definitely a head-bobber, and toe-tapper.
-It’s tonality is quite natural and realistic, not as stereotypically “headphone-y” as some cans. This is no small thing and half the battle with any headphone.
-It’s quite a coherent sound, although it does tend to impart it’s own imprint on all it plays. You never quite forget you are listening to the Edition 9.
-The Edition 9 has a pitch black background comparable to that of the Sony R10 (my reference), and I’ve not heard that in many cans.
-It goes from quiet to LOUD in a very dramatic fashion; it has an excellent dynamic range.
-Drums “pop” and “snap” with a LOT of energy. It has a fine sense of “slam” and “oomph”.
-There is more bass volume than with my R10.
Now let’s hit the neutral characteristics:
- Despite its “S-Logic” feature, I can’t say I find the phone any better at soundstaging than the mighty R10; nevertheless, it throws a fine soundstage, only a couple steps behind the R10, and that’s extremely hard to do. Compared to most other dynamic headphones, it’s a soundstaging champ. So, even if this sounds like a criticism, it’s not really.
-It is less sensitive to amplification than the notoriously power-hungry R10. It plays several dbs louder at the same volume setting on my Rudistor RP010. But when I plugged the Edition 9 back into the cheap stock headphone jack of my CD player (and practically maxed the volume), the difference was much less apparent than when using the stock jack vs. my $3.2K Rudistor RP010 with the R10. In other words, the R10 was much more able to show me the advantages of the expensive RP010 than the Edition 9. Why this is will be defined shortly, but my guess is that the Edition 9 is not particularly power hungry, and not especially transparent, and thus, most amps will do a fine job with it.
OK, so now, the not-so-positive:
-If you are a low-volume listener, forget about the Edition 9. Like so many headphones, IMHO, the Edition 9 simply does not “bloom” and open up until you are listening at EXTRA LARGE volumes (the kind I like). At low volumes, this daisy just closes up bashfully and will not show you a good time.
-Bass is non-directional and non-specific; it sounds like a kind of “bass cloud” (but an aggressive one) that occurs outside of the rest of the sonic spectrum and soundstage. The bass, while fuller and more present than on the R10, kind of judders, stutters, and shivers instead of flowing naturally. It goes “d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d” instead of “ddddddddddd”.
-The driver on the Edition 9 is TIGHTLY WOUND. The driver membrane has a very possessive, grippy quality to it, as if it was very thick and stretched too tightly. It needs to loosen up and let it flow. As it is, it feels a bit too commanding and rigid. This results in a kind of “closed-in” sound until you increase volume to the point where it opens up.
-The top end can be a little fizzy and spit-y. There is definitely less air than is present on the R10.
-The upper-midrage and lower treble are ever-so-slightly recessed.
-It’s not as clean and clear as the R10; it’s a bit grainy and gritty. Cymbals sound kind of fizzy and bubbly like a shaken up soda pop can.
- Despite not having anywhere near the same upper-end extension, the Edition 9 still manages to be more fatiguing than the R10. I’m not entirely sure why this is.
OK, so there are my first impressions. Overall, the Edition 9 is a fine headphone so far (for what it is), with a unique sonic signature all its own.
That’s about all I get to post here, a completed review will appear on Positive Feedback, and I’ll post links once it’s done.
At this time, there are several review samples floating around, and Ultrasone was not able to tell me precisely how many hours of burn-in my particular pair has. It's possible this pair was sent specifically for me and may have few hours on it. It’s equally possible this is the tried and true pair that has circulated widely so far. In any case, Ultrasone assures me it’s fully burned-in. However, before completing a full review (which will not appear here, but on the pages of Positive Feedback, for whom I now write), I will be burning them in for an additional 100 hours just in case. So, what we have here are the Cliff’s Notes of my first impressions only. I will provide links later to the completed review.
So, with all those caveats, what are my first, off-the-cuff-and-don’t-hold-me-to-them impressions exclusively for Head-Fi?
Build, Ergonomics, & Fit
-Quite well-built, very sturdy and solid. In fact, I would rate apparent build quality as well above average for a headphone at any price. Quite a bit heavier than many headphones, and you will feel this on your head for better or worse.
-TIGHT. These things will grip your head, almost relentlessly. They ain’t gonna budge, no matter how hard you rock out. I like a firm fit generally, but over time, even I find the Edition 9 mildly fatiguing, but I have a big head and big ears, so YMMV. Nevertheless, with its air-tight seal, expect your ears to sweat in summer.
-There is very little space inside the ear cup for your ears, mine only just barely squeeze in, and it’s not a totally comfortable fit.
-The headphone has an adjustable headband that works in a weird way. It has detents, but these are not firm and will not stay put. Nor are they numbered, so it’s a bit of a hassle to make sure you’ve got them extended equally on both sides before you slip them on. They also seem to suck back in to the headband after you’ve extended them and established a good fit, making them even tighter on your head.
-The box is nice, reminds me of the faux-Haliburton box for the Audio Technica W2002.
-In terms of best fit, you will need to move the ear cup as far forward as you can (given the limited space within) toward your nose in order get the best sound.
Sound
Let’s start with the positive:
-At appropriate SPLs, this is a formidable headphone. Definitely a head-bobber, and toe-tapper.
-It’s tonality is quite natural and realistic, not as stereotypically “headphone-y” as some cans. This is no small thing and half the battle with any headphone.
-It’s quite a coherent sound, although it does tend to impart it’s own imprint on all it plays. You never quite forget you are listening to the Edition 9.
-The Edition 9 has a pitch black background comparable to that of the Sony R10 (my reference), and I’ve not heard that in many cans.
-It goes from quiet to LOUD in a very dramatic fashion; it has an excellent dynamic range.
-Drums “pop” and “snap” with a LOT of energy. It has a fine sense of “slam” and “oomph”.
-There is more bass volume than with my R10.
Now let’s hit the neutral characteristics:
- Despite its “S-Logic” feature, I can’t say I find the phone any better at soundstaging than the mighty R10; nevertheless, it throws a fine soundstage, only a couple steps behind the R10, and that’s extremely hard to do. Compared to most other dynamic headphones, it’s a soundstaging champ. So, even if this sounds like a criticism, it’s not really.
-It is less sensitive to amplification than the notoriously power-hungry R10. It plays several dbs louder at the same volume setting on my Rudistor RP010. But when I plugged the Edition 9 back into the cheap stock headphone jack of my CD player (and practically maxed the volume), the difference was much less apparent than when using the stock jack vs. my $3.2K Rudistor RP010 with the R10. In other words, the R10 was much more able to show me the advantages of the expensive RP010 than the Edition 9. Why this is will be defined shortly, but my guess is that the Edition 9 is not particularly power hungry, and not especially transparent, and thus, most amps will do a fine job with it.
OK, so now, the not-so-positive:
-If you are a low-volume listener, forget about the Edition 9. Like so many headphones, IMHO, the Edition 9 simply does not “bloom” and open up until you are listening at EXTRA LARGE volumes (the kind I like). At low volumes, this daisy just closes up bashfully and will not show you a good time.
-Bass is non-directional and non-specific; it sounds like a kind of “bass cloud” (but an aggressive one) that occurs outside of the rest of the sonic spectrum and soundstage. The bass, while fuller and more present than on the R10, kind of judders, stutters, and shivers instead of flowing naturally. It goes “d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d” instead of “ddddddddddd”.
-The driver on the Edition 9 is TIGHTLY WOUND. The driver membrane has a very possessive, grippy quality to it, as if it was very thick and stretched too tightly. It needs to loosen up and let it flow. As it is, it feels a bit too commanding and rigid. This results in a kind of “closed-in” sound until you increase volume to the point where it opens up.
-The top end can be a little fizzy and spit-y. There is definitely less air than is present on the R10.
-The upper-midrage and lower treble are ever-so-slightly recessed.
-It’s not as clean and clear as the R10; it’s a bit grainy and gritty. Cymbals sound kind of fizzy and bubbly like a shaken up soda pop can.
- Despite not having anywhere near the same upper-end extension, the Edition 9 still manages to be more fatiguing than the R10. I’m not entirely sure why this is.
OK, so there are my first impressions. Overall, the Edition 9 is a fine headphone so far (for what it is), with a unique sonic signature all its own.
That’s about all I get to post here, a completed review will appear on Positive Feedback, and I’ll post links once it’s done.
