Hello again Head-Fi,
Well, it's official, the Ultrasone's hurt my ears and head. My elephant ears stick out enough to press on the drivers. They didn't originally but as the velour pads adjusted to my head I noticed more and more discomfort. They end up being quite uncomfortable and I practice an exercise in futility continuously adjusting them. The small top cushion digs into my conehead(I'm learning so many things about myself!) as well, a common issue with multiple mod possibilities(hd650 cushion).
As to the sound, these are the most expensive headphones I've ever bought, so I will preface you in letting you understand my limited experience with "hifi" headgear. That said, the bass is strong and tight as most often described, the treble doesn't seem so piercing or shrieky like many have said(is this sibilance? Or is that only related to metallic sounds?). The mids are, in my experience, slightly recessed, but the level of clarity/separation is so much better than anything I've owned that I think it's just not as noticeable to me. Isolation is excellent from incoming noise, never really tested outgoing, kind've assumed mutual performance. Little heat generated but it is there. All that aside, build quality is unquestionably durable and the included components and case are great.
So... Now what do I do? I'm really disappointed because I really wanted to like them and I've tried to ignore the pain but it's just clearly not going to work for my intended uses and long listening sessions. I guess I'll have to resell them and take a loss...
The Astro 5.8 Mixamp has been interesting. The hiss that has been discussed is present but to me seems nearly irrelevant unless you use your headphones a lot for listening to nothing, sarcasm intended. Dolby headphone is quite an odd sensation. At times somewhat lacking presence, not to necessarily suggest that it isn't effective but more so subtle. I would say it's not entirely what I expected but it's also not a disappointment or anything. The best way I can characterize it in a statement is... "I am trying to learn how to use dolby headphone to my advantage." Battlefield 3 is all I really play anymore and as has been discussed before, the environment isn't always so helpful to positional cues. For movies, the verdict isn't yet out, I'm still looking for some of the better 5.1 movies to really test it with. As of now I've only listened to The Dark Knight without the screen on to see how it felt in regards to positioning. Subtle, but present, as I earlier described.
To try and match how you guys tend to do your reviews I'll state my particular details.
Music:
Source - Pandora App
DAC - AT&T Galaxy S II
(double whammy in the quality department from what I read here...)
Artists - Everything, from Regina Spektor to Dream Theater to Rush and Chevelle, hip hop, etc.
Movies:
Source - Optical Blu-Ray
Player - PS3 to 5.8 Mixamp
Films - The Dark Knight
Video games:
Source - Optical Blu-Ray
System - PS3 Console
Games - Battlefield 3
As always, thank you for any help and I hope that what I've written here can help someone else as this thread and the multitude of informative authors in it have helped me.
-Ryan