[bmichels]

I visited the london headphone event yesterday (metropolis studio) and the Edition 5's were there. I asked the ultrasone rep at the stall if he'd heard of this thread or any problems with the connectors - hadn't heard of this thread (and/or headfi?) and hadn't heard of any problems with the connector. 

I a/b'd the Ed5 unlimited against my sig pro (oyaide cable) and felt like the Ed5's sounded poor.
Very piercing shrill highs across the board and a scooped out midrange made these hard to listen to. They might be faulty/broken or the real thing since I then heard the ED5 limited and it was much better. But to the rep they both sound the same (subjective opinion) which is probably ultrasone's official stance. And when it comes to burn-in the unlimited's had the advantage, having ~350 hrs compared to ~50hrs on the unlimited.

The Ed5's might be like the Ed8's which we all know variate in sound, though ultrasone didn't admit to this variation yesterday either.

Anyway, the ED5 unlimited sounded very good actually. I think the slight peak in the highs would settle with burn in and then these would sound great. 

BTW, the rest of the show was really good. I was most impressed with the yamaha MT-220 actually, but it's hard wired cable put me off buying it. A straight hard wired cable would have been okay, but it's a weighty 1/4 inch termination with a coiled section at the end. Not really ideal for pocket mp3 players!
The guy at the stall said he'll definitely give my feedback to yamaha so maybe they'll come up with something.
(Oh, and the AK240 was impressive too....future purchase probably.)   

Look Line those sales reps have been well trained to speak only the " official company's Version"

Anyway I confirm that the Ed5 limited is a very good headphone ( besides it's crapy MMCX connector that I already had sent for repaire once)

 

[HookedOnAudio]

   
 
I visited the london headphone event yesterday (metropolis studio) and the Edition 5's were there. I asked the ultrasone rep at the stall if he'd heard of this thread or any problems with the connectors - hadn't heard of this thread (and/or headfi?) and hadn't heard of any problems with the connector. 
 
I a/b'd the Ed5 unlimited against my sig pro (oyaide cable) and felt like the Ed5's sounded poor.
Very piercing shrill highs across the board and a scooped out midrange made these hard to listen to. They might be faulty/broken or the real thing since I then heard the ED5 limited and it was much better. But to the rep they both sound the same (subjective opinion) which is probably ultrasone's official stance. And when it comes to burn-in the unlimited's had the advantage, having ~350 hrs compared to ~50hrs on the unlimited.
 
The Ed5's might be like the Ed8's which we all know variate in sound, though ultrasone didn't admit to this variation yesterday either.
 
Anyway, the ED5 unlimited sounded very good actually. I think the slight peak in the highs would settle with burn in and then these would sound great. 
 
BTW, the rest of the show was really good. I was most impressed with the yamaha MT-220 actually, but it's hard wired cable put me off buying it. A straight hard wired cable would have been okay, but it's a weighty 1/4 inch termination with a coiled section at the end. Not really ideal for pocket mp3 players!
The guy at the stall said he'll definitely give my feedback to yamaha so maybe they'll come up with something.
(Oh, and the AK240 was impressive too....future purchase probably.)   

 
Thanks a lot for your report!  Too bad Ultrasone reps there were putting up that "wall" and not trying to give us more insight into the MMCX connectors.

 
By the way, are you saying the unlimited are good or the limited is good?  I think you must have made a typo somewhere because I'm confused to which one you are saying is better.   Definitely very helpful impressions those (once the limited vs. unlimited part gets cleared up), and thanks again for taking the time write and share!

 

[CantScareMe]

Sorry about that. Thanks for highlighting it.
 
Pretty poor from me to be honest not to re-read what I wrote before posting! Corrected now  
 
Funny that you use the word 'wall,' since I felt like my interest in the ed5's hit a thick brick one after that audition.
The £3k limited's were always too expensive for me, though interestingly after the brief audition I wasn't sure which sound I preferred - my sig pro's (oyaide cable) or these limited's. Would need more time to really hear it I guess. 

 

[BA_D_R]

About the MMCX connector Ultrasone replied me by email saying that they have an improved MMCX-connector / socket and they will replace mine once they receive my headphone.
 
At the same email I asked Ultrasone to hard-wire a cable and removed the MMCX connectors, they replied " if you prefer to have a fixed cable on your Ed.5 unlimited, we will try to find a solution"
 
But my choice was to try these new improved MMCX-connector / socket.

 

[Levaix]

  About the MMCX connector Ultrasone replied me by email saying that they have an improved MMCX-connector / socket and they will replace mine once they receive my headphone.
 
At the same email I asked Ultrasone to hard-wire a cable and removed the MMCX connectors, they replied " if you prefer to have a fixed cable on your Ed.5 unlimited, we will try to find a solution"
 
But my choice was to try these new improved MMCX-connector / socket.

+1. Good to hear they're doing something about this. Hopefully it's not just customer service BS and there actually has been a change.

 

[drubrew]

I thought I might chime in about the MMCX connector since there has been so much talk and complaints about it. 
 
Let me first say it is the worst choice for a headphone cable unless you do a recessed socket like Shure does on the SRH1540. And still I would not choose it if I produced a headphone. In the Shure's case the body remains tight in the socket preventing the cable from jostling around. On the Ultrasone Edition 5 and Edition 8 Romeo and Juliet the cable has no support like the Shure does. 
 
The MMCX is not even a good choice for IEMs in my opinion either. As a cable manufacturer we had to specially design a connector that would provide a tighter fit or so we hoped. Because the tolerance of the male and female connectors can vary from one manufacturer to the next it is almost impossible to make a perfect connector fit. Really the male and female need to be produced by one in the same company. And that would mean getting everyone to buy from one company. Well for obvious reasons that will never happen.
 
In most cases our connector works and we even went the extra mile and had a small star washer produced that can go on the male connector to help with tolerance issues out there. But still we can not claim a 100% perfect fit for all the headphones that use this connector. Our IEM cables are much due to the lite weight of the cable and use of memory wire. We have almost no issues with Shure Full Size phones. But we have had a few issues with the Ultrasones
 
I wish I could get this connector abandoned by all. It is just terrible. The Edition 5 can however be hard wired and the best connection is no connection. Soldering a cable straight to the driver is always the best. And if you need other connection type,s do an adapter system like we do here: http://moon-audio.com/JustAskDrew/2012/10/what-is-a-headphone-adapter-system/
 
The only way I see Ultrasone improving the MMCX is doing it recessed like the Shure. Another issue is that over time the locking ring on the male connector can become compressed. This can cause dropouts. But the good news is you can take a very small pair of pliers or tweezers to expand. But you need 2 people to do it or a vice grip or 3 hands. I only have 2
 
Here is a picture of the locking ring so you can see what you need to expand and the star we produced to help with tolerance issues:
 
 
     

 
 

 

[plakat]

  Let me first say it is the worst choice for a headphone cable unless you do a recessed socket like Shure does on the SRH1540.

 
Thats what I thought about that connector as well... its just physically not stable enough to be used in such an exposed position on a headphone: even without aftermarket cables (i.e. changing cables more often) the connector is under stress in normal use. If it has to be small, Lemo might be a better option...

 

[designbykai]

Drooooolll....wow, want a pair of these one day... 
Bought a car recently, first one I've ever owned. Should've got these and a kickass amp instead lol. J/k, exploring the great outdoors will be priceless.
The price of the Unlimited is almost attainable..but still nonsensical. I'd probably rather spend that on an amazing speaker system..

 

[ShanghaiT]

I've returned these headphones 2 times already for connector failure and just today both channels started cutting out again ! Pretty frustrating to say the least. Any suggestions on how to proceed? My dealer is helpful in returning and getting them patched, but in the long term having them repaired every four months isn't viable.

 

[musicman59]

I've returned these headphones 2 times already for connector failure and just today both channels started cutting out again ! Pretty frustrating to say the least. Any suggestions on how to proceed? My dealer is helpful in returning and getting them patched, but in the long term having them repaired every four months isn't viable.

If you really like them I would hardwire them then.....

 

[ShanghaiT]

I had considered that. But Im fundamentally against having to permanently modify a 5K headset just to be able to use it. I think if a manufacturer makes a faulty product, they should step up to the plate and take responsibility rather than have customer make a substantial modification. Given that a few of us now have encountered this problem, Im sure its not an isolated case.
 
My question was really to see if anyone had dealt directly with Ultrasone in the past for quality issues. How good is their customer service? Most of my dealings have been through the dealer in China, which in turn goes through a distributer in HK i am guessing.

 

[Mortalcoil]

  I had considered that. But Im fundamentally against having to permanently modify a 5K headset just to be able to use it. I think if a manufacturer makes a faulty product, they should step up to the plate and take responsibility rather than have customer make a substantial modification. Given that a few of us now have encountered this problem, Im sure its not an isolated case.
 
My question was really to see if anyone had dealt directly with Ultrasone in the past for quality issues. How good is their customer service? Most of my dealings have been through the dealer in China, which in turn goes through a distributer in HK i am guessing.

 Perhaps send a PM to bmichels he had the same experience.
 
Good luck in getting it sorted.

 

[BA_D_R]

I got the Unlimited one, I sent it 2 times to Ultrasone, the new improved sockets/connectors are good so far.
Can anyone compare the ED5 with Fostex TH900, i'm thinking about buying TH900.
 
Does the ED5 got one driver each side?? from what i'm hearing it should be 2 or 3 drivers each side,,, just amazing...
 
P.S Ultrasone Signature DJ is still a good headphone to listen by, sometimes I switch to it specially for EDM but at some parts of the music it goes on shame compared to the ED5.

 

[musicman59]

  I had considered that. But Im fundamentally against having to permanently modify a 5K headset just to be able to use it. I think if a manufacturer makes a faulty product, they should step up to the plate and take responsibility rather than have customer make a substantial modification. Given that a few of us now have encountered this problem, Im sure its not an isolated case.
 
My question was really to see if anyone had dealt directly with Ultrasone in the past for quality issues. How good is their customer service? Most of my dealings have been through the dealer in China, which in turn goes through a distributer in HK i am guessing.

I totally agree with you. At that price the manufacturer should have used top of the line components and fully tested the headphones before rolling them to the market. To be honest I like some of their headphones (loved the sound of the Edition 9 but hated the comfort, loved the design and comfort of the Edition 10 but hated the sound) but I am not fan of the company.

 

[rev92]

Edition 5, such a great headphone, clearly a level above hd800 and lcd3
 
Offtopic: I've got ed5 for sale if anyone is interested, both limited and unlimited...