[Craigster75]

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Yes I did this already but I was not fatigued by their base. I also did this with my ED8, just to make sure the base actually existed and I didn't have faulty drivers! The base is there with base heavy R&B, for example, but it's very controlled. I realize this is a good thing and that maybe I have grown too accustomed to the Sennheiser house sound with its solid punchy base, but my ears (or my brain) find the base thin and lacking in a lot of music I've tried with the ED8. However, there may be some burn in needed (I've done none) and there may be a seal issue with my ears, or my brain may simply need more time to adjust to the much more neutral presentation of the ED8. I shall continue to discover their sound before making my choice. I do find the ED8 more intoxicating than the Amperiors. I think about them more, like an addiction. Their sound has more of a mystery to them. Every time I'm listening to the Amperiors, my brain starts to crave the detail and soundstage of the ED8 and I have to switch over to give my brain its fix...

fyi, what you are calling "base" is spelled B-A-S-S.  If you purchase an inexpensive small, light and portable amp with bass boost, like a FiiO E11, and use with your Edition 8 (or purchase a Signature Pro), you could have the best of both worlds- fuller, deeper, more impactful bass with amazing detail.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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 I do find the ED8 more intoxicating than the Amperiors.

You'd just have to realize that the bass of your amperior is lacking nuance. Probably your ED8 is providing a much richer listening experience, and trust me if you listen to lot of bass heavy stuff, you'll soon or later realize that you were missing a lot with the amperior.
Bass impact is not everything, just like sugar doesn't make pastry. The "wow factor" is ephemeral.

 

[Windsor]

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Okay, well that does it for me. Out of like five people that I've seen buy them, at least three took them back...major bummer. 

 
I've not returned my Amperior and really enjoy it - great portable headphone IMO.

 

[Jeremy]

Yes, sorry about the misspelling of bass. Are you familiar with the Sennheiser HD650? If so, would you say it's a bass heavy can? The reason I ask is because these are my reference cans and I don't consider myself to be a bass head at all. Far from it. I'm just wondering if it's me or if there may be some fault with the drivers or the seal on my ED8.

 

[Focker]

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I still love my Amperiors. They're breaking in beautifully. Out of curiosity, I purchased the Ultrasone Edition 8 this week to audition them against the Amperiors. They're quite a different sound signature from the Amperiors and I'm having a hard time deciding between them. I listen to 80% classical music and the ED8 is more detailed and has a larger soundstage than the Amperiors, but the base is almost too controlled, or lacking, for my tastes which makes the overall presentation sound too thin on many classical pieces. Not so with the Amperiors, which sound much more full-bodied and punchy with all types of music.There's an immediate wow-factor when I start listening to the Amperiors.
 
In contrast, I am underwhelmed every time I start listening to the ED8, but this changes after my brain has had a few minutes to adjust to their more neutral sound signature, and then the ED8 starts to reveal clarity, detail and a purity of sound I've never heard before on any headphones, though the base still remains lacking to some degree.
 
I am auditioning both the ED8 and Amperiors straight out of my iPad 3 and iPhone without an amp since this is the intended purpose for whichever of these cans I decide to keep. They're intended for travel, unamped. I have my home listening covered with my HD650s, Lavry DA11 DAC and DNA Sonnet. For reference, all my music is in Apple lossless.

 
I guess for me the question isn't whether the Amperiors are good headphones...I have no doubt of that. The question for me (and I think a few others) is whether they are a clear step up from the HD25s. I just happened to have my heart set on the Amps cause Tyll was saying they clearly bested both the HD25 and my Beyer DT1350s, which I love to death. I'm happy to pay $350 for headphones that are exactly as Tyll described. But it seems that most people who have experience with both the 25s and the Amps say that there isn't that much improvement to justify the $150 premium. That's where the disappointment comes in for me. 
 
Nice to see another Apple Lossless fan...I don't care what anyone says, I love iTunes, my Airport Express, and my iPods lol. 

 

[Focker]

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I've not returned my Amperior and really enjoy it - great portable headphone IMO.

 
Yes, I haven't forgotten about your excellent write-up. That was very well done and very helpful, and I know you have experience with both the HD25 and the Amperiors. I'm just disappointed that I haven't seen anyone echo Tyll's enthusiasm about them yet, and I thought it was odd that he tempered his comments in his Amperior update for his wall of fame compared to how he sounded in the actual review from March. I am fully accepting of the law of diminishing returns, but I don't like that it's kicking in at such a low price point. Typically I find it starts to come into play around the $500-600 mark with headphones. If a $350 headphone (Amperiors) can't CLEARLY best it's $199 predecessor, then I'm likely not going to purchase it blindly. Just seems like the majority of folks feel the improvements just aren't there to justify the money. As others have mentioned, though, once Apple's exclusivity expires and they show up on Amazon, I'll be a buyer at the $250 price point for sure. It might just be that it's not the right time for me to pull the trigger. I'm just eager to get some Senns in-house, cause I want a third major brand to go along with my Grados and Beyers. 

 

[Craigster75]

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Yes, sorry about the misspelling of bass. Are you familiar with the Sennheiser HD650? If so, would you say it's a bass heavy can? The reason I ask is because these are my reference cans and I don't consider myself to be a bass head at all. Far from it. I'm just wondering if it's me or if there may be some fault with the drivers or the seal on my ED8.

I haven't auditioned the HD650, so I can't compare, but I consider the ED8 to have a solid bass punch and, based on reviews, should have more of a bass punch than the HD650, so I'm not sure why that hasn't been your experience.

 

[devhen]

Just wanted to throw in my thoughts...
 
A lot of people seem to be frustrated or angered by the fact that Tyll claimed the Amperiors were obviously superior to the HD25, only to find the Amperior has a very similar sound. I think what you are forgetting is that Tyll is a very critical listener. The fact that the aluminum cups, which are a different material and also shaped differently, make for less resonance and an overall more accurate sound is what makes Tyll love them. His enthusiasm is also probably partly based on him being surprised that Senn was able to improve the already great HD25 without changing the sound signature. And the fact that he was less enthusiastic in the wall of fame post later on is not a surprise to me. We all somewhat lose enthusiasm for products once they aren't brand-spanking-new anymore. If you were expecting a different or improved sound signature over the HD25 I don't think you did your homework. They were designed to sound identical to the HD25 but with improved cups (less resonance/improved accuracy for the extremely picky listener) and increased sensitivity for plugging directly into mobile devices. So for me all of these reviews are pretty much exactly what I expected. If you don't think its worth the $150 premium I don't blame you. But personally, I never pay full price for headphones. Wait until the Apple store exclusivity period runs out and you can get them from someone like razordogdeals for less than MSRP and do it knowing that the only changes over the HD 25 are improved cups and increased sensitivity for non-amped setups and then I think you'll be happy with the Amperiors if these changes are advantageous for you.

 

[Jeremy]

Yes I'm starting to wonder myself, especially since I find the HD650 to be almost too much bass. Could lack of break-in be the issue? Between the Amperior and the ED8, it's night and day - the Amperior has much much more bass. 

 

[Craigster75]

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Yes I'm starting to wonder myself, especially since I find the HD650 to be almost too much bass. Could lack of break-in be the issue? Between the Amperior and the ED8, it's night and day - the Amperior has much much more bass. 

Not sure if burn-in is the issue, but you may want to consider option C- look into the VModa M-100 coming out in a few weeks- lots of buzz for this headphone (check the M-100 thread).

 

[Phifer]

I returned the Amperiors that I bought and decided to purchase some Ultrasone Signature Pros. Not exactly in the same category, but you know how it goes. =P
 
EDIT: I think the Amperiors are a good sounding headphone. (Not great) They are very comfortable to me, and I liked the build quality of them. I just decided I didn't like their sound signature. (Too much bass and not enough mids for me)
 
EDIT x2: I'm of the school that burn in is mostly placebo. (As evidenced by several measurements)

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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 The fact that the aluminum cups, which are a different material and also shaped differently, make for less resonance and an overall more accurate sound is what makes Tyll love them.

If the amperior really fixed resonance problems, I think people would have reported improved soundstage.

 

[Craigster75]

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I returned the Amperiors that I bought and decided to purchase some Ultrasone Signature Pros. Not exactly in the same category, but you know how it goes. =P
 
EDIT: I think the Amperiors are a good sounding headphone. (Not great) They are very comfortable to me, and I liked the build quality of them. I just decided I didn't like their sound signature. (Too much bass and not enough mids for me)
 
EDIT x2: I'm of the school that burn in is mostly placebo. (As evidenced by several measurements)

You made a great move and did exactly what I would do if I could afford it.  IMO, the Signature Pro is the best sounding portable friendly headphone on the planet.

 

[OK-Guy]

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I've not returned my Amperior and really enjoy it - great portable headphone IMO.

 
I would not of returned the Amperiors if they were just for my Walkman X-Series (never owned the HD25's), the synergy between the two was excellent and a real joy to listen to, my main belief was that the soundstages were pretty much matched which resulted in a great match.... which also bodes well for Apple devices (from memory of owning one).
 
The Walkman Z-Series has a much larger soundstage than anything I've experienced in a portable DAP and is pretty much neutral in its delivery and to be honest only the Grado's have appealed so far.... in the upcoming weeks I hope to get to audition Westone 4R's & Shure SE535's... I probably pull the trigger on the ES10's in the meantime as all of the reports I've read so far on them are pretty positive and they are on Amazon

 
 
 
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Not sure if burn-in is the issue, but you may want to consider option C- look into the VModa M-100 coming out in a few weeks- lots of buzz for this headphone (check the M-100 thread).

 
 Craigster.... don't get sucked into the hype around these (it really is overkill)... I believed the hype around M80's.... nice packaging & styling I must admit.

 

[Craigster75]

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Craigster.... don't get sucked into the hype around these (it really is overkill)... I believed the hype around M80's.... nice packaging & styling I must admit.

I appreciate the cautionary tale and have a contingency plan if they don't meet expectations which includes somehow convincing my wife that I really NEED Signature Pros.  My contingency for the contingency are PSB M4U2s or waiting for the less expensive, unamped M4U1.