[saturnine]

First off, yes I am starting this thread to help bring Ultrasone into the spotlight here. Their different, yet very special headphones deserve some attention! No I don't work for or have any ties to Ultrasone.

I took delivery on a pair of PROline 750s from Headroom a little over a week ago, and they are quickly becoming my main headphone. First impressions compared to the HD-650 (with stock cable) & RS-1 were pretty bad. The midrange of the 750s just sounded too recessed and treble too bright. The more I listened though, I learned that these have a definate speaker-like presentation and need to be listened to at a lower volume than that of both the 650 & RS-1 for best soundstage & sound quality. Oh, and about the soundstage... second best I've ever heard in a headphone next to the K1000. What Sovkiller once said in an Ultrasone vs K701 thread:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller Ultrasones are not headphones that can be evaluated in a single and quick audition

is very true! I still feel that they are a little treble heavy, but it really brings out the details. It's still too early for me to truely compare them to the other cans in my inventory, but I can honstly say that these are on the same level as the HD-650.

Oh, and if you missed it, here is a great review of the PROline 750 by benjamind! http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ight=ultrasone

Post if you love, like or even tolerate anything from the Ultrasone line! Let us know your experience!

 

[RedLeader]

had some HFi-550, and actually thought they were really good. Equal to the HD280, and I got them for cheaper, so woo!

 

[Skrying]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader had some HFi-550, and actually thought they were really good. Equal to the HD280, and I got them for cheaper, so woo!

I really enjoyed the HFi-550 while I had them. They had a nice sound to them and I think it is really true that in order to enjoy a Ultrasone you have to listen to it a few times, its a sound that really grows on you.

 

[Spareribs]

I have the HFI 650. It's a bad boy I tell ya. It's a tough guy headphone. It kicks my ass with that punch. I love that.

 

[benjamind]

Ultrasones kick the tripe out of every single headphone I've ever used. And I've tried some of Audio Technica's top-flight headphones, including the AD2000 and AD1000 and also the wonderful Beyerdynamic DT990 and 880 models. I've also tried the Senn 650 and 600s. I preferred the 650s to the 600s. The AD1000 from Audio Technica was better than the AD2000 value-for-money wise but the AD2000 had better midrange resolution even though both the AD1000 and AD2000 had high resolution and definition. The Ultrasones have *extremely* high resolution and definition, especially in the bass and treble. Midrange is about the same detail and resolution wise as the AD2000 but the bass and treble has the AD2000 beat, I must tell you. And that is one of Audio Technica's top-flight headphones, so that says a lot.

Some say the Ultrasones lack in sound quality, but that's because they expect the midrange to be pushed forward, the treble to be smoother (on harsh recordings) and the bass to be extremely heavy.

Ultrasones, unlike the vast majority of headphones I've ever used, actually tell the truth. The Prolines never lie. If the recording is crap they are going to sound like crap. Period. End of story. If the recording is of high quality the Prolines will truly shine.

You also need a halfway decent amplifier. The Xin SuperMini is a decent amp, unsure about SuperMacro but it may or may not be better than SuperMini. I find SuperMini drives any efficient headphones with an impedance of less than 100ohms with absolute authority and without distortion. Using the SuperMini with a regulated power supply rated at 6volts DC is superb on most phones, but it won't drive less efficient phones with as much authority as it does with the more efficient ones. That is to be expected since we're dealing with lower voltages.

I found the bass on the 750s to be almost flawless, and the midrange was nice, neutral, I wouldn't say recessed lower-mids as some have claimed. Sure, it isn't on the forward side of neutral but it's about as neutral as I've heard. The treble and upper mids are just on the forward side of neutral, as is the overall bass response, particularly in the mid-bass, but it's not hyped at all, just a tad foward. I find this to help immensely with tracking (as in musical composition, etc). I would prefer absolutely flat neutral and totally bland for music mixing but you can EQ those areas if you really want totally flat sound, and it's entirely possible to get a very good mix with the Ultrasones, particularly the Prolines. I heard the 2500s and they are barely discernable in overall sound to the 750s, the only advantage I could see with the 2500s was that I would be able to hear someone talking to me a lot easier than I did on the 750s. Since I am doing vocal takes I would prefer a closed version in any case.

If you are doing tracking and critical mixing, get the closed 750s, especially if you have a noisy laptop/PC and want to be able to hear the sound. If you are in a very quiet room you might be able to mix with the 2500s, but the 750s are preferrable to me. The isolation helps to ensure that I don't get confused by ambient noise.

Trust me on this, they are BRILLIANT headphones. They do not sound like any headphone, not even maybe, they sound like professional diffuse-field studio monitors ala ADAM MP1 mastering piece. They achieve this because of their imaging which is much much better than any other headphone I've had the pleasure of hearing. They sound even better than some expensive Genelec studio monitors I've heard. They have a very ADAM monitor-like sound but with massive bass authority and extension which means they might be ...dare I say...even BETTER than ADAM studio monitors.

You won't be disappointed.

 

[SonicDawg]

I have read it somewhere that they require professional amps to fully perform. Is this true? I am actually quite curious about this one, being compared to near field monitors and all

 

[benjamind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicDawg I have read it somewhere that they require professional amps to fully perform. Is this true? I am actually quite curious about this one, being compared to near field monitors and all

No, not at all. They do need an amp that can give them enough juice to drive them with authority. The best amps for these are solid state amps as those amps tend to be much more neutral than tube amps.

SuperMini-3 will drive them with enough authority to suit me. Not sure if the SuperMacro would sound any better, probably not. They are rated at 40ohms. I would say that given their lower efficiency ratio they're really around 60 ohms. They should be treated as though they were rated at 60 ohms, in a nutshell. That isn't bad. This means the amp will need to provide a bit more current to drive ,them properly but you don't need a professional amp. The word "professional" is a misnomer. By "consumer" they're talking about typical consumer headphone outputs on most receivers, computers, iPods, portable music players, etc. The headphone outputs on these devices probably won't drive the Prolines with absolute authority. You may get away with using them with iPod or another portable, but they really need an amp to sound their best.

They sound good through a cheap Furman headphone amplifier. These can be had pretty cheap and they will drive the Prolines with absolute authority. Furman amps are solid state and drive most headphones I've used with absolute authority and withoutout distortion of any kind.

Keep in mind that if you have the Prolines running at too high volume they will distort. This has to do with the actual drivers, since they are not designed for very loud SPL. They are designed for low-medium listening and this is where their quality will become apparent, even to those who do not like their S-Logic sound presentation. As said before, they don't sound like any other headphones. Their sound is a lot like diffuse field monitors.

They need to be burned in for best sound. To do this, keep them at a normal volume level and accumulate about 100-200 hours on them. Once this is done they should be burnt in. It isn't necessary but it will burn in the driver so it's more likely to sound a bit better than one that hasn't been burnt in.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjamind Keep in mind that if you have the Prolines running at too high volume they will distort. This has to do with the actual drivers, since they are not designed for very loud SPL.

How low a volume do these distort at? 100dB? 70dB? It makes all the difference in the world.

 

[benjamind]

I've never used a SPL meter so I wouldn't be able to say for sure, but I'd say with the volume on a pro headphone amp, you wouldn't go past 7/10. MP3 files aren't nearly as good as WAV files with the Ultrasones because they pick up the slightest mess and MP3s are full of problems - to reduce the file size means that certain qualities are lost - the most notable is overall stability of the stereo image and some of the treble. Bass also sound slightly different.

Between 7-8/10 they tend to get harsh and brittle and too much for my ears. Really offensive sound, that's for sure. If I keep it below 60% it's pure sonic bliss and the imaging is phenomenal. I'm not sure if the changes to the sound at higher volume levels is actually distortion, but I think it is, otherwise it wouldn't sound so horrible.

 

[tylerhollyfield]

Hey, i'm new to the boards.

I have been wanting a pair of ultrasones for quite some time now. Yesterday, my new dog got a hold of my headphones (sony MDR v700's), so now they are history.

I was wondering if any body DJ's with the Proline 750 headphones, and how that would go. The DJ headphones that ultrasone puts out dont appeal to me. I was wanting the HFI-2200 ULE's, but they have open back..i'm wondering if i should spend the extra $100 to get the closed back, and go with the 750's.

I like the HFI-2200 ULE's better, and they are cheeper, but they are closed back. What should i do go with the close back 750's?

I'm wondering if the music being played outside my headphones will override the headphone sound if i get open back..or no? Thanks

 

[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerhollyfield I'm wondering if the music being played outside my headphones will override the headphone sound if i get open back..or no? Thanks

I did some DJ work for a while, and the answer to that question is a resounding yes. If you will be playing music at 'DJ volume levels' even closed headphones will struggle to isolate you from the outside music.

Summary: Open headphones = Useless for DJ work, passive closed phones will just barely be able to isolate you adequately enough from the outside music.

 

[Red2Black]

The iCan looks very neat. Does anyone know how it sounds compared to 'phones
within its price range and category?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red2Black The iCan looks very neat. Does anyone know how it sounds compared to 'phones within its price range and category?

Looks are where it ends, I'm afraid. It sounded rather poor, and was difficult to keep on my head.

 

[mastercheif]

Love my HFI-550's, going to upgrade to the 700's or the 750PL's.

 

[VR6ofpain]

I swear Ultrasone seems to have almost as bad a rep around here as Bose.

I am still curious about the HFI-2200 ULE, but I cannot swallow the $300 price for the generic plastic headband, used on much cheaper cans.