[ruZZ.il]

uhoh, did I kill it? (the thread)

 

[slwiser]

Not much action on this thread lately. Action seems to have moved more toward specific threads about specific issues now that the Ultrasone line has become more mainstream. At the time of this thread start Ultrasone was almost no where to be seen around here.

 

[stevenkelby]

Yeah we all seem to have fallen off the wagon. I stopped getting subscription notices for a while there too.

As Slwiser intimated, there is no need to discuss them here anymore as everyone now recognizes and respects the awesomeness of Ultrasones.

 

[jconly]

Well, perhaps I'll ask a question then.
I'm new to all this audio stuff.
I just purchased an EMU 0404 to power my balanced monitors.

I don't own a headphone amp, other than the one built into the 0404....sooo
Is the 0404 capable of properly powering the Proline 750's?

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jconly /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, perhaps I'll ask a question then. I'm new to all this audio stuff. I just purchased an EMU 0404 to power my balanced monitors. I don't own a headphone amp, other than the one built into the 0404....sooo Is the 0404 capable of properly powering the Proline 750's?

The 750s shouldn't be a problem. The 750's are rated 94db/mW, so with the 0404 you should be able to reach 106+db on peaks. While this is potentially less than realistic levels for orchestral crescendos, it's not down by much and you may never hear any limitation at all.

Here's the specs for the headphone out on the 0404 USB:

Headphone Amplifier

1. Type: Class-A power amplifier
2. D/A converter: AK4396 (shared with Line Out)
3. Gain Range: 60dB
4. Maximum Output Power: 20mW
5. Output impedance: 22ohms
6. Frequency Response (20Hz-20kHz): +0.06/-0.035dB
7. Dynamic Range (A-weighted): 114dB
8. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 114dB
9. THD+N (1kHz, max gain): 600ohm load: -95.5dB (.0018%)
10. Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS, 600 ohm load): < -85dB

The specs look descent. My only concern might be the maximum output of 20mW, It's certainly capable of loud volumes with the 750's, I just wonder about headroom. Certainly I would give it a go before you buy anything else. If it sounds good, then you're all done!

 

[Lamprologus]

I was given a very good offer on a demo pair of Edition 9's so I'm now, as of today, a proud owner of these beautiful cans. They look like they could be the bigger brother of my black ATH ES7

(which are among the best looking non-woody cans out there, IMO). They are in pristine condition, the only sign that they are used at all was that the accompanying brochure looked like someone had bent it slightly.

I don't know how many hours these have so I'm currently breaking them in with pink noise. I've only had a quick listen and they strike me as being very neutral, I'll have to confirm that later though.

Next purchase (forgive me my poor wallet) will be a suitable amp, I've narrowed my choices to Rudistor RPX-33, Yamamoto HA-02 or a Woo audio. The Rudistor is is reportedly creating very nice music paired with Ed 9's. The Yamamoto seems like a nice amp for the money and Woo audio are supposedly great sounding amps.

But for now, I'll break in my new pair of Ultrasones and hopefully I'll enjoy them as much as I do with my other favourite headphones (notably D2000, DX1000 and ES7).

Thank's to all of you who have posted in this thread (and others), this has has helped to spark my interest in Ultrasones in general and in the Edition 9 in particular.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Reporting in with my PROline 750 I just got today. The most noticeable thing is the attack on these phones. I'll see how burning in with pink noise changes these phones.

 

[Cankin]

For those of you who've heard Proline750, do you think it has the "airy" sound of k701?? how do they compare in terms of soundstage and imaging?
do Proline 750s have a tighter bass than HD650??
what about brightness compare to Alessandro/Grado??

 

[pataburd]

"For those of you who've heard Proline750, do you think it has the "airy" sound of k701?? how do they compare in terms of soundstage and imaging?
do Proline 750s have a tighter bass than HD650??
what about brightness compare to Alessandro/Grado??"

The PL750 headstage is surprisingly large, but not "airy", refined and "finished-sounding" like the K701.

The Prolines (2500 and 750) have a very direct, almost stark, character to their sound that is quite engaging, but more on an emotional than a technical level. Female vocals on the 750 are nearly hard-wired to the listener's affective gut (IMHE).

I've never heard Grados, but I would rate the PL750 midrange on a scale above the ATH A900LTD in terms of directness, listener involvement and realism.

That said, I ultimately sold my RAL-recabled Proline 750 and kept the (RAL-recabled) K701. Why? I still grapple with that one . . . : ) There seems to be just a bit more "going on" w/the K701 than w/the PL750.

If I were ever to re-enlist in the Ultrasone camp (which is a distinct probability), I would go straight for the Edition 9 w/a Rudistor hybrid amp. A fella can dream, can't he? : )

 

[musicman59]

Pataburd,
Do you have any experience comparing the pro 750 or 2500 with RAL against the Denon D5000?

 

[Schalldampfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif For those of you who've heard Proline750, do you think it has the "airy" sound of k701?? how do they compare in terms of soundstage and imaging? do Proline 750s have a tighter bass than HD650?? what about brightness compare to Alessandro/Grado??

Well, I didn't have experience with the K701, but Zu cabled K271S and my PROline 750 arrived just yesterday, so it won't even be burned in, but I like the 750 better. Unlike pataburd, I did find the K271S airy. I'd say the 750 wins in both of those accounts: soundstage and imaging.
The 650 does have more bass, and sounds very much more musical.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Oh, also, the comfort on these is NOWHERE near as bad as people make it out to be...

 

[kwkarth]

Having lived for so long with my K701s as my top can, I find the Prolines very engaging. The PL650 I originally bought was unlistenable for me in stock form. After many modifications to address the partiality of their manufacture, they are a really great monitoring can now with a surprisingly large soundstage for a closed can. Vocals and stringed instruments are superb. I think they are more impactful and punchy than the K701s. The K701s are still more refined, less grainy, but that element of the 650s has improved quite a bit with burn in and the mods I did.

The PL2500s, being open cans are more appropriate to compare to the K701s. I don't have enough hours on my pair yet to pass final judgment, but after the mods I did to the 2500s, they are quite wonderful sounding. Pretty much everything that the PL650s do well, the PL2500s do better. The bass on the PL2500s is punchier, more impactful, faster, and deeper than that of the Senn HD600/Cardas.

Regardless of ad copy, the drivers themselves in the 650s have very similar sound signatures to those in the 2500.

The biggest difference being in the loading of the driver, as the 650s are closed and the 2500s are open. There are bass reflex type port holes in the baffle for the 650s to relieve back pressure where the backs of the 2500 cans are open to relieve back pressure. So the 2500s are analogous to infinite baffle speakers. The ear pads are designed to completely seal on the 650s and designed to be porous on the 2500s.

Using the 650 pads on the 2500s results in a waay overly bassy sound, while using the 2500 pads on the 650 results in a very thin and anemic sound. This is as expected, given the design differences of the two cans.

I have listened to nothing other than the Prolines for the past few weeks and eventually I will throw on the 701s again to see how things have changed WRT direct comparison.

There is something special about Prolines!

 

[Schalldampfer]

Oh, and I'd also like to add that I fairly like the 750 sound without any burn-in. I can't wait to see how it changes for the better over the next... 2 straight weeks of burn-in...

 

[kwkarth]

I have to say, that I've noticed a bigger change with burn in on the PL650s than I have for the PL2500s so far.

Also, the sensitivity differences between drivers is certainly noticable, but with a good amp, the lesser sensitivity of the PL650 driver isn't really an issue.