Ultrasone edition 10 "THE BUTTERFLY" initial impressions

[Curly21029]

 
Quote:

Agree with MH, the Ed8s are awesome. Not sure if Tyll had heard them before when he said "There’s not a single Ultrasone headphone I’ve heard that I thought was worth the money." The statement itself doesn't say. And I don't know him personally so I won't know if he has heard the well regarded models.
 

 

I agree with the Edition 8 assessments as well, but being "worth the money" is completely subjective.  For their SQ and isolation they're absolutely worth the money to me.  However, if I could use open backs 100% of the time I can name a few headphones that I would be perfectly happy with that cost a lot less.
 
Point being that maybe Tyll has heard the Edition 8 and actually likes it.  I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't enjoy the Ed 8.  He just may not have liked it $1500-$2000 worth.  That's a steep price for just about anyone to justify for a pair of headphones.  Heck, Tyll may even like some other Ultrasone products but just feels their MSRPs are too high.
 
Opinions are opinions and it's great that we have a site like Head-Fi that archives many learned ones in one place.  For most of us, the Edition 10 isn't readily available to be tried locally.  We can visit here and, if we like what we read, can either seek an out of the way resource to give them a go or even make a blind purchase.

 

[TMoney]

 
Quote:

• The blatant display of biases and generalizations by this Tyll character, discredit whatever his contributions may have been in the very distant past. In a real web or print publication, the author of a quote like "There’s not a single Ultrasone headphone I’ve heard that I thought was worth the money" would be summarily edited out into oblivion.

Heh, this made me laugh. Yeah, right...
 
Anyone care to guess an Over/Under on the number of days before Arnaldo's Ed10s end up in the for sale forum?

 

[Arnaldo]

Please find below the rest of my post. It may help you with some of your issues...
 
Quote:

The back and forth on this thread has been rather interesting to me, because I took the time to go through all of its pages before taking the plunge on the Ed 10. And based on what came through, I kind of developed a somehow negative predisposition towards them. Thus my absolute surprise that the objectionable opinions felt so off the mark by a wide margin. Instead, my Ed 10 continues to steadily improve over the burn in process, offering a startlingly crystalline and electrostatic-like presentation, but with the added punch of dynamics phones.
 
What also called my attention is how some people with little or no experience with the Ed 10, nevertheless still seem prone to criticize it, I guess maybe out of resentment to the price. Then there are those who have tried the Ed 10 - some extensively - but possibly dislike it because it may be exposing flaws on their favorite recordings.
 
Personally, I would not audition the Ed 10 with either low-resolution (44.1 kHz / 16 Bit PCM) recordings or with "multi-generation" transfers of analog tapes. The Ed 10 was simply not made for this kind of material. Instead, it was more likely conceived to shine with state-of-the-art (DSD, DXD and High-Resolution 24 Bit PCM) acoustic recordings, whatever the media employed (SACD, BD or High-Rez downloads).
 
Likewise, I would not spend a small fortune on upgraded digital sources and amplifiers, and then evaluate equally expensive headphones with lesser audio recordings (in terms of reproduction, not artistic merit). And since posters here have been talking about cars, a perfect analogy would be like driving a Ferrari Coupe in New York City's rush-hour traffic and then complain that it's a bad car because it doesn't go fast enough...
 

 
Quote:

Anyone care to guess an Over/Under on the number of days before Arnaldo's Ed10s end up in the for sale forum?

 
 

 

[InnerSpace]

Coming late to this micro-spat, but when Tyll said, "Fast transient edges are transformed into indiscriminate micro-bursts of tizz. Likewise, low notes are powerful, but have lost all definition as they are reduced to a bloated blur ... " I thought to myself, that's exactly what I heard, and what I posted here months ago, almost word for word.
 
I'm all for minority opinion (holding one myself re the LCD-2, for instance) but really, the verdict on the Ed10 is in.  It's a pretty bad headphone, simple as that.
 
All the more confounding, given that the Ed8 is pretty good - if It had a larger cup and was genuinely circumaural, it might be an all-time fave for me.  I guess Ultrasone has no engineering spine - results seem very random and scattershot.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Hi Guys. 
 
I think the Ed8 is okay, but not for the money.  I've rounded up a bunch of Ultrasone cans from HeadRoom and will be measuring them over the weekend, and will add them (and a number of others) to the measurement pdf for the June measurement pdf release.
 
That'll give me a chance to review the line in terms of subjective sound as well.  I think the placement of the driver so far off axis makes it really hard for them to get good sound out of their cans, but there are a few I thought were okay sounding. In the end though, they all end up costing more than they should. Maybe it's the added cost of all that Mu metal shielding intended to keep the electro-magnetic gremlins out of your head, or maybe it's just the exchange rate, but they seem overpriced to me.
 
As to my character, well, Bozebuttons nailed it, and for verification you can check out this NSFW link if you dare.

 

[Frank I]

Tyll I do not think you need to defend your position. Even though i have never met you I know your reputation and more more important you contributions to this hobby. i think the only people questioning your character are just upset because you set the facts straight on the ED10 which you were not in the minority as most who have owned them mirror your professional opinion and I  for one respect that and good luck with your new venture its a refreshing site.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Thanks Frank.
 
Not really defending my position, but folks made some legit comments that I felt reasonable to respond to. NBD.

 

[googleli]

Colored, definitely. Strange curve, for sure. Not worth it's price, maybe. Just that on some of the recordings, mostly male vocal and classical music, where the "problematic" frequency is not touched, magic happens. Whether that magic, which happens a lot or never happens (depending what one usually listens to), is worth the price, is a subjective matter. I also disagree on ttyl's opinion on low notes. The bass is deep yet at the same time textured. In comparison, the bass of LCD2 sounds like fart, to me anyways. Not only does the LCD 2 bass lacks impact in comparison, but it also lacks the depth the ED10 is able to give.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Tyll I do not think you need to defend your position. Even though i have never met you I know your reputation and more more important you contributions to this hobby. i think the only people questioning your character are just upset because you set the facts straight on the ED10 which you were not in the minority as most who have owned them mirror your professional opinion and I  for one respect that and good luck with your new venture its a refreshing site.

Quote:

Thanks Frank.
 
Not really defending my position, but folks made some legit comments that I felt reasonable to respond to. NBD.

Character?  Well, yeah!  Tyll's more of a character than anybody I know!  That's why we love him!  Tyll, your ED-X video was priceless, even if the headphone itself was too pricey.  Herr Konig will not be pleased.  Re the ED-8s...  Yup they're usually a fun listen, but unfortunately, not worth the dinero.
 

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Quote:

  Herr Konig will not be pleased.  
 

Meh. Neither was I.
 

 

[FauDrei]

Well, miracles do happen - I finally have the same opinion as kwkarth on something!

...and I've also learned that some people prefer distortion instead of "fart bass"... well, to each it's own.

 

[googleli]

I won't be pleased either if I listened to the music in ttyl's video with the ED10. Trumpets, horns and cymbals (i.e. Jazz) sound worst on the ED 10, no doubt, and that music is a continous flow of all these.

 

[TMoney]

Hmm... My take from Tyll's review:
 
Poor transient response.
Massive Distortion at 2khz.
Uncontrolled bass.
Awful in the highs.
 
Hard to believe this phone sounds "magical" on anything.
 
Must be the high end interconnects!

 

[scottiebabie]

Quote:

I won't be pleased either if I listened to the music in ttyl's video with the ED10. Trumpets, horns and cymbals (i.e. Jazz) sound worst on the ED 10, no doubt, and that music is a continous flow of all these.

not having any dog in this fight & more importantly not having heard (nor the purchasing funds either) the ED10s i find this thread & latest 'discussions' interesting to say the least. i do understand all bout "different strokes different folks" yadi yadi yada but i do have something i dont quite get.
 
according to the above post, these ED10s sound worst on Jazz? could be wrong here but i thought Jazz was the easiest format to sound good on & thats why most music gear demos are done with Jazz & Jazz vocals. if these TOTL $3k ED10s cant even do Jazz, theres something very wrong with the Ultrasone universe. jus my $0.02 ya
 

 

[googleli]

Yes, it does sound worst on Jazz (where cymbals and horn instruments are abundant) and some sibilant female vocal tracks.
 
Quote:

not having any dog in this fight & more importantly not having heard (nor the purchasing funds either) the ED10s i find this thread & latest 'discussions' interesting to say the least. i do understand all bout "different strokes different folks" yadi yadi yada but i do have something i dont quite get.
 
according to the above post, these ED10s sound worst on Jazz? could be wrong here but i thought Jazz was the easiest format to sound good on & thats why most music gear demos are done with Jazz & Jazz vocals. if these TOTL $3k ED10s cant even do Jazz, theres something very wrong with the Ultrasone universe. jus my $0.02 ya