Ultrasone edition 10 "THE BUTTERFLY" initial impressions

[Arnaldo]

I conducted a second informal comparison between the Ed 10 and Ed 8 LE. This time around, using DSD recorded SACDs with strings, including Ray Kimber's superb recording of the Fry Street Quartet performing Beethoven String Quartets (IsoMike), Julia Fisher on Bach's Partitas for Violin (PentaTone) and Hidemi Suzuki on Bach's Partitas for Cello (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi). Two amps were used, a SPL Phonitor in direct-mode and a Luxman P-200, both fed from a Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD player with VSE's Terra Firma Lite balanced upgrade.
 

1. The synergy between the amps and phones was very dependent on specific pairings. The golden and fuller tone of the Phonitor added body to the very analytical Ed 10. OTOH, the silvery and clinical tone of the Luxman toned down the Ed 8's natural warmth.
2. The texture of individual strings instruments was stunning on both phones, but more viscerally so on the 10. You could literally feel the friction of the arch scratching the strings on the 10. Was it bright? Most certainly so. Actually, gloriously so!
3. The attack of plucked strings had more punch and slam on the 8 than on the 10, specially via the Phonitor.
4. The 8 is still overall smoother, while the 10 is more analytically detailed. But the Ed 10 surpassed the 8 in terms of transparency.
5. The details of the abundant reverberation on all recordings were more discernible on the 10.
6. While soundstage was deeper and wider on the 10, the boundaries of the studio recordings somehow felt more precisely delineated on the 8, maybe due to it's closed-back design.
7. Using video jargon again, I'd suggest that the 10 is like high-definition video, with a more realistic in-your-face presentation. The 8 is more like film, with a more velvety feel. Continuing with the analogy, for high-impact sports, go for the 10. But for softer movies, the 8 might be a better choice.
8. If forced to pick a pairing, I'd go for the Phonitor with the Ed 10 over the Luxman and Ed 8. But this is just nitpicking really and I'd be quite happy with either one.

 
Like I said before, others may feel differently but I'm glad I can enjoy both the Ed 10 and Ed 8 LE...
 
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I conducted a rather brief and informal comparison between the Ed 10 and the Ed 8 LE last night. For the sake of variety, I went outside my usual high-rez classical SACD environment and used instead Mofi's RBCD reissue of "Yes Album." Specifically the track called "Your Move," which is the first part of "I've Seen All Good People." With the two phones fed from a Luxman P-200:
 

1. I had to match volume levels when switching between them - the 8 is considerably louder than the 10.

1. The 8 is smoother, while the 10 is more detailed. But both are miles ahead of my fading memories of the Denon AH-D7000 in terms of transparency and soundstaging.
2. Right after the brief a capella introduction, there's a section with Steve Howe's acoustic guitar panned left and Jon Anderson's vocal in the center. And with the 10, I could more clearly discern the detail and boundaries of the very low reverberation on the right.
3. Jon Anderson's voice sounded raspier on the 10, but strikingly realistic. On the 8, his voice was somewhat rounder.
4. With the backup vocals, it was easier to detect individual - and rather nasal - voices on the 10, while the 8 made the chorus better integrated as a whole.
5. Using video jargon, while the 10 seems to offers a higher pixel count, it comes with a very analytical view of the analog masters' inherent limitations. OTOH, the 8's more "poetic" presentation tends to reward this type of material.
6. The music over both phones was still very enjoyable, even after repeated listening. I do believe though that it (and Fragile as well) would have benefited from a straight transfer to DSD on SACD.

 
I actually posted a peculiar analogy about the 2 phones a while ago, in that they "are like tigers and leopards, from the same genetic family, but very different animals altogether. Likewise, the Ed 10 and Ed 8 may share the same genes in terms of timbre, but the overall balance and soundstage are as different as stripes (Ed 10) and spots (Ed 8)." At this stage, I'd say that I prefer the stripes (precision) of the 10 over the spots (warmth) of the 8. Others may feel differently. Either way, I'm glad I have access to both of them...

 

 

[scottiebabie]

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Interconnects already make very little difference, if any, but now you're saying that the cheaper interconnects TMoney supposedly uses make the LCD-2 sound better than your (possibly much) more expensive ones?
 
Wow, and I thought the price-to-performance ratio was already through the roof with this stuff...
 

LOL now i could be wrong here but i do bliv TMoney meant that as a tongue in cheek remark. somehow i dont really think he 'blames' the interconnects for the ED10s perceived(edited this in incase i get slamed for Ed10 bashing which im not...really seriously) failings 

.
 
regardless the ED10s prolly one of the most controversial headphones on the market. even the hate for it doesnt come cheap! heh

 

[InnerSpace]

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... If you guys want your "verdict" in, that the ED10 is a bad headphone, so be it - I know it feels good bashing something you don't own and probably haven't even heard. 

That's uncalled for, Mr G.  I own the Ed10, old pads, new pads, Leben, Pinnacle, half a dozen other good amps, and I have used it for hundreds of hours.  It's a poor headphone overall, in my - educated - opinion.
 

 

[majkel]

I know two headphone models that when paired with my headphone amplifier beat the Grado PS1000, at least in some terms. These are Ultrasone Edition 10 and AKG K1000 via a DIY adapter (Neutrik/Cordial/Furutech). And I don't care for anybody's "experience". Given the K1000 results I believe I heard what I should while connecting the HD800 or the T1 to my amp paired with several sources. And it was pretty behind the three I mentioned at the beginning, say the Grado being closer but still better. My friend and I think that horns sound great on the Edition 10. Is this just the Furutech FP-704 responsible for the difference? Considering the Edition 10's price, replacing the jack plug seems mandatory. I'm planning to perform a direct comparison of the Edition 10 to the K1000.

 

[edvardd]

Tyll listening to Edition 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34S4Tt1EuQ
 
edit, I saw that the link of his review was already posted but I let the videolink be.

 

[Katun]

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Tyll listening to Edition 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34S4Tt1EuQ

Just watched it. I think this is the first time in history I've ever really "laughed out loud" watching a video.
 

 

[maverickronin]

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Just watched it. I think this is the first time in history I've ever really "laughed out loud" watching a video.
 

Did you see his Beats Solo video?
 

 
Pretty similar reaction...

 

[justanut]

At least he didn't die from the Ed10... I think the Beats almost did him in

 

[Katun]

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Did you see his Beats Solo video?
 
Pretty similar reaction...

Just watched that one too. I will admit, that was expected, yet funny none the less.
 
The Edition 10 reaction was very unexpected. And it's so funny because how expensive it is.
 

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

That InnerFidelity guy is an idiot.

 

[kwkarth]

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That InnerFidelity guy is an idiot.

Is that anything like; "we're all bozo's on this bus?"
 

 

[smeggy]

Pah, so the response is a bit wiggly, and the distortion is pretty high, and the bass is flabby, and the treble could cut glass, and the square wave isn't very square. What has any of that nonsense got to do with how awesome they sound.
 
Sheesh, some people. Give them a test rig and they think they know it all!
 

 

[kwkarth]

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Pah, so the response is a bit wiggly, and the distortion is pretty high, and the bass is flabby, and the treble could cut glass, and the square wave isn't very square. What has any of that nonsense got to do with how awesome they sound.
 
Sheesh, some people. Give them a test rig and they think they know it all!
 

LOL!  Hamster wheel, we know how you roll!
 

 

[warp08]

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Just watched it. I think this is the first time in history I've ever really "laughed out loud" watching a video.
 

Hilarious...good acting, or rather "reacting."  Truth by told with the portable source he was using the results must have been quite bad, indeed.  To be fair, the Edition 10 performs much better with high-end sources, although better is a relative term here.  It doesn't scale down as the Edition 8s do, for sure.

 

[oqvist]

Considering how awful the ED 8 sounds out of an Ipod that is quite a realistic response yes