[hawat]

I haven't seen any mention of plastic in it. The headband and hinges are full aluminum recovered with leather which is why i said mostly aluminum

.

 

[peteham]

I feel bad for the sheep.

 

[Voltron]

I'm going to quote JP Nums from the CES 2009 thread in impressions:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ultrasone Edition 8s, not a bad headphone and on par with the Ed9s. Small ear cups and they are very shiney. Sound was good and detailed and lacked that unnatural sound I often complain about with the pair of ED9s I had. Still for the price I'g do with the HD800 unless I wanted a $1400 portable headphone. They also had an amp there on display the Al listened to but seemed to have a few technical difficulties and was not functioning properly.

It was fun to check out the new offering from Ultrasone but it is understandable that it has not generated the same impact as the long-awaited HD800 from Senn. The cans at CES are effectively a prototype and the only existing pair with the The Ed. 8 is an interesting new can and it is not based on or related to the Ed. 7/9 models. It is lighter and yet larger and circumaural. They are very comfortable and use the same Ethiopian Hair Sheep leather for the ear pads. The cord is very short, maybe a meter and is terminated with a 1/8 plug and a 1/4 pop on adapter. It is meant for portable use, which I admit seems odd for a $1400 headphone, although I have to admit that I used my Ed.9s portably a few times before balancing them.

EDIT: The rep said that they will likely include an extension cable and that the case for the Ed. 8 is still being worked on. He mentioned some kind of nice "bag" for them but said the Hippo case he was using (and pictured on Moon Audio's site) was not the case that will be sold with them.

The cans we heard sounded good and quite different from the Ed.9. I prefer my Ed. 9 from the limited audition I had on the setup they provided, the Grace M902 with a Philips CDP, as well as on my own portable rig with iMod and SR71. The sound is clear and pretty well balanced -- especially for a closed can -- but I didn't have a ton of time to listen. As JP said, it doesn't have the same odd presentation that bothers some in the Ed.9. It did not seem to have angled drivers and I am wondering if it does not incorporate the same kind of S-Logic system. Anyway, it will be interesting to hear these again but I am not likely to run out and buy them. Those seeking high quality closed cans may have a different reaction.

I have to clarify the amp thing. It is a new solid state amp designed and made by Ultrasone, and this may also have been a prototype. It is solid state with balanced and single ended inputs, balanced 4-pin output, s/e output, and an "equalize" or "linear" button that seemed to be a bass boost. The amp sounded alright but only the s/e side was working when I was there. The balanced side had been working and then lost a channel so they were only playing s/e. It was being fed by a Samsung DVD player so that was limiting as well. Could be nice, don't know the price at all. Beyerdynamic also introduced an amp apparently so it is good to see the headphone companies recognizing the market.

Here are the pics of the cans and amp at CES. The first is Drew's from the above link to Moon Audio, and he did a better job than my little Canon and this is exactly the rig I heard. The rest are my shots and the room was very dark and pics were difficult. Be gentle.

 

[powertoold]

Ugh, in offense, but those look like cheap / simplistic $30 headphones found at Target

 

[YtseJamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif The cans we heard sounded good and quite different from the Ed.9. I prefer my Ed. 9 from the limited audition I had on the setup they provided, the Grace M902 with a Philips CDP, as well as on my own portable rig with iMod and SR71. The sound is clear and pretty well balanced -- especially for a closed can -- but I didn't have a ton of time to listen. As JP said, it doesn't have the same odd presentation that bothers some in the Ed.9. It did not seem to have angled drivers and I am wondering if it does not incorporate the same kind of S-Logic system. Anyway, it will be interesting to hear these again but I am not likely to run out and buy them. Those seeking high quality closed cans may have a different reaction.

Thanks Voltron for all the details and pictures

I still think that the Edition 8 are more beautiful than the HD800.

 

[davidhunternyc]

I wonder how the Edition 8's will compare to the ESW10JPN in terms of sound quality? Different class of headphones but who knows?

 

[Voltron]

I edited my post above to reflect two things:

The rep said that they will likely include an extension cable and that the case for the Ed. 8 is still being worked on. He mentioned some kind of nice "bag" for them but said the Hippo case he was using (and pictured on Moon Audio's site) was not the case that will be sold with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder how the Edition 8's will compare to the ESW10JPN in terms of sound quality? Different class of headphones but who knows?

I wasn't completely blown away by the Ed. 8 but I imagine they will blow away the ESW10s in a side by side comparison. They seal much better than the 10s, and the presentation is more detailed and clear from my short amount of time with each of them. The Ed. 8s sound like true full-sized cans (which they are) while the ESW10s sound like really good portable cans to my ears.

 

[YtseJamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder how the Edition 8's will compare to the ESW10JPN in terms of sound quality? Different class of headphones but who knows?

I guess that I will have the real answer soon. (oh my poor wallet again) They better be great and better than my ESW10 for $1399.

 

[YtseJamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wasn't completely blown away by the Ed. 8 but I imagine they will blow away the ESW10s in a side by side comparison. They seal much better than the 10s, and the presentation is more detailed and clear from my short amount of time with each of them. The Ed. 8s sound like true full-sized cans (which they are) while the ESW10s sound like really good portable cans to my ears.

How is the soundstage of the Edition 8 compared to the Edition 9? Anyway, as soon as they are as good or better than the Edition 9 with rock music I will be very happy.

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfillion /img/forum/go_quote.gif How is the soundstage of the Edition 8 compared to the Edition 9? Anyway, as soon as they are as good or better than the Edition 9 with rock music I will be very happy.

Sorry, I can't give you a good answer because I didn't really have enough time with them, there was no Ed. 9 to compare, and I don't know that equipment well enough. From my limited time and just from the design being around the ear and not on it, I would imagine the Ed. 8 will be preferable to some people on soundstaging. But I am one of the people who "get" the sound of the Ed. 9s and some people have suggested that mine are a particularly good pair, so I may not be the best to judge. Plus, mine are balanced and are played mostly on better gear than what was present at CES so a side by side would be a much more accurate way to answer you.

 

[davidhunternyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfillion /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess that I will have the real answer soon. (oh my poor wallet again) They better be great and better than my ESW10 for $1399.

Please do a head-to-head comparison and start a thread here. This would be a great read. Good luck.

 

[YtseJamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Please do a head-to-head comparison and start a thread here. This would be a great read. Good luck.

Will do but not before the end of February unfortunately.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif But I am one of the people who "get" the sound of the Ed. 9s and some people have suggested that mine are a particularly good pair, so I may not be the best to judge. Plus, mine are balanced and are played mostly on better gear than what was present at CES so a side by side would be a much more accurate way to answer you.

You are not alone my friend but my pairs (I have 2x Ed.9) are not balanced. Thanks again for all the infos.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

How did you guys hook up with naamanf there at CES? Was it planned?

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif How did you guys hook up with naamanf there at CES? Was it planned?

We met him at the Venetian where the hi-end gear was showing. We planned ahead because I knew he was going to be there. Same with Edwood, but we met him inside the HD800 greenhouse.

 

[YtseJamer]

So nobody else heard the Edition 8 at the CES ? That would be great to hear the impressions from Jude.