[jlingo]

I have been using Ultrasone Edition 9 since July 2007, experimented with different combinations possible. I believe I have passed that Hype New Toy Syndrome. So my comments will be more genuine, fair, and square.

Basically I find that Ultrasone Edition 9 is indeed an A:MAZING CAN. It is the best ALL ROUNDER headphone that I have ever heard in my life. Please remember, ALL ROUNDER means the headphone must sound good with pretty much any music genre you throw in unlike some headphones only good for a particular music genre.

The problem with Ultrason Edition 9 is this: with a non matching system it will sound very thin on the top, shrill, with recessed midrange, bloated bass, 2 dimensonal, without surround feeling nor depth. As a result, UE9 sound stuffy and boring. Yes I HAVE HEARD THIS BAD SIDE OF UE9 MYSELF. UE9 really needs an amp that excels very well with depth as that really helps filling up the whole ambiance detail such as the air and the warmth.

Once your system is matching superbly then, it would be very hard to go back to a regular headphone for this reason: The sound of Ultrasone is SO FULL, SO RICH, ROOM RICH, as if you are listening to a pair of speakers in the room accompanied with a high quality of Sub. UE-9 is superbly detailed and able to throw an ambience information at 360degrees angle. This feeling is really becoming very ADDICTING. I have to say it?s very hard to go back to regular headphone after being spoiled with Ultrasone Edition 9.

I have to thank few people like Ultrasone Camp for implementing S-Logic system, Steve from Empirical Audio for a wonderful freeway 2 making my m902 sound very musical instead of digital or clinical. Also thanks Grace for making a wonderfully revealing and transparent amp like M902, better yet, WITH CROSSFEED/XFEED. The minute you turned on the CROSSFEED in Grace, UE9 soundstage became VERY BIG, VERY ROOMY, VERY AIRY WITH NATURAL DECAY. IT?S REALLY LIKE I?M IN a CONCERT ROOM INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO A HEADPHONE.

These Two setups sound amazing with Ultrasone Edition 9:
The ULTIMATE SETUP(Very simple yet startling):
1. Computer Source(Foobar Version 0.8.3 and SRC Rabbit) -> USB -> Freeway 2 -> m902(Crossfeed ON) -> Ultrasone Edition 9(Better Resolution, Soundstaging,Involving, Exciting, Masculine) Put LISA III here: the sound will change to become Laid Back, Warm, Romantic, upclose, thick, Feminine, snuggly, with Sweet Midrange.

The ULTIMATE TRANSPORTABILITY:
2. iMod 5.5G -> ALO SuperCotton Dock -> Vcap -> CablePRO Reverie 2 cable -> LISA III -> Ultrasone Edition 9(More romantic, more relaxing, warmer, and laid back)

Note: Due to the limitation of LISA III with smaller soundstage and without crossfeed, therefore The Reverie 2 cable is a must in order to make the sound of UE9 very open and big with depth and separation. I have tried panorama, Tara Labs Silver Streak, among other cables and the sound is more up front mixed together slap in your face kind of feeling. This makes UE9 sounds congested and less roomy. It?s definitely no longer 360degrees. You may try other cables as long as it achieves the same goal that is to make UE9 sound very open, surround with tonnes of air. Each instrument must be widely separated from one another better focus and clarity, like listening to a pair of speakers.

I would like to apologize, I don?t include any pictures in this post since many were already posted in other threads.

Other important Ultrasone Thread:
The Missing Manual of Ultrasone By Dexdexter
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpo...postcount=2902

Utrasone Edition 7 Vs. Stax Omega II By Superman?s Ears
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207948

There is Something about Ultrasone Thread
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...=207164&page=1

 

[slwiser]

When you get a chance check out the UE9 with the Yamamoto HA-02.

Great post I also enjoy my UE9s.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif When you get a chance check out the UE9 with the Yamamoto HA-02. Great post I also enjoy my UE9s.

Hey Slwisser, what does Yamamoto HA-02 do to UE9? I have Earmax Pro, although it makes my UE9 sing and musical but I lost the depth detail, the natural decay, and ambience detail. So I don't really win this way.

Do you know if we could buy the pads and replace them ourselves in the future if the pads broken?

 

[thread]

I'd like to just chime in here and say Hell Yeah!

I'm at the office right now listening to MicroDAC -> Tomahawk -> UE9 and I'm absolutely loving it. I usually stick to the other phones at the office, but since I'm coding for long stretches with my head down, I decided to bring the big guns.

While they do sound more amazing at home with the DA100 -> RPX-33, they don't sound too shabby with this middle-of-the-road rig here, either.

My only gripe about them is that even with the cable mod (described in my UE9 post in my sig if you're just joining us) they still lightly touch the tops of my ears. It's practically a non-issue, though, unless you really are wearing them for 4-5+ hrs without breaks.

They sound incredible with most frontends.

 

[Quint]

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree wholeheartedly. Through my RSA B-52, the 9s really shine. Once they burn in fully, and properly amped, they’re awesome. Resolution, dynamics, low end, sweetness of tone—they’ve got everything, IMO. I listen to a wide variety of music, and the 9s excel on practically everything. I also have R10s, and the 9s are a great complement, particularly on heavier rock music. I no longer feel a need to get any more headphones. Congrats on a great system.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Brindley /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi First post! Be gentle...... Im listening to my UE9 either from the HP socket on my Nagra PLP pre-amp OR from the direct socket on either Nakamichi Dragon or Pioneer CT-91a - yep good old tape cassette recorded from vinyl. I want to get a top notch HP amp for my UE9. Im thinking of the aformentioned Yamamoto HA-02 or the Woo 6 with all upgrades. Longer term im told the Rudistor RPx-33 is a very good match. So whats the verdict on my choices? Im not considering any others. Thanks and regards, Lee

Well I would assume that RPX-33 suitable more for fast pace music and Yamamoto suites more for romantic session?

 

[digihead]

jlingo - how do the ED9's compare to the UE11's? I love the full bodied sound of the UE11, was looking for something similar in a full sized headphone. Hoping you can provide a comparison as you are one of the few people with both.

 

[dmk005]

I have been quite skeptical of the marketing around the Ed 9s both their traditional corporate marketing and head-fi bound marketing via the other Ultrasound threads. I joked about Ed 9s requiring brain washing (versus brain burn-in) to be as good as what was being written. That night, I was alerted to a Ed 9 deal in the FS forum and I decided to stop the conversation and buy them to hear for myself. I figured there is still a very good FS market for Ed 9s since they all sell very quickly and that any loss would amount to a "rental fee" for having experienced them in my quiet home office environment. I received them yesterday by 11AM and immediately took them for a spin.

At first, they were not comfortable compared to my Denon D2000s and Senn. HD650s. The D2000s have such a big soft and fluffy leather chair feel to them and the HD650s have lots of air and space between the cups and my ears. The Ed 9s have been tweaked with bi-wire in the cups but they are still a little cramped for my big dumbo ears (better to hear you with). Over time, the ear pads and even to a less extent the headband pad seemed to conform to my head and after a few hours I kind of forgot I was wearing them. The headband is still less comfortable than other cans but not to an extent where I get headaches. After the first 30 minutes, I decided things didn't sound right. I was hearing echoes of what I was hearing in my left ear and the right ear was louder. I did some small angle adjustments with the right ear cup and this fixed the issue all together. I then listened for 6 hours straight with a short brake for dinner with the family.

I am now on my second 6 hour session with the Ed 9s. My Benchmark DAC1 USB is feeding my RSA B-52 amplifier as I work in my office. The sound stage is expansive on these cans folks. And bass, well ha ha ha, these cans produce a significantly robust and speedy low end. Because the sound stage is so deep, the bass rarely overwhelms but on some recordings I don't think the bass logic stays in its proper place. Music where you would normally appreciate the cross feed technology because of recording methods is too heavy on the bass end (Beatles). Regardless, instrument separation are a clear distinguishing factor to the S-Logic technology. This trait must go hand in hand with a deep sound stage because I feel the B-52 also exhibits a deep and wide sound stage.

The middle and high end of the sound spectrum is absolutely perfect with the Ed 9s. I couldn't imagine anything clearer or more tonally accurate.

Now, I am very interested in jlingo's observations related to cross feed and the Ed 9s, especially with those tracks mentioned above. I would like to revisit listening to different cross feed implementations with these cans to see if it can actually take them one more step forward in fidelity.

Consider me brain burnt (or washed...I don't care

).

 

[steaxauce]

I'm also thorougly loving my Edition 9. It's by far the best headphone I've heard no matter what type of music I'm listening to. With mine, I've tried the Lavry DA10's headphone output, the Meier Audio Corda Opera, and now I'm using the Headroom Desktop amp with Max modules, Max DAC, stepped attenuator and DPS, and I believe it is by far the best setup I've heard. It's amazing how different it is from the Corda Opera, considering that these are both solid state amps with supposedly near-negligible distortion. I'd never heard two amps sound so different. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the difference. The Headroom sounded edgier and brighter by comparison. Different lines in the mix seemed to receive emphasis. But after listening to them for a while this translated to a more natural and faster sound. I suspect that the headroom is the one that's truer to the original signal. Highly recommended!

 

[slwiser]

Check out the UE9 amp registry here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=244881

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digihead /img/forum/go_quote.gif jlingo - how do the ED9's compare to the UE11's? I love the full bodied sound of the UE11, was looking for something similar in a full sized headphone. Hoping you can provide a comparison as you are one of the few people with both.

Ultrasone Edition 9 and UE11 both have similarities signature in terms of fully bodied, high resolution. UE9 has bigger soundstage, deeper better quality bass. Everything sounds a lot bigger. I find that UE9 and UE11 somewhat similar as if they are from one family tree.

But UE11 has silky smooth high that UE9 doesn't have , and liquid midrange which is quite addicting. I highly recommend that you have a listen to UE9 properly amped. UE9 is the only fullsized headphone that sounds close to UE11 IMO. I have never heard L3000, the high end Sony's though, So can't comment on that.

I think I posted somewhere before that I was shocked to hear UE11 somewhat have similarities in sound signature to UE9 in terms of full body, thickness, texture resolution, bass, ... Because I bought UE9 first in July before getting UE11 in August.

UE11 is great straight from the iPOD, where UE9, it needs to be properly amped.

U11 sounds a lot up front. UE9 sounds a lot distant like listening to a show,we are sitting in the middle or backrow. This can be adjusted greatly with different amps and interconnects.

 

[jlingo]

Uhm I don't really think you need a crossfeed hehe, since You already have a more sophisticated DAC and Amp than me. Those by themselves are most likely already sound better than my setup.

I heard UE9 with RPX-33 once before it was more open and more transparent than my setup if I remember correctly. I didn't have a chance to listen to RPX-33 longer enough to give any more comment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmk005 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am now on my second 6 hour session with the Ed 9s. My Benchmark DAC1 USB is feeding my RSA B-52 amplifier as I work in my office. The sound stage is expansive on these cans folks. And bass, well ha ha ha, these cans produce a significantly robust and speedy low end. Because the sound stage is so deep, the bass rarely overwhelms but on some recordings I don't think the bass logic stays in its proper place. Music where you would normally appreciate the cross feed technology because of recording methods is too heavy on the bass end (Beatles). Regardless, instrument separation are a clear distinguishing factor to the S-Logic technology. This trait must go hand in hand with a deep sound stage because I feel the B-52 also exhibits a deep and wide sound stage. The middle and high end of the sound spectrum is absolutely perfect with the Ed 9s. I couldn't imagine anything clearer or more tonally accurate. Now, I am very interested in jlingo's observations related to cross feed and the Ed 9s, especially with those tracks mentioned above. I would like to revisit listening to different cross feed implementations with these cans to see if it can actually take them one more step forward in fidelity. Consider me brain burnt (or washed...I don't care ).

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlingo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I would assume that RPX-33 suitable more for fast pace music and Yamamoto suites more for romantic session?

I see that you have both the W5000 and the UE9 so you know the differences. You can scale what I say from your experience from my comparison on page 177 of the big Ultrasone thread.

Since I have not heard the RPX-33 I really can't say how it would sound but you have the right of it when you attribute a "romantic" sound from the HA-02. I love the emotional experience when listening to music presented this way with the UE9 and HA-02. I have compared the HA-02 with my Berning micro-ZOTL and the AT-HA5000 that I just sold. You really can't appreciate the detail these two tube amps have until you hear them. The HA-02 is a tube amp but it sounds very detailed and smooth, what can I say, I really enjoy it. I probably would enjoy the RPX-33 as well since I enjoyed my HA5000 for a long time. But the HA-02 was more detailed than the solid state HA5000 from my perspective. The micro-ZOTL also has detail to spare with the UE9s. I think the HA-02 is a real bargain from where I am coming from. If you can find a used micro-ZOTL it would be a bargain as well since they are now out of production.

Here is my three amp comparison: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpo...&postcount=746

They all sounded great so don't take to much away from the ones that came up short. I called comparing these three amps somewhat of a fools errand but I did it anyway because I enjoyed the sound of each one.

 

[Sovkiller]

I have tried both worlds with the Editions, some very good amps of both worlds tubes, and SS, from diferent manufacturers and till now I preffer them out of a SS amp...Will keep on trying though...we have now new amps everyday...

 

[jlingo]

I assume you still stick with RPX-33?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have tried both worlds with the Editions, some very good amps of both worlds tubes, and SS, from diferent manufacturers and till now I preffer them out of a SS amp...Will keep on trying though...we have now new amps everyday...