[BournePerfect]

Get some silver pads, seriously-whatever you need to do. This will dramatically even out the frquency response and make them much more enjoyable for movies and games. I can't stress this enough, and will repeat it til I'm blue in the face. I honestly don't know if I'd even recommend them otherwie, except for bassheads. The first time I swapped to the silver pads, it was like my ears got a much needed relief. All of a sudden I was hearing a LOT more details in the mids, especially vocals and dialogue. The bass calmed down quite a bit but still retained it's clarity and depth, but it really allows the mids to shine. 
 
The importance of this cannot be understated, imo. Obviously for movies, the dialogue will be heard a lot better, but for action movies you may prefer the black pads. But for gaming, the clarity of the mids is paramount above all, where footsteps, most gunfire, explosions, etc. need to be crystal clear, which I don't think was possible with the black pads.
 
Keep in mind the mids will continue to come forward a bit with burn in. Also don't try the Kees mod if you're gonna burn them in for a few hundred hours because it will be worthless after that. To me the dialoge in movies was absolutely stunning with these, I wonder if the DSS is known to be mid-forward possibly.
 
Regarding amps, I think you should just be looking at some with a warm presentation-not rolled-off per se. When I think 'rolled off', I think 'missing notes'. It wasn't until I heard an AD2000 that I learned that you could have  brilliant highs that are not harsh or ear piercing in the least. I still think the modded m-Stage with the right opamp would be the best amp under $300 for the Pros. Also, look into the Asgard possibly, as I think it's known to be slightly warm, and runs in Class A right out of the box. I haven't heard how it fares with Ultrasones though. I do believe a Class A amp will be the best bet for these, as they generally have a much smoother, more refined presentation that should suit these well. You might research the Class A 'Cute Beyond' (Amazon has it) for a cheaper alternative-but I know nothing about it.
 
-Daniel

 

[Sanctuary]

I can understand how something like the J$ pads would make a  difference--seems like the only positive is comfort though since they bring out the highs even more--but what's so different about the silver pads from the black other than the velour?  Aren't they essentially the same firmness, or are they completely different?  Because honestly, the black pads are not only not comfortable, they leak like mad.
 
I'm also confused about not worrying about modding them if you're going to "burn them in anyway".  I thought "burn in" was a process that happens over time just from normal useage--which can be sped up by playing them at a slightly higher than normal level when you're not wearing them?  Some people have said "don't worry about doing the mod until after burn in", and you're saying the mod doesn't matter if you're going to burn them in.  I've also seen conflicting reports about the silver pads.  You're enthusiastically recommending them, while I've also seen others saying they can't notice any difference at all switching between the two.

  Also, how worn in are your pads now?  Because that too will have an effect on the sound since the driver will naturally be closer to your ears if the cushions have more give.

I'm also not looking to modify my first headphone amp either.  I need to get something that's going to be good from the start.  Honestly though, all I really wish for with these headphones were that the mids were possibly +10 db and the highs -10 db.  Sometimes the bass can be ever so bloated, but I don't mind since it's so fantastic the majority of the time.
 

 

[Kernmac]

Quote:

 
I'm also confused about not worrying about modding them if you're going to "burn them in anyway". than normal level when you're not wearing them?   I've also seen conflicting reports about the silver pads.  You're enthusiastically recommending them, while I've also seen others saying they can't notice any difference at all switching between the two.    Sometimes the bass can be ever so bloated, but I don't mind since it's so fantastic the majority of the time.
 

Get some furniture felt dots and place them on the metal driver casing under the switch pads.  Be sure to take some of the double sided tape stickiness off by sticking them to your jeans and pulling them off a couple of times, that way you will be able to remove them from the driver casing if you want.  Highs taken care of.  Then if the bloating bass is an issue, unscrew the driver plate (careful not to strip the screw heads) and place a small amount of cotton pad (small makeup pad remover or less) and bass is fixed (not too much or the wonderful bass will disappear) .  Kees Mod.  Secondly, disregard all the misinformation you read about the colour of an earpad.  As for the J$ pads, I have no doubt that they would make a difference, question is, for better or worse?  Pro 550 and Pro 650 have pleather pads, 750 and 900 have velour; one can only assume that Ultrasone selected them that way for a reason.
 

 

[n-phect]

oh man this track is sik on the 900s
 

 

[Sanctuary]

They don't even sell the silver pads anymore anyway.

The Pro 750s, one of the sets that used the silver have earpads that do not share the same specs as the Pro 900s.  If the "mounts" are identical, that is probably why there's a difference in sound.
 
http://ultrasone.com/stores/us/Earpads/?XTCsid=6ocq2pmn8nc7vmt3irdjqt195s5roqla#18
 
I read the "bright" thread with comments and pictures on the mod. I'll probably just try a single disc on the metal pad first without covering any holes (the Kernmac way) to see how that sounds, and then covering up the center hold afterwards if that's not enough.  I probably won't be doing anything with cotton though, unless damping the bass also brings out the mids more.

 

[BournePerfect]

The silver pads are much softer than the black pads, and seem to compress a bit more (not much when on ear. I'm not keen on pads materials vs sonic changes, but I can tell you I was essentially my own 'blind' test if you will. I say this because I simply got the silver pads soley based on a pic someone posted here, and thought they looked incredible. I didn't know they were different material, or that anyone claimed any sonic differences between the two. But I only got maybe 30 into a familiar song when I realized the dramatic shift they had made. It was clear as a bell, night and day difference. Make of that what you will. FWIW m silver pads have less than 30 hours headtime, so not worn in at all. If you search here, there seem to be a few other posters here who *clearly* hear the same changes. Someone said the Pro 750 pads are the same, I haven't confirmed that thoughcuz I don't need to.
 
Regarding the 'modded' m-Stage, it is a simple plug-n-play mod that takes mabe 3 minutes tops as you have to unscrew 4 screws to open the case, then unplug the old opamp and plug the new one in. Simple as that. The adapter is sold on coolfungadget.com, the same place you'll be more than likely purchasing the amp, if you go that route.
 
-Daniel
 
 

 

[BournePerfect]

Oh, and I was also referencing the fact that the Kees mod is essentially only helpful if your Pro haven't fully been burned in yet. Meaning the mod on a stock 900 would give a pretty good idea of what a fully burned in Pro 900 would sound like. So don't bother going to the hassle of Kees modding it when you can just burn it in for a couple of weeks instead of going to that trouble, which you'd undo later anyway.
 
-Daniel

 

[Sanctuary]

Quote:

Oh, and I was also referencing the fact that the Kees mod is essentially only helpful if your Pro haven't fully been burned in yet.

Right, that's what I thought you meant.  Yet others have said to not even bother modding them until you already have a hundred, or few hundred hours with them already. It's easy and reversible--so if it improves the sound now, having to undo it in a few weeks isn't really a hassle.
 

 

[BournePerfect]

I guess I'm not a fan of diy modding because you can essentially change any headphone (for better or worse) by doing things like that. Definitely not a can of worms I'd like to open. I'd rather get more headphones, amps, cable upgrades (sometimes) and enjoy the variety! How many hours do your Pro's have on them now?
 
-Daniel

 

[Sanctuary]

Quote:

How many hours do your Pro's have on them now?

Hard to say, but roughly 40 hours.  I don't leave my PC or stereo going while I'm asleep.  I do know for sure that amping changes them slightly too, so that's something to look forward to, but I'm pretty much capped out until the end of the year. That should also give me plenty of time to figure out what amp I want to settle for.

 

[BournePerfect]

Dude wrap 'em up good in a blanket and turn them up louder than normal. Keep it up 24/7 and in another week-you'll be done! Keep in mind most SS amps also want 3-4 days of burn in to fully settle in as well. The m-Stage definitely improved for the first couple of days for me, but not much more. My Reference 9 dac is known to change considerable-even the designer claims it needed around 3-500 hours to settle in completely. Even then a lot of these things just need time to literally get warm to sound right. The Ref 9 ($1300) literally didn't sound much better than my $99 uDac when it was cold. About 2 hours later it absolutely crushed the little uDac in every regard-as it should. I'm going off topic cuz I'm falling asleep to my AD2000s lol. Hope you're still enjoying them.
 
-Daniel

 

[BlutoSlice]

 
1) I'm in the UK. Is ordering from 'buyauthorized' likely to incur any customs charges?
 
Yes I got stung by parcel force, the added £15 fee on top of £40 VAT.. made overall price ($320 base) up for about nearly as much as local shop.  If you can afford it I would get them in the UK for warranty or second hand to save cash.
 
2) Amps - I have the matrix m-stage with class A bias opamp upgrade and can highly recommend it - you can buy it stock or pre-upgraded from ebay coolfungadget ( Tam Audio). They got for £220~ )

 
Quote:

Hi guys,
 
about to pull the trigger on the pro900s....got a couple of questions.
 
1) I'm in the UK. Is ordering from 'buyauthorized' likely to incur any customs charges?
 
2) Amps. I'm looking at the ZERO dac/amp and the AUNE. Will these do a decent enough job? Any other recommendations? thanks
 
zero - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/09-NEW-VERSION-ZERO-24-192KHZ-DAC-HEAD-AMP-USB-OPA2604-/110606578667?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c0aa73eb
 
aune - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUNE-HIFIDIY-NET-Mini-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amp-MK2-SE-/350241031685?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item518bfe0605

 

 

[Volta]

Quote:

 
1) I'm in the UK. Is ordering from 'buyauthorized' likely to incur any customs charges?
 
Yes I got stung by parcel force, the added £15 fee on top of £40 VAT.. made overall price ($320 base) up for about nearly as much as local shop.  If you can afford it I would get them in the UK for warranty or second hand to save cash.
 
2) Amps - I have the matrix m-stage with class A bias opamp upgrade and can highly recommend it - you can buy it stock or pre-upgraded from ebay coolfungadget ( Tam Audio). They got for £220~ )

 
 

 
 
Thanks for the reply. I'll try to buy used if possible.
 
The m-stage is just a standalone amp though right? No Dac/Usb? It's a bit of my budget. Does anyone have any experience of the pro900s paired with any of the cheaper Dac/Amps like the Zero/Aune? thanks.
 
 

 

[BlutoSlice]

For those that were wondering.. The Fiio E11 amps the pro 900 really well, the bass boost makes them ultra meaty.  I can now use the 900s for portable use luckily i don't need to worry about the cans slipping as I have a massive heeed

 
My 2 cents on burn in... Ultrasones most definitely need 100s of hours of slow roast. I have both the  HFI-780s and Pro 900 and they took along time to ditch the harshness.  In contrast my Denon D2000 were nice from day one but still improved over time.
I swap between them (work / home) and don't think brain burn exists to any significant degree unless you can brain burn multiple cans

but that's a whole other debate. 
 
For those who cant quite love the pro 900 weather it be s-logic or comfort or Ultrasone sound you should look at the Denons, they are more forward, have some deep sub bass and super comfy.

 

[Leander7777]

Volta, did you receive my PM? I'm not sure if it sent properly...