[Biesas]

Anybody? :/
 
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Just got a response from the UK Ultrasone distributors about the Silver ear pads... They have quoted me 56£ for the pads and shipping ooo Is it just me or does somebody else think that this is a bit over the top? Any advice are they worth that much? Or would I be better off getting myself a pair of XB500 for about 40£ new and switching the pads? Or maybe even XB700? I am after a bit more isolation than the stock pads provide.

 

 

[Jibbie]

The Ultrasone Silver Pads will give you a much different sound signature than the Sony XB700 pads.  The Silver pads will be very close to the stock pads, though maybe a bit softer/more comfortable, but with minimal impact on sound.  
 
The huge, thick pleather (leather?) pads of the XB700, however, will increase isolation and probably make bass impact/extension even greater because of it.
 
All speculation of course.
 
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Anybody? :/ 
 

 

 

[Optimus Praim]

The silver pads from my experience with them make bass a slight more impactful than the black ones at certain tracks..
Also the soundstage is not so wide as with the blacks and that's because of their smaller diameter..
Overall they sound different from the blacks but in a good way..
I really enjoy them although Ultrasone send me one pad that is not the exact much with the other one.
What i am trying to say that one pad is slightly shallower and softer than the other...

 

 

[krod3003]

XB700 pads are WAY better than the silver pads. The silver pads gave me more of an airy sound with even less isolation than the black ones, while the Xb700 pads isolated better, gave the bass better impact, and improved soundstage ever so slightly. And no it did not affect the highs or mids in a negative way, it just made the sound fuller.
 
Oh and did I mention it improved comfort

 

[Leander7777]

I got both the black and silver pads with my pair of pro900s, and while I am very fond of them, I really don't think there's such a feasible difference between the two variations. Ultrasone markets them as identical in construction, and although the silver pads are a bit softer and thus comfier, they are pretty much identical. The difference is honestly not as stark as most people on this forum would like to have you believe. To me, the only thing going for their recommendation over the black pads is their look. The silver pads do look a lot better, but is the difference 52 euros worth? That's up to you to decide...

 

[LFG530]

Anyone tried the Beyer gel pads????

 

[BournePerfect]

You guys are crazy! 

 I immediately noticed quite the change the very moment I put the silvers on. And keep in mind I ONLY changed them because I liked the looks better-so I was pretty dang surprised when they changed into a much better all-rounder. What I noticed first was more details in the mids-vocals especially at least with the song I had been listening to at the time. At first I thought it was that the mids were brought out a little bit more-but in reality it was the bass that toned down a bit. I really could notice quite a bit more frequencies in the midrange, and they soon became a better competitive gaming can than I had previously thought, and much more enjoyable to me for genres other than electronica. I'd really recommend at least trying them if you think the black stock pads have too much bass, and are genre-limited.
 
Back to my 2900s: These are a COMPLETELY different beast than the Pro 900s. In fact I've been thinking about buying some Pro 900s again-even though I clearly prefer the 2900s. The 2900s simply don't have the massive impact as the 900s, which I find very appealing in different situations. But the 2900s are a much better all arounder-in fact one of the best I've heard! The mids are EXCELLENT, and I wouldn't say they are recessed in the slightest. I never heard sibilance with these, and the airy presentation (open cans) just suit me better. The kicker is that to my ears, they don't exhibit the metallic/fake tonality that I found with the 900s, and are much more enjoyable to me because of it. I would even recommend getting these over the silver-padded 900s, unless you're simply buying them for dubstep-where the 900s still kill them. All in all they are much different, and could easily recommend having both if you could afford it-and need a better all-arounder to complement the 900s.
 
Shoot me any questions and I'll try my best to answer. FWIW, I'm running the 2900s out of the C -2.1 with LT1028 ANC8 opamps, fed by the analog outs of my Squeezebox touch at the moment. I can already say that I am hearing even MORE details and nuances from this am than any other I have owned.
 
-Daniel

 

[HynchSidrick]

yessss the pro 2900 are the most underrated cans on headfi. not getting credit where credit is due. one of the best hp's imho

 

[krod3003]

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yessss the pro 2900 are the most underrated cans on headfi. not getting credit where credit is due. one of the best hp's imho

 
Crap, gotta get some now.
 

 

[Optimus Praim]

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I got both the black and silver pads with my pair of pro900s, and while I am very fond of them, I really don't think there's such a feasible difference between the two variations. Ultrasone markets them as identical in construction, and although the silver pads are a bit softer and thus comfier, they are pretty much identical. The difference is honestly not as stark as most people on this forum would like to have you believe. To me, the only thing going for their recommendation over the black pads is their look. The silver pads do look a lot better, but is the difference 52 euros worth? That's up to you to decide...

I think there is something wrong with your hearing perception or with your silver pads..
 


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You guys are crazy! 

 I immediately noticed quite the change the very moment I put the silvers on. And keep in mind I ONLY changed them because I liked the looks better-so I was pretty dang surprised when they changed into a much better all-rounder. What I noticed first was more details in the mids-vocals especially at least with the song I had been listening to at the time. At first I thought it was that the mids were brought out a little bit more-but in reality it was the bass that toned down a bit. I really could notice quite a bit more frequencies in the midrange, and they soon became a better competitive gaming can than I had previously thought, and much more enjoyable to me for genres other than electronica. I'd really recommend at least trying them if you think the black stock pads have too much bass, and are genre-limited.
 
-Daniel

Yeah you are right Daniel..
Indeed the bass is towned down but somehow became punchier..
Not to a great amount but noticeable.
And i forgot to mention that songs with bright highs sound a little more brighter with the silvers..
 

 

[BournePerfect]

You should also notice quite a few more details with vocals and guitars since the bass no longer covers it up.I didn't really pay attention to how the sibilance changed-but it never did fully go away.Until I got my 2900s, that is.

 I'm not sure I'd call the 2900s underappreciated-I'd just say they are more...unknown lol. A big reason for that is that they generally cost $200 more than the 900s, and came out quite a bit after them as well. But I stand by my point that they are entirely different sounding signatures, and are merely grouped together since they are the same brand, and similar model #. Maybe all the sonic differences are because of closed vs. open-but either way they are VERY different imo. Like I said-I might just buy the 900s again to complement these. That is if I don't get a T1 next-which seems right up my alley. Time will tell.
 
-Daniel

 

[Leander7777]

Daniel: The pro900,edition 8 and pro2900 use the same driver, but each model has it tuned differently.

Wasn't it you that claimed that Ultrasone said they are physically identical? They should know, as they are the engineers.I know it's weird as there is a perceivable difference, but the difference is not night and day. I honestly think that the way that you and Daniel describe them is misleading... Maybe, I'm less biased cause I didn't have to paid an extra 52 euros for them...
What counts is that you're happy with them. I just don't want other head-fiers to be misled into thinking it's going to transform the pro900; I honestly don't think the sonic changes are worth 52 euros, but to each their own.
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I think there is something wrong with your hearing perception or with your silver pads..
 

 

 

[BournePerfect]

That's a two-way street Leander. You've got 2 people right here claiming the same thing-so who's misleading who?? And I got my pads for like $10 shipped from another user here...was it you lol I can't remember. And I STRICTLY bought them for aesthetic intentions-so color me as surprised as anyone when I INSTANTLY RECOGNIZED OBVIOUS DIFFERENCES upon changing the pads. At the time I did that, I hadn't even read that they were even a different material that could possibly change the sound. That's about as far from a placebo as one could get, I'd guess. The reason I keep piping up on the silvers is because it made the 900s a much better all arounder for reasons already stated about what I heard. I stand by that a thousand percent.
 
I hope I'm not coming across as argumentative here-because I'm just standing my ground because what I heard was EASILY heard, and completely caught me off guard. Then again-different ears, different systems as always. It wasn't a massive change that made them sound like different headphones-but rather a very obvious, discernable change that made them better, imo.
 
That said-listening to these 2900s right now---I'm not just hearing more details with this C-2.1 amp-but all sorts of microdetails in vocals/backing vocals in songs I've heard a million times. WOW. These headphones are incredible...can't wait to get a real dac again...WOW...peace.
 
-Daniel
 
edit: The black and silver pads definitely were built differently. The silvers were softer, more 'plush' if you will. IIRC, they weren't as thick as the stock black ones either. And obviously, even small changes with pads-even the same pads old vs new-oftentimes have pretty obvious differences sonically. FWIW, depending how much the silver pads can be bought for-I'd probably recommend just jumping to the 2900s that can be had around $450-475 on eBay. But again-they are quite different, and one's closed vs open...

 

[Sorensiim]

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After using the Pro 900 Balanced and through my CLAS for 2 days now.... HOLYS**T! the sound is AMAZING! It's so full and the soundstage is crazy for a closed can! Going balanced was way worth it! The bass is so good I can feel it shaking on my head and it tickles my lobes

but the amazing thing is my amp is only turned 1/4 of the way up. I couldn't go past 1/2 as it go to loud to the point I'd go deaf.

Could you please post some more info about your rig? I'm trying to decide on a new amp for my Pro 900 and I'm really tempted to go balanced since I already have a fully balanced source (Yulong D100). 

 

[Biesas]

Thank you all very much for all the info. I am not trying to make my Pro900 a better all-rounder cause over 90% of music that I listen is drum and bass so I find them excellent for what I listen. What I am going after is isolation in all honesty, cause the lack of it really annoys my GF wheb she goes to bed and I am still listening to music as they leak a lot and that is causing a lot of problems with my GF oo So to get to the point. Does anybody know how do the XB500 compare to XB700 pads? Would the XB500 fit better than the XB700 due to 500 being smaller?