[Dougeefresh]

Quote:

Haha well - nobody has ever did comparisons between a brand new and "burned-in" pair of headphones. Surprising huh?
Burn-in is how your ears are adjusting to the sound.

Trust me. PRO900 changes sound quite a bit during the burn-in and it's NOT my ears/brain adjusting.
I've had an old pair, about 150-200 hours. I sold them (thinking D7000 would be the one to rule them all!) then bought a brand new one week later because I missed them a lot. The new ones sounded COMPLETELY different from the one I sold, to a point where I didn't recognize the sound signature. I then burned those in running them 24/7 for a while (with regular break periods here and there), WITHOUT listening  then the sound I liked came back. I wish I could've done a side-by-side comparison but oh well.
The difference was not "um I think I hear the difference" but was "OMG, what happened to the sound?!?!"
Other headphones I had, I couldn't notice the burn-in effect.

 

[forsberg]

I have the ultrasone pro 900 too and I didn't notice any burn-in.

But listening to other headphones afterwards I was surprised my headphones sounded the way it did - that had more of a "burn-in" effect for me.

 

[Dougeefresh]

I barely noticed the change while listening to the SAME headphones. Because the sound change happens gradually over time, your ears/brain will get used to it and not notice the change. However, when you listen to the old ones for a while then listen to new ones, you WILL hear the difference right away. This can only be contributed to the physical changes that burn-in creates (unless it's a manufacturing defect/discrepancies but if that was the case, the second pair wouldn't have sounded like the first pair after the burn-in.) This is the closest thing next to having old and new pairs in front of me to compare side by side.

 

[MrTwyst]

I noticed a difference with mine. When I first got them, they were very sibilant on a couple of tracks in some spots.
 
I'd leave them burning in over night, and while I was out and about. 
 
Within a few days, the sibilance was a lot less.

 

[SidneyFife]

Am I missing out on much by only driving these with an e7/e9 combo? It's all I could afford when I first got them, but now i'm not sure if the cost/benefit ratio of upgrading would be in my favor. Thoughts?

 

[MrTwyst]

You definitely didn't hit their peak performance. They will handle many of the higher end amps and DACs that you drive them with.
 
You have upgrade paths with the amps and DACs, but you also have upgrade paths (and side-grade paths) with other headphones as well, if you choose... It all depends on the sound you're interested in.
 
Personally, I'm enjoying listening to the 900s with the Schiit Lyr (which affords latitude of sound signatures through tube rolling). Which leads to the question if you want some of the warmer sounds you get out of tube amps, or the more clinical sound you get out of solid state (which you already have).
 
Different amps will have different levels of power and sound signatures.
 
Quote:

Am I missing out on much by only driving these with an e7/e9 combo? It's all I could afford when I first got them, but now i'm not sure if the cost/benefit ratio of upgrading would be in my favor. Thoughts?

 

 

[SidneyFife]

Could you describe "warm" vs "clinical" sound? I will search headfi and google it, but if you have a simple answer, i'd love to hear that as well. I'm sorry i'm definitely a noob. I do definitely enjoy the sound of the 900's and they work well for what I listen to (95%+ EDM). Would a warmer sound be overall less harsh? For example sometimes the treble is just too piercing for me on some tunes, forcing me to adjust the volume lower than i'd like which makes me miss out on some of the subtleties I really value in Trance. What would be the most logical path for me? I realize that's hard to answer for someone else especially in regards to which sound i'd prefer to pursue, but logically what is the next step up to bring out the best in these cans?
 
Quote:

You definitely didn't hit their peak performance. They will handle many of the higher end amps and DACs that you drive them with.
 
You have upgrade paths with the amps and DACs, but you also have upgrade paths (and side-grade paths) with other headphones as well, if you choose... It all depends on the sound you're interested in.
 
Personally, I'm enjoying listening to the 900s with the Schiit Lyr (which affords latitude of sound signatures through tube rolling). Which leads to the question if you want some of the warmer sounds you get out of tube amps, or the more clinical sound you get out of solid state (which you already have).
 
Different amps will have different levels of power and sound signatures.
 


 

 

 

[MrTwyst]

My pleasure.
 
Clinical: Everything is very sharp, very strong separation between instruments with different tonal values. Highs will tend to be very clear and crisp. Excellent for, say, electronic music and bright music.
 
Warm: The harmonic content of the sound has more of a full and lush quality. Goes great with string sections of orchestras in Classical music. It can be a little more forgiving and easier to listen to.
 
Yes, the warmer sound will be less harsh. I tamed the 900s by going for a tube amp. The 900s are very clinical compared to others. That is, everything is very bright, and well-defined, therefore, it can get fatiguing to listen to after awhile.
 
One choice I made, personally, was to compliment the 900s by also buying a pair of Sennheiser 650s. In some cases, I like the 900s better on very technical music. In most cases, I like the Senns a little more, because they're just easier to listen to. But when I want the music I'm listening to, to really pop, I go for the 900s. The same type of distinction can be made between solid state and tube amps. Solid state: Clarity and pop... Tube: Warmth and easier to listen to.
 
I think for EDM, the 900s are great, and I wouldn't recommend a headphone side-grade. You could look at improving the power behind the sound (which will give more punch to the sound) by upgrading to another AMP. There are a few good ones in the $400 range which have similar sound quality to other amps which cost 3-4 times as much. You could still use the Fiio DAC, or upgrade the DAC as well.
 
"Unfortunately," you wandered into a mess where, generally, if you spend more money, you get better sound.
 

 
Quote:

Could you describe "warm" vs "clinical" sound? I will search headfi and google it, but if you have a simple answer, i'd love to hear that as well. I'm sorry i'm definitely a noob. I do definitely enjoy the sound of the 900's and they work well for what I listen to (95%+ EDM). Would a warmer sound be overall less harsh? For example sometimes the treble is just too piercing for me on some tunes, forcing me to adjust the volume lower than i'd like which makes me miss out on some of the subtleties I really value in Trance. What would be the most logical path for me? I realize that's hard to answer for someone else especially in regards to which sound i'd prefer to pursue, but logically what is the next step up to bring out the best in these cans?
 


 

 

 

[DannyBai]

I've been listening to my Pro 900's through the HP-P1 + SR-71A + Blue Dragon cable combo and after 300+ listening hours and the sibilance just doesn't go away.  I'm not complaining by any means but I think it will always be present in this headphone.  I basically only listen to electronic music (no vocals) and it's hard to beat.  The bass just doesn't get much better than the 900's.  

 

[JackeShan]

Quote:

I've been listening to my Pro 900's through the HP-P1 + SR-71A + Blue Dragon cable combo and after 300+ listening hours and the sibilance just doesn't go away.  I'm not complaining by any means but I think it will always be present in this headphone.  I basically only listen to electronic music (no vocals) and it's hard to beat.  The bass just doesn't get much better than the 900's.  

I agree. Sibilance don't really go away, but you get much more used to the sound than when you first hear them IMO. Also, if you find the sibilance too harsh you can equalize a little bit at 4 to 8KHz frequency, it works perfect for me.
 

 

[Zembla]

So...

I just got my P900. Good thing the guy at the store has a habbit of burning in headphones overnight. In other words, they're already burnt in for a bit (80'ish hours I'd asssume).

Intend to use them at my workplace with either a desktop with minijack out, or from an iPod.

For the latter I'm assuming I'll need a amp. A portable one at that as well. Has anyone here got experience with which amp would be a good match for this headphone?

The sweet-spot is at a good level of quality vs price of course.

-Z

 

[InfectedStyles]

How much do you look to spend? The E7 is a good amp/dac that is portable.

 

[enobeuh]

Quote:

What gear are you using along with the Pro 900s?

Toshiba Satellite P755 Laptop  >   Foobar with mostly either V0, 320, or Flac   >  RSA Predator  >  Pro 900s
 
Why do you ask?

 

[fud4ever]

Quote:

For the latter I'm assuming I'll need a amp. A portable one at that as well. Has anyone here got experience with which amp would be a good match for this headphone?

 
i've heard great things about this portable amp and the pro 900s. Also if you're gonna use your ipod as a source i recommend this item as well.
 
i own both the pro 900s and a fiio e7 and they work well together. But ive heard better things about the zo2, so. yea.

 

[JackeShan]

Is it only for me that the bass seem louder in the left cup? I can definitely 'feel' it more than the right cup and it's been like this since I got them. On some songs there's a big difference while others there aren't. I'm not sure if it's something wrong with my setup, or if it's just some songs.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsUrStYDsAg
 
At 0:52 in this song there's definitely a difference. Is it the same for you in this particular song?