Yes, please!
To what I might imagine, its sounds should be a refinement of Signature DJ, with no much surprise.
Mmmhhh...yes, please DO IT!
I'm curious.
Especially how they stack against Sig DJ
I wish they would be trying to get a better reach in Europe as well
So yes and no, about the refined SigDJ.
The first thing I realized when testing these is that the build quality is extremely good and rugged, even though there is no real leather, the frame is the same as the signature series and the pleather is thick and supple. Michael Prager (the official rep) at the Ultrasone booth told me that one of the main problems with the Signature DJ was that it was white and got dirty very fast on the go. Aside from that, DJs seemed to have preferred black for all things audio equipment so that is why all sig series are now and will likely stay completely black, in case anyone was wondering.
The sound itself is rather interesting. One thing I immediately realized with the sig studios is that older songs and even slightly poorly remastered songs sound very, very bad. They sound harsh and piercing. This makes the studios really revealing of mastering quality (which I assume is the entire point given their name), but it also makes some of my songs from the 70s and 80s really unlistenable. So take that how you will. This is not a "fun" headphone, but it's also not completely ruler flat neutral either, as in it's not "dry" and analytical. Hopefully that makes sense. The highs are slightly accentuated, but they aren't sharp or piercing unless the song is bright naturally or poorly mixed. I only thought things were uncomfortable on older songs. The mids are quite nice and revealing, better than the Pro 900. The bass leaves something to be desired compared to the SigDJ and Pro 900 in terms of depth, amount, and bottom end, but I assume that is the entire point of this product. It's not meant necessarily for modern and pop music. It's a slightly more nuanced V/U shape, not completely flat, but very revealing of low grade mastering. I liked it. It would be a good upgrade for Pro 900 users if you want a more refined sound signature and give up a bit sub-bass. I might retire my Pro 900 for the Studios. Compared to the Sig Pros, these are a good side-upgrade but these have a slightly different sound signature. These are too different than the SigDJs for me to say that it's comparable. If you want something bass centric, this is not the product you want to get in place of the SigDJ, I'd still recommend the SigDJ, or even the Pro 900 if bass and modern music is most important to you. The biggest factor with this headphone is that it's extremely revealing of audio quality which I assume was Ultrasone's point with this product. It's pretty well done in that regard.
I was most impressed with the rugged build quality though. Would be nice to see more headphones in the $500-$1000 range have such a rugged feel to them. I felt like if Pelican (the rubber hardcase manufacturer) made headphone it would be the SigStudio. They don't have real leather or the Ethiopian sheepskin
™ that Ultrasone is really famous for, but I think that might actually be a good thing, I would be more than willing to toss them around from the very beginning and not think I am tearing up leather that is worth as much as other headphones itself. These are really good for people who like slight U shaped sound, but not exactly scooped out or recessed mids. It was an interesting experience. Would love to see them measured by Tyll or someone in the future, although I am pretty sure he might not be as much of a fan as I was since he is known to prefer predominantly dark headphones like MrSpeakers products.