[s_nyc]

So, I am planning to purchase a nice amp for my Pro 900 in the coming months. I already read a lot on head-fi on this subject and came to the conclusion that the synergies between a given model and my headphones might be as important as the performance of the amp itself.

Since all Ultrasones have a lot in common (e.g. low impedance, construction, S-Logic-Dolby-Surround-THX-Spacializator-and-sea-shell-on-the-ear-effect, etc.), I just thought you guys could throw in a few suggestions of well-known synergies between a given amp and Ultrasones headphones. I could then edit this post with a short-list of the best suggestions (in different price categories).

So far, the only supposed good match I know of is the Rudistor NX-02 Sistema (now replaced by the NX-03) which has been specifically designed for Ultrasones. I now wonder if it is fair to assume that all Rudistor pair well with Ultrasones?

Anyway, here is a tentative list of SS amps in which I am personally interested in without however knowing if they would match well with Ultrasones. It would be great to have you opinion about these. Also, feel free to discuss any other amps (including tube amps) in order to make this thread as general as possible.

* Little Dot MkV
* Meier Audio Swing
* Graham Slee Novo
* Audio-Gd C2C
* Kicas / Kicas Caliente
* EC/SS Solid State Headphone Amplifier
* Headamp Gilmore Lite
* Heed Audio CanAmp
* Lehmann Audio Rhinelander
* Goldpoint Headphone Pro
* Graham Slee Solo SRG
* SPL 2Control
* Rudistor NX03
* Ray Samuels HR-2
* Lehmann Audio Black Cube Linear
* SPL Auditor

As usual, my ears thank you much!

 

[s_nyc]

[Reserved]

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_nyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif I now wonder if it is fair to assume that all Rudistor pair well with Ultrasones?

Yes.

Check out blessingx's NX-02 is the FS section. It's a steal.

 

[s_nyc]

I totally agree and thanks for pointing out, but I will come back to Europe permanently in September and will need a 220v amp.

Great to know that all Rudistor would do it though!

 

[musicman59]

If I was you I will look for one of the Rudistor RPX-33 sold through Ultrasone USA. They were voiced specially to match the Ultrasone headphones.

I have one of them and I also have the Rudi RP010B. IMO the Edition 9 that I have sound sweeter on the RPX33 than the mighty RP010B in SE.

Another option is to buy a new Rudistor and ask Rudi to voice it just like the ones he was producing for Ultrasone. I really don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[haloxt]

Sonic State - News (Video Item) WNAMM09: Ultrasone Make Very Fine Headphones, Edition 8 has titanium bass tubes, and there's a balanced h/p amp

Over here halfway through the spokesperson says balanced Pro 900 sounds very nice out of their H-101 balanced headphone amp (it was slated for early this year but still not available, if you're interested you could contact them because I heard they might be releasing it soon still). I only listened to SE for ~3 hours on a new amp then hardwired balanced for my Pro 900 and immediately it sounded like a different headphone just going SE to balanced, I can't decide if all the changes are good (sound is so encompassing+powerful, easily hurts my ears at what I consider normal listening level) but if you want seashell over your ear effect you should consider balanced amp for the Pro 900.

 

[s_nyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicman59 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I was you I will look for one of the Rudistor RPX-33 sold through Ultrasone USA. They were voiced specially to match the Ultrasone headphones. I have one of them and I also have the Rudi RP010B. IMO the Edition 9 that I have sound sweeter on the RPX33 than the mighty RP010B in SE. Another option is to buy a new Rudistor and ask Rudi to voice it just like the ones he was producing for Ultrasone. I really don't think you will be disappointed.

Great suggestion, thanks - I did not know that Dr. Stor would accept to do that. That said, my budget is more towards the NX-03 than the RPX33...

 

[s_nyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sonic State - News (Video Item) WNAMM09: Ultrasone Make Very Fine Headphones, Edition 8 has titanium bass tubes, and there's a balanced h/p amp Over here halfway through the spokesperson says balanced Pro 900 sounds very nice out of their H-101 balanced headphone amp (it was slated for early this year but still not available, if you're interested you could contact them because I heard they might be releasing it soon still). I only listened to SE for ~3 hours on a new amp then hardwired balanced for my Pro 900 and immediately it sounded like a different headphone just going SE to balanced, I can't decide if all the changes are good (sound is so encompassing+powerful, easily hurts my ears at what I consider normal listening level) but if you want seashell over your ear effect you should consider balanced amp for the Pro 900.

Thanks, that sounds interesting. My initial idea was to keep them single-ended and to purchase an amp which would not necessarily offer a balanced output. If that is not a secret, how much did you pay for having your Pro 900 hardwired balanced?

 

[haloxt]

I did a very half-assed job myself heh heh, 11ft. of blue dragon cable and Ultrasone rubber grommet cost ~$102 shipped from moon-audio. You are supposed to actually pull on the inner cup until the glue detaches and you can pull out the gold ring that holds in the detachable cable, replace that with the grommet. Very hard to do, I didn't do it successfully, tried pulling pretty hard but didn't work and Drew at moon-audio was pretty unhelpful and I wanted to listen balanced like immediately, so I just stuck the grommet from the bottom up and its an extremely tight fit so holds well enough it's just totally wrong way to put it in ^^. When I finally find a sleeve I like I will cut the thin middle part of the grommet out, glue bottom and top ends together, and stick it from the bottom up then apply glue to hold it there and it should hold very well because the grommet touches the entire inner area right below the gold thread-in if you look at the headphones from below.

 

[s_nyc]

Wow - this seems like an ultra-scary job to me since I was already shaking from doing the simple Kees mod!

 

[musicman59]

I know Rudi has done it for some people. PM Alberto (Sovkiller) he will help you out.

 

[s_nyc]

Thanks. Since I'll buy from Europe in a couple of months, I believe I could as well contact Dr. Rudi Stor in Italy directly.

 

[s_nyc]

Guys,

It seems that Rudistor amps would be a great match with any Ultrasones, but what about cheaper amps? I am in particular thinking to the following:

* Meier Audio Swing
* Graham Slee Novo / Solo
* Audio-Gd C2C
* Lehmann Audio Rhinelander
* SPL 2Control

Did you have any experience with any of these and a pair of Ultrasones?

Thanks!!

 

[haloxt]

I have tried the Pro 900 with the compass amp section which is supposed to be ~80% of the C-2C (at least the unupdated version), and I think the compass amp does a pretty decent job with the Pro 900 except it does have kind of a small soundstage. With the Phoenix the soundstage is so big and imaging so complex I think it may be overkill for the closed-back Pro 900. People who have compared C-2C and compass amp section usually mention how the C-2C has better soundstaging than the compass amp, in which case it might be a good candidate for the Pro 900. If you ever consider using audio-gd's flavored hdam's, I highly recommend against it because the Pro 900 doesn't sound good at all with that kind of coloration.

 

[jonsnow007]

How would the Heed Canamp match with the pro 900's?