I was really suprised at the selection it was impressive to see some more rareer models and also a huge selection.
I'm going to jump into some impressions
Yamaha PRO 500 Price £200-£249
These where really attractive looking and they look much better in person. First thing I notice is these are friggin huge! Not in size but for the adjustments! It seems likw these where made for a Hippo! even on the lowest settling they where a tad large on my head. They felt solid although there have been reports of these snapping due to the design of the headphone but i'm not sure how common this is. These are not very comfy at all, they have a lot of pressure and the pads are not the largest so I would imagen for longer sessions these ould be a pain.
The sound of these headphones was excellent. They are a very transparent but aggressive sounding headphone. The bass was powerful and the sound was full of energy. The where quite balanced with a slight bass boost, what really impressed me was that these had a really nice natural tone to them for piano. I preferd them to the momentum by quite a lot and even thought they sounded better then my D600 when it comes to the tone and balanced nature! I prefer my D600 in soundstage and comfort and bass however.
If these where more comfy i'd buy these in a heart beat!
Ultrasone Pro DJ Price £649
I put these on my head without looking at the price. I found these decent comfort wise. They where quite ugly, plasticy but well built. The pads where not the best but I didn't complain. When I hit play I first was hit with the Ultrasone signature they some people either hate or love. They sounded quite detailed, bright and not very musical sounding at times. The Bass was powerful as expected and the Mids where good. I found that the treble was very energetic, probably the most interesting part but these sound harsh. After coming from the Pro500 I was a bit let down by these. I was not impressed by the price at all! that said, if they where say £300 I think they would be a decent buy if you like the signature of the Ultrasones.
Ultrasone Pro 900 Price £329
Finally got my hands on these! been waiting for ages to try them and finally!!! So I pick them up and man! these are built like a tank! They are a lot bigger in person but when placed on your head they don't look bad. I actually find them very attractive! one of the best looking i've ever seen. They are comfy, spacious in the pads. The clamp isn't too much nor too little. The metal on the cups looks lush and they just ooze quality.
When listening Inotice these are not as easy to drive as some of the others, so I hooked my Fiio E11 up. I was hit with a sound I just wasn't sure about. I noticed right away the mid range was heading on the way to being recessed. I wasn't what I'd consider recessed but it's not far off. The are detailed and you can tell they are quite Hifi but the mid range lets it down. The treble was quite harsh and it didn't have anoy smoothess at all. They didn't sound warm to my eyes kind of well..Ultrasonish lol hard to put a finger on it.
The Bass..Faqqq the bass is really strong. It's so deep and so impacful it almost sounds bad on some songs! I didn't want to listen to bassy music on these because it just brought out the flaws in these headphones. For classical and some rock they where ok but not great. The soundstage was really impressive and I really want to hook these up to my gaming rig because I think these would actually do rather well.
Overall..I just don't know. I dislike things but I really want them for some reason. The ydidn't sound that musical but I enjoyed them! but at the same time disliked a lot! I dunno man.
Sennheiser HD598 price £150-£200
Look better in pictures, they where comfy and had nice pads. The build looked frail and they kind of looked like a toy. I've heard these before in black but it was such a long time ago I had to give them a refresh. They sounded thin, cold but detailed. Soundstage was about average for a closed headphone. They didn't sound as good as I rememberd but thay maybe because i've owned and heard much more higher end. Treble was detailed and didn't sound too harsh. The mids also where smooth and the Bass was lean. These sounded so boring, i'm sorry but man.
I moved on pretty quick.
Shure 1540 Price Not sure but I think around £450-500?
First thing was the pads!! I loved the ear pads on these. They where soft, and had a airy feel ot them. Putting them on was even better they where deep, really nice on the head and probably one of the most comfy i've worn. The build of the phones was about average but they where sexy looking.
The sound of these was spacious, very spacious! them and the Pro 900 had the widest stage there including the open back sennheisers apart from the HD700-800. I heard a nice smooth tone, it wasn't really that musical but it was nice. It had quite a HD 650 feel to my ears and I was happy with them. I did a comparison with the Yamaha Pro 500 because they where next to eachother and I thought the Pros where more to my taste. The shures though where very good and where on par with other flagship closed backs.
These are the ones I had the most time with, The others I've quditioned many times before so I wanted to mostly try new things.
take care,
I'm going to jump into some impressions
Yamaha PRO 500 Price £200-£249
These where really attractive looking and they look much better in person. First thing I notice is these are friggin huge! Not in size but for the adjustments! It seems likw these where made for a Hippo! even on the lowest settling they where a tad large on my head. They felt solid although there have been reports of these snapping due to the design of the headphone but i'm not sure how common this is. These are not very comfy at all, they have a lot of pressure and the pads are not the largest so I would imagen for longer sessions these ould be a pain.
The sound of these headphones was excellent. They are a very transparent but aggressive sounding headphone. The bass was powerful and the sound was full of energy. The where quite balanced with a slight bass boost, what really impressed me was that these had a really nice natural tone to them for piano. I preferd them to the momentum by quite a lot and even thought they sounded better then my D600 when it comes to the tone and balanced nature! I prefer my D600 in soundstage and comfort and bass however.
If these where more comfy i'd buy these in a heart beat!
Ultrasone Pro DJ Price £649
I put these on my head without looking at the price. I found these decent comfort wise. They where quite ugly, plasticy but well built. The pads where not the best but I didn't complain. When I hit play I first was hit with the Ultrasone signature they some people either hate or love. They sounded quite detailed, bright and not very musical sounding at times. The Bass was powerful as expected and the Mids where good. I found that the treble was very energetic, probably the most interesting part but these sound harsh. After coming from the Pro500 I was a bit let down by these. I was not impressed by the price at all! that said, if they where say £300 I think they would be a decent buy if you like the signature of the Ultrasones.
Ultrasone Pro 900 Price £329
Finally got my hands on these! been waiting for ages to try them and finally!!! So I pick them up and man! these are built like a tank! They are a lot bigger in person but when placed on your head they don't look bad. I actually find them very attractive! one of the best looking i've ever seen. They are comfy, spacious in the pads. The clamp isn't too much nor too little. The metal on the cups looks lush and they just ooze quality.
When listening Inotice these are not as easy to drive as some of the others, so I hooked my Fiio E11 up. I was hit with a sound I just wasn't sure about. I noticed right away the mid range was heading on the way to being recessed. I wasn't what I'd consider recessed but it's not far off. The are detailed and you can tell they are quite Hifi but the mid range lets it down. The treble was quite harsh and it didn't have anoy smoothess at all. They didn't sound warm to my eyes kind of well..Ultrasonish lol hard to put a finger on it.
The Bass..Faqqq the bass is really strong. It's so deep and so impacful it almost sounds bad on some songs! I didn't want to listen to bassy music on these because it just brought out the flaws in these headphones. For classical and some rock they where ok but not great. The soundstage was really impressive and I really want to hook these up to my gaming rig because I think these would actually do rather well.
Overall..I just don't know. I dislike things but I really want them for some reason. The ydidn't sound that musical but I enjoyed them! but at the same time disliked a lot! I dunno man.
Sennheiser HD598 price £150-£200
Look better in pictures, they where comfy and had nice pads. The build looked frail and they kind of looked like a toy. I've heard these before in black but it was such a long time ago I had to give them a refresh. They sounded thin, cold but detailed. Soundstage was about average for a closed headphone. They didn't sound as good as I rememberd but thay maybe because i've owned and heard much more higher end. Treble was detailed and didn't sound too harsh. The mids also where smooth and the Bass was lean. These sounded so boring, i'm sorry but man.
I moved on pretty quick.
Shure 1540 Price Not sure but I think around £450-500?
First thing was the pads!! I loved the ear pads on these. They where soft, and had a airy feel ot them. Putting them on was even better they where deep, really nice on the head and probably one of the most comfy i've worn. The build of the phones was about average but they where sexy looking.
The sound of these was spacious, very spacious! them and the Pro 900 had the widest stage there including the open back sennheisers apart from the HD700-800. I heard a nice smooth tone, it wasn't really that musical but it was nice. It had quite a HD 650 feel to my ears and I was happy with them. I did a comparison with the Yamaha Pro 500 because they where next to eachother and I thought the Pros where more to my taste. The shures though where very good and where on par with other flagship closed backs.
These are the ones I had the most time with, The others I've quditioned many times before so I wanted to mostly try new things.
take care,
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