ULTRASONE PRO 900 HEADPHONE
As soon as you open the box and unzip its well-padded case, you immediately are aware as to why this headphone costs as much as it does. The unit looks classy, expensive and has a modern appeal. It comes with two cords: a straight and a coiled longer one both terminated in 1/4" gold-plated adapters. The padding around the ears makes it very comfortable to wear. It really does feel like a professional headphone.
First of all, I must admit, I am not too familiar with S-Logic and what it does. From research (i.e. internet), “… the S-Logic natural surround technology uses decentralized driver locations to direct sound at the outer ear. This is more akin to listening to loudspeakers, and greatly improves spatial perception when listening through headphones.” Got that?
Now that I got that out of the way, and on to the review...
I hooked up the headphones with my Yamaha and attached the long coiled cord. Listening to the CD that comes along with the headphones really shows the strengths of the Ultrasone. Every sound is evident and clear. Stereo separation is excellent! I loved listening to both the horns and drum cuts (Sileypud and Auf Geht's - Ab Geht’s, respectively) revealing the 900’s speed and crisp renderings. The bass execution of Also Saprach Zarathustra feels like you’re listening to an upper end home theatre system that’s vibrating the entire room (read: your brain). The bass of this unit is outstanding. It’s full, meaty, and with a semblance of a sub-woofer present in the headphone. Drums reveal definite separation between beginning and ending beats. High notes are crisp, clean and real. This is a great jazz headphone. OK, OK, rock’s good too. Ludwig Van Beethoven Rondo Allegro was such a pleasure to listen to … piano so fluid throughout. George Frideric Handel’s Andante Iarghetto Concerto No. 2 showed how this unit is worth every penny (or centavo). However, although listening to David Bowies “This is Not America” was such a delight, the one flaw (for me) of this headphone was exhibited … vocal rendition. It seems like the vocal are encased in a cave … not expansive and open as it should be considering instrumentation of this headphone’s rendition is superb. I felt the vocals were strangely surreal. So, I tried this with my favourite CD album (now), Sting: Live in Berlin. I cued Fragile and was hoping to be proven wrong. Alas, it was the same. Guitar nice, bass great, violins, violas, instruments clear. Still, his voice was a little behind. I tried also Tony Bennet’s Make it Easy on Yourself. Same results. Hmmm, was my EQ set wrong, you may wonder? No. I listen to all my music flat. I always do. So, I played The Idea of North’s a cappella Here and Now CD. Since, there were no instruments, this CD rocked due to the fact their vocals were their instruments. Everything was within the same depth and speed. This is really an instrumental headphone. Their version of Fragile was outstanding.
I then attached my iPod Nano and, surprisingly, this headphone rocked instrumentation also. I was figuring that Nano’s little amplification may be a tad too underpowered to bring the PRO 900 to life. But, the PRO 900 handled the Nano quite well. Everything that my Yamaha did, the Nano presented well, albeit softer.
THE BOTTOM LINE Is it worth P30,000? Well, let’s put it this way. If I had an extra P30,000 just to spend and I had everything I needed as far as AV is concerned, then this is a no brainer. There are other good headphones out there that are cheaper (Ultrasone’s own P6,000 unit comes to mind), but this PRO 900 does everything it is supposed to do and does it a little better. Plus, there’s that CD demo that’s fun to listen to in evaluating the headphone. This is definitely a music headphone … no loss of quality. Excellent rendering of detailed music.
Ratings
FOR Extremely comfortable, well built, great bass reproduction
AGAINST Price. Short input jack. Price. Vocal weakness. Oh, did I mention price?
VERDICT Excellent headphones for those who can afford the high peso admission price. 5 Stars if not for it’s price.
FiiO E7 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier
This is an impressive looking little unit. I like finish of this DAC. It’s looks like it is more expensive than it is. I do like the weight but it is also a negative (more on that later).
Wow! This little portable, good-looking amp is fantastic! It really compliments the Ultrasone PRO 900. It brings out the much needed vocals and gives one the feeling that this is the way a studio mike will sound like. Everything, and I mean everything, is clear whether it be high, mid, low, voice, horns, guitar, piano, etc. Live concert recordings sound, well, live. Barbra Streisand’s recording of He Touched Me was so scarily good. I thought I was listening to it in an actual studio. Her voice was simply to die for. OK, OK, I do like Babs. Sue me. I then placed Eva Cassidy’s The Autumn Leaves. Her vocal reproduction was so haunting and beautiful. Makes me cry to know she died so young after hearing her again as clearly. I then wanted to listen to an instrumental song. What could be better than Deodato’s Also Saprach Zarathustra? I had a smile on my face from the get-go. Soft, loud, it didn’t matter. Everything was clear, bouncy, fast, and evident. Stereo separation is excellent!
[Yes, I should listen to this amp with other headphones, but after listening to this Ultrasone/FIIO combination, why should I??]
THE BOTTOM LINE Simply put, I love this unit. It does seem to bring out warm tones and improves the vocal of the Ultrasone. It brings gives an added dimension to the Ultrasone and makes you feel you are in a studio. It’s like this is the way all music should be listened to. This is a talented product that would be worth a look into.
Ratings
FOR Impressive looking, good finish. Nice, warm natural sound interpretation.
AGAINST Just one: size … too bulky and HEAVY for portable use (read: NO jogging).
VERDICT Great buy for those who want to experience portable amps / DA converters.
Equipment tested:
Pioneer PDS507 CD Player
Yamaha AV Receiver RX-V995
iPod Nano
-Reviewed by Juan "Johnny" Revilla with Carlo777
