Ultrasone Pro 900 Review

Ah, the Ultrasone Pro 900's.  An extremely interesting pair of headphones to say the least.  With a persistently fluctuating price, having seen them cost anywhere from $250 to $550 dollars, it is extremely hard to illustrate my thoughts on these headphones without sounding overly negative.  In order to negate this issue, lets review some of the Pro 900's strengths first, and then discuss the issue of price and the possibility of better options.

The Pro 900's demand a price premium, that's for certain,  and for that premium, you do get a few nice features.  First of all, the products packaging is top notch.  The Pro 900's ship with an extremely well built and durable (albeit rather large) hard carrying case.  The carrying case houses two sets of detachable cables (coiled and straight) that fit into the Pro 900's secure, screw in removal cable port on the left ear cup.  The case also houses spare velour pads and the Pro 900's themselves.  Ultrasone is all about the fancy marketing names, such as using Neutrik connectors and S-Logic (which I will get into in a bit) and the coiled cable (which terminates in a larger, 6.3mm jack) has Neutrik plastered onto the connector.  Does Ultrasone utilization of Neutrik connectors result in better sound quality? In my experience, no it does not.  Does it aid in increased cable and connection durability? That is yet to be seen.  Is Ultrasones utilization of Neutrik connectors a marketing ploy designed to make you feel better about your $550 dollar purchase? That's a definite yes.

The build quality of the Ultrasones is acceptable in that the headphones feel relatively durable.  However, the Pro 900's use the generic style headband seen on many other, much cheaper headphones (Stanton DJ Pro 2000's for one).  For a $550 dollar headphone, I would also expect to see some material other than plastic used.  The ear cups are adorned with a very thin sheet of aluminum, that looks aesthetically pleasing and adds a bit of flair to the headphones, however the metal is quite prone to denting, something I have seen first hand.  As far as comfort is concerned, the velour pads are not particularly soft. While they are not neccesarily uncomfortable, they aren't nearly as soft and supple as the Alcantara pads used on the Shure SRH-1540's, a pair of headphones that costs $50 dollars less than the Pro 900's. For any sub $200 dollar headphone, these faults would be acceptable and simply the inevitable down sides of a headphone in a much lower price tier.  However, the Pro 900's cost a whopping $550 dollars, and the build quality and comfort simply do not live up to the $550 dollar price premium (fortunately the person who I borrowed these from got them on sale for a much more reasonable price.)

Sound quality.  The Pro 900's excel where the bass is concerned in that they reproduce bass relatively accurately. Bass is slightly boomy, but this is typically an inevitable side effect of a closed back headphone design.  That being said, the bass is not distinctly punchy, with my Audio- Technica ATH-M50's (a $150 dollar pair of headphones mind you) outperforming them in terms of sheer punchiness.  The sound quality of the Pro 900's continues to disappoint from this point onwards.  The mid range is recessed and is overpowered by the bass and exceedingly overbearing upper range.  Then there's the upper range.  Oh, the upper range.  The most defining characteristic of these headphones and a characteristic that I absolutely cannot stand.  Words to described the Pro 900's upper range include, but are not limited too: overbearing, sibilant, harsh, piercing, exceedingly fatiguing, metallic and shrill.  A cymbal hit? Feels like someone is driving a sewing needle into your head.  Female vocals? Completely ruined by the absolutely hideous sibilance, and the fact that every single upper range frequency has a metallic twang and hiss to it. For a much (and I mean much, much) cheaper headphone, faults like these can be accepted, but with a $550 dollar pair of headphones like these, the inherent sound quality issues simply cannot be ignored.  In the Pro 900's defense, the sibilant nature of the upper range does recede slightly when used from a quality source. such as my Objective 2 headphone amplifier.  The O2 tightens up the bass, increases punchiness and tones down the upper range slightly. However, they are still far too harsh, and forget about playing them from a standard iPod line out, or even a FiiO E7 portable amp for that matter.

Overall, the Ultrasone Pro 900's do not represent a good value.  Folks looking for closed back headphones in the $500 to $600 dollar range would be much better off looking at a headphone like the Shure SRH-1540's. The Ultrasone Pro 900's are barely justifiable at the $250 dollar price range, let alone the $550 dollar price range.  Honestly, Ultrasone should label the Pro 900's as dangerously treble heavy.  Being a treble sensitive person, I can honestly say that there is no conceivable way I can listen to the Pro 900's for an extended period of time.  The Ultrasone's may suit older folks with reduced upper frequency hearing caused by age, but even in this case the Pro 900's do not represent a good value.

CLICK HERE for Ultrasone Pro 900 product page
CLICK HERE for Ultrasone Pro 900 Amazon product page

Audio- Technica ATH-M50X Review

Audio- Technica ATH-M50X's

The Audio- Technica ATH-M50X's retain all that made the original ATH-M50's a favorite among the professional audio community and add a few features, among other slight improvements, making an already stellar headphone even better.

It's important to note that the ATH-M50X's are sonically identical to the original ATH-M50's. They utilize identical 45mm neodymium drivers with a 99dB sensitivity rating, 38 Ohm impedance and the same 15-28,000Hz frequency response. As per my original ATH-M50 review, the M50X's have a relatively U shaped frequency response. This means emphasis on the lower range as well as the treble, and less emphasis on the mid range. In terms of sound quality, the mid-range recession would have to be a weakest point of the M50's. Despite the "Studio Monitor" moniker, the M50X's do not reproduce a very analytical sound signature, they are not dead pan flat.  They possess the aforementioned U shaped sound signature, an aspect that I actually prefer to a very flat, analytical sound.

Black, white and limited edition blue models

The build quality of the ATH-M50X's is up to par with the original M50's, and that is to say, rather good. Yes, they are entirely plastic in construction. However, as mentioned in the original M50 review, Audio- Technica obviously designed the M50's to be used in a demanding studio and professional audio setting, and to be able to take abuse.  Some improvements have been made to comfort of the M50X's in comparison to the original M50's.  For one, the headband no longer clamps as tightly on the head.  This allows for less ear pressure, improving overall comfort.  Furthermore, the ear pads are far and away better than the original ATH-M50 pads. The original ATH-M50's were plagued by an unfortunate problem that manifested itself over time. The ear pads on the original M50's would begin to harden after months of use, resulting in increasing discomfort.  The new ear pads have yet to harden as of this writing. They are also a bit thicker and contain more foam.  The pleather (fake leather material) has been significantly improved.  It is much softer and more supple.  I have also noticed that the new ATH-M50X pads are more breathable and this results in less ear sweat over extended listening periods.  Overall, I am very satisfied in the small improvements Audio- Technica has made to increase the overall comfort of the headphones. Another difference I noticed was that the ATH-M50X's joints move much more freely and with less resistance.  I am not sure if it is just my particular set or the entire line, but my M50X's ear cups swivel with much more ease of motion than my original M50's.  It's also important to mention that the new M50X's come in a variety of colors, the standard black, white and a new limited edition blue (which will cost you extra.)

Audio- Technica ATH-M50X's and
Objective 2 headphone amplifier

The biggest differentiating factor between the ATH-M50X's and ATH-M50's is the addition of a removable cable.  This is a welcomed upgrade for several reasons.  The cable is typically the first failure point of any headphone. Having the ability to remove and replace the cable ensures that, even if a cable fails (which any cable will eventually) it can be easily replaced for much less money than buying an entire new set of headphones. Of course, re-cabling is an option, but such an action requires time, know-how and more often than not a soldering iron. Having the cable simply be replaceable is a much more user friendly and elegant option.  Secondly, removable cables allow the user the select the length/ type of cable they want to use for a given situation.  The new ATH-M50X's comes with three cables, a 1.2 m straight cable for increasing ease of use and functionality with a portable media player, a 3.0 m straight cable and a 1.2 m to 3.0 m coiled cable for when the user wants some extra length in the studio or just to reach a far away source. The older M50's had a singular, non-detachable cable with a rather bulky connector, its bulk caused by its ability to accommodate a 1.4 inch screw-on adapter. With the original M50's, the cable would often nor fit in portable devices such as iPods and iPhones due to the bulk of the connector.  This issue has been remedied by the new ATH-M50X's, with the connectors on all three cables having been slimmed down in order to accommodate portable devices (no more taking my iPhone case off to listen to music!). The M50X's ship with a new logo stamped headphone bag, the aforementioned three removable cables, a 1/4 inch adapter and the headphones themselves.

The verdict.  Every single change Audio- Technica has made to the new ATH-M50X's has been a positive improvement. Audio- Technica has managed to improve the ATH-M50's while still retaining everything that made the originals great. One thing that has changed that I am not particularly pleased to see is the price.  I understand that the M50X's should be a bit more than the original M50's, considering the inclusion of three cables and the removable option.  However, the $40 dollar price hike over the original M50's is still a bit steep for the new features brought to the table.  A $15 to $20 dollar price increase would have been a bit more reasonable, and seeing that Audio- Technica is not retaining the older M50's, I guess future buyers have no choice but to spend more for features that they may or may not want or may not deem worth the price.  I feel as if this price hike has degraded the M50X's price to performance ratio to a degree. However, with the commendable pedigree established by the M50's, Audio- Technica is likely to continue to sell M50X's in large quantities, and despite the price increase, the M50X's are still solid performers.

CLICK HERE for Audio- Technica ATH-M50X product page
CLICK HERE for Audio- Technica ATH-M50X Amazon product page

(a big thanks to Audio- Technica for sending out this review unit among others)