[shipsupt]

I posted a while back when Ken Rockwell posted his HD-800 review... so I when I saw his Ultrasone Edition 8 review I thought I'd post up again.
 
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/ultrasone/edition-8.htm
 
I also noticed he has some other audio reviews including some Stax impressions.
 
http://www.kenrockwell.com/audio/index.htm
 
As always Ken's opinions are interesting to read and always sure to gain a reaction.
 
 
 
 

 

[MorbidToaster]

Thank you for posting these. I'll be reading them very soon. I did a quick look at the ED 8 review and am excited to get more in depth with it.

 

 

[Szadzik]

Heading over to the reviews soon. Thanks.
 
 

 

[dan1son]

Bah Ken Rockwell follows me around forums.  I'm an avid Nikon user as well... he's fairly infamous around those forums as well

 

 

[obzilla]

Want Edition 8... want...

 

[blufox4900]

Ehhhh I take everything Ken Rockwell says with a grain of salt. You read his 'about me' section and you'll find out that he uses his website mostly as a joke. On his photography articles some topics were stretched or downright silly. Things like using raw format is amateurish when it's the standard in the professional community. I can't say he'll be the same for headphones, I just never really trusted the guy.

 

[ohhgourami]

"Unlike lesser headphones that need dedicated amplifiers along with their own problems, just plug these in, and you'll immediately be so enthralled with the sound that you won't take them off for a long time."
 
Lesser headphones?  Oh you funny!!!
 
"Bass is fun with these headphones. Bass finally has just the right impact and depth."
 
The right impact?  It's emphasized bass!!!  Not neutral at all...
 
 
The more reviews this guy writes, the more I think he's an idiot...

 

[blufox4900]

^This just pretty much verified my comment on the guy. He's been like that for photography for a while now. How he still has millions go to his site is a mystery to me.

 

[francisdemarte]

This guy is a complete idiot with his reviews. I don't know why he is so popular on Google. Looks like we just gave him a couple more hits to add to his growing ego.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

"Bass is fun with these headphones. Bass finally has just the right impact and depth."
 
The right impact?  It's emphasized bass!!!  Not neutral at all...

I think he's right about this one.  Due to the equal loudness contours, closed headphones are usually best with a bit of a smile curve because there's usually not much point in having isolation if you aren't going to take advantage of it by listening at a quieter volume.
 
I think he seems too impressed with the S Logic though.  Making everything sound like its behind you if you flip them around isn't some kind of black magic only Ultrasone knows.  My modded T50RPs do it and I'd bet the HD800s he reviewed earlier would do it if he tried.  Its not anything special.

 

[Szadzik]

I like reading him, but have never taken him seriously.

 

[Graphicism]

I think Ken Rockwell is a realist and tells it how it is.
 
I've read a lot of his photography equipment reviews over the years and he's never let me down. His comments on RAW I adopt, even the photo shoots I do there is little need for RAW these days. If you read his reviews you'll save a dollar or two and likely end up with the better product. A lot of these photography reviews found in magazines, DPReview and the likes have to keep their sponsors in mind.

 

[clem24]

Digging up an old thread...
 
I guess DT880s are better than either the Ed8s and the HD800.
 
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/beyer/dt-880.htm
 
I guess he's also turned into a headophile.
 
In any case, if you've ever read any of his reviews of equipment, you'll see that he's extremely biased, in the sense that he only thinks of something for his applications (like landscape photography). Many things that matter to a lot of pros (due to their specific field like wedding, portraits, etc...) he really doesn't consider. Yes they are sometimes fun to read but most of the times, I am shaking my head at his narrow minded view of things.

 

[atomiccow]

Ken Rockwell's main business is reviewing Nikon camera lenses and trust me, even Nikon users like me don't trust this guy. No reason I would trust him to review top end headphones like the HD800.
 
His statement below says it all:
 
"Forgive my simple English, but the soundstage sounds the same to me as every other headphone."
 
 

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

I think Ken Rockwell is a realist and tells it how it is.
 
I've read a lot of his photography equipment reviews over the years and he's never let me down. His comments on RAW I adopt, even the photo shoots I do there is little need for RAW these days. If you read his reviews you'll save a dollar or two and likely end up with the better product. A lot of these photography reviews found in magazines, DPReview and the likes have to keep their sponsors in mind.

Yeah, I have to agree with that. Some of the things he says comes as a fresh counterpart to some of the silliness that has been going on around in the world of digital photography.