[Justin_Time]

  Justin, thanks much for taking the time to do this.
 
Very informative.....I can't wait for part two.
 
Wonderful job.

I just posted Part Two in the Headphone Amp Forum because it seems that it should belong there rather than here.
 
Thank you for your interest.

 

[Justin_Time]

  I do have the HD800, HD700 and the HE-6 in my collection, however, they are not a priority, and the HE-6 just doesn't see that much use. I have it there for my occasional rock/pop fancies, but the inconvenience of a dedicated amp for it just seems impractical. The HD800 is for my orchestra listening, and the HD700 for choirs, both of which will most likely be paired with the Sennheiser balanced amp, so I'm not too fussed about them.
 
 
They definitely fall under the category of amps, because you will no longer be talking about the headphones themselves. Your review will most likely be based on the assumption that the reader is jumping straight to the headphones of interest, and then reading what the amp sounds like on each individual headphone.

Following your suggestion Part Two is now posted in the Headphone Amp Forum .  Thanks for the interest.

 

[MohawkUS]

Would you please give me an idea as to what works well with the Ultrasone Edition 10s? I have the 12s myself and have no intention(nor the budget for) any other high end headphones. I'm currently experimenting with the Resonaunce Labs Herus(going about as well as expected, I wanted to get an idea as to their house-sound before committing further) and I have a Bakoon HPA-01 coming in shortly. I'm really looking for a swap of both DAC and amplifier as the Ultra-Fi DAC41 I have, whilst providing a really good clear/PRaTy sound, is just too dry. Did you find that there is any truth to the statement that the Edition headphones don't really benefit from higher end amplification? I've gotten good results out of vintage equipment though the Herus seems a bit starved for power(but not volume!)

 

[Justin_Time]

Would you please give me an idea as to what works well with the Ultrasone Edition 10s? I have the 12s myself and have no intention(nor the budget for) any other high end headphones. I'm currently experimenting with the Resonaunce Labs Herus(going about as well as expected, I wanted to get an idea as to their house-sound before committing further) and I have a Bakoon HPA-01 coming in shortly. I'm really looking for a swap of both DAC and amplifier as the Ultra-Fi DAC41 I have, whilst providing a really good clear/PRaTy sound, is just too dry. Did you find that there is any truth to the statement that the Edition headphones don't really benefit from higher end amplification? I've gotten good results out of vintage equipment though the Herus seems a bit starved for power(but not volume!)

MohawkUS,
 
I would soften the statement to say that the Ultrasone are more "forgiving" of associated components of poor quality and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The Edition 10 received a bad rap in my opinion for some prominent reviewers whose taste I frequently disagree with.
 
The Ultrasones in general tend to have a neutral tonal balance with somewhat laid-back imaging and smooth transients so the overall sound is very pleasant, relaxing and not in-your-face. For associated components (including the cables) I would go for something more revealing (silver wires; amps with smooth but transparent sound) and I would stay away from hard-sounding gears (e.g. cheap SS amps) as I am afraid to ruin the excellent trebles.
 
The Bakoon will certainly do the trick! You will hear more warmth, excellent bass support and surprisingly a lot more vivid details that you may think the Ultrasone is capable of.
 
About the DAC I cannot comment too much on as my recent experience has been restricted to the large, desktop variety (PS Audio PerfectWave and Wadia).
 
I hope this helps.
 
ST
 
PS: I love the look of your SOTA!  I own a SOTA (Sapphire upgraded to Cosmos) for over 20 years but I have never seen your model!  

 

[MohawkUS]

MohawkUS,

I would soften the statement to say that the Ultrasone are more "forgiving" of associated components of poor quality and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The Edition 10 received a bad rap in my opinion for some prominent reviewers whose taste I frequently disagree with.

The Ultrasones in general tend to have a neutral tonal balance with somewhat laid-back imaging and smooth transients so the overall sound is very pleasant, relaxing and not in-your-face. For associated components (including the cables) I would go for something more revealing (silver wires; amps with smooth but transparent sound) and I would stay away from hard-sounding gears (e.g. cheap SS amps) as I am afraid to ruin the excellent trebles.

The Bakoon will certainly do the trick! You will hear more warmth, excellent bass support and surprisingly a lot more vivid details that you may think the Ultrasone is capable of.

About the DAC I cannot comment too much on as my recent experience has been restricted to the large, desktop variety (PS Audio PerfectWave and Wadia).

I hope this helps.

ST

PS: I love the look of your SOTA!  I own a SOTA (Sapphire upgraded to Cosmos) for over 20 years but I have never seen your model!  

Thank you for the advice. That would help explain why the(albeit cheap) components I have here that are excessively forward & brash aren't as terrible a match as you would think after hearing lower end Ultrasones which turn sibilant very quickly. I think with the Edition 12 they went a step further in attempt to address the criticism and they added just a touch of a velvety or wet sound. I have not heard the 10, but this coloration is clearly evident in the headphones. Perhaps the 10 is still the most neutral and is more transparent because of this? It would explain why the 12 did not replace the 10 but supplemented it at a lower cost? I like the coloration myself and I'm sure it adds an extra degree of forgiveness so I'm sure I made the right choice.

You are correct that poor amps imparting a hardness to the sound, that is the only critique I've had with all that I've listened to it on so far(nothing worth mentioning at this point, mostly vintage and budget equipment as I try and dial in a sound signature that I like with it.) I am curious, at what point would you recommend a change of cable? Ideally I am going to stay under 2K with both amp, DAC, and associated equipment. I'll keep you updated on how the Bakoon handles it, I can't wait to hear it. And thank you for the compliment on the table.

 

[Justin_Time]

Thank you for the advice. That would help explain why the(albeit cheap) components I have here that are excessively forward & brash aren't as terrible a match as you would think after hearing lower end Ultrasones which turn sibilant very quickly. I think with the Edition 12 they went a step further in attempt to address the criticism and they added just a touch of a velvety or wet sound. I have not heard the 10, but this coloration is clearly evident in the headphones. Perhaps the 10 is still the most neutral and is more transparent because of this? It would explain why the 12 did not replace the 10 but supplemented it at a lower cost? I like the coloration myself and I'm sure it adds an extra degree of forgiveness so I'm sure I made the right choice.

You are correct that poor amps imparting a hardness to the sound, that is the only critique I've had with all that I've listened to it on so far(nothing worth mentioning at this point, mostly vintage and budget equipment as I try and dial in a sound signature that I like with it.) I am curious, at what point would you recommend a change of cable? Ideally I am going to stay under 2K with both amp, DAC, and associated equipment. I'll keep you updated on how the Bakoon handles it, I can't wait to hear it. And thank you for the compliment on the table.

I think just the Bakoon alone puts you over 2K already!
 
I would not replace the cable just yet.  In terms of impact, you have the source > the amp > the cable.
 
Also, since the Ultrasones do not have detachable cable, changing it entails shipping the headphones to cable vendors for surgery.  I have used Moon Audio in the US and Toxic Cables in the UK (I travel there several times a year).  You also have many other choices depending on your location. But all that can wait unti you have settled on the DAC and amp.

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm only a little over 1K into the Bakoon, it's their lower end amplifier and there was a site doing a large discount on it. That's good to know that the stock cable holds up for some time, one less thing to worry about.