Good Mid-range Headphone
These headphones support special cuing in the form of specially placed Mylar cones behind a metal barrier that also serves as a electromagnetic field barrier. Ultrasone claim that mechanism provides the head transfer cues needed to make the headphones sound more like a set of speakers.
While I didn't find the headphones sounded like a set of speakers, I do feel that sound is more natural and robust than with direct placement headphones since it is focused on the outer ear rather than directly on the eardrum. However, I didn't notice any less fatigue while listening than with any comparable set of headphones.
This is a set of cans that will make you notice things in your music that you didn't notice before. The soundstage is strong and present but not too pushy.
You really need a good headphone amp for use with these headphones to get the full dynamic range from them. There's a guy that sells some nice burr-brown portable amps from his ebay store that are inexpensive and work well with these cans.
Pros:
* Very robust hardware.
* Detachable screw-in cable means less chance you'll have to return the headphones for repair after a lot of use due to cable detachment.
* Comes in a very nice zippered case with a spare set of ear pads, both straight and curly cords and a 1/8th" to 1/4" headphone plug adapter.
* Sound is very robust with deep lows and crisp highs.
* Very nice with bassy, bouncy music such as trance, downtempo, drum & bass, house.
* Nicely padded on the head and ears.
* Although the headset is quite large overall it can be folded in on itself for transport so it takes up much less room.
* The unique dark blue colour of this headset is very attractive and noticeable.
* The huge shiny silver logos on the cans are pretty neat too.
* Gold electroplated connectors all around.
* Generous, long, beefy cables.
Cons:
* Midrange is a little cramped if used directly with an iPod rather than going through a headphone amp.
* Ear fatigue is a little higher than with some other headphones (including other headphones in this set's line) due to higher output pressure.
* Good isolation from external noise (I use them on the subway).
* Connector cable plug is really long when paired with the adapter needed to use with a portable device so there's a risk of wrenching the headphone port on your sound source.
* Folding the headset up requires you to unscrew the headphone cable.
* Might be too bassy for discerning audiophiles who are critical about upper-mid to high end frequencies.
Ultrasone PRO 550 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
