 Reason or no reason, but I feel the godfather of Ultrasone in Poland. Starting in August 2005, when there was no sign of a Polish distributor (now distribution is handled very solidly by the company Audiotech), as an effect of the nice meeting during the High End 2005 in Munich, the top model at that time, PROLine2500 came for testing, and stayed with me as one of my references (besides the old Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro and AKG K701). Those headphones killed everything else available on the market at that time and earned the Award of the Year of our magazine with good reason. )
Ultrasone used some of their company ideas to build them, that make the company sound, most of all the S-Logic technology and ULE. The first one is related to the reproduction of sound and is meant to bring out of the recordings their natural spatial attributes. It is done in a fully passive way, by cutting specially shaped holes in the metal plate covering the membrane. I must say that it works very well, and this model, and the model PROLine750 presents one of the best sound stages I know from dynamic headphones, and not only those. Due to that kind of sound distribution we also protect our precious ears, as the subjective loudness is the same as with other constructions at a 3-4% volume increase. ULE (Ultra Low Emission) is mechanically related to the S-Logic, but it is more about protecting the health of the user of the headphones – the Mu-metal plate covering the membrane protects from electromagnetic radiation, reducing it by as much as 98%. The enclosure of the headphones of this company is nice, the PRO series has a blue tone, but is not extraordinary, and for example the AKG look more exclusive. On the other hand, the tested 2200ULE are from the HiFi series and have brownish colors – that color is present on the plastic parts of headbands and the soft cups. Only the cable is black. SOUND )
The headphones sound much louder than the PROLine2500 they were compared with. Switching from the one to the other the tonal balance changes also. The 2200 sound with a lighter, more expanded at the top end, sound. For a moment it seems as if the more expensive product would sound a bit too dark. The trumpet of Chet Baker and the Art Pepper saxophone from their collaborative disc The Route (Jazz Pacific/EMI 29312, CD) sounded as if they would be more to the back. 2200 show the virtual sources closer, as if the microphone would have been placed closer. This gave a stronger attack and brighter midrange. Interestingly, the treble, although being provided so strong, plays a bit more delicate than from the 2500, resembling a tube device switched in the sound path smoothing out the upper frequency range. From the model PRO, but also from AKG K701 it sounded stronger, more clear, with better resolution, without the feeling of minuteness. And probably those two things set the sound of those headphones – strong upper midrange, not so expanded bass and minute, although presented strong, treble. On the disc Binaural, the pieces from Pearl Jam, tracks 5, 8, 10, 11, 12 were recorded by the producer of the album, Tchad Blake, by means of a specially modified Neumann artificial head: to the microphones at the sides long tubes were attached, reaching forward. This increased the sense of separation, despite the musicians playing in a small recording studio. Here it can also be heard that the headphones play with a direct, strong sound. The album's timbre is, at first glance, a bit dark on the mids and strong in the treble. Only using good transducers one can hear the amount of details hidden there. The model 2200 got out some of them. Not as good as the 2500, but better, than the AKG K601. In the recording “Nothing is as it seems” we have a strong, played legato, bass line and the HiFi series headphones showed them as such. However there is no trace of doubt, that the PRO sound with lower, better defined bass, The guitar in one of the channels sounds from the 2200 closer, in a more palpable way. So you have to be careful when choosing the appropriate headphone amplifier. It may not underline the treble and midrange, as those are quite strong with the Ultrasone. With the uncompromising amplifier Leben CS-300, that serves me also as a headphone amplifier, this part of the sound spectrum was just too strong. When in the piece “Time” from the Pink Floyd disc The Dark Side of The Moon (EMI, 21362, 30th Anniversary Edition, SACD/CD), from the SACD layer, meaning a bit softer, the clocks sounded a bit too harsh. Best, maybe unexpectedly, the 2200 headphones sounded with good amplifiers built into audio devices, for example Cary CDI 1. The sound was clearly softer, and the bass strong and dynamic. This allowed to show the headphones from their best side, as we had vividness and good drawing. )
The Floyd disc showed, that not all music is suited for this construction. Because the well recorded, well resolved and completely not warm disc “Dreamland” of Madelaine Peyroux (Atlantic/Warner Music, 82946, HDCD) sounded very well with them. Similar to the Chet Baker disc earlier, also now nothing was offending in the sound, and even due to the fresh way of playing it showed the recordings from their best side. So maybe the headphones are just especially sensitive to tonal anomalies introduced during digital re-mastering. And the stage is splendid, not as resolved as with the 2500, but even though better than in most classic headphones. I read somewhere in western press, that the S-Logic is responsible for that kind of presentation, and is not everybody's sound. I completely disagree with that – if only somebody deals with headphones, then for him or her such a change, and “going”of the sound of their heads will be regarded as absolutely positive. Recordings from the disc Film Spectacular II. Vol. 2, prepared ingeniously by First Impression Music (Decca/First Impression Music, FIM XR24 070, XRCD24) were shown with swing and might. Those are not universal headphones, as the choice of headphone amplifier must be careful, as well as not all recordings will sound in a tonally balanced way – if there is any problem with the treble in the recording then it can be underlined. The headphones cost 854zł, and the model PROLine2500 1166zł. This is 300zł difference. On one hand this is a lot, and if this is the maximum we can afford, then OK – remembering the con's we can take them. But if we can spare the money, then I recommend the more expensive version. DESCRIPTION )
The headphones HiFi2200ULE of the German company Ultrasone are built very similar to the model PROLine2500. The headpiece, holding the headphones on the head, is made from plastic. The cups are large, round, with circumaural pads, open. The pads can be easily detached and exchanged. The pads can be attached regardless of their rotation, so if they are crumpled in one place (it always happens at the top) we can turn them and so use a little longer. The membranes with 40mm diameter are covered with a layer of gold. The cable is attached to one of the cups, and is screwed to it by means of a screwable small jack plug (3.5mm). At the other end we have another small jack and an adapter to large jack (6.3mm). In the box we get also a sampler CD with recordings breathtaking due to their realism and palpability.
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