Headphones
Testimonials
Bill Esses- Engineer (Mary J Blige, Notorious BIG)
Joe Chiccarelli, Drummer
Classical Engineer
Dennis Sellers at Macsimum News
Lij, from Toy Box Studios Nashville
Jefferey Henry
Ray Arsenault, V.P. Corner Music Nashville
Mp3.com Staff
Mumbles on Collider.com
Russ Long for PRO AUDIO REVIEW
Luis Resto (Eminem songwriter/keyboard player)
Logan Kugler of Geek.com
Doug McLeod of RWonline.com
Maximum PC Magazine
DJ Jaspa at www.futurelooks.com
Joseph Patrick Moore
DJ Scratch, Your Favorite DJ's Favorite DJ www.djscratch.com
John Parker, Music Technologist, The Music Loft of Greensboro
Greg Ladanyi (Producer/engineer/mixer, Jackson Brown, Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac)
Pablo Munguia, Engineer/Producer (Seal, Britney Spears, Back Street Boys, El Tri)
James H. Coburn IV C.A.S.
The Bass Bin Sept., John Montalbano
Greg Wietzel, Arsfilia Records
Billionaire Magazine May/June
Digital Media Design May
Worship Leader June
On Sound and Music, Jim Merod April
FORBES May
Bass Player July
Official X-Box Magazine July
Recording Magazine July
Eddie Kramer, producer/engineer Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.
Elliott Scheiner, producer/engineer Beck, Faith Hill, Steely Dan, Ricky Martin, Sting, Bruce Hornsby, The Eagles, B.B. King, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, etc.
Touter Harvey, Inner Circle Recording Studio
Mark
B T, internationally renowned DJ, and composer of soundtrack for MONSTER
Steve Vai, Guitarist, Grammy winner
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Electric Guitar, Steve Earle and The Dukes
George Galanis, Live DJ, Phunk De Sonique
Kooster McAllister, Engineer, Record Plant Remote; Grammy winner: Standing in the Shadows of Motown; Winner of various TEC Awards including Remote Recorder Engineer of the year
Phil Allingham, Product Reviews Manager for TechTV
Gerry Brown,drummer for Stevie Wonder,Diana Ross,Jeffrey Osborne
Scott Jarrett, Recording Department Head, Musictech College
D. Brian Smith, Broadcast Engineer, Nashville Sunday Night
David Bock, Sound Deluxe Microphones
Billy Ward, drummer, Joan Osborne, Billyward.com
Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson & Family
Dr. Mike Wagner, Professor & Director, Music Education at Florida International University
Billy Sherrill, Nashville Engineer
Tom Grignon, Nashville session and touring drummer
Carl P. Mayfield, Billboard, CMA and ACM award winning air-personality, Citadel Broadcasting
Larry Crane TapeOp, MP3 Me Asap!
Nosmo Grayarea @ Graylabel.net
Craig Krampf, Grammy award winning musician, songwriter, producer, Gold record artist, etc.
Bill Esses- Engineer (Mary J Blige, Notorious BIG)
One very late night I actually mixed an entire tune on them and emailed out an mp3 before going to bed and getting to hear the mix on speakers. The client loved the mix and the next morning when I listened on speakers, I only made a few very minimal level changes and even those were fairly discretionary and not necessarily a product of the listening environment. Pretty amazing - I'm thoroughly surprised!Joe Chiccarelli, Drummer
I have to tell you that all drummers love these phones in the studio. They handle a lot of level. The low end is big and clear and they are not fatiguing . Now with Matt Chamberlain, Vinny Coliuta and Joey Waronker you know have the biggest and the best studio drummers in the world using your phones. Joe C.
Classical Engineer
I found the 2500's to be excellent for classical work, very revealing on the top end without being strident, warm and full in the mids and tight and controlled on the low end. They project a nice accurate sound stage and are very comfortable to listen to even after long hours of editing and mixing. I give them 2 ears up! DDDennis Sellers at Macsimum News
Of course, the true test is how they sound. And the iCans sound great. Notes are crisp and clear and the bass is tight, definite and powerful. These headphones sound wonderful with DVDs or CDs on your Mac, but they really “open up” the sound of an iPod, offering impact and crispness.Lij, from Toy Box Studios Nashville
"The first thing that I noticed about the Ultrasones is that they have great isolation. If there is no audio playing I still have to take them off my head to hear what's going on in the room. And likewise they don't seem to bleed much when they're being worn. Also, the sound is very focused with an enhanced bass response, and crystal clear, but not fatiguing, top. I felt like I was hearing music that I am familiar with in a totally new light. So far I am very happy with them!"
Jefferey Henry
Dear Sirs - I simply can not believe the listening pleasure my new Ultrasone headphones give me. I'm not ashamed to say that I LITERALLY cried with joy listening to Abbey Road...and on MP3!! Just thunderstruck, that's all I can say. You have a customer for life. JNHRay Arsenault, V.P. Corner Music Nashville
In a world crowded with “me too” products, the Ultrasone headphones leap to the head of the pack with revolutionary engineering, a wide open sound stage and a dimensional quality I can only describe as being faithful to the original audio event. Comments like “I can actually mix on these phones”, “My background singers hear and keep pitch easier”, “the isolation is great for tracking and monitoring in the studio” are numerous. What is not to like? Ultrasone does all this at a price even budget minded home studio types can afford. Ultrasone, quite possibly the new reference standard in headphones.Mp3.com Staff
If you're looking for something that says "I'm into cooler music than you are" as you walk down the street, this could be the pair to pick.(DJ1)
Mumbles on Collider.com
"I honestly did not know what quality sound was until I put these headphones on. The bass is just perfect whether you are listening to classical or rap." "I have a collection of music from classical to country down to Arabic music. Listening to all of these, the acoustics were amazing and the bass was just perfect. I turned the volume extremely high on my surround sound system while the sound was medium on the headphones and I had a very hard time hearing the outside noise.Russ Long for PRO AUDIO REVIEW
"I've always believed in the concept that you can't adequatley mix using headphones. That is until now. Since using the Ultrasone PROline 750s for the past several months I recant this point of view."Luis Resto (Eminem songwriter/keyboard player)
"The (Ultrasone) headphones are dynamite, I can't remember the last time I used the Sony's"
Logan Kugler of Geek.com
I've used a lot of headphones over the years, and while I've heard much better on open headphones, I've yet to hear a sealed headphone that compares to the crystal-clear sound quality of that in the HFI-700s. The bottom line is, if you travel a lot and want the best possible sound without others being able to hear your tunes, the HFI-700s are undeniably the headphones that you ought to put on your must-have gadgets of the year list. (You do have a must-have gadgets list, don't you?)Doug McLeod of RWonline.com
Just when you thought headphone development had camped on a predictable technical plateau, along comes German manufacturer Ultrasone with its S-Logic Natural Surround Sound headphones. While it isn't truly surround, it's as close as you'll get without having a hole in the back of your head.Maximum PC Magazine
If you’re an audio purist—the type of aficionado who doesn’t want any component in the audio chain to color what the artist recorded—whether it be a Miles Davis riff or the eerie moan of a Half-Life 2 strider as it crumples to the ground—then you should be listening to Ultrasone’s Proline 750 headphones.
DJ Jaspa at www.futurelooks.com
From the moment I received the DJ1's I have been blown away, simple as that. When you factor in all that comes in the box, the sex appeal because let's face it, that’s all that counts. The sound quality and the fact that you could probably use the same pair of headphones in and out of the studio, I'd recommend them to anyone.Joseph Patrick Moore
I just purchased the HFI-650 from Atlanta Pro Audio. These are the best headphones I have ever heard in my life! I have done numerous studio sessions and nothing compares to these. I can assure you, I will be taking these headphones wherever I go. Thank you for making such an awesome product. Sincerely, JPM http://www.JosephPatrickMoore.com http://www.BlueCanoeRecords.com
DJ Scratch, Your Favorite DJ's Favorite DJ www.djscratch.com
"I thought I was hearing things...Now I hear everything"djscratch.com
John Parker, Music Technologist, The Music Loft of Greensboro
I absolutely love my HFI-650s (I bought the first set we got in the store). Being a sound engineer and a musician I have a decent collection of nice headphones but I will most likely never use any of them again. The Ultrasones are just incomparably better. I had one customer bring in his brand new $250 Beyer Dynamic headphones in and A/B them against the Ultrasones and he ended up selling his Beyers and getting a set each of HFI-650s and 2000s. Everyone that hears them is just blown away. These are going to be the new standard in studio headphones. They are going to be huge.Greg Ladanyi (Producer/engineer/mixer, Jackson Brown, Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac)
"ULTRASONE headphones are your friend. For the recording professional, you and your artist will love the sound of the HFI-650 from loud to soft the bottom, mid range and high's are incredible, letting you feel the bigness of your mix...I love my ULTRASONES."
Pablo Munguia, Engineer/Producer (Seal, Britney Spears, Back Street Boys, El Tri)
"The ULTRASONE HFI-650 headphones come with a nice protective sleeve. The shells of the headphones are big, so they fit comfortably around my ears. I liked this, since headphones that are smaller hurt my ears after a while. I used the 650's to listen to the final mixes turned in by my class of engineering students. The headphones allowed me to evaluate the mixes easily. The ULTRASONES had good stereo imaging and had a nice punchy sound. The high end was clear, but not overly bright, and the low end was clear and defined. As a test, I compared the headphones to a pair of Sony MDR-7506's, which I've found to be favorites of many of the artists I've recorded. Artists like them for the definition and the clarity of the high end, which helps them to hear their own articulation when they sing in the studio. The ULTRASONE headphones have a smoother high end and overall were easier to listen to for long periods of time. I will test them with my next clients in the studio, and I suspect they will appreciate the smoothness of the high end."James H. Coburn IV C.A.S.
I have been using 7506's until now and the Ultrasone 650's blow them away!!The Bass Bin Sept., John Montalbano
"The clarity (of the HFI-550) was absoutley beautiful and it felt as if I was in a well-engineered listening room, hearing the bass through a high-end stereo system...In the "live" studio setting, the HFI-550 headphones provided enough isolation from the outside world without the feeling of being caught in a vacuum...ULTRASONE headphones are both an experience and a necessity. You might pay a little more for a set of these, but you will probably go through a couple of pairs of the cheapies for the price of a durable, safe and pristine sounding part of your studio arsenal. Your music and your ears will love ULTRASONE."
Greg Wietzel, Arsfilia Records
"I've been using the products here in the studio exclusively and between these exceptional headphones and the BLUE microphones we use, I land virtually every client that walks through the door...I have never liked the sound of my voice recorded until these last two years. After reflecting back I feel a combination of mic and headphone technology colored the sound I heard while tracking and I would over compensate when I sang. I now hear what I truly sound like and what a warm feeling when I step up to sing."Billionaire Magazine May/June
"Built with titanium drivers and ULTRASONE's state-of-the-art S-LogicTM and PROline (ultra-low emission) technology, the Edition 7 produces an out-of-body listening experience that is unmatched in today's market."Digital Media Design May
"Here's one of those rare products that actually lives up to its claims."
Worship Leader June
"the HFI-650's stayed on my head for two hours without me noticing their presence. A listen gave credence to the elaborate claims on the boxes."On Sound and Music, Jim Merod April
"I heard each subtle aspect of my mix exactly as I wanted to hear it...exactly as needed to do the job. These are special cans."FORBES May
"quality akin to looking out a familiar window that has just been cleaned and realizing you were missing a great deal of the view. The difference is pronounced...the ear splitting trumpet of William "Cat" Anderson resonated at something near the quality of hearing it live."
Bass Player July
"ULTRASONES (HFI-550) give a more accurate impression of bass than any headphones I've tried. And any music fan who hasn't tried a pair of really good headphones in the last decade should check out the ULTRASONE line; there's a reason these guys have been making waves."Official X-Box Magazine July
"...the ULTRASONES (HFI-15G) are the next best thing to your true 5.1's"Recording Magazine July
"...these (HFI-550) may be the best-isolated headphones we've ever heard."Eddie Kramer, producer/engineer Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.
"I personally hate using headphones but when I heard the ULTRASONE HFI-650s I was blown away. These phones are very open and very honest. As a producer, I am always concerned about having a headphone for my musicians that I can crank up without tearing their heads off. The physical design cuts out unwanted noise without that unnatural noise canceling that some others use. These headphones are a pleasure to use. I recommend them to all of my artists...I love them so much I even take them to the gym every day!"
Elliott Scheiner, producer/engineer Beck, Faith Hill, Steely Dan, Ricky Martin, Sting, Bruce Hornsby, The Eagles, B.B. King, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, etc.
"I really, really like the ULTRASONE headphones, I use them as a reference in my home studio. Not a day of work goes by that I'm not using my ULTRASONEs."Touter Harvey, Inner Circle Recording Studio
"Hello John, I've been busy using those new HFI 550 and loving it.They are great both in and out of the studio.The bass response is incredible, deep and clear.It's hard to belive that we're listening to headphones. I do a lot of work on my powerbook and the 550's are the perfect match. It's like listening to a pair of mains.Now I should also mention that we do love the 650's here at Circle House but the bass on the 550's is perfect for both hip hop and reggae. Hope you get something out of the above, but I really mean what I said about working with my PB Irie vibes....."Mark
"We have mixed 2 or 3 songs on the phones and they are raves! ...far and away they do BLOW away any other headphone I have heard except for the active STAX or an audiophile ribbon system I heard last year."
B T, internationally renowned DJ, and composer of soundtrack for MONSTER
"THEY ARE ASTONISHING!!!! I used them on my whole last trip and I am convinced they are the best headphones ever made. Everyone I have played them for has freaked out as well. If you guys need any quotes or anything let me know. Thanks a million :)"Steve Vai, Guitarist, Grammy winner
"When using the Ultrasones the distinction of frequencies in the stereo spread seemed slightly more robust and after reading the literature I could hear ghosts of instruments spaced in areas of my brain that seemed somewhat more dimensional than the Sony headphones. I believe I am perceiving the dimentiality that the headphones claim to offer but it's not a knock you out type difference than conventional headphones. A real step in the right direction though."Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Electric Guitar, Steve Earle and The Dukes
"...These headphones are really great. They are actually different. I really dig the special dimensions that you get with them. I use them all the time...I really dig these headphones, and I know Matt (Earle's sound guy) digs his also."
George Galanis, Live DJ, Phunk De Sonique
"I am convinced that every DJ on the planet needs to stop reading this and go and listen to a pair of ULTRASONE HFI 500 DJ1's. These headphones will suit the most fastidious of music lover, DJ and also sound great playing Formula One Grand Prix on PS2! Just hear it."Kooster McAllister, Engineer, Record Plant Remote; Grammy winner: Standing in the Shadows of Motown; Winner of various TEC Awards including Remote Recorder Engineer of the year
"These headphones rock! Best I ever used. We all fight over them."Phil Allingham, Product Reviews Manager for TechTV
"The ULTRASONE edition7 headphones provide the best sound I've ever heard. Hands down better highs, better lows, better midrange, better balance between ranges. From Miles Davis to Mozart, Sarah McLachlan to Rage Against the Machine, the edition7s produced the clearest, cleanest, and warmest sound I've ever heard."Gerry Brown,drummer for Stevie Wonder,Diana Ross,Jeffrey Osborne
"These headphones are truly amazing, they allow me to retain hearing only what I need to hear in a sequence without the rest of the band volume in the way. Totally comfortable, stylish, lightweight, they fill every desire I need for performances and they're great in the studio. Give your ears the Love they deserve,get these headphones,you hearing will thank you !!!!"
Scott Jarrett, Recording Department Head, Musictech College
Musictech College faculty and students are abuzz with interest in the ULTRASONE HFI 650 headphones.I have compared them with many other great headphones and other binaural listening devices including the Stax Professional Earspeakers. The HFI 650s are revelatory. The low end is solid, but not pushed or punchy. The high end is clear and clean without being harsh or gritty. Some of the people I have shared these with believe them to be pushy in the low end, but I think this is because they are used to listening on monitors that don't reach down below 60 HZ (almost all nearfields when no sub is used). I work in a room with a calibrated Blue Sky 5.1 speaker system with a bass management controller, so I have heard many a "great" mix come up heavier in the bottom than the mix engineer may have originally intended. With today's trend towards a crossover into a subwoofer in 2 channel stereo or 6 channel surround, it is great to have a set of headphones which actually have allowed me to reference the low end of my mixes with such accuracy. The low end I reference with the 650s comes across beautifully when played back through my 5.1 system. www.scottjarrett.net
D. Brian Smith, Broadcast Engineer, Nashville Sunday Night
Mixing a two hour show can be very hard on the ears. Most headphones cause a lot of fatigue. Also, most of the time you could say that mixing off of studio monitors is preferred over mixing in headphones. The ULTRASONE DVD Headphones has changed my opinion on both points. The range, width, and low pressure make listening to headphones over a long period of time a pleasure.Some how you FEEL the lows like you would on studio monitors, and mids and highs are absolutely natural. The best way I can describe this is: Listening to bass guitar thought a SVT classic head with no speaker cab though the DVDs sounds and FEELS like you are standing next to an SVT head through the 8x10 cab. These headphones allowed me to mix with way more detail in my stereo image. When you pan something just "a little left" you can hear it, when you have a stereo signal it not only sounds "wide" but also all the detail in-between is there. To sum it up, mixing on these headphones is just pleasant. The other night I was driving to my gig, I was going to mix a Howie Day broadcast for Nashville Sunday Night, I realized that I had left my headphones at my last gig. I had to do sound check in my old sony 7506's. After a 30 min sound check my ears were exhausted, not to mention I hated my mix. I hopped in my Jeep and drove all the way across town to get my ULTRASONES for the show. I don't ever want to be with out these headphones again.
David Bock, Sound Deluxe Microphones
"(The 2000's) are the most un-headphone cans I've ever heard."Billy Ward, drummer, Joan Osborne, Billyward.com
" I just fell in love with these new headphones. I've been re-listening to my records...wow. I'm so glad to have these now for my studio mixing-perspective. I've got the HFI-650 DVD Edition model, which retails for $249-. Lots of dough, but I can't tell you how invaluable these suckers are gonna be for me. It sounds like the music is AROUND my head- not inside like most headphones. Just thought I'd share my new discovery!"Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson & Family
“My ears have seen the Glory"
Dr. Mike Wagner, Professor & Director, Music Education at Florida International University
"As for SPL, you know of my inner ear damage. I have some pretty severe neural hearing loss, and yet, I'm an avid video editor. Your HFI-650's are the best damn phones I've used. There seems to be a depth and clarity to the sound image,...that's less "edgy" than the other phones I've tried."Billy Sherrill, Nashville Engineer
" Everyone that has used the headphones has loved them. The clarity is wonderful, no matter which studio I'm in. Just listening to CD's is wonderful, you can really get hooked. The frequency response is very smooth from the bottom to the top. A couple of artist have brought their own headphones and started with them, but after trying the ULTRASONE they have stayed with them for the rest of the project."Tom Grignon, Nashville session and touring drummer
"I used the HFI-650 DVD Edition model to listen to everything from Hendrix to jazz to classical. I was amazed by their clarity and definition. When I compared them to my other headphones (including some Sennheisers which I had thought were pretty good) the ULTRASONE absolutely blew the other models away. So, thank you SO MUCH for making all of my old headphones obsolete!"Carl P. Mayfield, Billboard, CMA and ACM award winning air-personality, Citadel Broadcasting
"I'm now using your product everyday and loving it. they beat anything I've tried for more than 25 years. A fter many years of station engineers trying and failing to stop 'ol ted from leaking to the mic and causing nugent concert style feedback on the radio, your ULTRASONES did it magically the first time I plugged 'em in and cranked 'em up. I'm amazed..."
Larry Crane TapeOp, MP3 Me Asap!
"I was visiting New Orleans ...(in my suitcase) threw in a pair of ULTRASONE (650) headphones (which I can't recommend highly enough). Somehow this technology got me excited about listening to music again.”Nosmo Grayarea @ Graylabel.net
"They're absolutely top notch. We've been using the 650s for production on the road and they sound amazing. Great response on all frequencies and you can't hear a peep even if you're sitting right next to the guy with the things turned up super loud... They're also quite comfortable. Which brings us to the 550s, sound quality is top and the bass response is heavier than the 650s (nice feature for the djs), but the best part is the physical design. They're just freaking comfortable and lightweight. Fine to wear full on your head, one side on / off, or around the neck. Plus they got the length of the cord spot on...Best headphones we've ever owned."Craig Krampf, Grammy award winning musician, songwriter, producer, Gold record artist, etc.
"I've been a part of making records for over 38 years. During this time of course, I have worn a lot of headphones...starting with the single phones that were used in the 60's. Recording technology continued to grow and more and more producers and engineers realized that there was a correlation between how well the musicians and singers could hear, to the type of performances that were gotten, and headphones continued to improve.
Being a drummer who at times is called on to play loud, leakage into the headphones from my own instrument has been a problem and I always need to turn the volume of the headphone box up in order to hear the other instruments on the session. Certain phones were better in this regard, namely the AKG 240's and certain phones, like the Fostex (while being very industrial) are absolutely awful concerning leakage and not being able to keep them on your head while playing hard.
After all this experience, I can say that the ULTRASONE HFI-550 headphones are without a doubt the best headphones I have ever used. The isolation is amongst the best. Yes, there are phones made specifically for isolation problems, however, most of these phones use components that sonically aren't close to what you hear with ULTRASONE. I have also been able to turn the volume down at every studio that I have been at with these phones...they are definitely more efficient and I can actually hear the bottom end of my kick drum and bass. I believe that the offset speaker placement has contributed to something very interesting: on two different sessions, two engineers and I have noticed that the singers pitch center became better after switching to my ULTRASONES . It was most amazing. There is really something to this offset design.
And so, to sum up: I believe that ULTRASONE headphones are simply the best. I now carry my own phones to every studio and without fail when a person tries my phones, they are blown away. Thanks ULTRASONE ...I have been waiting my whole career for headphones like these.”