Ultrasone Edition 8 Review | 93 Data compared

The Ultrasone Edition 8 Carbon is characterized as a premium, comfortable, and highly durable closed-back headphone featuring a dynamic V-shaped sound signature, strong bass, and energetic treble. It is lauded for exceptional 3D imaging, fast transients, and an immersive soundscape that suits energetic music genres. Conversely, critics point to the excessively high retail price, advising consumers to seek used options, and note that the bass can sometimes overpower the midrange, which is considered less intimate than competitors.

The Ultrasone Edition 8Go to product viewer dialog for this item. headphones, reviewed on Head-Fi, are lauded as a premier portable audio solution, offering high-end performance with incredible sound clarity and a strong, controlled bass. Their 30-ohm impedance makes them highly efficient, capable of being driven directly by portable devices like an iPod while delivering a bright, warm sound profile. Head-Fi.orgHowever, the reviewer notes a significant imbalance, as the midrange and treble lack the same power and clarity as the robust bass, resulting in a slightly recessed, overshadowed midrange. While the stock performance shows this imbalance, the addition of an external amplifier, such as the Meier Audio Stepdance, helps to fill out these frequency ranges. Head-Fi.org

The Ultrasone Edition 8 headphonesGo to product viewer dialogue for this item., reviewed by The Absolute Sound, offer a premium, closed-back design featuring highly accurate upper-midrange balance and exceptional instrumental separation. These headphones are noted for a rich, controlled mid-bass and superior, less-fatiguing brightness compared to competitors like the Sennheiser HD 800. However, the review points out that the headphones lack deep bass extension and present an overly damped sound, which can make them feel more analytical than open. Additionally, the design renders overtones less effectively, resulting in a soundstage that feels less like a live performance and more like a tightly controlled studio environment. The Absolute Sound

The Ultrasone Edition 8 LimitedGo to product viewer dialog for this item. is a serialized, German-made closed-back headphone featuring a luxurious design with matte Ruthenium, American nutwood inlays, and soft Ethiopian sheepskin leather. Praised as premium portable cans, they offer excellent passive noise isolation and unique S-Logic Plus spatial technology, making them suitable for travel and stylish for winter use. However, the reviewer highlights a steep price point for minimal sonic improvements over standard versions. Practical drawbacks include limited comfort in hot weather due to heat-trapping leather and a headband design that restricts hat-wearing.

The Ultrasone Edition 8 Ruthenium is praised as a premium, V-shaped closed-back headphone excelling in electronic genres with tight, punchy bass, stellar 3D imaging, and an airy soundstage. Key advantages include its high-end build quality, excellent passive isolation, and low impedance, which allows for easy driving by mobile devices. Conversely, the headphones are considered less versatile, with a cold, analytical sound on acoustic recordings and a soundstage that, while wide for a closed-back, cannot rival open-back alternatives. Additionally, reviewers note the high retail price is less competitive, often recommending looking for used options, although they come with a substantial 5-year warranty. Read more on Head-Fi.

In a first-listen review for The Absolute Sound, the $1,499 Ultrasone Edition 8Go to product viewer dialogue for this item. headphones are characterized as premium, high-capability models offering a linear frequency balance, impressive dynamics, and smooth, low-distortion highs. The evaluation highlights the headphones' ability to present low-level information clearly, paired with a well-balanced bass response that avoids artificial boosting. The Absolute SoundWhile acknowledging the high performance, the review notes minor potential cons, including a slightly bright mid-treble and deep bass that, while detailed, may not meet the expectations of all listeners. Overall, the initial impression finds the sonic performance to be excellent, with only minor criticisms of the bass definition and treble characteristics. The Absolute Sound

Summary of the Ultrasone Edition 8 Review The Ultrasone Edition 8 is a compact, high-end, over-the-ear headphone model that stands out for its unique industrial design and exceptional portability. Handmade in Germany, these closed-back headphones feature scratch-resistant mirror Ruthenium earcups contouring the outer ear and genuine Ethiopian sheepskin leather cushions. Equipped with a 3.5-millimeter plug and a thin 4-foot "Y" cable, they are uniquely optimized to deliver world-class sound directly from portable devices like iPods without requiring an adapter. Its performance highlights include a "prodigious," big, and fat bass response, incredible dynamic range, and exceptional passive noise isolation that keeps ambient sounds out and music from leaking to bystanders. Despite an overall score of 8.4 out of 10, the headphones come with distinct drawbacks. The primary disadvantage is an extremely steep, luxury price tag of $1,500. Comfort is another notable concern, as the initial earpad clamp pressure feels quite high, causing annoyance for users wearing glasses. Finally, because of the sealed, closed-back construction, the Edition 8s fail to match the widely open, "out-of-the-head" soundstage found in rival high-end, open-back alternatives...

The Headfonics review of the Ultrasone Edition 8 RutheniumGo to product viewer dialog for this item. highlights the luxury closed-back headphones as a beautiful-sounding, highly detailed model with impressive, tight, and deeply extended bass, alongside a rapid, sparkling treble. These sonic characteristics, particularly the impressive speed, make the headphones ideal for complex acoustic, jazz, and classical music. HeadfonicsConversely, the review notes a significant, recessed midrange that lacks body, often causing vocals to sound less intimate, with the highly energetic high frequencies requiring careful system pairing. While the transitions are fast and smooth, they do not quite match the extreme speed of electrostatic benchmarks or the organic liquid nature of high-end wood-cup headphones.

The Headfonia review of the Ultrasone Edition 8Go to product viewer dialog for this item. highlights a successful blend of high-end, closed-back audiophile sound with portable functionality, featuring luxurious Ethiopian sheepskin construction that provides excellent passive isolation. A significant advantage is their ability to be driven directly by portable devices like an iPod, offering a highly musical, energetic sound with deep bass that excels in rock and electronica. Conversely, the review notes a stronger, tighter clamping force and indicates that performance on jazz can feel constrained, lacking the necessary open-air ambiance. Furthermore, the midrange may feel thin, with some lack of vocal body compounded by highly extended, sometimes aggressive high frequencies.

Ken Rockwell praises the Ultrasone Edition 8 as top-tier, portable headphones capable of producing high-fidelity sound directly from mobile devices like an iPod. Key advantages include exceptional efficiency, robust construction featuring sheepskin leather, and superior noise isolation, with sound quality surpassing the Sennheiser HD 800. Ken RockwellWhile offering high-end audio, the headphones feature a non-detachable, short 4-foot cable and plastic housings plated in Ruthenium rather than solid metal. Despite these design trade-offs, the review concludes the combination of portability and sound quality justifies their premium position.

The Ultrasone Edition 8 is a premium, closed-back audiophile headphone priced at $1,999 that balances an eye-catching aesthetic with durable construction. Its striking design features glossy, highly durable Ruthenium plates on the earcups alongside a sturdy metal headband, both padded with soft Ethiopian sheepskin leather to ensure long-lasting comfort without fatigue. Internally, the headphones utilize a 40mm titanium-plated tri-bass tube driver and MU-Metal shielding to reduce magnetic emissions. Driven easily by almost any source due to a low 30-Ohm impedance, they boast a wide frequency response of 6Hz to 42kHz, delivering exceptional resolution and detail potential. The acoustic review highlights exceptional sound quality as a major pro, characterized by a semi-holographic soundstage with deep layering that rivals open-back headphones. The low end produces a smooth, deep rumble, while the mid-range achieves stellar accuracy and vocally expressive fidelity, complemented by sparkly, highly detailed highs. Additional pros include the comfortable fit and prestigious build design. However, the headphones suffer from notable cons regarding the cable system; the stock oxygen-free copper (OFC) cable is uniquely short and non-detachable, which is a disappointing limitation...

Comprehensive Review Summary The Ultrasone Edition 8 is a luxury, hand-assembled pair of closed-back headphones featuring distinctive ruthenium ear cups and premium Ethiopian sheepskin padding. A major standout of these headphones is their ability to deliver a massive amount of micro-detail and incredibly rapid transient speed against an exceptionally quiet, "inky-black" background. Benefitting from Ultrasone's decentralized driver placement (S-Logic technology), they create an impressive sense of front-to-back depth and instrument layering that is highly unusual for headphones. Additional pros include excellent ambient noise isolation (15–20dB) and an exceptionally agile, deep bass response that reaches cleanly down to 20Hz without bloating or artificially boosting the midbass. However, the headphones have distinct drawbacks, starting with a steep $1,499 price tag and an underwhelming cardboard retail packaging. Sonically, a slight boost in the mid-treble (around 8–12kHz) combines with a lean midbass to make poorly recorded or bright tracks sound harsh, compressed, and unpleasantly analytical. Achieving this high-tier performance also requires precise physical positioning on the head, as the sweet spot for proper bass and spatial delivery is highly finicky. Lastly, the relatively small...