Ultrasone debuts $600 "radiation reducing" Pro 900 headphones

Good news everyone! If Ultrasone's $1,500 pair of radiation reducing Edition 9 headphones were a bit too pricey for your taste, you'll no doubt be thrilled to know that the company has now let loose the far cheaper Pro 900 phones, which promise to block just as much of that pesky radiation for the low, low price of $600. Of course, Ultrasone is just as focused on sound quality as it is on curbing radiation leakage, and the Pro 900s look like they should deliver the goods on that front as well, with them boasting a 6-42k Hz frequency range, 40 Ohm impedance, a sound pressure level of 96dB, and a 40mm titanium-plated driver at the heart of each can. You'll even get interchangeable spiral and straight cables, and a hard carrying case to protect your new prized possession.

[Thanks, Tom]

[phanbouy @ Aug 29th 2008 4:39PM]

i find it's better to remove the plutonium cylinder from my ear canal before wearing headphones but thanks anyway!

[gad get @ Aug 31st 2008 2:28AM]

You keep plutonium cylinders in your ear canals?!
I keep mine in my nose... much more comfortable.

[dave @ Aug 29th 2008 4:45PM]

Good news everyone! im a horses butt!

Wait a minute, thats not good news at all!

[gad get @ Aug 31st 2008 2:28AM]

I don't see how it's relevant, anyway.

[HUNG @ Aug 29th 2008 4:49PM]

im hoppong that is sarcasm.

[HUNG @ Aug 29th 2008 4:50PM]

Hopping*

[phanbouy @ Aug 29th 2008 5:00PM]

i liked your first spelling better

[Jason @ Aug 29th 2008 6:17PM]

Hung: hoppong, FONG!!!

[gad get @ Aug 29th 2008 8:41PM]

"Hopping"? Really? I thought you meant "hoping."

[the whistler @ Aug 29th 2008 4:52PM]

I'll wait for the $30.00 version that offer 20hz to 20Khz frequency response. No sense buying these for a high end only a dog could hear.

[Reader @ Aug 29th 2008 5:44PM]

Some audiophile on here commented on how it smoothed out the sound or some type of interference when the speakers go beyond and below our hearing range. I forget the exact explanation, but it sounded logical at the time I heard it. I have an image of it in my head, but can't explain it too well.

[Yuriy @ Aug 30th 2008 1:29AM]

yah, specially that non of the portable devices not produce hi-end sound quality. I'm just wondering to see somebody walking with spinning vinyl on the street - that will be prabobly iSpeen?:-)

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 30th 2008 2:52AM]

I think it has to do with how the audio waves propagate. Certain frequencies will amplify or diminish other frequencies as the waves interact with each other. By reproducing a greater frequency range than what our ears can detect, the headphones actually make the sound more "real". Basically, it's better to reproduce as much range as possible, because that's what existed originally.

At least, that's what my basic understanding of the physics of wave propagation lead me to think...

[tekdemon @ Aug 30th 2008 4:00AM]

I'd like to point out that you can hear below 20Hz, and even if the Hz was insanely low you'd still feel the vibrations even if you couldn't hear them. So having an insanely low frequency response would be noticable.

But yeah above 20khz is somewhat pointless.

[Kurian @ Aug 30th 2008 9:45AM]

The physical presence of the full frequency range affects the sound of the audible range due to various physical laws.

[Peter @ Oct 16th 2008 2:18PM]

Well the harmonic overtones effect the over all sound. So even though we might not be able to hear 10hz it would enhance the overall sound of the rest of the music because of the extra harmonic overtones created by the 10hz. The same concept can be applied to all the tones we can't hear. The only problem is that most people don't record with mics that can hear below 20hz and then it doesn't even matter because the extra harmonic overtones are even there to begin with.

[broli @ Aug 29th 2008 4:57PM]

These seem to be ahead of their time because the price is obviously meant for the coming depression.

[FireStar @ Aug 29th 2008 4:58PM]

I'm a little stupid here....what's the advantage of a spiral cable?

[Frac @ Aug 29th 2008 8:38PM]

It goes down stairs, alone or in pairs.

[broli @ Aug 29th 2008 5:03PM]

It impresses friends at a party.

[Adam @ Aug 29th 2008 5:23PM]

Spiral cords are useful in the recording studio, where the engineer wearing the cans might be moving around a bit. If the cord snags on a knob or something, the cans won't get yanked off the head, wires won't get broken, etc. Also, a spiral cord keeps the cord shorter when the full length isn't needed, thus reducing tangles, keeping a 9' cord out of rolling chair wheels, etc. Ultimately, I think straight cords are pretty lame.

[Urza @ Aug 29th 2008 5:33PM]

It stretches.

[mike @ Aug 29th 2008 5:59PM]

A spiral cable causes both lines to experience similar interference. Thus you shouldn't notice noise in one ear and not the other.

[Jason @ Aug 29th 2008 6:19PM]

self-managing

[cragger @ Aug 29th 2008 5:05PM]

tinfoil - $2.
duct tape - $4
making a "radiation reducing" hat that is the envy of all the other crazies? - priceless

[phanbouy @ Aug 29th 2008 5:07PM]

im un ur ear drumz. irraditating teh beta partikles

[Fail @ Aug 29th 2008 5:16PM]

Fail.

[gad get @ Aug 29th 2008 8:46PM]

@ Fail

Your post seems a little redundant.

[Jeffery @ Aug 30th 2008 1:33AM]

@Phanbouy:
In Soviet Russia (or anywhere else), beta particles irradiate you!
...think about it

[Edward @ Aug 29th 2008 5:17PM]

Save your money and get a better pair, like the Grado GS 1000s.

[LAST! @ Aug 29th 2008 5:18PM]

What if you get cancer while owning one of these? Do you get to sue the company?

[bartoron @ Aug 29th 2008 5:29PM]

No, but you do get your money back!

[Reader @ Aug 29th 2008 5:45PM]

They could just say you would have got it sooner if it wasn't for them.

[Matt @ Aug 29th 2008 5:28PM]

I personally own a set of Ultrasone Pro 750's. They are the best headphones I have ever used in my entire life. They are almost as fun as my $1600 JBL LSR4328 reference monitors. The imaging is fantastic, they are comfortable, the mid range and bass are smooth as butter. Did I say the bass was smooth? They are worth every penny, literally. Oh, and I spend this kind of money on speakers and headphones because I'm a recording engineer.

[cubanresourceful @ Aug 29th 2008 6:10PM]

While these do look tempting, I think my Zune 80 earphones do the trick. :P

[computer.dude.28 @ Aug 29th 2008 11:04PM]

Amen to that.

[Zephyr @ Aug 29th 2008 7:18PM]

Lol Engadget you're slow in announcing this compared to Head-fi. I've been wanting to buy the PRO750's. Now the PRO900's are coming! ARGH! Guess I'll wait for the reviews in Head-fi.

[HyperHacker @ Aug 29th 2008 7:32PM]

Radiation-reducing headphones? Excellent. So when the rest of my head gets vapourized, my ears will still be intact!

[Travis @ Aug 29th 2008 7:34PM]

Stick with the MDR-7506's like Adam says. They are still one of the best set of cans hands-down.

[dtomilson @ Aug 29th 2008 7:38PM]

So how much better are these than my Bose Quiet Comfort 3s??

[gad get @ Aug 29th 2008 8:54PM]

Well, considering that in the audio market Bose is synonymous with overrated over-hyped overpriced under-performing rip-off junk, I'd say these probably compare quite well.

[gad get @ Aug 29th 2008 9:11PM]

That is, these probably blow the Bose Quiet Comfort 3 out of the water.

[dtomilson @ Aug 29th 2008 9:15PM]

Not from the reviews that I read.. Thanks for the shit reply. I am talking about consumer level headphones...

[gad get @ Aug 31st 2008 2:33AM]

You need to read reviews from people who know what they're talking about. It helps. A lot. Really.

[Jon Doe. @ Aug 29th 2008 9:51PM]

Sweet. So if I wear these I'm protected from the fallout from WW3?!?

[gad get @ Aug 31st 2008 2:34AM]

Nnnnnnooo...

[Joe @ Aug 30th 2008 4:15AM]

Don't support this company. The product is indeed truly worth every penny - but the parent company just recently screwed over their American partners big time.

The local team put in their own money and years of effort to buld the brand, purchased their own inventory and developed the market here stateside only to be rewarded by the German parent company deciding wow - there really is a market in the US - at which point they promptly terminated the contract with their US partners and opened their own shop.

Sure this story happens every day - but we don't have to support it. Let let Ultrasone know that this is not how we want to see business run in our country.

[Matt Etchells @ Aug 31st 2008 7:25AM]

only a complete sucker would buy these, the best headphones are the ones that don't need a gimmick to sell or look appealing to customers. and radiation? radiation is everywhere, trust me, more radiation comes out of your iphone than any headphones; if even any.

interference? all electronic devices create varying degrees of emf radiation, there isn't many ways to curb the effects of wireless spectrum interference..and i highly doubt there's much much that can be done..

id rather stick my head in a microwave before i throw down my hard earned money on these!

i also find it funny to see that these arent even true digital headphones, spdif/optical..

shame..

[Adam @ Aug 29th 2008 6:50PM]

Why the hell would you want headphones with a digital input? They'd then require a power supply, onboard D/A converters (which could be good or lousy), headphone amp (hopefully one that isn't noisy) and a volume control.

Slapping the label "Digital" on a transducer is 100% marketing gimmick. Transducers are ANALOG, always have been (unless you're playing a square wave). Certain amplifiers are now "digital" in that their output devices are switched on/off using pulse width modulation... But this PWM output is run through an inductor/capacitor network to generate -- yes -- an analog (short for "analagous") waveform to drive the speakers.

The decision to either buy high-end headphones or microwave your head is your prerogative... But the people buying these headphones probably are not buying them for the "low-radiation" or some fantastical frequency response, but rather for how they SOUND. If they SOUND good and the person auditioning them is willing to pay the $600 price tag... Then to that person, the cans are worth it.

For what it's worth, as a recording engineer, I've tried several sets of Ultrasone headphones and found the frequency response to be erratic, with odd peaks in the mids and highs, and muddy bass. My current favorite can is the Sony MDR-7506, which is about as true to the source material as any headphone I've heard. They don't have the relaxed midrange, boomy bass, and sizzling highs that everyone loves, but they are true to the music.