::Disclaimer::
Ultrasone provided the Edition M Plus free of charge for the purpose of my honest review, for good or ill.
The Edition M Plus sells for around $1,149
www.Ultrasone.com
Ultrasone on Amazon
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::Let me start off apologizing for the pictures. I don’t have the skill to photograph these headphones without getting caught in the reflection of their mirror-like polish. I did my best, but I know I failed epic.::
Ultrasone is a German company many of you are probably familiar with, as they’ve been around since the early 90s and are known for producing quality pieces. Their Edition Series, also known as The Masterpieces, seems to be their high-end audiophile offerings. There is also the Signature Series, which is where you’ll find gear suited to the DJ life and studio work, the PROi series, which looks like their entry level-stuff, and the Performance Series, which… I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what market they are aimed at. Maybe stage work? If you hate IEMs? Don’t know.
Virtually all of their products are built upon the full-size circumaural platform. The Edition M, the Black Pearl, is Ultrasone’s mobile-focused monitor. From what I can tell, it’s more of a on-the-ear design. Whereas the M Plus, the product Ultrasone sent me, is the slightly bigger version of that.
I’ve always considered my ears to be rather large, and yet they fit comfortably within the cups, allowing for a circumaural fit. The leather is extremely luscious and supple, the metal and other materials are lightweight, yet strong, making the Edition M Plus one of the lightest, easiest to carry full-size headphone I’ve found. Just slip them into their pouch, and slip the pouch into your bag, and you won’t even notice the extra bulk.
And they are comfortable. I can listen for hours on end without any hot spots forming. The light, low-profile design disappears on your head, making it easy to forget you’re wearing headphones at all.
The carry pouch is a letdown. It offers no protection beyond scratches, and the weird material leaves lint all over the headphones themselves, forcing me to wipe them down every time I take them out.
Ultrasone disappoints again with the cable. First, let me say some good things: It’s lightweight. Ok. That’s pretty much it. It’s lightweight. That’s nice. Well, there’s also zero microphonic noise, which is a major plus. It’s also unmanageable and doesn’t drape whatsoever. There are bends and kinks which do not come out. So it looks awful and is awkward to use. They were moved by evil and went with the MMCX connector, and threw in a mic and controls dongle. In other words, it possesses only half the qualities audiophiles want, and the other half are exactly the opposite.
Is this a deal breaker? No, of course not. I merely want you to understand, securing an aftermarket cable will be a priority for most of you.
