ULTRASONE Signature Pure Over-Ear Dynamic Headphones - TDS REVIEW
KT MARK: III
This is the first product of the Extreme Ultrasone brand to officially appear at TDS Hearroom.
The positioning of the Signature series in the Extreme product line is basically considered to be the "mid-to-high-end" product after the Edition series, from the first generation of the Signature Pro/Studio/DJ/DXP (of course, the release dates are in descendant order), to the Master/Natural/Pulse released two years ago, and now the Pure and Drop collaboration Signature X. The Signature series basically uses a similar architecture to cover the price range from $100 to $1,000. I've been a Signature Pro and Studio user and have paired the latter with Bispa cables, but to be honest, the first generation of the four models in the series didn't make me happy enough. As a professional headset, none of the models I've heard of in the Signature series can meet my triple requirements for tone, texture, and distortion, and naturally it is difficult to make it into the TDS ProQua system.
The Signature Pure involved in this issue is a new product in a broad sense, in fact, it has just been launched in Nichia, can it exchange some new changes at a low price in the series? After reading this article, you may be able to find the answer. This machine comes from the random purchase total loan, thank you here.
包装与配件 | Package & Accessories
The packaging of Signature Pure is very simple, in some ways like a "work bag". The cardboard box is marked with the model number on the surface, and there is a nylon storage bag, cable and a 3.5mm to 6.35mm small to large plug, and nothing else.
There is flocking inside the storage bag, which is not bad, and the back is also designed with additional storage space, which can separate the cable and the earphone body. There's just enough room for the Pure, as well as accessories such as a small tail. When stored, Pure is in a tiled state.
设计、佩戴表现与声学结构 | Design, Fit & Acoustic Structure
The general architecture of the Signature Pure is similar to that of other models in the series. The headband frame of the headphones can even be traced back to the HFI, PROline and other series, and is made of engineering plastics. The adjustment part of the head beam has a sense of scale, which is relatively smooth to adjust, and the adjustable range is relatively long, with a total of about 9-10 cm at both ends. There is a skin-like coating on the surface of the cavity, similar to the treatment done by DT880 Black Edition, and there are no problems found in short-term use, and it feels quite good to the touch. It is not excluded that the phenomenon of aging will occur after a few years of use.
The panel design is relatively low-key, and instead of being metallic like the Master, Pulse, etc., it uses a bumpy texture, and the logo is metal engraved on the surface. The headband cushions on both sides are equipped with metal nameplates with S-LOGIC 3 technology and Braille protrusions on the left and right logos.
There is no obvious abnormal sound in the hinge and joints made of plastic. Pure's hinge design allows it to be stored in two forms, either flattening it into a pouch or folding it into a tiny shape, just like the ATH-M50X and MDR-V6. But folding it further in a tiled state isn't possible, and you can't fit it into a small storage case in a relatively flat state, as many modern portable headsets like the WH-1000XM4 do.
The size of the cavity is about a little smaller than that of MDR-CD900ST, and it can be wrapped around the ears for most people, but the feeling of wrapping is stronger, and there is not much horizontal and longitudinal space left in the earcups. The depth of the ear cups is more prominent, and even the prominent ears are not easy to push into the unit shell.
The headband cushions and ear cups have a certain elasticity, and the surface materials are similar to Alcantara but have a higher roughness to the touch, which is very easy to get dusty, but the breathability is relatively good, and the stuffiness of long-term wear is relatively low. There is also the presence of mesh on the inside of the head beam pad.
The comfort of wearing is not bad in this volume of headphones, although it is relatively compact, but because the earcups are thick enough, the pressure around the pinna on both sides is not very large, combined with a very closed cavity, can achieve better passive sound isolation performance. And because the head beam pad is also wide enough, the pressure on the top of the head is not obvious.
Like most products in Extreme, the Signature Pure is powered by S-LOGIC technology. So far, it's the third generation on Pure. The goal of the S-LOGIC 3 is to restore a more intuitive sound field through acoustic design, minimizing the headset effect in the headphones. In fact, to put it bluntly, the position of the unit will be adjusted, the unit will be moved forward and down appropriately relative to the cavity, and the cavity structure will be re-optimized to make the angle between the unit and the pinna more in line with the shape of the human ear.
The surface of the cavity is free of any visible openings, which allows it to maintain the high degree of closure of most headphones. S-LOGIC TECHNOLOGY IS ALL THE MORE NECESSARY, SINCE PURE CLOSED-BACK HEADPHONES CAN EASILY PRODUCE A "BARREL SOUND" AND ACCENTUATE THE MID-HEAD EFFECT.
When the earcups are removed, you can see that the unit housing is set up with different densities of tuning paper, as well as a set of bumps in the center of the cover. This set of bumps, known as the Dual Deflector Fin (DDF), acts as a diversion device, which is an important part of S-LOGIC 3. According to the official introduction, after passing through this set of "diversion fins", the directional mid-frequency and high-frequency signal components remain almost unchanged, while the mid-low and low-frequency are filtered and guided. Roughly speaking, it can actually be understood as an acoustic filter.
线材、扬声器配置与功率需求 | Cable, Driver & Power Demand
In terms of cable, the Signature Pure is equipped with a spring wire that can be stretched up to about two meters long, the nominal material is unknown, and the cable itself is relatively soft. The plugs at both ends are a 3.5mm single-ended plug with a standard screw and a 2.5mm three-pole single-ended plug with locking structure that connects to the headphone end, and the locking mechanism is compatible with previous models such as the Signature Series and ATH-M70X.
Built into the Pure is a 50mm diameter Mylar diaphragm argrocer unit. With an impedance of 32Ω and a sensitivity of 114dB, it's relatively easy to drive in a portable headset.
The subjective description of the sound below is based on the original wire, the original earcup state, and the drive power needs have been met.
声音主观描述 | Sound Description
The low-frequency volume is moderate, with a more prominent thickness, not very full, and the dive is decent. The retraction speed is not too fast, and it retains a certain degree of residual reverberation. The ambience is moderately blended, and the sense of dispersion is controlled. There's an unnatural arch in the low-mids, which makes the Pure's very low frequencies not quite a lot, but the low mids have a sense of prominence. This also makes the instrument with the fundamental tone located in the lower middle plate more presence, and there is also a certain sense of forward leaning, and there will even be some muddy feeling when encountering some instruments such as kick drums or bass.
THE MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES AND VOCAL THICKNESS ARE MODERATE, AND THE DISTANCE IS RELATIVELY CLOSE IN HEADPHONES WITH S-LOGIC TECHNOLOGY, BUT THE LIP SIZE IS NOT VERY LARGE, AND THE CLARITY OF THE IMAGE IS NOT VERY GOOD. Pure obviously pays more attention to the texture of the vocals, and the line depiction is not particularly important, but there is still a bit of a stiff feeling. Male and female voices are similarly adaptable, and it's hard to say exactly which type is better suited, but it's fair to tell that Pure will be better suited to genres that don't overly thicken the voice. Due to the arch of the low and midrange, Pure's voice on the thick side of the voice will appear quite unnatural, as if holding a mouthful of old phlegm. Pure still has a performance that meets the price point for some voices that are younger, thinner, and have a higher vocal position. As for the tonal rendering, there is also a fact that it is hard to say that Pure's vocals are on the warm side, but it gives the impression of being shaggy, unrefined, and a little stuffy. The position of the laryngeal sound will be slightly higher than that of the normal state, the proportion of air sounds is relatively small, but the sound of saliva and ventilation has a certain prominence, and the tooth sound is not very much.
In terms of musical instruments, the texture generally takes precedence over the line depiction. Stringed instruments generally sound a little thicker, violins, violas, etc. are not badly solid, and the texture of the guitar will be a little unnatural. The plucked strings don't stand out as much detail. The shape of the cello is still relatively full in the thousand-yuan file, and it is also at the expense of a certain degree of naturalness. Brass has a good sense of momentum, but trumpets that need to be bright will feel a little stuffy. Woodwinds can also feel the unnaturalness of this stuffiness. The bell-like timbre has an unnaturally shiny feel. The presence of percussion instruments is not prominent, and the sense of stimulation is weak.
The high-frequency brightness is moderately slightly dark, there are no particularly prominent spikes, there is an early but fairly natural roll-off, and the HF extension is still a little far from the HFI-780 and even the same series of Signature Studios.
The scale of the sound field is not very large, generally speaking, it is quite regular, and the distance between horizontal and vertical is basically the same, which is the ultimate housekeeping technology after all. The "sense of height" is not very good. The localizability is also one of the better in the thousand-yuan closed headset, and the separation between the vocals and the instrument is decent. The analysis ability barely meets the price point, and there is no "sense of analysis" prominent, so there is no need to worry. The dynamics are moderate, and the transients are fairly average.
总结评价与玩法建议 | Summary & Recommendation
Truth be told, it was clear that the Bispa that had been prepared for the earlier headphones such as the Signature series and the M70X could not have substantially improved its sound. Luckily, the Pure's earcups are made of Alcantara-like rather than leather-like surfaces, so that the energy in the low and midranges is not further dissipated. Perhaps replacing some of the earcups with slightly larger back openings will solve some of the problems.
In terms of adaptability of music style, for people with low requirements, it is feasible to listen to some pop vocals and folk songs with not thick voices, and jazz can also be considered, but the lack of "height" makes it impossible to completely restore the spatial atmosphere of jazz. Let's listen to something relatively light, it's already quite "heavy" in itself.
Overall, I wasn't satisfied with Pure's performance, and in the past two years, there have actually been a lot of models worth considering for the 1,000-yuan closed-back headphones, from the SRH840A to the DT700 PRO X and even the T3-03, all of which are good choices for both professional use and consumer appreciation. What's more, CD900ST, M70X, and even some of Extreme's own wool products are still available.
Pure also has morphological advantages over the above models, such as the fully enclosed structure and the energy accumulation of low and mid frequencies make it a better experience when facing high-noise environments, such as live electronic music performances. After all, according to the hype, it does have the "spiritual heritage" of Signature DJ. Structurally, it's actually much lighter than the DT700 PRO X, which also has a high degree of enclosure. It's just that this sound, in the face of most conventional listening environments, still seems to have obvious shortcomings. As for its upper limit, it doesn't actually reach the level of Signature Studio. The second generation of the Signature Master will also be available soon, and I wonder if it can be done to make people more satisfied.
KingTsui, from the TDS Studio.
Jan 2024
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