Today, we review the Drop + Ultrasone Signature X, which is a closed-back dynamic driver headphone with patented S-Logic® technology. It is priced at $299.
Disclaimer: This was sent to us as a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. We thank Drop for this opportunity.
To learn more about Drop products previously featured on Headfonics you can click here.
Note, that this article follows our latest scoring guidelines which you can read here.
The natural progression of the Signature DJ, (circa 2012), to the Pulse, and now to the Drop + Ultrasone Signature X model has shown us that Ultrasone is capable of some amazing technology and gear when they want to really push the boundary.
To me, this is something I yearn for, greatly. I adored my Ultrasone Edition 5, and I have previously owned many Ultrasone models.
Disclaimer to those reading. Their house sound is my subjectively personal favorite headphone sound. I am a fan of S-logic and my primary portables for over 12 years have most often been one of the Ultrasone models.
Tech Highlights
The S-Logic tech, in a nutshell, is an angled driver design that offers quite a different sound than most closed-back headphones. The attempt from Ultrasone to solicit much more sound staging and imaging size is a valiant one that I hope they R&D even more to vastly improve on, in the years to come.
For now, the S-Logic tech has really improved over the last generation. I recall the days of the 700 series models and how they sounded versus today’s Ultrasone models. The difference is night and day.
Every few years, Ultrasone releases a new line of stuff that improved the last generation by a step or two. And it is that sort of thing that I like to see and strive to commend and award in my reviews.
ULE is also Ultrasone’s term for the reduction of electromagnetic radiation. All drivers of all types emit some type of emission in that regard, but Ultrasone wants to drop that reading down as far as possible.
From cell phones to computer monitors, to radios, and almost anything circuit based. It doesn’t matter, most if not all pieces of electronics, in this regard, will produce some electro-interference in the form of very low levels of radiation.
Safe, of course. But Ultrasone wants that level to be even lower than what all electronics companies insist are “safe” levels. This German company doesn’t mess around with safety.
Design
The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X is a closed-back design, which means it won’t leak much sound to those around you.
Due to it also being a fully closed design, it does offer a smidgen of passive noise cancelation potential. Nothing great, but it is nice to have a fully closed cup like that while you are sitting outside or on a walk somewhere.
The headphones are made of questionable plastic material. The build quality is subpar for a $300 headphone. This headphone creaks heavily, more than any other headphone I have worn in the last decade. The last headphone to creak this badly was another Ultrasone from the past.
I had this same problem in 2016 on my Edition 5. A simple gesture in any direction causes the creak to occur. Sometimes, raising my eyebrows is enough to cause the skin on the top of my head to move the headband, which in turn causes a creaking sound.
Comfort & Isolation
Despite the tremendously bad build quality, the headphones are plenty comfortable. As mentioned, what I dislike the most is the material they used on the underside of the headband. It feels like a cheese grater on my skull sometimes. It’s not sharp or anything, it’s just fabric, but it’s textured like a net, and it feels truly abysmal on my head.
The headphones are needlessly heavy on the top side area, due to the excessively large headband. There is just so much of it, and I don’t get why.
The larger earcups of Edition 5 and similar models can be considered the top-tier sexiest headphones ever designed, and they all have thinner well-padded headbands. Yet, this Signature X uses the old design of the OG Ultrasone from 15 years ago.
The clamp strength is excellent and not a problem. I find the original model with the original pads way more comfortable because they are much thinner and the clamp factor is less intense.
The new pad version is significantly thicker and adds a much higher clamp factor. Despite that, the amount of clamping is still enjoyable and not at all uncomfortable.
Both sets of earpads are nice in comfortability overall, however, the old and original pads are more comfortable because there is just far less of it to press against your ears and head. I can and have worn the headphones for extended hours.
Due to being closed back with ‘leatherish’ pads, the experience does get warm quickly, but that is to be expected and not uncommon.
Stock Cables
You get four cables with the new revised release model. They include a 1.2m balanced 4.4mm adapter, 3m coiled ¼, 3m straight 3.5mm, and lastly, a 1.2m portable length 3.5mm with a microphone jack.
This is the same type of cable used on the Edition models from the last generation. Although, this one is single entry and not dual entry into the earcups.
This is a great value experience; you are getting a lot. All the cables are excellent, the new earpads are of amazing quality too.
The carrying case is gorgeous. I can’t ask for more, this is one of the best put-together boxes for a headphone release that I’ve seen in a long time. You have pretty much every avenue you need to be covered.
Packaging & Accessories
The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X stock box is lovely. Drop made sure to give the Ultrasone Signature X model its own nice little box with its name stamped on it and some logos, yet on the cardboard box too? Nice. Inside, you get a beautiful hard case. And this is where things change a bit depending on when and how you bought it.
This headphone was originally released with some cute and funny issues. The original stock unit was produced and assembled and released with backward metal plates on the driver cups on the inside area.
Meaning, the driver plates that cover the driver were installed backward and flipped when they were not supposed to be. They have some holes that perforate the metallic plate, obviously to let the sonic waves flow naturally out of that.
However, those holes were not in the correct position and were covering up the area of the driver originally intended to have a port hole on the driver plate. Literally backward.
This caused a lot of owners to rebel and protest. Ultrasone and Drop got together to fix the problem, and they did so lightning quick. A new batch followed a few weeks/months after that original release and with a totally new driver plate that is correctly installed.
Interestingly, I have the original model with the assembly problem. I also have the new model that fixed the problems and both headphones came with different accessories.
Synergy
In this case, I see why the balanced cable was offered with the Signature X. With more power comes noticeably better smoothness on the bass.
My CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2 is overkill in power needs, which smooths everything out on the low end when I am running an XLR balanced to 4.4mm balanced adapter. The extra juice makes this Drop Ultrasone Signature X feel noticeably more refined.
The Signature X is very efficient, to begin with, so volume is not the issue. Substance and heftiness are the issues. You can still get excellent bass density with a normal unbalanced source, but if you drop a balanced one in the mix, you can elevate the fidelity on the bass a fair bit to become smoother and more refined.
If you want a warmer approach, something like the XRK Audio NHB Pocket Amp would be a perfect fit for the Signature X. Not too much power there, but great sparkle and musicality in this amp that will mesh perfectly.
The Signature X can scale with more power also. Using a Burson Conductor 3 desktop amplifier, the Ultrasone sounds equally as refined as it does compared to the CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2 experience. However, the Burson offers more warmth and a stronger dynamic range.
High gain can also blow out the Signature X bass entirely if you have a bass booster switch on your amplifier, so make sure that function is turned off if your EQ on your music player is active.
I prefer to tweak my bass EQ in-app, through something like the MSEB feature in the HiByMusic app, and then let the amplifier I am using run without its physical bass switches active.
Click on page 2 below for sound impressions and our selected comparisons.
