Sound Impressions
Bass
The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X is all about bass but these headphones don’t sound like other bassy headphones. They are lush, a little forward, and have plenty of presence in the mids and treble to offset the copious bass potential.
The quantity is high, but it’s not overbearing and annoyingly muddy, nor hard-hitting when you have no EQ active. In its normal phase and setting, the low end of this headphone is vividly deep reaching. But with that in mind, it is not slamming or painful. It hits just right.
I call this yummy and engaging. It’s slow on the draw, which means it doesn’t have fast-impacting bass. It is a slow-rolling thing of an experience that can dig supremely deep, but also stay very clean, all things considered
If you want even more, you can get it. The Signature X is responsive to EQ for bass. Go ahead, toss another +6dB in there if you want, it won’t matter, the X will handle it without sounding horrific and going glitchy.
The Signature X retains control even at that level of extra bass. This is a crazy good control factor. Lower it a lot, get a more balanced and clean sound, or add a lot more in it doesn’t seem to matter. It handles it in both directions and that is what makes a great headphone.
The fidelity is better than the HIFIMAN HE-R9, similarly priced and known for great bass. Although, the HE-R9 feels much thinner with a harsher impact.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless also had excellent quality bass that is overshadowed and simply not on par with the Signature X. This headphone punches just right at the fidelity level for $300, yet it also has serious bass head levels of quantity too.
Mids
Due to the excessive amount of bass, one needs to dial down the bass via EQ to make the headphone feel more balanced and even across the board.
With the EQ dropped a bit down yonder, the true fidelity of the headphone shines through in the mids, which are vivid, thick, engaging, moderately forward, and not recessed, but also not very forward.
Is this a vocalist’s headphone? No, but it is very soft on impact and Jazz tracks really shine with it. Slow-moving and elegantly paced tracks sound best here in the mid-range.
The fidelity factor is a smidgen better than the Momentum 4 Wireless, which again, I rated as excellent. In my opinion, this Drop Ultrasone Signature X is infinitely more fun, more musical, and more enjoyable in the slam department.
This is a mellow experience in the center, yet paradoxically, these headphones also sound great with metal and fusion.
Treble
The entire top end is tame and has less quantity than the mids and the bass. You’ll never get fatigued, and you’ll never feel this headphone is bright, nor annoyingly painful.
You can EQ the treble up a little to achieve more bite and brightness, but not much. Unlike the bass, the treble doesn’t respond too much to alterations, but it does shift enough to offer a brighter experience if you want it.
As the bass is the main focus of this headphone, don’t let that fool you. Because, as mentioned, just drop the EQ down a bit on the bass, and the mids and treble flush out enough to consider this headphone very enjoyable.
A lot of that has to do with the S-logic helping in the imaging department, but the treble and upper mids have just the slightest amount of energized bite to them that I can consider the fun factor off the charts.
I think this headphone was intended to be used for hours by gamers, or anyone who just wants hours of fun without feeling soar after. The top side could use a step more quantity, but the fidelity factor is still very good.
Imaging
The S-logic technology focuses on angled drives to help the vastness of the image size that is perceived. Usually, a bit more treble can yield extra sensed imaging, but not in this case.
Raising it up a lot didn’t do anything for the airiness factor. What is there is air from width factor is pretty good, but not great. The height is also good, but not great.
Compared to the Hifiman HE-R9, which sounds wider and less tall than this Ultrasone, the Signature X outshines it and the Momentum 4 Wireless in the depth of field and realism.
Everything is elegant in tone and substance, weighted, and meaty. The realism factor on instruments and vocals is very good.
Imaging from the S-logic tech is so strange but swapping back and forth between it and the likes of the Hifiman HE-R9, which has more of a sense of air, the Signature X still feels deeper, more realistic, and much more enjoyably natural.
Select Comparisons
HIFIMAN HE-R9
The HE-9R9 is wider, thinner, more impacting, far less warm feeling, but a lighter headphone overall. The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X is thicker, weighted, far deeper reaching on bass, and has a much better realism factor in the imaging.
Thinksound ov21
The Thinksound ov21 is wooden and significantly better in build quality. The Signature X is much deeper reaching, much clearer from top to bottom, and much more realistic in imaging prowess.
The ov21 sounds much more boxed in and has a more colorless tonality to it. The ov21 rests much better on my head. It is also far less synergetic with multiple types of amplifiers and music players, as the Signature X plays well with everything.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
The Momentum 4 Wireless has a slew of features for wireless needs, touch controls, and more. The Signature X has none of that.
The Momentum is more natural in tone, and the Signature X is warm in tone, darker sounding. The imaging on the Signature X is much better in every avenue. The Momentum 4 Wireless has more treble, but less fidelity overall compared to the Signature X.
Our Verdict
The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X headphones are right up my alley and have earned their place as one of my favorite mid-tier headphones at the time of writing.
I hope to see yet another revision of this with the same cups and design of the Edition series models instead. Much better build quality, please. Keep the great cables though.
It responds really well to removing or adding more bass to an already extremely bass experience. But the bass is clean, deep, and immensely fun. This headphone is a great deal on the market and really good for bass enthusiasts. Highly musical, enjoyable, useful, fun, and vividly engaging without fatigue.
Drop + Ultrasone Signature X Specifications
- Headphone type: Closed-back
- Ear coupling: Over-ear
- Drivers: Dynamic drivers
- Transducer Size: 50 mm
- Frequency response: 5 Hz -32 kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Nominal SPL: 115 dB SPL
