Product Description

The PRO 550 (formerly the PROline 550) builds on the immensely popular HFI-580 (formerly the HFI-550) to create a professional headphone that is both durable and versatile. Tight and powerful bass plus precise and detailed instrument placement is given. Featuring the same 50mm Mylar driver able to crank out lots of volume and punch, the PRO 550 also includes detachable cables and ear pads. Updated for 2008, the PRO 550 now features thicker ear pads and headband pad, brushed aluminum nameplate on the ear cups and a nylon hard case to protect your headphones on the go.

Product Details

• Brand: Ultrasone
• Model: PRO 550
• Dimensions: 9.00" h x 4.00" w x 11.25" l, 4.00 pounds

Features

• S-Logic(TM) Natural Surround Sound for a more natural, lifelike sound
• Safer listening, less fatigue - SPL levels to the ear drum are decreased by up to 40% (3-4dB) for the same perceived loudness
• ULE technology with MU Metal shielding to reduce radiation by up to 98% as compared to ordinary headphones
• 50mm professional durable Mylar driver provides high volumes and superb isolation
• Zippered hard case, extra ear pads and cables and demo CD included

Customer Reviews

Good Midrange Headphone
These headphones should fit right in between the $100 and $200 range. At the time they were introduced they sold for about $230.

These headphones support spacial cuing in the form of specially placed Mylar cones behind a metal barrier that also serves as a electromagnetic field barrier. Ultrasone claim that mechanism provides the head transfer cues needed to make the headphones sound more like a set of speakers.

While I didn't find the headphones sounded like a set of speakers, I do feel that sound is more natural and robust than with direct placement headphones since it is focused on the outer ear rather than directly on the eardrum. However, I didn't notice any less fatigue while listening than with any comparable set of headphones.

This is a set of cans that will make you notice things in your music that you didn't notice before. The soundstage is strong and present but not too pushy.

If you're looking for a comparable product at a lower price you might try the Grado SR60 headphones.

You really need a good headphone amp for use with these headphones to get the full dynamic range from them. There's a guy that sells some nice burr-brown portable amps from his ebay store that are inexpensive and work well with these cans.

As far as looks, this headset looks very large on your head but is very aesthetically pleasing if you like blue. If you don't like blue, just listen and try not to notice your reflection.

Pros:
* Very robust hardware.
* Detachable screw-in cable means less chance you'll have to return the headphones for repair after a lot of use due to cable detachment.
* Comes in a very nice zippered case with a spare set of ear pads, both straight and curly cords and a 1/8th" to 1/4" headphone plug adapter.
* Sound is very robust with deep lows and crisp highs.
* Very nice with bassy, bouncy music such as trance, downtempo, drum & bass, house.
* Nicely padded on the head and ears.
* Although the headset is quite large overall it can be folded in on itself for transport so it takes up much less room.
* The unique dark blue colour of this headset is very attractive and noticeable.
* The huge shiny silver logos on the cans are pretty neat too.
* Gold electroplated connectors all around.
* Generous, long, beefy cables.

Cons:
* Midrange is a little cramped if used directly with an iPod rather than going through a headphone amp.
* Ear fatigue is a little higher than with some other headphones (including other headphones in this set's line) due to higher output pressure.
* A bit heavy on the head.
* Good isolation from external noise (I use them on the subway).
* Connector cable plug is really long when paired with the adapter needed to use with a portable device so there's a risk of wrenching the headphone port on your sound source.
* Folding the headset up requires you to unscrew the headphone cable.
* Might be too bassy for discerning audiophiles who are critical about upper-mid to high end frequencies.
* For some reason the headphone case is designed to fit the headphones in their unfolded state, which makes the case much larger than necessary.

Outstanding Sound
I've had these for over a year now. Dropped them a few times and they just keep on working. These are robust headphones. A bit heavy, but the sound is fantastic. I tried two of the BOSE noise reduction models and a few of the Sennheisers in the $70 range before I got to these. These headphones will outlive ANY Bose headphone. The sound itself is punchy with a strong bass, good mid and treble range. I haven't compared them to Grado or the more expensive SONY's, but started listening to these after I bought a new soundcard for my old HP Desktop, and was stunned by the sound. Now I use them nearly every night. Great for listening to Rock and Blues. Not so good for MP3 and small systems.