Ultrasone, purveyors of fine German audio engineering, have one-upped themselves with the successor to their flagship special edition headset, the Edition 9.We reviewed those not too long ago, and we’ll be reviewing these shortly as well.

The press release is an orgy of superlatives. Do your headphones use genuine Ethiopian sheepskin?

Ultrasone’s Edition 8 Achieves The PinnacleOf Headphone Sophistication

Never before has such attention to detail been given to every aspect of a headphone design; every material and component used in the Edition 8 is second to none…the interior ear cups are covered in fine Ethiopian sheepskin, which provides the most isolation of any leather, while the outer ear cups are covered in Ruthenium…The Edition 8’s drivers provide immaculate detail but are also capable of delivering thunderous bass, the range of these headphones is staggering.

At $1500 a pair, I guess they can afford that sort of decadence. Actually, I think they’re pretty much justified, since these certainly are one of the best-looking pairs of headphones I’ve ever seen. The stats on them are impressive too: 6-42k Hz range, and the new S-Logic Plus technology, which they are debuting. I reviewed a much more moderately priced pair of Ultrasones and found them excellent, but these appear to whup them everywhere, especially in the quality-of-leather department.