BlitzWolf BW-HP1

I must say, 2018 has been a fun year for me, strictly speaking from the reviewing standpoint it has been a year of discovery. Several different companies and brands have reached out to me requesting for me to review a new product of there’s and I’m definitely glad I did because I’ve found many new product that have earned more spotlight than they are getting. And this reigns true with BlitzWolf and most specifically their BW-HP1 headphone they sent me. And just as a teaser for the rest of the review, if you’re a fan of the Beats sound but don’t want to spend the price on them, I think you’ve found a solid alternative.






The Opening Experience






I think I’m one of the few people who pay any attention to how a product is packaged for it seems many consumers only care about the final product. And speaking truthfully it is most certainly the most important part but there’s also many people out there who say foreplay is important before you jump into the fun stuff. With the BlitzWolf headphones, the three products I’ve reviewed from them as of recently, have each been packaged the exact same way in their very simplistic packaging that really only has the company and products name printed on the front, and I personally LOVE seeing this. To me a simplistic exterior packaging is the company, in this case BlitzWolf, telling the consumer that they’re confident in their product and don’t need to bog down the packaging with “look at me’s,” but instead let the product speak for themselves.

Now, sadly USPS yet again drops the ball and delivers the package in a crumpled up state so it didn’t look at nice as a freshly bought package but thankfully the interior was undamaged. As you open it, I will say I felt a bit let down because they HP-1 headphones are just placed inside the box inside of a plastic baggy as were the instructions. To say that this was a hollow unboxing would be a good summary, fantastic exterior and bland interior. But the HP-1 does come with the micro USB charging cable and an aux cable so you’re able to listen to them if they were to die.


Construction


The build of the BW-HP1 are almost entirely made of high gloss plastic, with the only aluminum I was able to find is the adjustment hinges on either side. With that being said one would imagine these would feel very light and cheap however on the contrary they have a nice weight to them and feel just like a pair of older Beats headphones do but for almost 1/10th the cost. The headband has a respectable amount of flex to them as well the underneath padding has some good density to it (which I’ll talk about more in the next section).

The ear cups should be able to accommodate just about any size ear up to and including my above average sized ones. With that being said, my ears to rub against the driver housing (also to be talked about more in the next section) so those with ears larger than mine may in fact find these potentially irritating. Speaking of ear cups, on the right is where you’ll find the volume up/track forward, volume down/previous track, and the power button. I personally didn’t really like how BlitzWolf formatted their buttons to be honest. To turn the volume up/down you have to hold the corresponding button down for about a second. If you simply tap the button it will go to the next or previous track respectively and to turn the HP1 off you have to continue to hold the power button down until the voice informs that the headphones have been turned off for her first dialog instructs that the headphones have been disconnected and have reentered pairing mode. But continuing on from that, on the bottom of the right cup is where you’ll find the standard 3.5mm aux port and then on the left cup you’ll find the micro USB charging port.

Overall, for the very reasonable $30ish (depending where you search through) I think that the BlitzWolf HP-1 headphones are built respectably well and, so long as one doesn’t throw it around, it should last you for the foreseeable future. Before I end this section I do want to input that these headphones are definitely geared towards the larger head sizes. At its smallest setting I can just about get it to fit, I’m usually around 4-5 clicks so it should be too difficult to imaging how these may not be able to fit on smaller heads.


Comfort




So the build on the BlitzWolf BW-HP1 headphones are quite respectable for their asking price but how comfortable are they once they’re but one your head? Not bad I must say. The padding on the headband is soft with a fair amount of density to keep the plastic from your head but also not pull your hair back (though to disclaim I can’t speak for those with longer hair for mine’s quite trimmed). The ear cups also share this same sentiment of softness but do have much more give to them, though I’m not sure if it would change much of my ears rubbing the driver housing if it were denser. The HP1 has an above average clamping force that, at least to me personally, is a Goldilocks level of firmness. They’re tight enough to stay put if you’re to bend over/back but at the same time not tight enough to become uncomfortable, I’ve worn these headphones for periods of 3+ hours and I can’t say I was ever uncomfortable. Despite the reasonably low asking price of the BW-HP1, I think BlitzWolf did a fine job in making a respectively built headphone that’s also comfortable to wear (assuming you’ve not a really small head).


Sound



In my unboxing video I motioned that these share a striking similarity to the original Beats Studio headphones and after being able to listen to them I must say, I was spot on. The BlitzWolf BW-HP1 headphones sound very similar to how the original Studio’s sounded (can’t really comment on any models past their second generation). The HP1’s have a very heavy bass bias that plays very well with rock, metal etc… style’s on music genres.

In terms of soundstage and imaging the BlitzWolf BW-HP1 won’t be winning any awards for the soundstage is quite small but I will give it credit for respectable imaging. If I close my eyes and focus strictly on the music then I can respectably forget about the headphones and visualize the violins or cellos or pianos being played and I will give due credit for that because not many headphones in this price range can claim this. But how about the individual sound characteristics? Well, allow me to talk about those as well.


Treble


Starting with the highs, the treble presentation on the HP1 is a solid mid ground. I was neither impressed nor disappointed in the highs for though they performed above expectations of a headphone in this price range, being able to discern background details and the like, there’s also not much special about it either. Now, though I said this is neither good nor bad, when taking the bass bias into consideration, the fact that the treble wasn’t too affected, I think is a good thing.


Mids


…….Mmm. Well, for those who follow my reviews and are aware of my sound preferences, you’re likely already of what I’m already going to say but for those who do not. I strongly enjoy a warmer sounding product and personally find the mids to be the most important area. To me, the mid range represents the soul of the music and it’s where you both hear and feel the artists words and feelings and I find products that don’t possess a good midrange sound quite hollow and bland to me. This is very present on the BW-HP1 for the V-shaped sound signature is VERY prominent and the mids are very reduced and dull to the point that I personally could not find a good genre that these sounded good with vocals (and note that I’m only talking about vocals, not instruments, beats, etc…). There’s really not much else I can say about the mid range.


Bass


Hootenanny here we are (I know I’m not using that word in its correct denotation but it sounded cool/funny so I wanted to use it), the area of the headphones that I’ve specifically mentioned several times, the bass. And I think bass heads on a budget will rather enjoy the BW-HP1 because they, to me, sound just like the oh so beloved bass head Beats Studio headphone. But I will not that it’s not all just boom boom, bass drum in particular I found sound really good through these. Take the song “I Lived” by One Republic or “Mmm yeah” by Austin Mahone, they’re not what I would call bassy songs but its bass drum is very refined through the HP-1 and that is just an example that I put a spot light for the review but it keeps its consistency with others as well. Like more electronic music? “Blah Blah Blah” by Armin Van Buuren or “Oracle” by Timmy Trumpet will grant you solace in bass satisfaction.
So the HP-1’s have some oomph to them but they also share the other infamous trait that Beats products do, and that’s a very decayed and loose bass. The bass notes take a notably long time to go away and in such bleed heavily into the other notes (see why I think the treble not being one way or another is kinda a good thing now?). Here is where I think it’s appropriate to stress to you my reader that these are NOT an audiophile headphone. BlitzWolf never intended them to even remotely by that. What the BW-HP1 headphones are is a fun “party on your head” experience that, when played with thumping electronic, house, trap, etc… style of music, you’re all but hopeless but to start bobbing your head with the beat and really get into it. For what the BlitzWolf BW-HP1’s lack in the other areas of the audio spectrum, I’m looking at you midrange, its bass is definitely not one of those deficiencies.


Conclusion




My final thoughts on the BlitzWolf BW-HP1 headphones are that they’re a really solid choice for those who really enjoy the Beats Studio style and sound but don’t want to fork over the $300ish asking price (to disclaim I have NOT heard ANY Beats product after the series 2). They’re super fun to listen to and have the bass punch that beats out headphones costing MUCH more, BUT, if you’re not one who enjoys turning the bass knob up on every single song then I do have withdrawals about this headphone for that’s exactly what they do, to everything. They also have a really impressive battery life (I never timed them but they’ve lasted, at least ME PERSONALLY, over 7 hours when I stopped counting [which the website claims 13 hours of none stop listening so it appears I still had MUCH longer left too]) that can utilize the use of an aux cable to continue listening if they were to die. Another cool thing is that these CAN continue to play in Bluetooth mode WHILE they’re charging, which I found quite cool.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.