Brainwavz Hengja - The Headphone Desk Hanger

 
 
 
 
Preamble:

Some people prefer to permanently store their headphones on a stand or hanger, whereas others like me place them on a stand or hanger when they need to take a short break from listening and want to continue short after.
For this purpose, a couple of products exist, ranging from simple and inexpensive stands/hangers to more complex and expensive ones. For example, I really love my Sieveking Omega stand and also somehow find that it is worth its price (else I obviously wouldn’t have bought it), however I also admit that it is more of a design object and that there are some more practical solutions available for less money.
One of them is the Brainwavz Hengja headphone hanger (http://www.brainwavzaudio.com/collections/accessories/products/hengja-headphone-hanger) that can be attached to a desk or bookshelf.

So without any further ado, let’s take a look at the Hengja and see how it handles a few headphones, including heavy ones such as my Audeze LCD-X.


Before I go on, I want to take the time to take Pandora from Brainwavz Audio for sending me a sample of the Hengja free of charge for the purpose of an unbiased, honest review.


Technical Specifications:

Price: $15.00
Weight : 112g
Clamp Depth : 40 mm
Plate Depth : 50 mm
Plate Width : 45 mm
Max Clamp Size : ~40 mm
Min Clamp Size : ~14 mm
Material: All-Metal


Delivery Content:

The Hengja arrives in a plain plastic box without any instructions or manual (these can be found online as PDF files – in my opinion, it would have been nice if a link to them was printed on the package). Besides the already assembled headphone hanger itself, a multifunctional tool for installing the Hengja and adjusting its position and orientation comes included.
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

The Hengja is fully made of metal and consists of four basic parts – a plate to place the headphone on, an L-shaped piece that the plate is attached to and that contains an Allen screw to fine-adjust the vertical expansion and to change the orientation, another L-shaped part that contains a rotating disc and screw to get a tight installation on a desk or shelf and last but not least the counterpart of the just-named part that is L-shaped as well, padded and forms a “C” or “U” (depending on your point of view) and is the actual clamp.

 

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The Hengja does not look cheap at all but quite solid and sturdy with its black metal and the white Brainwavz logo and lettering.

However, I am not so happy with two/three things: First, the rotating disc on top of the screw that tightens the clamp is made of metal and unpadded. Tightening it, marks can be seen in the wood. It would have been much better it was either padded as well, partly made of plastic, or even better: padded and made of two parts with one of them stopping to rotate once a certain amount of clamping force is reached (similar to a vice).
Then, I think the Allen screw is a bit too big and positioned too close to the plate. If it was flatter, it wouldn’t only improve the overall looks from the side but also minimise the likelihood of the headband touching it (which wouldn’t be a big deal of course, however I’d still prefer if this wouldn’t happen).
 

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Additionally, what is more of a personal observation of mine and no official criticism, I wouldn’t mind if the plate had a rubber or foam padding that would avoid any accidental slipping of the headphone when touching it.
 

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As almost all of these things can be resolved with very easy modifications, I think I will slightly modify the Hengja sooner or later.

On a side-note, it would have been quite cool if two plates came includes, with one larger (deeper) one, to get a good contact face with a little spare room for every headphone, as while even headphones with a wider headband don’t protrude, there isn’t any spare room left on the plate anymore.


Installation:

Installation is very easy.
For horizontal installation, only the screw on the lower side needs to be adjusted. If the desk or shelf is a little too thick, the Allen screw can be loosened up a bit which allows for some more vertical expansion, which is pretty nice.
 

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For vertical installation, it is basically the same process, however the Allen screw needs to be almost entirely unscrewed, then it is possible to rotate the plate and clamp.
 

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Like I criticised earlier on, the rotating disk-type screw will leave marks in the wood without any further modification.


Using the product:

For the review, I choose four of my full-sized headphones – a portable one, a semi-stationary one and two stationary ones. Two of them are pretty lightweight, one is average when it comes to weight and the last one is quite heavy.

A large benefit of a headphone hanger like the Hengja is that the ear pads and ear cups are hanging freely. As a result, potential sweat can dry and there is no clamping/tension on the ear cups, which I find quite important if one is intending to store the headphone on it for a longer period of time (of course there is stress on the headband, but for a visually pleasing and presentable solution, one of the two drawbacks needs to be taken).

Audio Technica ATH-MSR7:
The MSR7 is an easy task for the Hengja – it is lightweight, has got a narrow headband and is overall rather on the small side, too.
 

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Fostex T50RP MK3:
The Fostex is pretty lightweight too but sports a wider headband. While still a little of the plate can be seen, I wouldn’t mind a slightly larger base plate with a slip-proof material here. If you don’t accidentally firmly push the headphone, it won’t fall off though.
 

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Sennheiser HD 800:
The HD 800 is an average to light headphone when it comes to weight and has got a rather wide headband that is just minimally narrower than the Fostex’s. A little of the plate can be seen, however really not much and due to its headband’s surface, the Sennheiser is somewhat more prone to slipping. I think a larger and slip-proof base plate would be nice for this headphone.
 

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Audeze LCD-X:
The Audeze is heavy. Still, the Hengja doesn’t have any problems holding it and doesn’t even slightly give in as it is very sturdy. The LCD-X’s headband is quite wide and has got almost the same width as the Hengja’s base plate and is just barely wider but doesn’t really protrude. Due to its weight and the leather headband, it isn’t really prone to slipping, however I would welcome a somewhat larger base plate.
 

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Résumé:

While I personally quite like the Hengja, there are a few things where I would like to see an improvement: The screw for tightening the clamp leaves marks in the wood as its disk also rotates. Then, the Allen screw is a bit too close to the plate which could be a bit larger and probably slip-proof (either due to its shape or material).

But of course, the Hengja has also got many positive attributes: It is very fair priced, looks really good, can be installed horizontally and vertically, is made of very sturdy metal and doesn’t have any problem holding heavy headphones.


In my opinion, a little less than 3.5 out of 5 possible stars in stock form are a very fair rating and with some modifications, the Hengja can be easily turned into a 4+ star product and could even be a 5 star one if everything was sorted out by the manufacturer.

Like everyone else, I was sent the hanger by Brainwavz to review. 
 

 
It's a very straight-forward product: It clamps to your desk or shelf in a horizontal or vertical position, which can be changed by undoing the main screw and clamps using a common screw mechanism. 
 
When mine arrived, I attempted to undo the main screw to change it to vertical orientation and found the screw was so tight that I had to use enough force to bend the included hex key, to the point that the plating started to fall off. That was on the only problem I had, as otherwise the hanger works as intended.
 

 
The hanger will clamp onto desks or shelves that are between 12mm and 28mm thick approximately, which is fine for most common desks, but those with unusually wide supports and uncommon designs may not be supported.
 
The hanging section itself is possibly a bit short for being the most ideal, and with a smooth metal top, headphones can slip off easily, which may be a good or bad thing depending. There is enough room I found to hang the cable of my K7XX headphones loosely wound up behind them though.  To its credit, the solid metal design is more sturdy than the complex and wobbly plastic of the Audio Technica HPH300 hanger and is smaller than the Sennheiser HH-10 (which seems to be unavailable now). 
 

 
For $14 on Amazon, these seem like a reasonable deal. If they had been around a few years ago, I probably would have bought a few. 

Introduction
Looking for a place to hang your favourite headphones? Give Brainwavz Hengja a try. It is a headphone hanger that clamps to your desk, table or shelving unit. All metal construction to provide sturdy and stylish look. Support both horizontal and vertical surfaces. Sound good? Read on to find out more…

Features

1. Headphone accessory
2. Horizontal use on desks, tables and shelves
3. Vertical use on shelving units

Build Quality & Design
Brainwavz Hengja is like a tank thanks to all metal design. Yup, it have rock solid build quality no doubt. You shouldn’t need any replacement even after 24 months warranty. Well design with no sharp edges. By loosening the central screw, you can make it turn into vertical mode from horizontal one. And increase the maximum clamp size too. By the way, the big plate that hold headphones is a bit curve to match headband shape. Perfect to hold both large and small headphones. Finally, there is a rubber pad under the top clamping surface to provide grip but none for the round silver colour one.





Specifications

1. Weight : 112g
2. Clamp Depth : 40 mm
3. Plate Depth : 50 mm
4. Plate Width : 45 mm
5. Max Clamp Size : ~40 mm
6. Min Clamp Size : ~14 mm
7. Material: All-Metal

Performance Result
Brainwavz Hengja is compact in size. And easy to clamp it to almost any place you prefer thanks to adjustable clamping size and rotatable design. Of course, you need to fulfill its max clamp size compatibility. And no worry about the min clamp size as you can always add own padding to counter it, right? Besides, it will surely save up your table space compare to headphone stand. I put mine at desk corner horizontally. You can put yours at shelving unit vertically. Just use flat head screwdriver to tighten it and you are done. The clamping force is strong therefore no worry about the hanger and headphones will drop off.



Things to take note… Allen key is not bundled along. Therefore, you need to buy one if you don’t have it yet in order to rotate Hengja and further expand the clamping size. Luckily, I have mine purchased long time ago and I already forgot what device needed it last time. A seldom use tool compare to flat head screwdriver. You need to add your own padding on the round silver screw because excessive clamping force might damage the surface that you clamp to.

Advantages

1. Compact and extremely durable
2. Support both horizontal and vertical
3. Free up table space
4. Hang on steadily
5. Stylish design

Limitations

1. Round silver screw might damage surface

Conclusion
Brainwavz Hengja is a compact yet sturdy headphone hanger. Support both horizontal and vertical surfaces and will surely free up some of your table space. Back with 24 months warranty, you can’t go wrong with it. More information can be found at Brainwavz Website. And get yours there.

Author's Note: The original review can be found at my blog - Brainwavz Hengja Headphone Hanger Review @ JayceOoi.com