Item information

Category
Headphone Cables
Added by
mysiak
Views
4,689
Watchers
5
Comments
8
Reviews
1
Last update
Rating
5.00 star(s) 1 ratings

More in Headphone Cables

Share this item

The Bard’s Headspace by Sonneteer

Overview Reviews (1) Gallery

General Information

This small dongle doesn't fall right into any available category, but being a passive element connected directly between headphones and a music source, it is probably best described as a "cable dongle".

HeadSpace2with-headphoesPhone1-1_1_3.jpg


Information from the creator:
Out of your ears and into your head!

The Bard’s Headspace simply plugs in between your music source like your phone, portable music player, tablet or computer and your headphones. Using the standard 3.5mm (1/8″) Jack connection the cable provided is connected between the Headspace unit and the music player’s headphone socket and your headphones plugged into the other end. The unit is non-directional so it does not matter which end. That’s it! press play and and enjoy a more natural sound.

The Bard’s Headspace makes your headphones sound like real loudspeakers. The main difference between using headphones and listening to loudspeakers is the physical space or air that is between you and the music coming from them. The Bard’s Headspace adds back most of what is lost in this space to give a more real, natural sound.

Most, if not all recorded sound is produced to be heard through stereo loudspeakers. The use of headphones is rarely considered in the recording process as the main way of listening and hence listening through them doesn’t give you the optimal experience. The Bard’s Headspace fixes that.

Latest reviews

mysiak

mysiak

New Head-Fier
Pros: small and portable
cheap
works as advertised
keeps TRRS connections working
doesn't need a battery
Cons: it seems to be directional with a smartphone (buttons work only when connected in one way)
Short version: Very interesting little gadget, pretty much a must buy for every headphone's lover.

Long version: I am a big fan of crossfeed effects emulated by a software on a PC, as listening to "pure stereo" on headphones can get fatiguing over long listening sessions and often feels just "unnatural". At the same time, I do not like how crossfeed congests the sound and not all songs/sources need it.

Listening with DVD/TV/etc. as a sound source doesn't allow usage of software implementation of a crossfeed. Dedicated HW is needed and HW crossfeed circuits/amplifiers are very hard to come by and can get extremely expensive.

This is where Sonneteer's Headspace comes in handy - cheap, extremely small, portable and universal. You can use it with a headphone amp, PC, TV, mobile phone (it even keeps volume control buttons and mic fully functional!) and the best of all, it simply works. Depending on the source material, effect can be negligible or quite strong (but only in a positive way), yet at the same time very natural and unobtrusive. I have no idea how these guys do it, but it sounds like a combination of a crossfeed with virtual surround.

So far I've tried this dongle with:
Headphones:
Beyerdynamic DT990 pro
AKG K240MK II
Marshall Monitor

IEMs:
Urbanfun hybrids
ASY hybrids

AMPs:
Fiio E10K
Xiaomi Mi A1
Project Head Box S2
Denon AVR2310

The result is pretty consistent across all the AMPs and headphones. The biggest difference makes how the song has been mastered. Pink Floyd - Hey you is the testing song for me, here I can hear the change immediately.

Effect is a bit hard to describe (even harder for me as English is not my mother tongue), but Headspace somehow moves the sound from inside the head and puts it outside. At the same time it removes the usual Left/Right separation, as if you'd add a "center speaker".

Otherwise I can't hear any kind of distortion or change in the sound nature, bass, treble etc. sound still the same to me.

You simply can't go wrong with the Headspace, plug it in and just enjoy your music or movies.
---------------------------------
Edit 20.03.2019

I ordered a couple more Headspace units as I'm lazy to always reconnect the only one I had between a mobile phone, PC, TV, etc. Luckily, I received a slightly upgraded version - interior is supposed to be the same, but form factor changed a little bit. Dongle is more rounded now and connectors are much more firm, able to hold even heavy cables without any issues whatsoever. Tiny, but very good upgrade. Well done boys!
  • Like
Reactions: The Bard of Tysoe, Haiderkb and HiFlight
Haiderkb
Haiderkb
Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated and glad you liked the Units you bought. It's been a very positive ride so far. I think Sonneteer might hang around in this Headgear Space for a bit. What shall we do next?
  • Like
Reactions: mysiak
mysiak
mysiak
For the next headphone related gadget I would suggest a headphone attenuation adapter with impedance matching (voltage divider, not resistor in series) - it helps to eliminate hissing noise of an amp with more sensitive headphones. It could have a similar form factor as the Headspace unit, but with a male 3.5mm jack on the input and female jack on the output so we could stack them together directly.. :)
mysiak
mysiak
Couldn't edit my previous response, but I forgot to add that please make it working with standard TRRS connectors, you'll be the very first company offering such a dongle (all the others just disable headset mic/buttons). :)
Read more…

Comments

mysiak

mysiak

New Head-Fier
Erfan Elahi said:
Interesting to try. Interested to know how it feels on IEMs. And does it change the sound signature or any distortions?
Click to expand...
So far I've tried this dongle with:
Headphones:
Beyerdynamic DT990 pro
AKG K240MK II
Marshall Monitor

IEMs:
Urbanfun hybrids
ASY hybrids

AMPs:
Fiio E10K
Xiaomi Mi A1
Project Head Box S2
Denon AVR2310

The result is pretty consistent across all the AMPs and headphones. The biggest difference makes how the song has been mastered. Pink Floyd - Hey you is the testing song for me, here I can hear the change immediately.

Effect is a bit hard to describe (even harder for me as English is not my mother tongue), but Headspace somehow moves the sound from inside the head and puts it outside. At the same time it removes the usual Left/Right separation, as if you'd add a "center speaker".

Otherwise I can't hear any kind of distortion or change in the sound nature, bass, treble etc. sound still the same to me.

Maybe other owners can chime in, I'm more of a casual listener than an audiophile :)
 
HiFlight

HiFlight

Headphoneus Supremus
According to customer service, the changes are primarily cosmetic with little change sonically. I have been a satisfied user since the Headspace was introduced.
 
Haiderkb

Haiderkb

Member of the Trade: Sonneteer
Thanks yes. That was me you spoke to. We have now upgraded to a nylon rugged case and we have introduced a slightly different damping system internally. The fundamentals are still indeed the same and it is predominantly the same headspace still. Hopefully a little easier on the eye and more rugged and durable in use. We have also made the connectors a little more accessible so big chucky headphone adaptors are easier to push in.
Haider :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top