[joseph69]

I'll keep you posted.
I don't find the sound stage to be small on my Utopia, at all.
I also don't find the treble to be unruly. The Utopia are actually my favorite headphones and sound better and better the more I use them.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I'll keep you posted.
I don't find the sound stage to be small on my Utopia, at all.
I also don't find the treble to be unruly. The Utopia are actually my favorite headphones and sound better and better the more I use them.

Good thing we have so many choices. My Utopia comments weren't in absolute terms but in comparison to these headphones (and some of my other favourites)...they are still amazing cans! Just curious if you've heard the Stellia?

 

[joseph69]

Good thing we have so many choices. My Utopia comments weren't in absolute terms but in comparison to these headphones (and some of my other favourites)...they are still amazing cans! Just curious if you've heard the Stellia?

Yes, I've heard the Stellia 2x with at CJNYC '19-20 and was impressed with the being they sounded more like an open back than a closed back. But take this with a grain of salt due to the environment. I also feel the Utopia has just as much bass, but faster & tighter.

 

[paradoxper]

I'll keep you posted.
I don't find the sound stage to be small on my Utopia, at all.
I also don't find the treble to be unruly. The Utopia are actually my favorite headphones and sound better and better the more I use them.

I have an RMA# to return my HEDD because I enjoy both, my Utopia & HEKv2 much more, but I think I'm going it give the HEDD 1 more week before coming to a final conclusion.

You are so such crazy crazy crazy man.

 

[joseph69]

You are so such crazy crazy crazy man.

I know.
It seems almost everyone is more than quite happy with the HEDD.
Does make wonder if I'm crazy sometimes.

 

[paradoxper]

I know.
It seems almost everyone is more than quite happy with the HEDD.
Does make wonder if I'm crazy sometimes.

Well, well.

"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination."

 

[johnjen]

After I had contacted HEDDquarters and relayed my impressions/picking of nits, I waited for a while until now to post anything further.

These are wonderful HP's and have a great deal of 'untapped' potential just waiting to be discovered.
I think they could be close to my majorly modified HD800-Jmods, but only after some refinements are made.

I did find 7 design aspects that I saw as needing attention, and adding all of the headband refinements would add a few more to the list.
And granted a few of these are nits of such a minor nature that they can almost be ignored, except the criteria I am using to compare these 1st generation AMT drivers are the same I'd use for any TotL HP.

#1 The Right & Left side markings need to be more easily found and seen.
#2 The tilt of the ear cups is hampered by the angle of the headband to yoke assembly.
#3 The cable connectors extend down to far, and so hit the tops of my shoulders when I turn my head.
#4 The size of the opening of the ear pads is too small, as my outer ear touches in several places.
#5 There seems to be too much dampening by the ear pads themselves.
#6 The outer protective screen rings like a bell (run you finger nail up the side of the screen, listen with HEDDphones on).
#7 The existing cable is microphonic (rub it with your fingers with HEDDphones on).

Further let me add a few details that will help explain why these items are important.
#2 I figure the headband re-design will take this into account since on my head the yoke is not vertical and so pushes on the connector flange to the point that the top of the ear pads can’t push into my head. This relates to long term comfort, at the very minimum, but there are additional related issues as well.

#4 This one issue is a lesson I learned from the HD800,
DO NOT LET THE EAR CUPS TOUCH the outer ears. Because as soon as they do, your ability to hear ‘naturally’ is hindered. This is important if these are to truly compete with the other SotA headphones, which I do believe they can.

#5 The perforated leather on the insides of the ear pads (where our outer ears fit) is too absorbent and deadening. This along with #4, when ‘tuned’, should help the mid range to be in better balance, And help the bottom end as well.

#6 The outer screen should not ring, at all, under any circumstances, on my 800’s I removed the outer screen and noticed a SQ improvement and it didn’t ring when excited.

#7 Having the stock cable make noise when moving over your clothes is disconcerting, but then many will probably just replace the stock cable with an aftermarket cable because they expect the stock cable to be insufficient.

And as we all know the head band needs a redesign, or at the very least major adjustment to it's geometry so that the earcups will sit 'properly' on our heads, and to increase the size of the contact patch where they contact our heads.

And I do think that the folks at HEDD have been taken by surprise by the reaction to their 1st headphone product and it will take a bit of time in order for them to figure a strategy to move forward with this technology.

I do think there is untapped potential here and if I were sufficiently motivated I would tear into a set of these HP's and begin the process of 'uncorking' them, starting with the items on my list above.
But there are other aspects I would also look into, ones that I figured out during my HD800 experiments, that could be equally as significant, and probably would be even more so.

IOW there is much to delve into and explore with these new drivers, and there certainly seems like LOTS of potential just waiting to be brought out.

Just my 2¢

JJ

 

[DecentLevi]

@MacedonianHero I'm really enjoying reading your reviews, and the way you put everything so eloquently and highlighting the most relevant aspects of the HEDDphone. I hate to be subjectivist, but your positive reviews standing out so much above some (but not all) others make me wonder if perhaps unit-to-unit variation is at play here. Either that, or it's the pairing with your GSX Mini and Dave that make it perform so exceptionally. And you said you also love the pairing with the directly to the Chord Hugo 2, right? Perhaps some day if you go to a meet-up you can compare your HEDDphone to others just to test this notion out. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a believer too and the HEDDphone is next on my list.

 

[xtr4]

@MacedonianHero I'm really enjoying reading your reviews, and the way you put everything so eloquently and highlighting the most relevant aspects of the HEDDphone. I hate to be subjectivist, but your positive reviews standing out so much above some (but not all) others make me wonder if perhaps unit-to-unit variation is at play here. Either that, or it's the pairing with your GSX Mini and Dave that make it perform so exceptionally. And you said you also love the pairing with the directly to the Chord Hugo 2, right? Perhaps some day if you go to a meet-up you can compare your HEDDphone to others just to test this notion out. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a believer too and the HEDDphone is next on my list.

In my brief audition of the HEDDPhone, the transparency of the can to display the strengths and weaknesses of the source chain is the one thing that's providing such a variety of views right now. It's a chameleon that adjusts to the sound signature of your system. So the other caveat is that, even though you may love it in the audition environment, unless you have the exact same gear at home, you may or may not be pleasantly surprised by the synergy with your own home gear.
At least that's what the HEDDPhone's impression is to me.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Yes, I've heard the Stellia 2x with at CJNYC '19-20 and was impressed with the being they sounded more like an open back than a closed back. But take this with a grain of salt due to the environment. I also feel the Utopia has just as much bass, but faster & tighter.

Yeah, I'd recommend have getting them home for an audition...definitely more bass on the Stellia, but likely a tad tighter on the Utopia. I agree with you on meet conditions with all the background noise and making an assessment. But the improved treble, bass and soundstaging had me selling my Utopia and getting them instead. Still, the Utopia are in my top listing of best headphones around.

 

[MacedonianHero]

@MacedonianHero I'm really enjoying reading your reviews, and the way you put everything so eloquently and highlighting the most relevant aspects of the HEDDphone. I hate to be subjectivist, but your positive reviews standing out so much above some (but not all) others make me wonder if perhaps unit-to-unit variation is at play here. Either that, or it's the pairing with your GSX Mini and Dave that make it perform so exceptionally. And you said you also love the pairing with the directly to the Chord Hugo 2, right? Perhaps some day if you go to a meet-up you can compare your HEDDphone to others just to test this notion out. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a believer too and the HEDDphone is next on my list.

Thanks for the kind words. That's the thing with these TOTL headphones, many get them and then use them with gear that can't let them truly hit their full stride so to speak. I've had them for a weekend and I am VERY impressed with their sound quality. Plus, after following this thread, there are many who are just as impressed as I am with them. Remember, it's about the full chain, source/DAC, amp, headphones and cables. They were really good out of the Hugo2, so for a portable option (though these headphones are not really that portable ), it was quite good. Not DAVE / GS-X mini or HPA4 good, but I wanted to impress on folks that these headphones are not like say the Susvara or Phi TC that need substantially powerful amps (4 W -ish) to play well. That said, the DAC of the Hugo2 with say one of my amps bests pretty much any desktop DAC that I've heard costing $3499 or less FWIW.

They do require more juice than the HD800S or T1 though, but not that much more. As well, headphones on this level tend to be very revealing of your upstream system; but unfortunately many don't get to hear these headphones at their best before making a final call. Hope that helps!

EDIT: I also want to stress that with a very revealing DAC and/or amplifier, it won't make bad headphones sound good, but rather make them sound as bad as they really are and not cover for their deficiencies. Thankfully the Heddphone One sounds sublime with my desktop.

 

[tonereef]

Since you have been patiently adamant.

I'll keep my thoughts brief and let Pale Rider fill in in-depth context.

They compare quite well to the 009, with the caveat of being driven by a T2. I might admit even directly comparable out of a Carbon.

HEDD's Resolution and detail retrieval is a slight step down. However, what is quite rather remarkable is the HEDD's ability to extend without a hint of harshness. Only the T2/009 and SR1a have presented such an uncanny quality.

HEDD's mids are a little forward and quite detailed. The 009 matches this and exceeds in how smooth they are presented.

Both present well textured and extended bass, with the 009 feeling a tad bit punchier and the HEDD extending further down. Contrary to BS rhetoric of stats.

HEDD's stage is bigger, more enveloping and extended. Still the 009 is excellent if just a hair or two behind; it remains well separated and open.

009 has incisive imaging with great solidity -- more than I've heard any headphone save SR1a.
HEDD here is negligibly behind unless you are looking for it.

Closing: I think the HEDD would make a wonderful complementary addition if you wanted to stay within the same sound signature.
I might add consideration for the SR1a as well.

If you wanted the slightly different signature as alluded, perhaps the Abyss with it's own can of worms.

IMO of course.

Since you have been patiently adamant.

I'll keep my thoughts brief and let Pale Rider fill in in-depth context.

They compare quite well to the 009, with the caveat of being driven by a T2. I might admit even directly comparable out of a Carbon.

HEDD's Resolution and detail retrieval is a slight step down. However, what is quite rather remarkable is the HEDD's ability to extend without a hint of harshness. Only the T2/009 and SR1a have presented such an uncanny quality.

HEDD's mids are a little forward and quite detailed. The 009 matches this and exceeds in how smooth they are presented.

Both present well textured and extended bass, with the 009 feeling a tad bit punchier and the HEDD extending further down. Contrary to BS rhetoric of stats.

HEDD's stage is bigger, more enveloping and extended. Still the 009 is excellent if just a hair or two behind; it remains well separated and open.

009 has incisive imaging with great solidity -- more than I've heard any headphone save SR1a.
HEDD here is negligibly behind unless you are looking for it.

Closing: I think the HEDD would make a wonderful complementary addition if you wanted to stay within the same sound signature.
I might add consideration for the SR1a as well.

If you wanted the slightly different signature as alluded, perhaps the Abyss with it's own can of worms.

IMO of course.

 

[Stephen424]

,

 

[tonereef]

Thanks a lot for the comparison. In the meantime I did get to hear the HEDDs for an hour, not in my home system, but with an ADI-2FS and a DIY hybrid amp very similar to mine. These comments are very preliminary therefore. But they struck me as different from the 009s, though yes in a complementary way. If they sound like any electrostats I'm familiar with it might be the 007, but their sound is gutsier without being coarse. I'm not sure if they are more dynamic than the 007s or 009s well-driven (again, I have DIY amps which I have not been able to compare with the Carbon etc.), it has more to do with saturation/density (do these metaphors mean anything to other people?). I'm talking about timbre mostly, or timbre + dynamics. The bass and lower mids provide a solid foundation, seemingly more even in terms of FR than the 009s, and probably one that's also more balanced than the 007s with their mid-bass hump. But at all frequencies they make music sound present and accounted for, not polite, not held back or "greyed-out" in the slightest. I value that. And the resolution, though maybe not quite at the level of the 009 or 007 (that comparison and the question of image solidity will have to wait) is certainly good enough considering what else the phones do. Based on a limited listen to the Abyss TC at a dealer's I'd have to say I prefer the HEDD (though maybe I didn't find the best off-ear adjustment of the Abyss).

 

[tonereef]

Thanks a lot for the comparison. In the meantime I did get to hear the HEDDs for an hour, not in my home system, but with an ADI-2FS and a DIY hybrid amp very similar to mine. These comments are very preliminary therefore. But they struck me as different from the 009s, though yes in a complementary way. If they sound like any electrostats I'm familiar with it might be the 007, but their sound is gutsier without being coarse. I'm not sure if they are more dynamic than the 007s or 009s well-driven (again, I have DIY amps which I have not been able to compare with the Carbon etc.), it has more to do with saturation/density (do these metaphors mean anything to other people?). I'm talking about timbre mostly, or timbre + dynamics. The bass and lower mids provide a solid foundation, seemingly more even in terms of FR than the 009s, and probably one that's also more balanced than the 007s with their mid-bass hump. But at all frequencies they make music sound present and accounted for, not polite, not held back or "greyed-out" in the slightest. I value that. And the resolution, though maybe not quite at the level of the 009 or 007 (that comparison and the question of image solidity will have to wait) is certainly good enough considering what else the phones do. Based on a limited listen to the Abyss TC at a dealer's I'd have to say I prefer the HEDD (though maybe I didn't find the best off-ear adjustment of the Abyss).

Oops, sorry for my post of half an hour ago, I thought I was quoting and answering paradoxper's post but instead managed to post the quote before replying. I haven't posted to head-fi in years...