possède déjà le HEDDphone 1, actuellement le HEDDphone 2, ce qui me préoccupe c'est qu'on fasse fonctionner le HEDDphone 2 avec un simple petit baladeur, et puis pour apporter des critiques envers le casque HEDDphone que ce soit le 1 ou le 2, imaginez que vous achetiez un carrosserie Ford Mustang et que vous mettez dans un moteur de quelques petits chevaux,...pourquoi ne pas faire un test avec un ampli à lampes d'une dizaine de watts maximum, branchez le casque sur la sortie haut-parleur vous verrez comment fonctionnera le casque et le plaisir musical que vous aurez,...
possède déjà le HEDDphone 1, actuellement le HEDDphone 2, ce qui me préoccupe c'est qu'on fasse fonctionner le HEDDphone 2 avec un simple petit baladeur, et puis pour apporter des critiques envers le casque HEDDphone que ce soit le 1 ou le 2, imaginez que vous achetiez un carrosserie Ford Mustang et que vous mettez dans un moteur de quelques petits chevaux,...pourquoi ne pas faire un test avec un ampli à lampes d'une dizaine de watts maximum, branchez le casque sur la sortie haut-parleur vous verrez comment fonctionnera le casque et le plaisir musical que vous aurez,...
already owns the HEDDphone 1, currently the HEDDphone 2, what concerns me is that we make the HEDDphone 2 work with a simple small portable music player, and then to provide criticism of the HEDDphone headset whether it is the 1 or the 2 , imagine that you buy a Ford Mustang body and that you put in an engine with a few small horsepower,...why not do a test with a tube amp of around ten watts maximum, plug the headphones into the high output -speaker you will see how the headset will work and the musical pleasure you will have,...
I received my Heddphone Two this week and have already listened for several hours. I’m surprised there aren’t more impressions here, so I’ll share my impressions of this unique headphone (abbreviated HP2 below because I’m too lazy to type of the full name).
As far as first impressions go, the HP2 made a great one. The first track I chose is one of the three I had time for during my HE-1 audition at CanJam, Here With You from Diana Krall’s Live in Paris (yes, an audiophile cliché…) My first thought was that the HP2 reminds me a lot of the HE-1 because it did not grab my attention in any way, but just sounded natural. All instruments and Diana’s voice sounded very realistic, instruments were well-separated into their own spaces on the soundstage, and transient speed was excellent. I did find the sound lacking in impact, slam, or whatever you call the sound of lots of air hitting my ears.
Fast forward a few days and I’ve formed more complete impressions of the HP2. I used it in my system including a Gungnir Multibit, Lyr+, and a recently received Midgard.
I agree with other reviewers that have said the HP2 is able to convey details and variations in tone (microdynamics) extremely well. On Luli Lee’s “I feel your love”, I noticed an echo effect of the singer’s voice. Switching to my ZMF, I could hear this effect, but I had never noticed it because the ZMF doesn’t present fine details as well. Similarly, with the HP2 I noticed gradations in the bass notes of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky that I never noticed before. The HP2 also has a great sense of speed and never got tripped up no matter what music I threw at it. On drum solos or fast bluegrass music like Jim Vancleve’s album No Apologies, every note was clearly delineated.
Sound staging and instrument separation are also high points of the HP2. I can’t say the sound stage is massive in the sense of a Stax Omega-series or Sennheiser HD-800, but within the boundaries of its stage, sounds were localized with pinpoint accuracy. For example, on Anderson East’s Alive in Tennessee album, I could hear the relative location of each person in the crowd who was clapping or yelling, which is quite a neat trick. When listening to rock tracks that mash together guitar, bass, and drums such as Yellowcard’s Always Summer and Ocean Avenue, I found the HP2 did an admirable job of separating these instruments – not perfect, but perhaps the best we might get short of a much more expensive Susvara or X-9000.
Another word that comes to mind when listening to the HP2 is “natural”. The timbre of instruments sounds normal, and frequency response is balanced with what I perceive as a very slight emphasis on the midrange. This is one of the headphones that’s underwhelming in a good way. It doesn’t grab your attention with massive soundstage or heart-stopping bass, but it just sounds correct.
I believe the HP2 is suitable for all genres. I typically use jazz as my benchmark for evaluating the realism of headphones and found the HP2 to have among the most realistic timbre I have encountered. Listening to jazz is really a pleasure with the HP2 and I can’t think of a headphone which would do better. Rock tracks sound great as well – I listened to my favorites from Joy Formidable, Yellowcard, and Mammoth WVH and they sounded good, if lacking that extra bit of crunch or grunge a Grado or 109 pro gives electric guitars. Electronic music such as Daft Punk and the Naked and Famous sounded clean, but lacking in bass quantity (not quality). I appreciated that the HP2 was able to make some songs I love with poor recording quality sound as good as possible. It gave a more relaxed and natural tone to super dry early 90s recordings and brought out as much detail as possible, even if there wasn’t much detail there in the first place. I appreciate that the HP2 has never sounded harsh, strident, etched, or dry with any recording I've listened to. Some reviewers have mentioned that it's "warm" and in general I agree, but I wouldn't say it's overly warm to the point of being colored like some ZMFs can be.
So, is this the new Best Headphone Ever, even better than last month’s Best Headphone Ever? Does it Change the Game in a way that the game has never been changed before? I think that really depends on what you want in a headphone. Two things I want are lacking from the HP2: bass quantity and macrodynamics. The former has been covered in reviews and it’s not a big deal to me, but I do wish the HP2 had better sub-bass extension and a slightly higher bass level overall, maybe not to Harman levels, but just a bit higher. The latter is a little more difficult to describe, but the word which keeps coming to my mind is “soft”. The HP2, while having high technical performance, just lacks the impact and slam something like a Focal or Audeze planar has. This results in a curious feeling of being precise and soft at the same time. It also results in continually turning up the volume looking for that crack or snap which just isn’t there. If impact is what you crave, the HP2 is probably not your cup of tea.
I think the most similar headphone is the MM500, which I used to own and am very fond of. According to my understanding, they are both designed for use in studios and they have a similar neutral or “studio monitor” sound, which can sound boring to some. The MM500 has better bass and sense of impact, but it also has a very dry sound that can move into the harsh territory depending on the track. The HP2 never sounds harsh and probably has slightly better technical performance than the MM500, but lacks its impact. One crucial difference is that the MM-500 needs just a few milliwatts to get to deafening levels, while the HP2 demands a more powerful amplifier. I'm not as familiar with other competitors like the Arya Organic, but I've either owned or auditioned every headphone in this price range and I believe the MM500 and HP2 are the best under $2000.
Lastly, I want to note some impressions of the item itself which are not related to sonic performance. First, it crackles a lot –after reading some reviews I learned this is normal behavior. I believe that if HEDD included some information about this in the packaging, they would have fewer returns and complaints. I am still not sure if the driver could ever be damaged from excess crackling… Second, I am a little worried about the durability of the carbon headband over time because this is a part which flexes every time you put the headphone on. Unlike metal, carbon does not gently deform but shatters when it’s flexed past its limits. I am curious what kind of flexion testing was done on this part. Third, I’m pleasantly surprised that you get every possible cable included in the packaging. This should be a point of shame for other OEMs who sell $5000 headphones but won’t include a $10 XLR cable with them. Fourth, the industrial design of the HP2 is awesome. Every part is purposeful and that makes it beautiful. If you’ve ever seen a really cool piece of construction equipment, that’s the same feeling I get when I look at the HP2.
I too was given the hedd2, I read what you wrote about the quantity of bass, and I agree, there is no presence in the lower octaves.... I tried the cable of the d8000 pro, which has the same pinout, and the quantity of bass has increased a lot!
I too was given the hedd2, I read what you wrote about the quantity of bass, and I agree, there is no presence in the lower octaves.... I tried the cable of the d8000 pro, which has the same pinout, and the quantity of bass has increased a lot!
The headphones are still burn in, confirming what I had read, it really takes many hours for the driver to reach optimal performance.
At the beginning it was unlistenable, a truly tied and mixed sound, then the mid and high range opened up and the bass became lighter, yesterday after about 150 hours, the low range began to have presence and weight, so I think that I'll wait a few more days to write something sensible.
my headset is also starting to give pleasure in the restitution, contrary to what I can read, the bass is there unless some like an excessively invasive bass, this headset takes up the musical line of the HEDDphone 1, with a little more detail,
an important remark on this headset, according to some people who were able to listen to this headset, it was noted that this headset had occasional sibilance, what I noticed is that the headset is not in question, the new membranes are much more sensitive than on the HEDDphone 1, on my current system I have not heard anything unpleasant, until at one point I changed a quality mains cable apart from a cable basic sector, after yes I was able to notice small inconveniences on certain instruments, when I put back my better quality sector cable the small inconveniences disappeared, so for me the headset is not the cause, this headset deserves that it is accompanied by good equipment,
during my short trip to tokyo, i demo a lot of iems and cans again (spent more time in headphone stores than toy stores now!) gs3000x is a bit disappointing, auditioned 009s and x9000 again and still found both extraordinary but i'm afraid they're too fragile for my home use. AA composer and heddphone two are both great (i prefer the composer more in fact (more bass impact and also wider soundstage) but given the price difference (almost 30% higher!) and the unique AMT driver, I got the HEDDphone TWO instead at the end.
really need some power to drive. I've to use the same vol level for my expanses for these new toys. besides the sound aspects, the package and the accessories all are top notch and other manufacturer charging way higher price shall learn from HEDD to make a good and presentable product!
the headband adjustment system requires some getting used to. i found it quite effective and comfortable though. HEDDphone TWO offers very good value and compete very well with much more expensive TOTL cans imo.
the headband adjustment system requires some getting used to. i found it quite effective and comfortable though. HEDDphone TWO offers very good value and compete very well with much more expensive TOTL cans imo.
Totally agree on both points. Since getting my HP2 I've had many hours-long listening sessions and found the headband to be very comfortable. It is a little heavy but the pressure is evenly distributed. The HP2 also has great build quality and comes with everything you need in terms of accessories, cables, and even extra pads. It feels like a headphone that an aerospace or defense company would build because it's completely made for function instead of aesthetics, but these functional parts make it attractive, in the way that you might admire the look of some mechanical parts on an airplane.
It's not for everyone but I think the HP2 is competitive with other flagship headphones, depending on what aspects of sound quality you value. I can't say that $2000 is cheap but when you are shopping against $4000-6000 flagships it does seem to be a good value. According to what I know, every part of this headphone, including the drivers, is built in Germany with some of the world's highest labor costs. Kind of makes you question why other flagships cost what they do.
Really nice headphones. I received today my pair. Good quality on packing, accessories. I'll share some photos.
In my case I use with a tube amplifier, I think it adds some body and makes these more lively sounding. I also tried some Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid cable I use with my D8000 Pro and sound excellent. I prefer it to the stock provided cable because is smoother and more thick sounding.
For me these are speaker-like headphones. I am not quite used with this kind of sound but it's definitely interesting. HEDD Audio was great, informed during the whole ordering/shipping process and everything went smooth. A really nice experience and this brand became one I respect. Good job guys.
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