[mindhead1]

It's not surprising, but it's comforting to hear that someone else is experiencing the same break-in phenomena. There are those review sites that believe burn-in is psychosomatic, and I have a hard time giving any creedence to their reviews. IMO, they should stop measuring, start listening, and realize that our ears and brains are smarter and more perceptive than a computer with a mic. That's a whole other controversial thread, lol. Sorry. For those of you yet to get these headphones, please know that the break-in is real, and the Devas are pretty disjointed and difficult to listen to at first. I will be very interested to know if new cabling has a significant impact. I am seriously considering getting an Audioquest Carbon USB C cable for them. I'm not for sure what voodoo is in the Carbon series, but the HDMI and USB cables I already have are noticably better than others. They are very stiff cables, but their data transmission is unbelievable. Well, as far as the Devas go, give them some time before you judge them!

I just got blasted in another forum for stating that my Meze 99 sounded significantly different after about 30-40 hours of break in. "My brain adjusted, the headphones didn't." IDK, I listen to many sets of headphone and am pretty aware of hwo they sound different so when I introduce a new set into the mix the differences stand out to me. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

[mindhead1]

Stumbled onto these this morning while reading up on my Massdrop pandas. Anyone here have those on order? I can cancel my order if I want and these look very compelling for 300. I prefer open back to closed and my use case would be sitting at my desk and moving about the house. These are very tempting indeed.

I checked out the Pandas as well. The appeal of the Deva for me is that the BT stuff is not in the headphone. IMO, that gives the headset more longevity.

 

[Birdland]

No, they break in. Virtually every headphone. Pianos would never need to returned if the movement of the strings and,subsequent vibration, didn't cause tolerances to change. Continued play will absolutely change the motion characteristics of material that has never been asked to move before.

 

[HipHopScribe]

No, they break in. Virtually every headphone. Pianos would never need to returned if the movement of the strings and,subsequent vibration, didn't cause tolerances to change. Continued play will absolutely change the motion characteristics of material that has never been asked to move before.

Pianos need to be retuned because of their design and the materials they're made of. And you can measure the changes in a piano that make it clear they need to be retuned. The construction and materials used are just not analogous to a piano. If that were the case we'd have to retune our headphones after a certain amount of time.

No one has ever measured a change in headphones due to burn-in. It's funny that the sound of a headphone supposedly changes after just a few hundred hours or less, seemingly always for the better, but people don't complain about their headphones continuing to change after they reach the sweetspot or about their headphones getting worse with burn-in if they like the initial sound out of the box.

 

[Birdland]

Understood. But, not everything can be effectively measured. Anything that moves repeatedly, anything, will eventually change it's characteristics of movement. And since sound cannot be created without movement, sounds will change as
characteristics change. The principle of mechanical break in would infer that relatively larger change would occur at first, and generally settle. However, and I think to your point, headphones should continue to minutely change until they finally fail. i think it's also likely that the electrical resistance across the frequency range changes, and this would greatly change the sound. The frequency response would be unaffected, but the same amp and amount of current would be able to play some frequencies within that sprectrum much more easily. There is a lot of science that actually predicts the MUST change. Changing pliabily of materials, heat, electromagnetic polarization, etc. Thankfully, our ears and brains are smart enough to perceive even tiny changes. If they weren't, most of these headphones would sound pretty much the same, lol

 

[Birdland]

Anyway, to each his own. These headphones break in. While their,analytic character hasn't changed, the sound has become more smooth and coherent. It's a good break in, which is all that really matters.

 

[HipHopScribe]

Understood. But, not everything can be effectively measured. Anything that moves repeatedly, anything, will eventually change it's characteristics of movement. And since sound cannot be created without movement, sounds will change as
characteristics change. The principle of mechanical break in would infer that relatively larger change would occur at first, and generally settle. However, and I think to your point, headphones should continue to minutely change until they finally fail. i think it's also likely that the electrical resistance across the frequency range changes, and this would greatly change the sound. The frequency response would be unaffected, but the same amp and amount of current would be able to play some frequencies within that sprectrum much more easily. There is a lot of science that actually predicts the MUST change. Changing pliabily of materials, heat, electromagnetic polarization, etc. Thankfully, our ears and brains are smart enough to perceive even tiny changes. If they weren't, most of these headphones would sound pretty much the same, lol

I'd argue the opposite is true, human perception is notoriously unreliable and easily influenced by psychological factors. As for the rest, you're making unsupported assumptions that you can't back up with any data. Sure materials may change at some level but is it to a degree that is actually perceptible? You really can't say.

Anyway, to each their own. If believing in burn in helps people enjoy their headphones I guess it's not really negative

 

[MarkSubsonik]

You like the T60RP? I'm thinking of picking up a set of those. Of late I have an interest in hard to drive SE headphones. I'm making up a reason to pick up an Asgard 3. I currently have the 4xx and like them a lot. I have also peaked at the Deva, but want to try a Fostex headphone before getting another Hifiman headphone.I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Fostex.

For sure! I will also update on my experience so far with the Deva. Just need to crawl out of bed and make some coffee first.

 

[MarkSubsonik]

@mindhead1

I love the T60RP's. They are my current favorite set headphones. It's funny, I received them in a trade and didn't have a clue about them at all but was willing to take the risk. I researched as best I could at that point and found that the reviews were mixed but most people seemed to love them. That said, they are very, very flat in response, the detail is amazing but the low end, while amazingly extended, is not real present. I use a Schiit Loki in my chain so i usually add +2db of 20hz and just a touch of 250hz and they really pop. The treble and mids are fantastic revealing everything in your music and everything in awful recordings at the same time. I've not experienced any sibilance so far, but there have been reports of it in the past fyi. I absolutely adore the treble on these things. They extend beyond what i can even hear most likely. If you're looking for something that shines with acoustic, live music etc.. I think these will blow you away. Plus, the African Mohogany and all leather build is just gorgeous IMO. Lastly, they are set up balanced so if you have a balanced setup, you'll be able to take advantage of that. Good luck!

 

[MarkSubsonik]

And for my early impressions of the Deva -

They are light. very light. The construction has me a bit worried because they feel loose at the yokes where the adjustment enters the headband. They rattle in my hand. The cups are HUGE. If you have anything smaller than a big head, i'm willing to bet that you might not be able to get a good fit. I have a large head and I have to adjust only 2 notches out from 'all the way in' if that makes sense. I attribute this to the oddly shaped headband most likely.

As far as sound, they are the most open sounding cans i've ever heard. Granted, I've not heard but only a handful of headphones thus far but these are just insanely open. The treble is very extended and definitely not rolled-off so they sparkle like crazy. The mids are just perfect IMO and place vocals right up front and center and sound crisp and clean.
The bass is where I think these fall a little short. Probably to most, but it's not something I worry about owning a Loki. The bass is there, it extends fine, there's just not much in the way of elevated bass as i imagine the frequency response is very linear but certainly doesn't roll off at any point I can find. I feel like most people will yearn for more bass with these but that's the only downfall I can think of as a whole, besides the uncertain longevity with the build.

The cable on this thing. Why are all OEM cables awful? I don't get it. I digress though.. You'll probably want to go out and get a cable made asap. It's really springy and after several days of hand-straightening and hanging while I sleep, it still doesn't want to behave. It's balanced out of the cans so that's awesome though.

I hope this helps someone looking to purchase these. These are just my own early impressions / opinions and I urge you to take them with a grain of salt. So far they sound amazing and I'm exploring more music every day with them, revealing more things in my music previously unheard.

Good luck!

 

[MarkSubsonik]

I totally forgot. The bluetooth module. Works fabulous and has great range. Instantly connected via LDAC when paired to my Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or my FiiO M11 with zero issues. It works and sounds great with awesome range and so far, zero dropouts unless more than 25ft away which is probably normal. Bluetooth tech is getting crazy good and with the LDAC protocol, the resolution is shocking.

 

[mindhead1]

@mindhead1

I love the T60RP's. They are my current favorite set headphones. It's funny, I received them in a trade and didn't have a clue about them at all but was willing to take the risk. I researched as best I could at that point and found that the reviews were mixed but most people seemed to love them. That said, they are very, very flat in response, the detail is amazing but the low end, while amazingly extended, is not real present. I use a Schiit Loki in my chain so i usually add +2db of 20hz and just a touch of 250hz and they really pop. The treble and mids are fantastic revealing everything in your music and everything in awful recordings at the same time. I've not experienced any sibilance so far, but there have been reports of it in the past fyi. I absolutely adore the treble on these things. They extend beyond what i can even hear most likely. If you're looking for something that shines with acoustic, live music etc.. I think these will blow you away. Plus, the African Mohogany and all leather build is just gorgeous IMO. Lastly, they are set up balanced so if you have a balanced setup, you'll be able to take advantage of that. Good luck!

Good to know about the balanced set up. I thought there were a single ended headphone due to the single cable out.

 

[MarkSubsonik]

Good to know about the balanced set up. I thought there were a single ended headphone due to the single cable out.

The connector that goes into the cans is a 4-pole 3.5mm and Fostex sells a 4.4 to 3.5 balanced cable for the T60RP's. =)

 

[Birdland]

Hey Hip hop, I agree with you. Whether you or not you believe in break in, whether or not you understand the science, whether or not your ears can perceive subtle differences even, none of it really matters as long as you enjoy the music. That's my core belief, says it right in my signature. All I can do is apprise people of what I hear. I heard the changes, and I'd want others to know. Clearly, judging by the thread, others have heard them too, and the changes we've heard have been consistent. But hey, differences in opinion are part of what makes this hobby so fun! Thanks for sharing yours!

 

[Heathb]

I agree with this post 100% Birdland. Enjoy the experience and music.