[Ichos]

Imho the best tonality of Hifiman headphones up to and including the Arya.

 

[fabripav]

I got them off amaz*n for € 350 but i saw an open box from Hifiman's store for 100 less than that... I'm gonna return this pair most likely lol.

After reading some reviews i wasn't sure the bass would be what I wanted but it's pretty damn perfect. Just the right amount

 

[chaz_flhr]

Imho the best tonality of Hifiman headphones up to and including the Arya.

Agreed if the Arya had the Deva's tonality it would almost be perfect to me, they are superior in many ways Tonality IMHO isn't one of them.

 

[D00M]

HIFIMAN has so many headphones with similar price range. Quite confusing. Seems there are quite a bit of overlap in this lower end consumer segment.

• HE-400i 2020 $170
• Drop HE-4XX $180
• Drop HE-5XX $220
• DEVA: Wired New $220, Open-box $190; Bluetooth New $300, Open-box $230
• HE-560 V4 (Adorama): Discounted to $270
• Sundara: New $350, Open-box $300

I just ordered DEVA wired open-box for $190. Hope no delay due to USPS backlog and I can get it reasonably soon, like right after New Years.

I have not heard any HIFIMAN headphones in person, so it is very hard to make this decision on which model to get. I heard binaural demo of 2 Drop headphones online: HE-4XX vs Sennheiser HD 6XX. Typically, I would go for 6XX sound, as vocals is what I pay attention to. But I already have Shure AONIC 50, which has strong mids and good for vocals. I want headphones with wide soundstage for watching movies. In the online demo, 4XX definitely sounds more open than 6XX, and vocals sound just a tad weaker than 6XX. I hope mid/vocal difference is minimal in person and I can accept HIFIMAN.

From there, I read up on HE-5XX; on Head-Fi, and YouTube. Most of the content (like >75%) is talking about HE-500 and analyzing the frequency profile. I don't really care about HE-500. And just so much discussions on measurement rather than actual sound quality.

• 5XX is similar/same as Deva
• Seems 5XX/DEVA is "better" than 4XX. 4XX has stronger bass; spikes in highs. 5XX has better mids. I care more for mids than bass.
• Between 5XX/DEVA vs Sundara, feedbacks vary. On YouTube, Josh Valour and Resolve (headphones.com) prefers Sundara over 5XX/DEVA. Some reviews on this forum prefer DEVA.
• And I cannot find any info at all on HE-560 V4 (Adorama). There are tons of info on previous versions, but not the V4. Just looking at prices, it seems like a great deal where $900 headphone is now discounted to $270. I suspect more marketing than actual value here. But who knows.

So I just flipped a coin to decide which headphones to get. Just kidding. Actually, I chose DEVA for comfort, source (reasonably easy to drive), and price. Plus, I'm guessing DEVA will have better quality control than 5XX, as I assume HIFIMAN's own models will be better than Drop, but again who knows. I think DEVA's headband is better than 5XX. And DEVA is $50 cheaper than 5XX, with open-box discount, shipping cost, and sales tax.

I cannot wait to get my new toy to play with it. I hope I made the right decision.

 

[Ichos]

Taking everything into account I prefer the Deva and the 5XX.

Btw - I am almost ready to post my 5XX review.

 

[Ichos]

Agreed if the Arya had the Deva's tonality it would almost be perfect to me, they are superior in many ways Tonality IMHO isn't one of them.

That is what I am waiting for.
As I can see Hifiman is moving to the right direction regarding tonality so let's hope for something good.

 

[MisterMudd]

HIFIMAN has so many headphones with similar price range. Quite confusing. Seems there are quite a bit of overlap in this lower end consumer segment.

• HE-400i 2020 $170
• Drop HE-4XX $180
• Drop HE-5XX $220
• DEVA: Wired New $220, Open-box $190; Bluetooth New $300, Open-box $230
• HE-560 V4 (Adorama): Discounted to $270
• Sundara: New $350, Open-box $300

I just ordered DEVA wired open-box for $190. Hope no delay due to USPS backlog and I can get it reasonably soon, like right after New Years.

I have not heard any HIFIMAN headphones in person, so it is very hard to make this decision on which model to get. I heard binaural demo of 2 Drop headphones online: HE-4XX vs Sennheiser HD 6XX. Typically, I would go for 6XX sound, as vocals is what I pay attention to. But I already have Shure AONIC 50, which has strong mids and good for vocals. I want headphones with wide soundstage for watching movies. In the online demo, 4XX definitely sounds more open than 6XX, and vocals sound just a tad weaker than 6XX. I hope mid/vocal difference is minimal in person and I can accept HIFIMAN.

From there, I read up on HE-5XX; on Head-Fi, SBAF, and YouTube. Most of the content (like >75%) is talking about HE-500 and analyzing the frequency profile. I don't really care about HE-500. And just so much discussions on measurement rather than actual sound quality.

• 5XX is similar/same as Deva
• Seems 5XX/DEVA is "better" than 4XX. 4XX has stronger bass; spikes in highs. 5XX has better mids. I care more for mids than bass.
• Between 5XX/DEVA vs Sundara, feedbacks vary. On YouTube, Josh Valour and Resolve (headphones.com) prefers Sundara over 5XX/DEVA. Some reviews on this forum prefer DEVA.
• And I cannot find any info at all on HE-560 V4 (Adorama). There are tons of info on previous versions, but not the V4. Just looking at prices, it seems like a great deal where $900 headphone is now discounted to $270. I suspect more marketing than actual value here. But who knows.

So I just flipped a coin to decide which headphones to get. Just kidding. Actually, I chose DEVA for comfort, source (reasonably easy to drive), and price. Plus, I'm guessing DEVA will have better quality control than 5XX, as I assume HIFIMAN's own models will be better than Drop, but again who knows. I think DEVA's headband is better than 5XX. And DEVA is $50 cheaper than 5XX, with open-box discount, shipping cost, and sales tax.

I cannot wait to get my new toy to play with it. I hope I made the right decision.

Anxious to hear your thoughts as I love mine. Just got a new iFi Zen Dac that I will pair with soon. Trying my other cans with it first.

 

[reinhard5490]

I finally pull the trigger after reading the reviews here and quick test in the local brick and mortar store. Currently playing a lot of different genres of songs on my Deva, and I noticed that:
1. the soundstage is wide and I can clearly listen to the vocal, with crystal clear mid and high.
2. However, this also leads to some song becomes 'cluttered'. I don't know how to put it, but K-Pop songs are suffering highly because Deva tend to lose the low bass that prominent on K-Pop songs, this leads the high notes becomes unconfortably piercing. I never noticed how much techno/electronic instrument run in a single K-Pop song, Deva makes it so clear and its downright uncomfortable. Its like someone clean up your messy room let you see those skeletons in your closet.

Initially I was deciding between Deva or Meze 99 (they priced similarly here), and the flexibility of bluetooth dongle plays a big part on my decision

 

[D00M]

... Among Shure Aonic 50, Hifiman Deva, and Audeze Mobius, which one sounds better? Are there any better choices besides these three? Thank you very much for your help.

I just got my DEVA. I will compared DEVA vs Shure AONIC 50 (I will call this A50 below). I only have these headphones: Shure AONIC 50 (ANC bluetooth headphone) and Audio Technica ATH-A700 (which is V-shaped and I don’t like it). I also have Apple AirPods Pro, AirPods, Shure SE420 IEM.

Summary: I think DEVA and Shure AONIC 50 both have their strengths and use cases. For home use, I would go with DEVA. On the other hand, for outside use or office use, I have to go with Shure AONIC 50's closed back and ANC.

DEVA Pros:

• Sound
• Value
• No difficulty in driving the unit

DEVA Cons:

• Tension in my temple and upper jaw area after usage
• My ears are a bit fatigued after several hours of usage
• Clamping force is too low for outdoor use
• Earpads rub against my eyeglasses and make squeaky mechanical microphonic sounds

Wired Version Bonus: I bought the DEVA wired open-box version. When I got it, I immediately took headphone and cable out, to start burning it in. The cable is braided, which I like. But the cable is super stiff. After 1/2 day, I got frustrated with the cable. I remembered seeing another package of cable in the box. I checked and it is USB to USB-C cable. I thought that is weird. Why did HIFIMAN include USB cable for wired version. Then I saw another bubble wrapped package in the box, which included Bluemini inside. It is version I, not version II. I guess HIFIMAN no longer sells original Bluemini version, so they sold the unit as wired version. It is a nice bonus. By the way, the unit I received looks to be an Amazon return, as it has LPN RR label covering the barcode.

Color: This is personal taste. At first I thought I prefer the brown DEVA over black HE-5XX. In person, the DEVA color is uglier (color is too light) than I expected. I was thinking it will be warmer, earthy color. Instead, the color look very synthetic. Still, I rather get the DEVA (as I suspect better build quality) over HE-5XX black color.

Ergonomics:

Weight: Similar wired. With Bluemini, DEVA is heavier. Bluemini weight does cause DEVA's left earcup to move around more, especially with low clamp force.
DEVA: 363 g + 27 g (Bluemini) = 390g
Shure AONIC 50: 340 g

Ear cups sizes: DEVA cups are larger and deeper. DEVA will go around the ears for sure. A50 ear cups and inner lining (covering the drivers) do touch the tips of my ears, but this does not bother me at all and has a snug felling.

Ear pads material: DEVA outer and inner rim is pleather; surface touching the face is velour, with very short fiber. A50 outer rim and surface touching the face is pleather; inner rim is velour. Right now is winter, so I don’t know how DEVA will perform. During summer, I did find A50 fake leather to be sweaty. DEVA earpad is more spongy. A50 earpad is firmer, but gel-like.

Headband: Both have similar head band style. DEVA is just a tad wider. DEVA headband padding is quite stiff; very different and stiffer than the earpads. A50 headband padding is much softer and gel-like, slightly softer than earpads. In terms of radius of curvature, DEVA fits my head better, as almost the entire length touches my skull. A50 only touches the very top of my skull, but I don’t feel any hotspots.

Comfort: It's a toss up. I think DEVA might be more comfortable in the long run. But DEVA is to be used at home sitting at a desk. A50 can be worn walking around.

Setup: At first I didn’t know I had Bluemini, I started with wired comparison for around 6+ hours. I was using DEVA wired to my MacBook Pro. A50 was connected by USB to MBP; so I’m using A50’s DAC. AONIC sounds better with DAC (either USB or Bluetooth) than wired. But I didn’t want to use Bluetooth as low bit rate can potentially can degrade the signal, though I don’t think I can hear a difference anyways. Then after I saw the Bluemini, I compared these headphones using bluetooth. It is just easier to swap to do AB comparison.

Sound: I don’t believe in burn in, so I started listening after around 10-15 minutes of burn in. I’m not audiophile. But I know what I like and what I don’t like. Right off the bat, I like DEVA. My preference is for good mids for vocals (as that is that I notice when listening to songs). But I also want soundstage, for watching movies.

DEVA definitely has bigger soundstage. More Instrument separation. And I can hear more details. I was concerned DEVA is V-shaped, but it is not V-shaped at all. And at same time has more soundstage. DEVA is quite warm. DEVA vocals are just a tad further back, in comparison to Shure. I wouldn’t even call it “recessed”, but it is more "recessed" in comparison.

Shure Aonic 50 has stronger vocals. Vocals are basically in your face. But voices and instruments are on top of each other. And less details. I was expecting the DEVA to blow AONIC 50 away in details. Yes, for sure I can hear more details on DEVA, but the difference is not as large as I expected.

For tonality, this is kind of hard to explain. A50 has strong mids, more bass than DEVA, and sometimes shrieking highs. DEVA has good mids and highs. But I find the DEVA warmer in general than A50. Not sure if my previous 2 statements contradict. But that is how I hear these headphones.

Overall, DEVA wins for sound quality as it is warmer and more pleasing for music. DEVA's advantage over A50 in details, instrument separation, and soundstage is more (or larger difference) than A50's advantage over DEVA in vocals.

Loudness: I’m surprised how easy it is to get volume I need with DEVA. I cannot speak to the quality, but I have no issue with volume. (Below is % of approximate volume on my MacBook Pro and iPhone to get to my typical listening volume).

• DEVA wired on MBP: 40% volume
• DEVA wired on iPhone XS Max (using Apple’s Lightning to audio adapter): 70% volume
• DEVA with Bluemini: 45-50% volume
• Shure ANOIC 50 using USB-C connection and A50’s DAC on MBP: 33-40% volume
• Shure ANOIC 50 on Bluetooth: 45-50% volume

I don’t know the reason to this. AONIC 50 usable volume is quite narrow in range. Some songs have lower volume and they just don’t sound good. I have to frequently adjust the volume between songs. At low volume (below 33%), music doesn’t sound good at all; flat and without bass. I need get to 40-50% volume to get rich sound. But then once I go over 50%, audio hurts my ears. It is not distorted or anything, but it gets shrilling or shrieking. On the other hand, DEVA has much wider range of usable volume. Even at low volume, the music sounds good. And of course it sounds better at 40-50% volume. And I can go to higher volume (up to 70%) and DEVA is still listen-able for short period of time. But to save my ears, I try to set both to reasonable volume and not go overboard.

DEVA Cons (Details):

• Strain at temple. DEVA earpads are so big. They sit at places I never experienced before. So even with low clamping force, I feel some strain in my temple and front of my jaw behind my cheekbone. Maybe due to the weight. I think I should be able to get used to this.
• My ears did get fatigued after several hours. Maybe I had the volume too high. It is minor but I did notice this.
• I used the DEVA while walking. As I move around, look around, look up and down, DEVA’s ear cups (particularly the left ear cup with Bluemini) will shift. It never fell off my head. But it just feels awkward. I try to keep my head still as I walk.
• When I move my head, either at my desk or on a walk, DEVA’s earpads will rub against my eyeglass’ arms. And this sound gets expanded by the ear cups (kind of like IEM microphonic where cable rubs against clothe). It is extremely distracting when there is no music.

DEVA Bluemini: I got the Bluemini as a bonus. So not really complaining here. Just stating the facts.

I cannot pick up any sound quality difference in DEVA wired vs wireless. I guess ears are not well trained like audiophile .

I am a fan of Apple ecosystem where almost all features are well thought thru, integrated, and make Apple devices easy to use. Bluemini in comparison is like afterthought. Just an addition but not really integrated into the product. It works. Just don't expect any feature here.

• Range is really short; only around 20-25 ft, which is half the range of Apple AirPods, AirPods Pro, and Shure Aonic 50. And once out of range, Bluemini disconnect and beeps. Once I'm back in range, it won't automatically reconnect; I have to power off/on Bluemini to reconnect. Also, it might be due to MacOS.
• There is no volume switch.
• Bluemini status is provide by 1 single light with different colors. It is not easy to remember what different combination of lights mean. In comparison, Shure A50 will announce the status in the headphone: power on/off, bluetooth paring, bluetooth connected, low battery, etc.

[Updates after using the unit for 2+ weeks:

• I enjoyed using the Bluemini much more than I expected. It is just more convenient, even when I'm sitting 2 feet from the MBP source. So I would recommend those buying DEVA to consider getting the Bluetooth version.
• Because I have Bluemini v1 (not v2), it uses Bluetooth 4.2. I believe that is the reason my Bluemini range is only 20-25 feet. Apple AirPods Pro and Shure Aonic 50 uses Bluetooth 5.0. I'm not sure what Apple AirPods use.]

Some sample tracks I listened to on YouTube:

Adele - Set Fire to the Rain
At 10 sec mark, right off the bat, drums are clearer in DEVA. On Shure, instruments are on top of voices.
1:02 and 3:03, 3:20, 3:48, when Adele started wailing, on DEVA I can hear huskiness in Adele’s voices. On Shure, I didn’t notice it at first. When I went back and listen on the Shure, I do hear some huskiness, but less than DEVA. I don’t know if it means Shure is smoother, or DEVA just have more detail that I can hear this. And I don’t know which is more representative of her voice.

Lauren Daigle - You Say
0:30-1:05, Intro with relaxed singing, both headphones sound very good.
1:19, When singer sings “strong”, AONIC has some distortion (like buzzing) at the end of that word. DEVA doesn’t have that.
2:20, AONIC vocals are just in your face and I hear the singer right in front of me. On the DEVA, singer sounds away and a bit recessed. I had to increase the volume on DEVA to get richer vocals.

Billie Eilish - Bellyache
1:30-1:45, bass sounds fuller on AONIC. It's there on DEVA, but doesn’t have the body or impact. Otherwise this song sounds very similar on DEVA and AONIC.

Timbaland & OneRepublic - Apologize
DEVA sounds better. Livelier; more sound stage; more realistic.

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
DEVA sounds more realistic, just like a recording of live performance. If I close my eyes, I can imagine this is a live performance recording on DEVA. A50 sounds 2-dimensional.
At 2:45, guitar solo is so realistic on the DEVA.

Rolling Stones - Angie
The acoustic guitar sounds more “normal” on A50; maybe I’m used to this sound. On DEVA, it sounds weird and doesn’t sound like acoustic guitar. Plus the recording is quite old and DEVA picks up the imperfections in the recording. I don't know what is better. Hide (or inability to hear) the imperfections on A50, or hear the issues on DEVA.

Overall, I'm pretty happy I got the Shure AONIC 50 for $200 and DEVA for $180. Both have their uses. For music and watching movies, I would pick DEVA. DEVA's advantage over A50 in details, instrument separation, and soundstage is more than A50's advantage over DEVA in vocals. However, for outside use and office, DEVA cannot compete with A50, as closed back and ANC wins there.

 

[duyanh43]

My DEVA's pads smell a bit like burnt leather, is this normal? Moreover, Bluemini supports AAC right, don't use an Android devices right now Thanks for your support.

 

[reinhard5490]

My DEVA's pads smell a bit like burnt leather, is this normal? Moreover, Bluemini supports AAC right, don't use an Android devices right now Thanks for your support.

Mine smells like car leather seat since the first unboxing, but I can notice its gradually fade away

 

[Ichos]

The are recycling car seat leather to save on environment sources!
It is eco friendly!!!

 

[ostewart]

Only just taken my Deva out of the box, they arrived just before Christmas. Very impressed so far, LDAC over bluetooth but only spotify premium for casual listening at the moment and they sound incredible for the price. Very well balanced with a realistic tonality and plenty of air, also very comfortable.

 

[MisterMudd]

Loving mine for 2 months now. Really, really good with live recordings. I can’t be real active with them on due to the fit, but that just makes me want to sit and listen intensely to the music. They slot into a unique market niche for what they are and do, and I don’t think I will ever let them go. They are THAT good.

 

[D00M]

I have DEVA for 1 week now. I bought it to watch movies. And sound is so realistic. Several times when movies had sound in background, I thought it was coming from my house. I had to either pause the movie, or take the headphones off to confirm sound was coming from the movie.

And the sound quality for music is awesome too. Great fit for my taste.