HEDD Audio HEDDphone D1

[Curupira]

this rollout is kinda similar to the sennheiser HDB630

It does exist but the "angle" of the roll off is completely different. Both start from the bump at the midbass which helps to compensate, perceptually (on "natural" songs, not EDM), the roll off, but the HEDD's is much more even, meaning that with the bump, you'll almost won't hear it unless you're really used to the Harman shelf.

 

[Human Bass]

Im confident this will become a new benchmark for neutral headphones. Well built, open, no big peaks, very low thd, price isnt crazy.

 

[jean-benoit]

It does exist but the "angle" of the roll off is completely different. Both start from the bump at the midbass which helps to compensate, perceptually (on "natural" songs, not EDM), the roll off, but the HEDD's is much more even, meaning that with the bump, you'll almost won't hear it unless you're really used to the Harman shelf.

maybe i was a little bit unclear. with „rollout“ i meant „drop“ in the sense of how well these two headphones where received by the youtube crowd. almost suspicious how much praise they get.

 

[Curupira]

maybe i was a little bit unclear. with „rollout“ i meant „drop“ in the sense of how well these two headphones where received by the youtube crowd. almost suspicious how much praise they get.

Oh, I fully agree then. Hype reviewers are, unironically, today's best marketing strategy for hi-fi companies.

 

[I0000dayz]

The hype for this one feels artificial. The Aune AR5000 has a similar frequency response and their distortion levels are exceptional and the thing costs like $300. Focal Hadenys and Meze 109 Pro are excellent dynamic headphones too and are similarly priced ($600-800), yet these youtubers act like like the HEDDphone D1 headphones is the only one pair that can replace the Sennheiser HD600.

Here's a FR comparison between the D1, AR5000 and Hadenys

 

[IngMishael]

The hype for this one feels artificial. The Aune AR5000 has a similar frequency response and their distortion levels are exceptional and the thing costs like $300.th Focal Hadenys and Meze 109 Pro are excellent dynamic headphones too and are similarly priced ($600-800), yet these youtubers act like like the HEDDphone D1u headphones is the only one pair that can replace the Sennheiser HD600.

Here's a FR comparison between the D1, AR5000 and Hadenys

where in that frequency response do you think they're similar? lol what?

 

[kharan]

All the headphones you mention are fairly well liked too. The ear gain region 1-4 kHz is quite sensitive to even minor variations in the shape of the frequency response, so it is likely that there is indeed an audible difference. Aside from that, their FR is not that close, while they all seem aim for a Harman-like target, they don't go about it the same way.

Same chart relative to D1

And also, like the HEDD D1, Aune, Focal and Meze all sample reviewers prior to release. Every manufacturer is doing what it can to create hype artificially, HEDD is not alone in its attempt.

That being said, it's also entirely possible that the build and appearance itself of the HEDD D1 biases reviewers before hearing the product.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

I'm not sure, he typically doesn't have anything bad to say that i've noticed. Kinda just feels like he hypes up anything

Just like any other youtube video.

 

[Curupira]

That being said, it's also entirely possible that the build and appearance itself of the HEDD D1 biases reviewers before hearing the product

HEDD has a more intimate relation to the reviewers and western scene than chinese audio companies and Focal. Their operation is smaller and, specially in this case, the tuner of the D1 often goes to CanJams and other audio conferences, so a more warm welcome makes sense.

 

[Tovarich007]

Don't bother too much about the thousands of video reviews of audio gear on YT. Most are posted by influencers paid for this kind of advertising. And those who aren't paid for are just raving aout a new model that please them, waiting for their next hype of course... Of course, I'm not talking about Amir, Erin's or a few other serious reviewers.

I prefer to wait for a serious independent test on this new Hedd headphones. Maybe on ASR ?
As for this headphone price, it's high but not ridiculous. Not much more than Beyer DT1770 or 1990 or some high range Audio-technica.

 

[A Surfer]

It is also quite possible the reviewers may actually mean what they say. Seriously though, not everyone lies all of the time.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Sennheiser should buy HEDD

 

[A Surfer]

Sennheiser should buy HEDD

Would that be good? Feels like it could be bad. Like how the convergence in the media world reduced diversity of expression.

 

[kharan]

HEDD has a more intimate relation to the reviewers and western scene than chinese audio companies and Focal. Their operation is smaller and, specially in this case, the tuner of the D1 often goes to CanJams and other audio conferences, so a more warm welcome makes sense.

Hedd (German) had a more intimate relationship the western scene than Meze (Romanian) or Focal (French), how does that make sense? All three are part of the EU. Now if you add Chinese brands in the mix, a lot of Chinese brands have tens of iems, headphones, dacs and amps to build a multi year long relationship with reviewers.

Hedd had two and a half headphones with mixed reviews to build a relationship with that segment of reviewers. It doesn't mean I know Hedd is clean but personally, I don't have a reason to be more suspicious of Hedd than I am of other brands. But in time maybe you'll feel relief if Hedd sends a pair for Amir to review, after all, Hedd has sent speakers to ASR, it's not a new thing for them.

As for Canjam, every influencer and brand go to multiple Canjams a year and talk to each other, that's their job.

Speaking of measurements, what's cool is that Headphones.com presents their measurements with the variation across ten sittings on the test fixture, it's one possible proxy to check for head to head variation. Notice the very tight dispersion, maybe that's one reason this headphone seems to be liked across the board, in addition to fitting to a Harman like target, it's also remarkably consistent with how it performs with a variety of people.

 

[solderdude]

Sennheiser should buy HEDD

You mean Sonova should buy HEDD...

This seems like a nice dynamic headphone (with different material cone) maybe worthy of its price.
I will probably like it but have too many other good headphones to be bothered buying this one.
115dB/V and 32ohm is nice as well and very common for dynamic headphones.

It does not have an air motion driver like its more expensive brothers and makes their other models very different from the rest.

Too bad the marketing crew from HEDD does not know to properly spec the D1
Maximum SPL: 100dB at 1mW
It appears as though they mean;
Efficiency: 100dB/mW

With 32 Ω impedance and 100 dB sensitivity...
They probably mean:
With a 32 Ω impedance and 100dB/mW efficiency...
Sensitivity is expressed in dB/V and the D1 has a sensitivity of 115dB/V

 

[Tovarich007]

It is also quite possible the reviewers may actually mean what they say. Seriously though, not everyone lies all of the time.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean nor write they lie.
You know how on line marketing or influence works. I meant excessive emphasis, and/or subjective excess of enthusiasm and hype.
That's why I don't trust much these kind of reviews.

Anyway, the published FR measurements of this new Hedd model seem to be pretty good. That's a good start, though there isn't yet a full review and test. FR curve is pretty important for tonal balance, but it doesn't tell the whole story about a headphone behavior.

I wasn't convinced by the use of AMT drivers in previous Hedd models, their cans are thick and heavy, the headphones are way more expensive than this new model, and the measured specs weren't better than good (and less expensive) dynamic or planar headphones.

I think HEDD has done a bold move in coming back to dynamic well known technology with some refinements.

 

[Curupira]

Hedd (German) had a more intimate relationship the western scene than Meze (Romanian) or Focal (French), how does that make sense?

They literally stated this on the review, that they know the tuner and person behind the development of the D1 and that he's very enthusiastic about it. I'm not stating that they have an agenda to push these headphones, just that they're very interested and invested into what they are doing, much more so than with Focal.

 

[DEALUX]

And has the best soundstage, separation and layering of any headphone so to me it's worth it , and I have a tiny budget.

Highly subjective. I don't think it has layering. Treble tuning is wonky and it creates that fake sense of width.

 

[kharan]

They literally stated this on the review, that they know the tuner and person behind the development of the D1 and that he's very enthusiastic about it. I'm not stating that they have an agenda to push these headphones, just that they're very interested and invested into what they are doing, much more so than with Focal.

There's like 10 reviewers with Hedd D1 on youtube that are all hyping the D1.

If you're saying that Andrew from Headphones.com might be biased, then sure, he might be. But his impressions are also in line with all the other reviewers.

 

[Soria Moria]

I don't think it's weird that people like it since it has a generally agreeable tuning although a lack of bass. But yes a bunch of reviews popped out at the same time so there's a big marketing campaign going on with these. Trust in (good) measurements, not what these people are saying.