This time, I’m reviewing the HEDD Audio HEDDphone TWO GT, the newest iteration of their AMT headphones. They promote for €2.199 EUR.
Disclaimer: HEDD Audio shouldn’t be associated to Headfonia. They loaned me the HEDDphone TWO GT to be featured on Headfonia.com.
HEDD Audio
HEDD Audio is a German firm based in 2015 by Physicist Klaus Heinz and his son, Mastering Engineer and Musicologist Dr. Frederik Knop. Their staff consists of musicians and loudspeaker nerds, electrical engineers, graphic designers, and admin professionals, all of whom are absolutely dedicated to the creation of this new model.
HEDD is particularly recognized for the manufacturing of studio displays of all sizes, ranging from small near-fields proper as much as their tower mains. These educated about studio displays will discover a household resemblance between one other venerable German model, ADAM Audio, and HEDD (and EVE Audio, for that matter).
The 2 newer firms have been born after a 3rd get together acquired ADAM, and so they all convey their twist to the air-motion transformer formulation. You’ll find out extra about HEDD proper right here: https://hedd.audio/pages/uncover.
HEDDphone TWO GT
While it’s commonplace for a studio monitor model to dabble in headphones, HEDD determined to design their very own from scratch moderately than go together with a third-party provider and simply slap their brand on the cups. So the primary HEDDphone was born – an admirable first product from an organization recognized for making audio system. Lieven preferred it sufficient to warrant our “Really useful” award.
Ask anybody who’s used the primary HEDDphone and also you’ll hear reward in regards to the sound, however for many, the ergonomics left so much to be desired. 718g is so much, even for Audeze-necks, so the HEDDphone TWO got here with a a lot welcome weight reduction to a extra manageable 550g. Many praised the revised suspension headband, which meant that longer listening classes have been lastly doable. Oh, and the sound was a lot improved over the unique as properly!
Shortly after comes the hero of our story, the GT version of the HEDDphone 2. It appears like HEDD have left alone what works and retuned the sound to a extra music-friendly goal. I’m, after all, sceptical that studio monitoring and listening for pleasure are that totally different however let’s see and hear!
You should buy the HEDDphone TWO GT for €2.199 EUR at HEDD webstore.
Options
- Open-back over-ear headphone, infinite baffle acoustics
- Proprietary variable-geometry air-motion transformer driver
- 10 – 40 000Hz marketed frequency response
- 40-ohm purely resistive load
- 88dB/mW or 102dB/V
- Weight: 550g with no cable
- Enter connectors: 3.5mm TRS
- Cable jack: 4.4mm TRRRS, 3.5mm TRS (6.35mm adaptor included)
- Cable size: 1.5m
Casing
Two phrases – competent and opulent! The field of the HEDDphone TWO GT is positively enormous, but it surely homes each the headphones, a carrying case, a plethora of cables, and an additional set of earpads. There are two sub-boxes that maintain the headphones, the field, and the cable spaghetti. It’s possible that it would be best to preserve the field eternally.
The laborious case that comes with the HEDDphone TWO GT can be of top of the range and can possible function the designated resting place of the system. It’s clearly too giant to only toss in a backpack for touring, however for storage, it’s simply what the physician ordered. Beneath a magnetically held clasp, there’s additionally a piece for the cable.
All in all, this is among the better-designed enclosures for a set of headphones I’ve seen. There are headphones that price twice as a lot and aren’t made within the EU that include much less. The cable administration sub-section is particularly well-thought-out and can forestall the bundled-in cables from including to your cursed cable field of nightmares.
Construct High quality
Once more, nothing however reward right here. In contrast to the unique HEDDphone, the second iteration has soaked up a number of ergonomic know-how to ensure you can truly take pleasure in your listening. To drop some weight, carbon has been chosen as a springy materials for the scarf. The remainder is usually high-quality plastics and milled aluminium.
I’ve little doubt that the development of the HEDDphone TWO GT will face up to the trials of even heavy studio use.
Each HEDDphone TWO GT comes with two units of pads – velour and pleather. Each are simple to mount, and surprisingly, the sonic variations between the 2 are virtually imperceptible. The remainder of the earcup can be well-made with no seen imperfections. The delicate AMT diaphragm is protected by a fashioned metallic grille from the surface and an acoustically clear material from the within of the cup.
As a reviewer, I obtained the HEDDphone TWO GT with each the inventory set of cables in addition to the GTC Premium 8-core copper cable. I couldn’t detect any main sound variations between the common cable and the premium one, however the GTC twine absolutely felt extra luxurious to deal with. There’s additionally a 4.4mm to XLR adaptor, so that you’re prepared for each audio output.
Consolation and Ergonomics
It’s no secret that consolation was the Achilles heel of the unique HEDDphone. To verify the HEDDphone TWO GT is really prepared for the grand tour, HEDD have carried out a extremely progressive adjustment scheme so anybody can be certain the HEDDphone TWO GT conforms to their cranial dimensions.
Clearly, regardless of the way you bundle it, the 550g weight will likely be a difficulty for the weaker necked amongst us. Motorcyclists and different helmet-donning people ought to already be used to some further weight on their heads, and the remainder often construct up muscle power in a few weeks. So, in case you benefit from the sound of your HEDDphone TWO GT, spend per week or two and see if the neck pains subside.
The 2 kinds of earpads are additionally an attention-grabbing alternative, particularly as they don’t actually change the sound of the HEDDphone TWO GT. It’s fairly sizzling in right here throughout summer time, so I opted for the velour pads as a substitute of the extra sweat-inducing pleather. I even tried to combine each pads and see if one thing adjustments. Spoiler alert – nothing modified audibly and I used to be left with one sweaty ear.
Isolation
The HEDDphone TWO GT is an open-back circumaural headphone, so it’ll leak sound out and in. It makes use of an infinite-baffle acoustic formulation, so the motive force is kind of hermetically coupled to the ear, and also you may really feel some diaphragm flex while you press the earcup to your head. For sure that urgent the earcups collectively or in opposition to the edges of your head can injury the fragile pleated diaphragms.
In comparison with different planars just like the Fosi i5 and most others from Audeze and Hifiman, the HEDDphone TWO GT isn’t as open-sounding. There’s little or no proximity impact from bringing one’s palms close to the earcup, which signifies that there’s a great little bit of damping materials used.
Like many different open-backs, it’s not a good suggestion to take heed to the HEDDphone TWO GT in a quiet surroundings like a library or count on that it’ll preserve the din of an open workplace from muddying your tunes.
Sound Signature and Technicalities
My important testing system for the HEDD HEDDphone TWO GT was the Topping x Holo Centaurus driving the DROP + SMSL HO150X, Feliks Euforia EVO, and Aune S17 Professional EVO, in addition to the Rotel DX-3
As at all times, practicalities first! Virtually all of my listening was finished with the velour earpads and the flowery GTC cable. HEDD themselves advocate offering an amp with at the least 200mW of energy into 40 ohms. That’s 2.8V and must be doable by most up to date amplifiers and even higher-gain dongles. The higher restrict is over 1W@40ohms, which is 6.32V and will get you deafening 118dBSPL peaks.
The HEDDphone TWO GT isn’t a difficult load to most amplifiers with its purely resistive 40-ohm impedance and must be driveable even by beefy OTL tube amps with out a lot coloration. In my case, the Feliks Euforia EVO was in a position to play properly, however my favourite matchup was the Aune S17 Professional EVO. The medium sensitivity of this headphone additionally signifies that noise isn’t an issue.
General Tonality
I’m blissful to report that the HEDDphone TWO GT is by far essentially the most normal-sounding of all HEDDphones up to now. There’s very good low-end extension for an open-back, the mids are free from annoying resonances, and the treble has some spicy stuff occurring, but it surely’s comparatively benign.
To my ears, the one objectionable elements are the extreme heat round 200Hz and a dip round 6kHz, which blunts the chunk of many devices.
Bass
Wish to know what AMTs hate taking part in? BASS! However someway HEDD have finished the not possible and made them not solely play bass, however show a tasteful increase within the lows. This makes the HEDDphone TWO GT unusually proficient at electronica and different genres the place the low-end wants to actually flex its muscle tissue. On this case, the pleated diaphragm of the AMT does the flexing.
I’ll say that it’s not the cleanest low-end I’ve heard at his value level, but it surely’s on par with many high-quality dynamic drivers. Planars often play a cleaner low-end, however endure a bit in the case of punch. The HEDDphone TWO GT has loads of thwack in case your amp provides it the beans, and the transient tails are someplace between a planar and a dynamic driver, which feels much less nimble.
The HEDDphone TWO GT article continues on the second web page. Click on on the jumps beneath to go there.
