Hifiman Deva Bluetooth Headphones

Product Information

There is ample power here to get the Deva Pro very loud. A quirk of the module is that the volume increments are not linear when connected via Bluetooth. At lower volumes, it’s too quiet, and then right after 50%, it gets tad too loud for me. Connectivity is stable until 7 meters, then there are occasional connection dropouts. Another less popular mod is to increase the air gap between the driver and pads. Basically, you break the “seal” between your face and the pads by inserting foam between the driver and the cups. The Himalaya is rather neutral, faithful to the original source and does not run some kind of DSP to specifically match the Deva Pro. Turning off LDAC to aptX and the signature got darker, less airy but also the more forgiving of the two codecs. Personally, LDAC is the way to go unless you are hugely treble sensitive, at least with a Note 9 pairing. Dropping down a codec and the Deva lost a bit of sparkle and air and it is quite noticeable. Inside it follows the Sundara more than the Ananda BT. There is no carry case this time but rather you get the foam and satin overthrow from the Sundara with the headphones firmly inserted in the center. To the top, there is a manual, warranty card and just underneath (though still above the headphones), are the accessories which are 2 cables and the Bluemini module.

Hifiman Deva – In-Ear Fidelity Hifiman Deva – In-Ear Fidelity

Treble: The upper registers are not as bright and colorful as you might think, it is a darker presentation with beautiful and natural highs. However, it should be remembered that they are slightly tinted, which is not very noticeable, because it allows us to rest and relax after many hours of listening. The strings and details are at an impressive and very high level, and the whole thing has a lot of freedom and air. Such presentation of music allows you to relax and immerse yourself in natural and beautiful sound. Here I also like the unusual lightness while maintaining weight, which is often missing in headphones in this price range. However, we are not just comparing sound, there are so many other things that fit into the equation. Where the HE400se are a simple set of headphones, the Deva Pro comes bundled with the Bluemini R2R. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities, giving them not only the possibility of being used as a bluetooth headphone (along with a mic for calls), they can also be used via USB, all while featuring a Himalaya R2R architecture DAC. Unfortunately, the upper-midrange is quite intense. There is no noticeable frequency dip between 2-5kHz, resulting in a very up-front midrange. Such tuning also hampers soundstage depth and microdynamics. If you are extremely sensitive to upper-treble, the HE400se might be fatiguing in the long run. Those who like airy treble should have no problem with this peakiness. I find this peak too much though and prefer to EQ it down (or modify the headphones, more on this below). The new Bluemini is powerful and can output about 200mW but is still very efficient, consuming only 20mW so its battery can last for longer with a single change.

Summary​

Stability and distance are good, but since it is the same module as the Ananda BT, I am not surprised. Not as rangy as consumer kings like Bose and Sony but on par with the Ananda BT for sure. Just that problem with having no volume control means you are unlikely to be miles away from your source. The Bluemini R2R also allows you to output digital audio directly into the Deva Pro via its USB-DAC functionality. This can apply to a wide range of digital audio-compatible devices such as PC, Mac, and OTG via Android. That signal will be decoded by the onboard DAC and converted into an analog signal for passing onto the amp chipset.

HiFiMan Headphones UK | London Showroom - Audio Sanctuary HiFiMan Headphones UK | London Showroom - Audio Sanctuary

And just because a headphone is wireless doesn’t mean it “HAS TO BE for commuting &/or strenuous physical activity”! Having around the house headphones that are wireless is MASSIVELY convenient, and ESPECIALLY so when they have 2x device simultaneous Bluetooth multipoint support like the Deva Pro’s do here! ST-Amp with 1.8w is sufficient to drive it properly, but when i switched to the bigger brother, the CH-AMP with 3.8w of power, it sounds even more dynamic and so much fun to listen to iit either you got a bad pair of cans”– nope, not bad. It sounds as it sound. As for me being a bad judge of headphones, well, I don’t think so.

Comfort On the Ear

Coming to headphones, Lovely one which sits great on my head with kind of tightness which i do like. The Pleather pads feels cool and lush though. Though the Burn in of Headphone phenomenon is true or not, anyways i gave an 30+ hours of burn before i dwell much into sound and more listening. This is especially applicable for the wired USB audio scenario which Hifiman has built into the Bluemini that allows you to output digital audio directly into the headphones. I’m not gonna lie – I really like the appearance and the color scheme of the original Deva, but I know many people that found it…controversial. Even though it looked way better in person than in the photos, it still gained some attention because of that, and that’s not really desirable by the brand. The rated output in mW is 230mW according to Hifiman’s real-world testing though they mention up to 1W in theory. Given the relatively inefficient 93dB SPL, I will be curious to see the differences between the traditional proper amping rout and the BT route in terms of dynamic range.

HIFIMAN Deva Pro Review — Headfonics

In theory the Bluemini should be able to output 1,125 mW of power, but in reality it’s limited to 230 mW. That’s still quite a lot of power for a device this small! It’s more than enough to drive the Deva to deafening levels, so I usually kept it to about 15% volume and it was plenty enough. What I really don’t like is how my unit manages low-battery situations: it just turns off with no warning at all. One moment you’re listening to music, the next it’s silent and you’re left to wonder what’s happened. One time it happened to me that the device turned off, so I turned it on again and at that point the device gave me a “low battery, please charge” warning… only to shut down immediately after. There is a Type-C port at the bottom that can either charge the module or allows connecting to a computer to act as a DAC-amp. The solitary button can be used to power on or off via long-press, whereas a short-press disconnects the Deva Pro from the current device. A double press takes it into pairing mode. The Bluemini R2R module connects via a 3.mm TRRS connector.

The range is quite good and it passes my favourite scientific test, which is walking into the kitchen while my computer is in the studio, easily. Stability is also quite great and I haven’t experienced almost any dropouts or stuttering. Of course, the topology of the Deva, like the Ananda BT, has two drivers so the receiver of the Bluemini outputs via a DAC to a balanced amplifier chipset is responsible for ensuring each driver is driven adequately.

HiFiMAN Deva Pro (Wired) Planar Magnetic Headphone HiFiMAN Deva Pro (Wired) Planar Magnetic Headphone

The earcups have a perforated cloth material on the front with a solid pleather surround. The headband is foam-padded as well, though I wish the foam was slightly softer. Nonetheless, no hotspots formed on the temple or the sides of my head during the review period. At the bottom, there are two 3.5mm TRRS ports. The Bluemini module can be connected to either earcup. First of all, the Ananda has an upper hand when it comes to staging. The soundstage is wider, deeper, and more accurate, mainly because of the imaging. However, this is the biggest selling point for the Ananda when it comes to this comparison. Other than staging, these two sound pretty close when it comes to technical performance, with a slight edge for the Ananda. The tone, however, is more musical and fuller on the Deva Pro, with their slightly boosted treble response and smoother mids. The bass feels more impactful on the Deva Pro, though the Ananda has better control. The Deva has an excellent balance to it despite the 360g weight. It is not the lightest headphone in the world but the copious amounts of memory foam wrapped in that tan pleather on the headband combined with matching deep-set wide opening pleather earpads make it very comfortable to wear. The fabric inner coating also stops a little short of the edges which is much more comfortable than the original Focus A pads which would irritate with those stitched corners. As I mentioned above, the bottom of the module houses the microphone, a status LED, the USB-C port and a single button.The rated output in mW is 230mW according to Hifiman’s real-world testing though they mention up to 1W on paper. That is a nice bonus and brings PC/Macs and smartphones into direct play without a BT signal required and allows traditional decoding up to 24BIT/192k.