Does anyone know of a good protective case for the HEDDphone?
Hey guys, I made a video review on the HEDDphone, if you wanted to check out. 
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Hi – I’m experiencing what I suspect is a physical error with my heddphones, and though I’ll ask on this forum if any other have similar issues.
I bought a pair of the Heddphones 1 month ago – and quickly became aware of distortion on the left headphone. Running just sineswaves the headphones distorted the sine @ 1K.
Rest of the range was fine – and it only happened on the left phone.
My setup is UAD Apollo 8xp into a Ifi Zen Can.
(Apollo 8xp’s built in headphone output resulted in the same.)
The exact same setup produced NO distortion on a Beyerdynamics DT770 pro.
So I was quite confident in that the distortion is occurring in the heaphone element.
Also – the distortion varied a bit, and got worse If I turned my head ever so slightly back and forth. It sounded like it came from the actual headphone element – like a thin foil rattling or something.
After consulting the dealer, we agreed upon sending the unit to HEDD for a replacement.
I received what they told me to be a new unit today – only to find the same distortion – only now on both headphones. Same frequence range – around 1K.
The same distortion is quite prominent when listening solo piano or other classical recordings.
So my question is – does anybody else get distortion playing sines through these headphones? Or experiencing similar issues?
I’m asking because this is my second unit whit what appears to be the same error.
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No such issues as you are reporting, although my work setup revolves around the Avid HD io.
Sorry, just some quick troubleshooting areas to investigate.
So, you can replicate the distortion via the HP output on the 8XP alone, but, I wonder how you have the Zen connected. Are you omitting the hp amp in the Apollo entirely and, instead, connecting via line outs? Having no issue with DTs is interesting depending on which ohm version you have. If its a low ohm version, then you’ll be gaining up the HEDDs quite a bit more. The Zen at 280mW unbalanced (the 8XP HP out probably not much better I would imagine) is asking a lot to power the unit, whereas a low ohm DT770 would be rather easy, hence not as likely to hear any distortion at 1K with the gain down. Just trying to isolate the issue away from the Apollo.
Barring any of that, you could also run pink noise through the HEDDs overnight and see if that settles AMT.
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Thanks for your reply, Quantum - appreciate it.
I’m running the Apollo line outs into zen - and in fact also have a balanced cables from zen to headphones. Guess I was replicated this setup: HEDDphones (revision 2) in the Studio - Can Tom Mix With Them? - YouTube
I think that the fact that the first pair only had this distortion on the on side made me think there is nothing wrong with audio path going into the headphones. The left side of the first pair was flawless.
On these last pair - it’s on both - but much more pronounced on the right side.
I’ll definitely try running some noise through them to see if that helps.
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Hi @Solve. I can’t give you any practical helpful advice but I just wanted to say good luck with sorting out your issues and please let us know how everything turns out. Also, Hello and Welcome.
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While I haven’t experience a similar issue with my HEDDphones, I also tried pure 1kHz sinewave, and it wasn’t distorted. If you haven’t tried this already, what you could do is try using some other source for the HEDDphone, even a smartphone/PC HP out should be fine here, as even though they may not provide a good level of volume, you should be able to hear if it is something that is related with your source.
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Great suggestion Sid. I’ve now tried several sources;
- IFI Zen Can (both balanced and unbalanced)
- Ua Apollo 8xp and Solo
- Motu 828mk3
- MacBook Pro
- SoundDevices Mixpre-10 (300mW headphope amp)
- Several headphones outs on external synths and eurorack headphones amps.
They all give me the same distortion on sines around 1KhZ.
I also have another issues with very subtle "crackling on right headphone even when the unit is placed on my head. With just a tiny head movement they make a small crackling noise - have to hold my head completely still for them not to crackle.
I’ve contacted the dealer and HEDDphones directly about the issues and asking for advice. Guess I’m the most unlucky guy having issues with two separate unit at this point. I’ll make my decision about this purchase when I hear from them I guess. Been over a month now dealing with this issue - so a return and maybe a purchase of LCD-X might be a solution for me.
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Hi – for those curious I’ve now received a response from HEDD about the “1K distortion issue”on two separate HEDDphones units.
«Thank you for taking your time analysing the distortion around 1kHz on our HEDDphone.
We are aware of that problem but unfortunately the 1k distortion is immanent more or less with all of our HEDDphone drivers.
We are doing a lot of research at the moment to get rid of it and hopefully we’ll have that fixed with a future model of the HEDDphone.»
I also found this review that suggests the same issue:
As a sound designer and mixer, I would face that distortion all day – and being aware of it I also hear it when listening to records.
There is a lot that I liked about this headphone, and I envy you that don’t experience this in your units.
Having tried to separate units with this pronounces audible issue my conclusion is to return the HEDDphone and continue the search for a good reference headphone.
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I have had the same problem on three different pairs. You are not the most unlucky guy. First and second pairs had it on the left driver; third pair on the right. So disappointed and even more disappointed in HEDD simply telling owners to accept it.
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Thanks for reporting on that, then I feel confident about giving up on HEDD for now. Having the customer searching for pairs without issue isn’t a very good strategy at this price point. And a bit surprised that there is very little mention of this in reviews. Guess most customers get lucky with clean sets.
Sad though…there was a lot to like with these, maybe I’ll return at a later model if they could sort those problems out.
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I completely agree with you, Solve. Customers should not have to look for the elusive pair that has no distortion. I’m also curious why this “immanent” problem has evaded the notice of reviewers for this long. Odd. I have changed out my DAC and amplifier (and spent a pretty penny), thinking it must be the source chain since no one else seemed to have these problems. (Schiit multibit, AQ Cobalt → RME ADI2 DAC FS; Schiit Jot → LTA MZ2)
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Is anyone else with HEDDphone facing a similar issue with very small hairline cracks on this part of the HEDDphone where the earcups attach to the metal part of the headband? I have this on all 4 points for some reason, and it’s a 4 month old unit that has been handled carefully. Doesn’t seem to affect the functionality in any way for now, but it is still a bit surprising to see this, and it makes me a bit concerned about its longevity. (and no, it’s not a part of the design, these cracks weren’t there earlier)
I got 2 issues with the headband and the plastic parts inside the band where the extension takes place on the left side and outside near the driver on the right side I was obliged to use some glue…
Actually, HEDD support does answer quickly and offered me to send new parts to change them by ourselves (for the right side). Unfortunately, the main issue is on the left side inside the headband itself where this plastic part is not accessible at all, as the leather is glued.
So this morning, I have sent my HEDDphone to HEDD in Berlin by DHL and I hope they will fix my issues. I hope within 2 weeks everything will be fixed. Warranty is 2 years in Europe.
Actually, after one year and a half using the HEDDphone nearly every day, I still feel the HEDDPhone is very impressive with even better bass and sub bass than my closed Ultrasone Ed15 Veritas or Z7M2.
I know AMT drivers should be more optimized for mid and higher frequencies, but, with the HEDDphone Bass and Sub Bass kicks are so fast, clean and powerful, that I feel this tech is perfect for headphones if not the best in that range of frequencies.
Maybe, I will have a look to the “3D printing like” Dan Clark Audio Stealth (for travelling use instead my Ultrasone and even at home)… because, the only real issue of the HEDDphone is that it is so bulky and open, that it’s rather difficult to use even at home when some people is in the same room not very far from you.! I got many times complains from my family
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Nothing like that on mine. I’ll have to keep an eye on it in the coming months.
I also don’t have the 1k distortion issue that @Solve is having. That’s the first I’ve heard of it, but it’s weird how HEDD Audio calls it “immanent”. That would be grounds for returning the unit if I heard that, but again, haven’t seen anyone with the issue until this thread.
Can confirm the 1k distortion, mine has it in the right speaker - not noticed the distortion when music is playing, everything is so clear and realistic sounding. The cups on mine are not cracked but noticed some erosion of the silver on the sides - probably through lots of use.
On another note, ended up getting another Topping A90 amp for my speaker setup so updated the headphones to use a Topping A90 SE (ESS ES9038PRO) - sounds surprisingly different, with more rounded bass and some of the midrange coming through more prominently
I got my HEDDphone back from Germany … They made a lot of changes in the Headband and they changed the ear pads too though I didn’t have any issue with them (they are new and much more tight than before). My HEDDphone looks as if new … though it’s not.
I couldn’t test my Heddphone right now, but they made a perfect job in a short time. I’ve sent my Heddphone by UPS in a 6 days guarantee, they send me back with a 48h Guarantee… that’s nice too.
I like German services … Though with Sennheiser it took more than one month and a half to change a IE900 under guaranty which had a serious driver failure.
Good Job HEDD
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Always interesting to hear perspectives! I love my HD800 for classical/orchestral music. I haven’t heard anything better. I really don’t hear the thinness or peaks that people seem to complain about. That being said, I do have a DNA stratus amp with a great collection of tubes and that is supposed to be a very friendly amp to the HD800. My only gripe with the HD800 was a very slightly lean tonality with more hard hitting music such as jazz rock/fusion. I then bought an Ether flow (open) hoping to have a better option with those genres, but overall I found it quite a boring headphone… competent but ultimately forgettable. I think the HEDD will be a great option and have one on order. It will be interesting to see how it compares with the HD800.
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ooooffff just got a crown d 75 and it sounds awesomeeee, im driving some HEDDphones through it with a lynx aurora… was driving these with a topping a90 and geting about 7 watts per channel but they never sounded right… they really are power hogs!!!
Our latest video discussing the @heddaudio HEDDphone is live on TSAV’s YouTube Channel now!
In this video, I share my impressions on the HEDDphone from Heinz Electrodynamic Designs, otherwise known as HEDD.
This video will focus on the build quality, design, and subjective sound impressions about the HEDDphone. Subscribe today for more videos on other personal audio products I also compare them from a sound perspective to two similarly priced headphones the Sennheiser HD800s and the Focal Clear MG. We will also discuss some synergistic amp pairings for the HEDD such as the Chord TT2, Yulong DA1 with Power supply, @ampsandsound Agartha, and the McIntosh MHA200. We hope you enjoy it, and please share the video with friends.
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