General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
Those who are in the community for a while should know who and what HiFiMAN does. They’re famous for their planar magnetic headphones, not just that, they do make source and amp as well. They cover pretty much what I would say as an ecosystem for their own brand. I have the Deva Pro with me today that’s bundled with the Bluemini R2R bluetooth module. We will take a look at how its performance with the bluetooth module, as well as on wired mode.
The packaging is the usual HiFiMAN packaging which they changed recently with an all cardboard look, bundled with an average dual 3.5mm cable, a foam headphone stand and that’s about it.
Sound Impression with Blue-mini R2R Bluetooth Module (LDAC Codec)
The timbre sounds quite natural and the tonality does have a slight emphasis on the treble (slightly bright). A very minor V shaped tuning to my ears, both the lows and highs are slightly elevated and slightly recessed mids, hence i call them as minor V shaped.
Bass
- Bass is fast and precise and never bleed into the mids despite sounding slightly elevated
- The sub bass does rumble when the track calls for it (Machine Gun Kelly’s Taurus)
- Mid bass is quite punchy as well and has good texture to it
- Not bass-head kind of bass response, but overall very fun sounding kind of bass with sufficient quantity and good quality
- The seal of the ear pad is also important in order to achieve a good bass response
Mids
- The mids are not overly forward nor recessed,
- Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures to them
- Female vocal has a bit more energy compared to male
- Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not shouty
- On certain track, male vocal does sound a little distant, but most of the time they are neither too forward nor recessed
Treble
- Treble response has plenty of energetic yet it is not harsh nor sibilant
- Fast and snappy transient response
- Very good resolution for the price, in fact i think it is actually punching above its price point
- Good detail retrieval, micro details can be picked up easily
- Technicalities are quite good for a bluetooth headphone
Soundstage/Imaging
- Soundstage is average to my ears, not too wide nor boxy, just slightly out of your head, lacking depth and height to my ears
- Imaging is good when they tracks are not busy, but when the track starts to get busy, it does sounds quite mushy
Drivability with the R2R Module
- Since the Blue-mini module is sort of like a companion accessory for the Deva Pro, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the module will be able to push it to its optimum performance
- At just 40% of volume, playing via LDAC codec from my Xperia 5 II transport, it gets pretty loud and sounds like it has been driven to its optimum performance
Sound Impression on wired with CH-AMP and Angel as DAC
Listening via wired mode, the Deva Pro is entirely a different beast based on my experience. No difference in terms of tonality and timbre, but the tuning doesn’t sound that V shaped anymore.
Bass
- Bass has more control compared to the bluetooth module
- Tighter bass and slightly faster
- Sub bass sounds like it has better extension
- Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
Mids
- Mids definitely doesn’t sound recessed and slightly forward compared to the bluetooth module
- Mids sounds quite lush when with this pairing
Treble
- Treble is energetic yet non offensive
- However, it does sounds like it lacks a little air and presence on the top end on both bluetooth and wired mode
Soundstage/Imaging
- The soundstage is definitely a step up compared to when it is running on bluetooth module
- Better depth, width, and height perception overall
- Not to mention, imaging is also better with slightly better separation and layering
Drivability
- On wired mode, it definitely requires quite a bit of juice to drive it properly
- 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
Final Thoughts
The Deva Pro as a bluetooth headphone, it is good, but when it is being used as a wired headphone, the performance is even better as it is scaling with your amp and dac setup. Deva Pro is for those who are looking to use their headphone wirelessly as well as wired setup, a dual purpose headphone.