HiFiMAN Deva-Pro Over-Ear Full-Size Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone with Bluetooth Dongle/Receiver, Himalaya R2R Architecture DAC, Easily Switch Between Wired and Wireless, Bluetooth 5.0

Product Information

Speaking about comfort – the Deva Pro with the R2R module attached is a very comfortable pair of headphones. I don't have your current iems but the EQ should add some more bass, at least in quantity/tonality because quality will remain the same. The original Deva was one of the most open sounding headphones in the market but the Pro takes it even higher further improving the performance. Everything is loud and thrown at you, and it gets progressively worse the louder you turn up the volume. It’s not sharp enough to cause injuries, but it does illustrate some deficiencies in the fit and finish of the product.

I think HiFiMAN have taken some of the criticism regarding build quality to heart, since the yoke structure for the Deva is all one piece.You don’t have to create additional damping to deal with resonant waves bouncing off the back of the cup and back into the ear. And so maybe the ‘open character’ is simply correlated with the additional benefits that are gained from the fact that it’s an open-back headphone. Thanks to the addition of the Stealth Magnets and the fact, that the Bluemini is now so much better than the original one, the Deva Pro is simply a no-brainer if you’re looking for quality, open-back headphones that can be both wireless and wired.

Generally while the usual suspects apply when we speak about the Stealth magnets benefits, making a review like this almost repetitive, there is another aspect where the Deva Pro is improved upon: timbre and naturalness.

The saturation of the instruments is considerable, and the stage is not cramped, although it is wider, the depth can also delight. But, I am still able to test it with R-2R DAC sound -- as I've been listening to this primarily on my Spring 3 KTE DAC, as well as the Cayin RU-6 portable DAC/Amp -- both custom R-2R DAC implementations.

There are bound to be similarities across different models, but my understanding is that the Deva’s driver is new. Back to the sound though, the amount of details, crispy yet ringing little sounds coming from different places make this song a fantastic showcase piece to test equipment on, and the Deva Pro performs like a champ here. One potential use-case could be having them as an all-in-one solution, but then you are sacrificing the lifestyle features of the best wireless headphones and the sound quality of the best wired headphones. This means that vocals are not quite as forward as on other models and added to the slight reduction in the low mids, and that peak at 5kHz, can mean that they lose a little of their richness, along with a bit of an extra sizzle that can be a little piercing depending on the track in question. The headband regulation feels sturdy yet smooth, the weight distribution is excellent and every part that touches your skin feels pleasant.Personally I much prefer this as I find the other material causes me to itch (and produces more heat). This is not the end of the world but personally I like to be able to control volume on BT devices as the whole point of wireless is freedom from the source, so removing your phone (for example) from your pocket to change volume or track sort of defeats the object in my opinion. For example the soprano voice can become a little shouty at certain phrases when reaching the higher parts of her tessitura, it is not irritating but still counts as accentuated. The sub-bass is rumbly but the mid-bass is lacking some punch and the overall bass region is levelled and close to neutral.