(Image credit: Future)

The German audio brand HEDD just released the D1 HEDDphones for $799/£599 and, if you’re a music fan, there are a few reasons you should care.

First, the D1s use new materials for their diaphragms that no other headphone features, and that’s pretty cool. Second – and most importantly – after using a pair for the last three days, I think they may be the perfect audiophile headphones for the majority of people out there (if you can afford them).

• Buy the HEDD D1s from HEDD in the US
• Peter Tyson has D1 stock in the UK

Driving the D1s

As the D1 headphones run at 32 ohms, with 100dB sensitivity, they’re pretty easy to drive. That means you could plug them into a MacBook or smartphone and you’d be fine. I tested them using the Chord Mojo 2 headphone DAC, as it has two jack ports, allowing me to compare the D1s with my other headphones without missing a beat.

A bit of background: In the audio world, HEDD are innovators. Founded by physicist Klaus Heinz in 2015, the German brand brought the world Air Motion Transformer technology. Tl;dr: Instead of a traditional cone or dome that pushes air, an AMT driver is a folded diaphragm that squeezes air.

Yeah, that means nothing to me too. But the upshot is that all HEDD products use this tech, and a lot of audiophile experts love the precision and natural sound that comes with it. And now, with the D1 headphones, they’re bringing another innovation to the party – a new thin-ply carbon (TPC) material used in the headphone’s diaphragm (the thing that creates the sound that you hear). It’s the first time it’s been used in a headphone, and the marketing material promises, ‘tonal clarity and exceptional fidelity’.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Comfort

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve been using the D1s since I received them three days ago, and they are amongst the most comfortable and light-feeling headphones I’ve used. I say light-feeling because they’re 360g, which is 100g heavier than the Sennheiser HD600s, and yet with a more forgiving clamp force, I feel they’re closer to the latter in real life.

They’re also comfortable because of their frequency profile: it has really engaging bass, plenty nuanced mids, and offers detail that doesn’t come with the downside of sibilant, fatiguing treble. The D1s are not fatiguing at all – they’re a blast to use and listen to for hours on end.

Sound: A detailed dive

One of the headlines with the D1s (other than the overall pleasing sound profile) is the excellent bass, which integrates into the sound profile, it doesn’t take the spotlight at the expense of the mids and highs. It feels fast with plenty of thwack, unlike the HD600s or HD550s, which sound receded in comparison.

Actually, the D1’s bass best compares with my closed back Denon AH-D5200s, which have amazing, punchy bass. I don’t think the D1s are quite at the AH-D5200’s level, and as it’s open vs closed back, that makes sense. But it’s close, and that’s great news to anyone who wants the benefits of an open back headphone, with a proper mature, fast bass response (it’s pretty rare).

(Image credit: Future)

Still thinking about the HD600s – the king of the neutral profile, the monarch of the mids – and the D1’s also seem really balanced, and their mids fair really well. On the track Casanova 70 by Air, which leads with a chugging bass line, adding mids with its brass, strings and synths, and then ending with a treble flourish of an organ riff, the D1s present it all beautifully.

What’s impressive is that the mids don’t get lost in the mix. Yes, the bass and treble are a little bit more forward, but this is no commercial-sounding V-shaped, mids-blood-bath. It’s more a balanced, u-shape. There’s the excitement of the pronounced bass and treble, but the detailed mids are still represented. It’s a sound that verges on warm (which I really like) but you can pick out what you want to focus on with the D1s.

And speaking of picking out elements...

Soundstage & imaging

(Image credit: Future)

I played Stereolab’s Metronomic Underground on the D1s and my Beydynamic 1990 Pros, with an ear or two on imaging and soundstage. I chose the 1990 Pros as they are famously treble-forward, with an infamous 8khz peak that, some say, is akin to covering everything with a layer of audio bleach. I think that’s a bit harsh, but either way, the upshot is that you can pick out a lot of detail with the 1990s, plus they also have fantastic imaging, so they’re a great headphone to compare and contrast with the D1s.

Metronomic Underground builds a repetitive groove over seven minutes into a final minute-long euphony (a pleasant mixture of lots of sounds, unlike it’s ugly brother cacophony... and yes I had to look that up). The song is a good test to see whether you can still pick out each instrument, or if your headphones fall apart into a mush of noise – and the D1s do a solid job.

The imaging is impressive, and I’m able to hang on to the subtle left ear percussive wah-wah guitar and the right ear repetitive synth run, all while the building wall of sound falls in from all angles. I wouldn’t say this is industry-leading imaging, like the Sennheiser HD600s, but it’s still impressive.

As far as how those imaged instruments are presented to you, or the HEDD D1’s soundstage: it’s good. The music sounds a little in front of and above my eyes, with its strength being the width of presentation. Again, these compare to the HD 600s (which are not famous for their big soundstage). I don’t own any open back headphones with a vast soundstage, such as the Sennheiser HD 800 S, so I don’t have that to compare it to. But to my ears, the D1’s soundstage is more on the intimate side of things, and with this detail and welcoming sound, that’s fine with me.

Bottom line

The HEDD D1s are the second headphone to come from HEDD – the first being the $2,000 HEDDphone (which has two iterations). The fact that HEDD has released a pair of headphones over half the price of their flagship model, while also offering new technology with its TPCD, is really cool. The HEDD D1s are a stunning, all-day engaging pair of cans that offer clarity and detail, and a balanced sound. This is an exciting release in the world of audiophile headphones.

Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.

Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he’s not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.