In the constant pursuit of the number of drivers and the complexity of the schemes, many manufacturers forget about the merits of simple solutions, and if the single-driver headphones with dynamic emitters still dominate the market, solutions with one "reinforcement" receiver can be counted on the fingers. If we want more and a high-quality and not very expensive solution, the choice will be reduced to a very scanty one. One of the good options in this niche will be Hippo Pro One.
It all began with the fact that the Swiss company Phonak, having earned a name in the market of hearing aids, has traditionally decided to try themselves in the field of headphones. Their models of the line Audeo gained popularity among music lovers, but the company decided to leave the market of the IEM. A little later, on the opposite end of the planet, a well-known Indonesian online store of headphones and everything connected with them Jaben decided to release their headphones. To do this, they chose one of the models of receivers used by Phonak (although, perhaps, this is a simple coincidence), made them a simple but comfortable case and released under their Hippo trademark, calling the Pro One model.
According to unofficial data, the Hippo Pro One uses the Sonion 2354 driver, with the characteristics of which , it has a fairly even frequency response up to the high frequency range, and there are a number of peaks on the high frequencies that give a sharp sound, but in Hippo solved this problem by using a filter.
The economical approach and the absence of an overpayment for the brand led to the fact that the price turned out to be much more democratic. At the time of review the official reseller in Russia can only for 7300 rubles, and for these headphones it's just an excellent price.
Specifications
- Emitter: with balanced armature
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 18 KHz
- Sensitivity: 112 dB / mW
- Impedance: 16Ω
- Cable: not removable, 1,2 m
- Plug: 3.5 mm TRS
Packing and delivery kit
Jaben is famous for its diverse, sometimes strange sets of equipment at a reduced price. The first lots of these headphones were pleased with a rich set of supplies, which included a solid plastic protective case, foam nozzles and much more.
Then in Jaben decided that it was better to reduce the price by making earphones more accessible, and cut the delivery kit. Recently, Hippo Pro One comes in a simple cardboard box with a window through which one of the headphones is visible. Inside, in addition to the Pro One itself, you will find a very comfortable tight case with a strap for carrying it, 3 pairs of nozzles of different sizes and a cleaning tool. In general, modestly, but in Jaben specifically went to this step.
Design and comfortable wearing
In developing the appearance of headphones, the company used the most utilitarian approach. The task of the body is to fix the radiators in the right position in the area of the ear canal. Of all the possible design options, the developers chose the simplest version with a breech landing, making it from transparent plastic. The emitters are located in the front of the headphones, right next to the long and thin ducts. In the sound guides you can see filters designed to correct the sound.
The build quality, in spite of its simplicity, is very good, no flaws, no trace of poor-quality casting or poor fitting is detected.
The cable is very light, twisted, in black insulation. It looks good and does its job well: it does not make noise from rubbing on clothes, it does not get very confused, it does not harden in the cold. The splitter block and the corner plug are made of plastic, but they look reliable.
The complete nozzles are good, they are soft, but they are well insulated. In combination with light and small cases, the Pro One gives a very comfortable fit and comfort in wearing.
Sound insulation - on a typical average for the form factor.
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening:
- Yulong DA8 as a DAC and amplifier
- Resonessence Labs Concero HP as a DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2013 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Fiio X5-2 and Cayin N6 as portable players
- VSonic Gr01, Dunu Titan 1 and Dunu DN-2000J as headphones for comparison
- High Definition Records in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were warmed for 48 hours.
In general, the Pro One are typical "good single-seat fittings", their sound is remarkable for resolution and excellent detail, but at the same time, thanks to the successful choice of receivers, they are also pleased with the vigorous impact on the whole range.
Headphones are very dependent on the landing, leaving a wide field for experiments in this area, the selection of attachments allows you to achieve very diverse results, which is why contradictory opinions about them are caused.
Bass Hippo - one of the strengths. He's fast, he's biting, he's energetic and has a nice texture. Of course, he lacks the bodilyity of dynamic radiators, but Pro One compensates for this with quality. The depth is moderate, there is no uterine sub-bass, but, when necessary, the headphones are capable of playing very low sounds.
Middle frequencies are expectedly good, as is usually the case with headphones with receivers using a balanced armature. Of course, Pro One is not an Etymotic ER-4P for nuanced design, but speed, resolution, detailing - all this is there and allows headphones to very reliably build an imaginary scene, albeit not of record sizes, but very good for its price category.
The upper frequency range, perhaps, is the only problematic side of these headphones. Of course, it can not be called absolutely bad, but there is some undevelopedness on the HF, they are slightly softened and inaccurately contoured, although they are quite quantitative. Here, apparently, the attempt to drown out sharp splashes of RF radiators Sonion makes itself felt. If you want, you can try to remove the filters and replace them with something else, and the selection of attachments also gives interesting results.
In general, in some aspects of Hippo Pro One I like even more recognized standard in the face of Etymotic ER-4S. They do not require such a deep landing, and quantify more than LF, which benefits many genres. On the other hand, in terms of resolution and speed, the "motics" are still ahead.
Compatibility
One of the main features of these headphones is their high sensitivity, which in combination with low impedance makes them very sensitive to source noise. On some players, you can just hear how the device reads the card. In general, choosing the source for these headphones, it is worthwhile to take care that, firstly, it gives that permission, which is necessary for revealing the potential of the headphones, and secondly, had the "dark background" necessary for them and did not make noise.
To the quality of recordings, the headphones are critical, but not prohibitively, at times, thanks to resolution, they allow you to "listen" to the advantages of a bad track. Genre headphones are universal, if you prefer a detailed and outlined delivery of a single-armature armature.
The Who - Behind Blue Eyes. Traditionally, the original version I like much more than a modern cover version. The quality of recording this track clearly outperformed its time, the volume of the track and the nuances of the voice are transmitted simply superbly. Detailed Pro One fittings contribute to this.
The Greg Foat Group - Door into Summer. The track is purely instrumental, but from the title it becomes clear that it is based on, perhaps, the most piercing work of Heinlein's "The Door to Summer". Quiet, very lyrical jazz with obvious influences of other styles immerses in a meditative state and adjusts to a pacified mood. As with most modern jazz artists, the quality of the recordings has been brought almost to the limit, deep bass, chic keyboard and wind parts, light percussion, accompanying the track, all this is very well played out by Hippo Pro One. Although, of course, for such music better fit more expensive models.
Slayer - Raining Blood. Here the situation is perhaps the reverse of the previous case. Despite the fact that this record Slayer is one of the greatest tracks in the history of metal, it is written down badly. But here Hippo Pro One also comes to the rescue, allowing you to hear what makes Slayer a brilliant band in the overall cacophony of recording. Although, of course, the quality of the recording makes you wince more than once.
conclusions
In general, Jaben proved a simple truth. If you take a good reinforcing radiator, place it in a convenient case and correct its shortcomings, the output will be very smart headphones. If you add to them a normal price, the result will please both the manufacturer and buyers.
The article is based on materials .
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