Testing HiFiMan’s headphones over the past few months has been a trip. I’ve pivoted from closed-backs to open-backeds, getting a holistic experience of what it means to use and own a pair of planar magnetic headphones. HiFiMan’s Planar Neo Supernano Diaphragm is notably impressive for its price point and audio quality; similarly specced planar headphones go for $500 or more! That said, today’s review is on HiFiMan’s DEVA Pro – a set of planar magnetic open-backed headphones that come with a Bluetooth DAC for seamless wireless audio.
The HiFiMan DEVA Pros are similar to HiFiMan’s other open-backed planar magnetic headphones. They feature HiFiMan’s signature Planar NEO Supernano Diaphragm along with an 18ohm impedence, wide frequency response (20Hz-20kHz), and weigh just 360g (just under 1lb!). They were originally released back in 2021 at a ~$350 price point, but now they’re currently going for ~$200. If you’re focusing on specs and specs alone, the DEVA Pro headphones are solid contenders for HiFi audio heads on a budget.
Check out the DEVA Pro on HiFiMan’s website! (non-affiliated URL)
In the DEVA Pro Box is the typical HiFiMan fix-ins, barring the addition of the Bluemini R2R dongle and its USB-C charging cable. There’s a foam casing that doubles as a simple headphone stand, there’s a rubber cable, along with an AUX adaptor. Unless I’m mistaken, the cord is the same as the cord on the Sundara (both models) and Edition XS. I’m not the biggest fan of the cord; I would prefer it to have some weight to it to meet the idea of these being PRO-tier headphones.
The DEVA Pro are a step up from the original DEVA in thanks to the audio quality and improved sound quality. The headphones utilize an industrial chic aesthetic that incorporates clean metal, black leatherette, and some plastic. The outer cans feature a uniform metal mesh and look professional, a notable step up from competing headphones in the ~$200 price range. The leather headband at the top is similar in construction as the Edition XS’s band, but it feels far more comfier. The band seems to have a different foam material inside. The headphones are surprisingly lightweight – at the top of this review I noted that they weigh 360g. Wearing these headphones is like wearing a cloud.
The cups themselves are large enough to fully surround my ear without pressing against my earlobes. The foam cups are perfectly plush. When I think of a pair of professional headphones, I envision plush earcups that gently rest against my head with a minimal degree of clamp. These headphones fit that description well. I wore these headphones for a full work week (in wired and wireless mode) and loved every second of it. Because these headphones are open-backed, I got very little noise isolation. This is to be expected from all open-backed headphones, so don’t purchase these headphones and expect them to block out noise in a shared office.
Moving onto audio quality, the DEVA Pro blew me away. I tested these headphones with and without an amp and am happy to report that they’re excellent for those who love soft rock, alternative, and other acoustic-forward genres.
The DEVA Pro’s Bass has some impact, but not enough to consider it punchy. It’s precise enough to make music sound dynamic, but there’s a minimal degree of rumble that less-informed listeners associate with “good audio.” Adjusting the bass and sub-bass via EQ improved the rumble a smidge at the cost of losing texture. If you’re a bass-head (or are coming from the exaggerated bass of today’s Bluetooth headphones), you should expect to boost the bass/sub-bass values to get your desired “oomph.” Sublime’s new album sounded fantastic in these cans, for what it’s worth.
The DEVA Pro’s midrange is highly engaging and warm, making it the standout audio quality of these headphones. Vocals sounded natural and provided just enough emotion that rock and soul generally provide. Instruments are clearly separated and positioned. Compared to the Edition XS, the mids sound more recessed and less expansive, but they’re still notable in their accuracy. When testing these with Leigh-Anne’s newest album, her vocals sounded rich, emotive, and detailed.
Finally, the treble. The DEVA Pro’s treble remained smooth throughout my testing. There was minimal sharpness that typically disrupts the audio experience. I used the Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood” as the first test and was pleased by how the song’s usually sharp first-few seconds were smoothened out without compromising instrument separation.
Overall, the audio quality is great for the price range. It favors those who listen to rock (of multiple subgenres), soul, and R&B thanks to the warm midrange, slightly impactful bass, and smooth treble.
Let’s talk about the DEVA Pro’s Bluetooth dongle, the “Bluemini R2R” with custom-created HIMALAYA DAC. This little rechargeable Bluetooth dongle comes with the DEVA Pro and is custom to the DEVA Pro. If you’ve ever wished that you could take your favorite pair of HiFi cans off-cable and listen to music wirelessly, the Bluemini R2R elevates the value proposition of the DEVA Pro as being one of the only HiFiMan entry-level headphones to do so. It’s super easy to use – all I had to do was plug it into the left earcup and it automatically locked into place. It has a built-in microphone for calls along with a single button that can be used to turn it on/off and play/pause music. I connected it to my phone and my laptop for testing and had no issue with using it barring some small quibbles. I got around five hours of continuous use out of the Bluemini before I needed to charge it via USB-C. HiFiMan claims that the Bluemini can get up to 7 hours, but if you listen to music at louder volumes you should expect around 5 hours before needing to plug in. Regardless, five hours is not too shabby for a pair of HiFi cans!
Using the Bluemini R2R resulted in a slight decrease in overall audio quality. The difference wasn’t too jarring, but I noticed that mids and bass sounded slightly more recessed than usual. I’m not too surprised here given the price point and the nature of Bluetooth audio, but I was still astounded by the DEVA Pro pushing out consistently high-quality audio with a spacious soundstage. The microphone was not the best in my testing, at least compared to my laptop’s built-in microphone. I wouldn’t turn to the DEVA Pro with Bluemini as an all-in-one audio solution, but it’s damn near close to one for general purpose Bluetooth audio.
I love the idea of the Bluemini R2R, especially considering the potential for HiFi audio listening over Bluetooth connections. I’d love it for HiFiMan to consider updating the Bluemini to be a universal attachment for all of their newer headphones. I understand that it wouldn’t be most valuable to support older headphones (like the now-eight-year-old Sundara open-backeds), but expanding the value proposition of the newer headphones in a currently crowded HiFi audio market is never a bad thing.
With that said, let’s wrap this review…
Looking from the outside in, the HiFiMan DEVA Pro are in a weird spot. They don’t excel in the Bluetooth space by any stretch of the imagination. For those in the market for a pair of Bluetooth headphones, there are similarly priced headphones that work right out of the box and have more features like voice/noise isolation, all-day battery life, and smart features. Heck, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 (for around $100 more) and Sony’s WH-CH720N are notable contenders and probably easier to recommend for the average use. But you have to remember that the DEVA Pro headphones are HiFi headphones first and Bluetooth headphones second (er…maybe third). I’d recommend these to someone who wants a pair of HiFi cans that can be potentially used for wireless audio with minimal audio compromises.
