The Speaker Company HDPro7 Headphones

[DaveHo]

I recently ordered The Speaker Company HDPro7 headphones during a 50% off sale. I was looking to replace the Grado SR80 I currently use at work. Overall, I like the sound of the SR80 very much. The Grados could maybe use a bit more bass, but overall they are fairly neutral & natural sounding. My primary objective in purchasing the HDPro7 was to find a pair of cans of similar sound quality that are more comfortable & a closed design so I don’t disturb my neighbors. At regular price, the HDPro7 & SR80 are comparably priced. The Speaker Company says the HDPro7 compare to headphones costing $299.99. I figured at the 50% off price of approximately $40, I couldn’t go wrong.

The HDPro7 arrived doubled boxed in about a week to my SE Pa location. Despite good packaging, the left ear cup out of the box had some scuffs. It looked to me that it probably left the factory that way. Not a big deal, but a little sloppy none the less. The interchangeable cords are a nice feature. The coiled cord is great for my setup at work. The locking mechanism at the headphone end of the cord works great, although I can see the little plastic locking nubs getting worn off if you remove & insert the cord frequently. I found them to be fairly comfortable & with the closed design nothing can be heard by others even when cranking them pretty good. Now on to the sound.

I’m not one to sugar coat it, so I’ll get right to the chase.

BASS! If I had to come up with a one word description for the HDPro7, that would be it. There’s a lot of it, too much. It overpowers everything. It’s like someone decided to take the bass control on your receiver & turn it up to 11. Everything I’ve tried on these sounds bloated, tubby, unnatural, & veiled. I’ve only put a couple of hours on them, but they’re definitely not to my liking. Back they go.

-Dave

 

[rekced]

I recently ordered The Speaker Company HDPro7 headphones during a 50% off sale. I was looking to replace the Grado SR80 I currently use at work. Overall, I like the sound of the SR80 very much. The Grados could maybe use a bit more bass, but overall they are fairly neutral & natural sounding. My primary objective in purchasing the HDPro7 was to find a pair of cans of similar sound quality that are more comfortable & a closed design so I don’t disturb my neighbors. At regular price, the HDPro7 & SR80 are comparably priced. The Speaker Company says the HDPro7 compare to headphones costing $299.99. I figured at the 50% off price of approximately $40, I couldn’t go wrong.

The HDPro7 arrived doubled boxed in about a week to my SE Pa location. Despite good packaging, the left ear cup out of the box had some scuffs. It looked to me that it probably left the factory that way. Not a big deal, but a little sloppy none the less. The interchangeable cords are a nice feature. The coiled cord is great for my setup at work. The locking mechanism at the headphone end of the cord works great, although I can see the little plastic locking nubs getting worn off if you remove & insert the cord frequently. I found them to be fairly comfortable & with the closed design nothing can be heard by others even when cranking them pretty good. Now on to the sound.

I’m not one to sugar coat it, so I’ll get right to the chase.

BASS! If I had to come up with a one word description for the HDPro7, that would be it. There’s a lot of it, too much. It overpowers everything. It’s like someone decided to take the bass control on your receiver & turn it up to 11. Everything I’ve tried on these sounds bloated, tubby, unnatural, & veiled. I’ve only put a couple of hours on them, but they’re definitely not to my liking. Back they go.

-Dave

Yeah, enough said. I was thinking about ordering the same ones but was worried that other people's observations about the bass would leave me where you are now. Thanks.

Btw - Maybe the scuff came from the previous owner dropping them off their head after being overwhelmed by the bass. Are you using them with an iPod? How do they sound with the EQ adjusted, or did you try that? I know that's not really a relevant question on an audiophile forum, but I'm curious anyway...

 

[DaveHo]

Yeah, enough said. I was thinking about ordering the same ones but was worried that other people's observations about the bass would leave me where you are now. Thanks.

Btw - Maybe the scuff came from the previous owner dropping them off their head after being overwhelmed by the bass. Are you using them with an iPod? How do they sound with the EQ adjusted, or did you try that? I know that's not really a relevant question on an audiophile forum, but I'm curious anyway...

I tried them with two sources, the headphone output on my Outlaw 990 & the portable CD player I use at work. The portable does not offer any kind of adjustment. The Outlaw does have traditional tone controls, but I didn't bother fiddling with them since my intention was to use the HDPro7 solely at work.

-Dave

 

[Fredhizzle]

I have those headphones and I disagree that they sound overpowering with bass. You probably have the bass all the way up on the equalizer. To me these are good sounding headphones I occasionally switch my eq on my 4gb sansa fuze player to jazz and custom( which has bass gain to more than 60%) When I have my eq at the jazz setting these sound nice and crisp for an example when im listing to Depeche Mode the song "shine" sounds rich not over powering but smooth. Anyways eveyone is entitled to their opinion I just thought I'd share my insight in these.

 

[ChunkyDark]

These headphones certainly do produce a fair amount of bass. Depending on preferences that could be good or bad
Listening at work I really appreciate the noise dampening/isolation and will wear them even without music to drown out the back ground noise.
At the 50% off deal they're running I don't know what could compete with them. I listened to them and the Grado 60's and sent the 60's back.

 

[Fredhizzle]

These headphones certainly do produce a fair amount of bass. Depending on preferences that could be good or bad
Listening at work I really appreciate the noise dampening/isolation and will wear them even without music to drown out the back ground noise.
At the 50% off deal they're running I don't know what could compete with them. I listened to them and the Grado 60's and sent the 60's back.

I agree for the price you can't beat these headphones. These are my first headphones so I can't compare with others but I think the cups are too big for that reason I dont wear them in public. On the positive side I like the long cord its like 10ft long! and its detachable.

 

[DaveHo]

I just thought I'd update this review with my experience returning the headphones. In short, it's been 3 weeks since they left my hands & I still do not have a refund!

First, the returns page on their website was giving me an error. I had to contact them via e-mail instead. Not a big deal, but still...

Secondly, they wouldn't e-mail me a pre-paid return label. I had to make arrangements to be home for a FedEx pickup. This would be great if I was returning a large pair of speakers, but for a pair of cans it was a PITA.

It's been over two weeks since they received them back in their possession. I've tried contacting them though the person I dealt with getting the FedEx pickup scheduled & have received no response. At this point I have filed a dispute with my credit card company.

Yeah, I know it's only a $40 pair of headphones, but...

Sigh

 

[ChunkyDark]

That's frustrating and sorry your having to deal with that. Have you tried posting something on their web page? You might even try pm'ing Nick51 here as I believe he's the PR person for them.