HiFiMAN Deva4 Wireless Planar Headphone – How does it compare to the Sundara?

Review unit provided by HiFiMAN for evaluation

Introduction

During my conversation with Dr. Fang Bian, CEO of HiFiMAN, at this year’s CanJam NYC, he assured me that wireless technology will dominate in the near future. For someone like me, who has deep roots in the world of audiophile enthusiasts, hearing this comment made me realize that “eventually, but we’re not there yet” became a reality.

I agree with him, however no wireless headphones have ever managed to provide the kind of audiophile quality that I’m looking for. An entry-level wireless open-back planar magnetic headphone is the newest offering from HiFiMAN. My guess is that the Deva is an attempt to prove, via its wireless design and audiophile-grade performance, that this is really possible. So, I’ve been wondering if that’s even conceivable as I’ve reviewed the HiFiMAN Deva.

In order to find out, I’ve been contrasting the Deva with the quite pricey but well-respected HiFiMAN Sundara. For many considering the Deva, the Sundara is priced similarly enough to make them wonder how crucial wireless functionality is; furthermore, they may wonder what they would give up if they went with the Sundara instead.

Specs

Deva

• Driver Type: Planar Magnetic
• Design: Open-back
• Impedance: 18 ohms
• Sensitivity: 93.5 dB
• Weight: 360g
• Connector (cup side): one 3.5mm plug

Bluemini

• Amp Output ‘in fact’: 230mw
• Amp Output ‘in theory’: 1125mw
• SNR: 95dB
• THD: <0.1% @1W/1Khz
• Bluetooth Codecs: LDAC, APTX-HD, APTX, AAC, SBC
• Resolution up to 24bit / 192kHz (USB), 24bit / 96kHz (Bluetooth)
• Microphone

Sources

• iFi Pro iDSD -> Cayin IHA-6
• iFi Pro iDSD -> SPL Phonitor X
• Mytek Liberty DAC
• Auris Audio Euterpe
• Earmen TR-Amp
• iFi iDSD Micro Black Label

Build, Design & Comfort

During my conversation with Dr. Fang Bian, CEO of HiFiMAN, at this year’s CanJam NYC, he assured me that wireless technology will dominate in the near future. For someone like me, who has deep roots in the world of audiophile enthusiasts, hearing this comment made me realize that “eventually, but we’re not there yet” became a reality.

I agree with him, however no wireless headphones have ever managed to provide the kind of audiophile quality that I’m looking for. An entry-level wireless open-back planar magnetic headphone is the newest offering from HiFiMAN. My guess is that the Deva is an attempt to prove, via its wireless design and audiophile-grade performance, that this is really possible. So, I’ve been wondering if that’s even conceivable as I’ve reviewed the HiFiMAN Deva.

In order to find out, I’ve been contrasting the Deva with the quite pricey but well-respected HiFiMAN Sundara. For many considering the Deva, the Sundara is priced similarly enough to make them wonder how crucial wireless functionality is; furthermore, they may wonder what they would give up if they went with the Sundara instead.

Performance

Supposedly, the planar magnetic transducer used by the HiFiMAN Deva is not derived from any of HiFiMAN’s other creations. While it’s to be expected that different models will share certain commonalities, I gather that the Deva’s driver is novel.

Planar magnetic headphones are described in detail here; however, the key difference is that, in planars, a conductive trace physically attached to the diaphragm generates the pistonic air-moving motion instead of a moving voicecoil behind it.

Considering how little it is, the Deva’s usage of a double-sided magnetic array is astounding. It’s interesting to note that the Deva’s wired mode actually demands a surprising amount of power (and current), so I wouldn’t recommend running it from a phone or a low-powered amplifier.

This is in contrast to my assumption that a new driver design would be aimed at making it highly efficient and easy to drive for use with the small Bluetooth receiver.

Thus, the Bluetooth receiver DAC/amp combo (which does in fact have LDAC functionality) also packs a startling punch. The device is appropriately named “Bluemini” by HiFiMAN, who also add the words “small but mighty” to describe its size.

Rumor has it that the Bluetooth receiver was a labor of love for the designers and functions perfectly. Therefore, there is no discernible drop in performance when utilizing LDAC, dispelling any concerns that the Bluetooth functioning may suffer.

Listen to Dr. Fang Bian, CEO of HiFiMAN, discuss the Deva and wireless headphones in general in this CanJam NYC video interview:

The Bluetooth receiver’s ability to attach to surfaces other than the cup is probably its most distinctive feature. Because conventional designs typically need to make certain adjustments inside the cup to integrate wireless capabilities into the headphones, this approach offers significant acoustic advantages.

While doing so typically necessitates making some compromises, the end result is a design adjustment to the headphones that may not be as acoustically ideal. In principle, this means that HiFiMAN’s Bluemini receiver might enable the wireless conversion of numerous other headphone designs in upcoming products. Since this technology could one day be used by even flagship headphones, I’m most interested in seeing what they do with it in the future.

Detail Retrieval

When it comes to detail retrieval, or what I prefer to term “image clarity,” the Deva falls short of my expectations for the price range. Considering the Deva’s wireless capabilities, we need to reevaluate its pricing. If I were to picture it without the Bluetooth receiver, the price would be much more reasonable.

A little grit in the treble and maybe a less defined middle owing to some unevenness around 800-1khz are the primary issues I have with the Deva’s detail recovery. Although the treble etch is barely audible, it becomes clear that the Sundara has far finer treble detail (and not merely in terms of tone). On rare occasions, this could make consonant sounds sound slightly harsher than they actually are.

The sibilant sounds aren’t as prominent as they are on the Sundara, and it doesn’t have a significant elevation in that area like certain Beyerdynamic headphones have. However, I still perceive a lack of clarity in the ‘S,’ ‘F,’ and ‘T’ sounds.

Aside from that, the Deva resembles their previous HE-400i (another model from that era) and maybe even the HE-4XX from the Drop collaboration in terms of detail retrieval. You can get both of them for less money (during sales for the HE-400i), but I’d be surprised if the Deva didn’t include the wifi features you listed.

I suppose the reason why the difference in detail isn’t as apparent in the bass and midrange is simply because treble frequencies are usually better at highlighting these problems. It bears repeating that the Sundara isn’t a wireless capable headset, and that this worry is specific to it.

The Deva starts to seem better when compared to other wireless headphones. In this respect, there is a single factor to consider: the similarly wireless and closed-back Audeze Mobius headphones offer substantially superior detail retrieval and picture clarity, but they cost $100 more.

Speed

When compared to the Sundara, the Deva isn’t quite as fast. It lacks the instantly identifiable “plucked” character that I normally associate with planars, yet it sounds controlled and taut nonetheless.

Fast transients and busy passages shouldn’t cause anyone any problems, either. Once again, I feel the HE-400i is the most appropriate comparison here, and in terms of general technical details, I get the impression that the Deva is rather close to that headphone.

Dynamics

What we might call “macrodynamics” is that the Deva doesn’t seem to have much in the way of punch and smash. However, there is a noticeable bass enhancement, particularly in the mid and upper bass ranges. This implies that it may sound more powerful than it actually is, but it won’t compare to other dynamic driver headphones in this price range.

Although I was expecting a more uniform fit around the ear with HiFiMAN’s more rounded planars, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the Sundara had a little more slam and punch than their more expensive “egg-shaped” planars, such as the Ananda and Arya.

It appears that pad seal is one of the requirements for this’slam’ quality, and the Deva’s rounded form does provide a decent seal, according to several engineers I spoke with on the matter. Perhaps other parameters are to blame for the less heavy design, rather than its lack of punch.

Regardless, you might want to search elsewhere, or perhaps climb the Sundara, if you’re after a pair of headphones with a powerful sound and excellent excursive capabilities.

I don’t think the Deva stands out too much in terms of what some audiophiles call “microdynamics” or finely-grained volume intervals (I usually link this more with detail because I think it enhances the experience), but it does a decent job considering the price.

Soundstage

I think the Deva excels in creating an expansive soundstage and overall impression of roominess. When compared to the famous Sennheiser HD6XX, it clearly excels in this area. The most noticeable flaw with such headphones is the so-called “three blob” problem, in which the sound is extremely focused on you with noticeable gaps to the left and right.

In contrast, the Deva moves you away from the stage just a little bit—not quite as much, though, as the Sundara does. As one would expect from an open-back planar, the Deva has a wide, airy sound.

Now, I’m inclined to believe that open-back headphones’ ‘open’ nature is more typically attributed to the fact that sound can leak in and you can still hear your surroundings, but I still believe this offers extra benefits for the overall handling of sound waves.

Resonant waves that bounce off the rear of the cup and into the ear don’t require extra dampening. Maybe the extra advantages of having an open-back design are synonymous with the “open character” of these headphones. That is an advantage over closed-back wireless headphones that the Deva does have, though.

The Deva may not have the most expansive soundstage for the money, but it’s still worth complimenting for striking a good balance. The Deva can connect wirelessly, which is a huge improvement over closed-back wireless headphones.

Imaging

In terms of imaging, the Deva’s stage placement seems to be more frontal than surround, yet every once in a while I can pick up on specific aspects that strongly indicate midrange frequencies as being slightly separated.

Even though the HD6XX doesn’t have the “three blob” problem (the stage is adequately filled in), it can nevertheless appear confusing from time to time. For sounds and instruments with a heavy emphasis on the midrange, this could be the consequence of an unbalanced midrange or an extra resonance.

Additionally, the effect has the potential to further isolate the vocals from the background noise.

That being said, the Deva retains the excellent instrument separation that I often associate with planar magnetic headphones. This makes it easier to separate the distinct voice lines in songs that incorporate vocal harmonies.

Timbre

Because it may be viewed from two different angles, timbre is a somewhat amusing category. One way to think about timbre is as a component of the frequency response; using equalization on this could make it sound better. A good illustration of this would be the use of elevations and recessions to normalize an otherwise crowded sound. One other perspective is to think of timbre as an analogy, like how we imagine several instruments producing tones of the same harmonic.

Although frequency response might potentially catch this, examining it at such a fine granularity would make any alterations impractical. When it comes to the Deva’s timbral character, I find it a little dry, like the sound of the HE-400i or other older HiFiMAN headphones.

Unlike the dreaded balanced armature timbre, which could ruin the sound of some multi-BA IEMs, this dry character doesn’t ruin the music, thus I don’t see this as a major problem. Rather, I get the impression that this adds a little more analytical tang to the entire sound.

Frequency Response & Tonality

Just so everyone knows, the GRAS 43AG is still in the setup stages and hasn’t been configured just yet, but measurements from it will be available for future evaluations. Once the Deva is operational, I may include them here.

Generally speaking, the Deva has a pleasant tone, and its frequency response isn’t terrible either. However, it doesn’t imply it’s perfect or even close to the quality of the Sundara. I should mention that the original price of the Sundara was close to $500 when it was released. Its price has dropped to $350, making it a formidable competitor to the Deva. The Sundara is one of the best (if not the best) headphones you can buy for about $350, so it’s worth considering even if this seems unfair to some.

The bass of the Deva is audible, although it drops out sharply below 60 Hz. This results in a slight loss of sub-bass definition. I attribute my erroneous impression of the Deva’s bass emphasis to my limited awareness of its somewhat amplified mid- and upper-bass intensity upon first hearing it. The bass roll-off isn’t a major problem in and of itself as the majority of the bass tone’s melodic information is located above it.

Upon entering the midrange, the sound appears to be primarily linear until approximately 800 Hz, at which point the audible unevenness becomes apparent. This is only a little point, and I don’t mean to make it sound major, but I do believe it contributes to the issues I raised previously.

The mids on the Deva don’t seem as natural and resolving when compared to the Sundara. Maybe this is a reasonable trade-off considering the Sundara’s higher price tag and lack of cellular capabilities.

The high mids and treble are the areas of the Deva’s tonality that diverge the most from the usual HiFiMAN sound signature. Although the Deva has this, it sounds much more muted above 3khz, in contrast to the typical neutral HiFiMAN goal, which has a small dip around 2khz. So, it’s a little more tolerant of subpar recordings and doesn’t disclose the resonant harmonics to the same extent for some instrument tones.

In general, the Deva’s treble is lower than the Sundara’s, giving it a somewhat warmer tone; nonetheless, there is a small peak in the consonant range, about between 7 and 9 kHz. Also, as I indicated before, this doesn’t make sibilant vocal sounds like ‘S,’ ‘F,’ and ‘T’ seem extra harsh, but it does make them sound a little bit harsher overall. This isn’t a big deal on most recordings, but it becomes apparent on a few of my test tracks, including one by Patricia Barber.

Another important distinction between the Deva and the Sundara is that the former has somewhat more rolloff in the higher treble. To sum up, it lacks the Sundara’s immediately resolving and pillowy tone, and anything above 11–12 kHz is muted.

In comparison to the Sundara or the Sennheiser HD6XX, the issues I’ve mentioned here might be significant, but overall, the headphones sound great. The Deva is expected to have one of the better tones when compared to other consumer-grade wireless headphones.

Comparisons

HiFiMAN Sundara ($350)

Because of its affordable pricing and outstanding technical performance, the Sundara is my go-to entry-level mid-range headphone. With outstanding detail recovery and picture clarity, it’s as typically “neutral” as it gets.

The Deva falls just short of that standard, in my opinion, sounding just less revealing in terms of tonality and technical skill. On the other hand, I believe that the Sundara’s proximity is the true concern with the Deva. There is, in my view, some room for improvement between the two. The significance and worth of the wireless functionality may be called into question in light of this. Some listeners might be fine with that compromise, I’m sure.

Audeze LCD-1 ($399)

In contrast to Audeze’s customary over-ear headphones, the LCD-1 are small, lightweight, and open-back (yep) planar magnetic. I prefer the LCD-1 over the Deva due to its somewhat more pleasant tonality and superior detail retrieval, especially in the treble. Audeze also offers their ‘Reveal+’ DSP presets for those who wish to maximize the performance of their headphones. Because the LCD-1’s bass response downshelf is more apparent without Reveal+, I find this comparison to be more challenging.

However, the treble extension is superior, so ultimately, it may boil down to personal taste. Since the LCD-1’s soundstage is comparable to that of the HD6XX, the Deva also offers a roomier presentation. These headphones aren’t very powerful.

Audeze Mobius ($399)

Wireless headphones from Audeze are the Mobius; however, the Mobius differs from the Deva in that it has a closed-back design. Another distinction is that the Bluetooth module on the Deva is attached to the outside of the device, but on the Mobius it is housed inside the cup. In my experience, the Mobius is superior to the Deva in terms of midrange detail recovery, although the latter may come closer when it comes to treble detail.

When configured to the ‘flat’ mode in Audeze’s HQ software, the Mobius produces a neutral response; nevertheless, in contrast to the LCD-1, it possesses a pretty robust bass shelf. When you disable the Mobius’s “3D” simulation effect—which I personally don’t like—the headphones produce a significantly smaller and more personal soundstage, giving the Deva the upper hand.

It seems like the use case is more important here; maybe the mobius is the Deva’s biggest rival. You’re still getting a wireless planar, but it’s a little more pricey. In my opinion, the deciding factor between the two will be your personal preference for the sound.

Conclusion

Among the headphones we’ve tested, this one has proven particularly challenging. Since audiophiles and enthusiasts tend to have different objectives, the HiFiMAN Deva is often classified as “wireless headphones” due to its wireless capabilities. As a wireless headset, the Deva is undeniably one of the best options available, despite a few idiosyncrasies. It generally has a pleasing sound, even by audiophile standards.

Quite a bit of its tone is reminiscent of the wireless HE-400i. But if you’re looking at wired alternatives around the Deva’s price point, I recommend the Sundara or the HD6XX. Even though there have been significant advancements and the Deva’s wireless handling will certainly lead to even more significant advancements in the future, wireless headphones are still not yet at the same level as tethered headphones in practice.

Another thing to think about with the Deva is that they are open-back headphones, which means that they aren’t designed for the usual wireless usage scenario. Although there may be a market for such a product, I believe it lies on the cusp of the audiophile/consumer crossover category, therefore it will be most appreciated by individuals who really utilize its wireless capabilities.

In my view, the most important thing to consider when purchasing the HiFiMAN Deva is the level of importance you place on the wireless capabilities for your home. Although I have not yet completely appreciated its benefits, this could be an appropriate option for individuals who are deeply concerned about it.