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What is it?
Adam Audio’s new H200 headphone is the first product from its in-house headphone R&D team and marks a move away from its previous SP-5 model, which was designed in collaboration with and manufactured by Ultrasone.
As you would expect from Adam, the engineering design is paramount and combines a 40mm PEEK diaphragm driver with Neodymium magnet and a patent pending internal airflow system.
PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) is considered to be ideal for headphones as it’s both light and stiff, meanwhile Neodymium’s electrical efficiency and light weight make it the best magnet choice. The result is a 40mm driver with an impressive 2Hz to 23.5kHz frequency response (1kHz and -3dB) and 112.5dB maximum sound pressure level.
The H200 is a closed back design aimed at recording, mixing and mastering, and features memory foam earpads with artificial leather covering. We found these provided not only excellent passive isolation but great comfort for long listening periods.
The earpads and headband are replaceable, and are also available in a velour cloth option. The included 3m cable is detachable and can be connected to either earcup. Further design details include black anodised aluminium earcup yokes, braided wiring, in-ear cup left/right labelling, and Adam Audio branding on the earcups and headband.
Finally, once registered, H200 users can access their headphone optimisation plugin. Designed in collaboration with Sonnox, the Adam Audio Headphone Utility plugin (VST3, AU) sits on your DAW output bus and provides some modification options.
Performance
The H200 is a beautifully made headphone that combines sturdy components (PC-ABS earcups and aluminium yoke), understated branding and subtle design details (braided wiring). Nevertheless, with no fold-in rotating ear cups or hard carry case, they’re clearly aimed at studio users rather than DJs. As mentioned the fully over-ear design delivers excellent isolation, but also contributes to a very focused sound that’s slightly forward in the mid to upper mid frequencies. There’s no obvious lift in the high frequencies, meanwhile the low end, although full, is not overbearing. In essence, the H200 seems tuned for a broad range of uses, with the closed back design providing the required isolation for recording.
The Headphone Utility plugin builds on these basics with some excellent features. It has four main options – Earpad Material, Gain Compensation, Voicing and Externalization. Earpad Material optimises the frequency response for the two available options, meanwhile Gain Compensation has two settings (Equal Loudness and Safe) that work in tandem with the other settings to prevent clipping and match input / output loudness. Voicing has two settings – Pure and UNR (Uniform Natural Response). Pure is the more neutral option, while UNR has the more enhanced sound reminiscent of some Adam monitors. It’s worth saying neither is completely flat and both reduce the more prominent mids and upper mids we’ve already mentioned. Finally, the most interesting option is Externalization, which applies a left/right crossfeed algorithm to help reduce the extreme left/right stereo separation that headphones deliver.
This is all excellent stuff and we love the plugin, but would like to be able to individually bypass each component to allow for more focused use. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that to use the plugin outside your DAW, on your system audio output for example, you’ll need a third-party audio routing application.
Verdict
Adam has done a very good job with the H200. It doesn’t sound overly hyped, and is both revealing and engaging to listen to. If you were looking solely for mixing headphones you might not opt for a closed back design, but we feel the H200 does an admirable job whether you’re recording, mixing or mastering. What’s more at £140 these are competitively priced and should appeal to a wide range of users.
Hands-on demos
Adam Audio
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Specifications
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Price |
£140 |
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Type |
Closed back over-ear dynamic |
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Key features |
Driver: 40mm with Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) cone Transducer magnet: Neodymium Impedance: 32 Ohm Frequency Response: 2Hz to 23.5kHz (1kHz and -3dB) Maximum SPL: 112.5dB (1kHz and 0.04% THD) Sensitivity: 97.5dB at 1mW Passive attenuation: 40dB (averaged >4kHz) Earpads: memory foam with artificial leather Connection: 2.5mm TRS jack, left or right side Included accessories: soft carry bag, 3m detachable cable Optional accessories: velour cloth earpads & headband, 3m spiral cable, 1.2m cable |
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Weight |
250g |
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Contact |
