Monday 25 February 2013

Hippo ProOne Balance Armature Earphone




Hey guys,

Once again so sorry for all the waiting,  I just couldn’t squeeze out enough time for my review list few months ago. However, thanks to Jaben Malaysia for letting me review the latest earphone from Hippo in first hand, I felt honored and flattered that they trust my instinct and opinion in audio, hopefully I’m able to share my experience and point of view in Hippo ProOne BA earphone.


So… Yes… History class first, in case you guys totally have no idea about Hippo brand. Hippo Audio is a Korea brand affiliate with Jaben, which currently is their only sole agent/distributor globally. They are a company who loves sound but keep the exposure and production in low profile, that’s why you can't see many sellers and ads going around the world.  Popular products such as Hippo VB, Shroom, Pearl and Biscuit Mp3 player are doing a reasonable amount of great job in other continents beside Asia, it leads to even better product R&D, the Hippo ProOne, their first BA driver earphone in the market.





Hippo ProOne looks  similar to Westone UM1 if you pay enough attention, both of them are using the same concept of transparent housing, soft cable for flexibility and easy handling, however the ProOne seem much softer compare with UM1, it might be caused by the long period usage of UM1. The ergonomic design is quite comfortable for me, it has a slightly broader on the part which connected to tube nozzle, mainly because of the BA driver placement, which is the most unique part in Hippo ProOne. You got the most basic idea of driver placement in single BA driver earphone, a full range place in the middle of the earphone shell, however this is not the case for ProOne, the placement of earphone is absurd enough, the sound output driver is directed to the earphone tube. From what I understand, this action has the purpose of placing the driver closer to your ear, and provides a much more aggressive and forward sound signature, I did have a comparison with Westone UM1, the impression will be stated in the sound impression section.  It is the first of the kind and be frank, ProOne sounds really damn good.  






There isn’t any unboxing review section as Jaben only send me the naked unit, no specification stated, only the earphone with Hippo foam on top. This is the final version of the earphone, so whatever you have seen here, it will appear as final product according to Jaben Malaysia.

The ergonomic style is comfortable, having a similar size of Westone UM1, if comparing between ProOne, UM1 and Shure SE215, I will rate ProOne = UM1 > SE215. Yes I have all of them, Shure se215 has the most awkward experience between them, big and clunky cable always get in your way, dynamic driver makes them no choice but to use a big shell for the earphone, it results in of course, not comfortable for some people.

The 3.5mm Jack of ProOne is quite a dandy, instead of using big and chunky material to protect the soldering point, ProOne focus on something more convenient and smaller, and be frank beside the disadvantage of it “might” not be durable, the smaller jack actually can fit well with most of the Smartphones in the market slotted with “big, protective, thick” case. They usually have blocked out the audio output and you know what will be the next step, extra money on the converter.
Cable slider included, nothing fancy to brag about, however I like the cable quality, it is soft and flexible enough to let me play with it for a while. Wearing experience is a total bomb, easy and fast make it less headache for fresh guy which totally has no clue on over the ear style. As mentioned above, ProOne is comfortable enough as to suppose an over the ear style earphone, it can fit in silicon and Comply without problem.

*Hippo ProOne (Top), Westone UM1 (Bottom)

Sound Impression :

I will be comparing against Westone UM1, as both of them have the comparable traits and price range. 
50 Hours of burn-in conducted on the Hippo ProOne, countless hours for the Westone UM1, main music source will be Ipod 5th gen straight out, no amplifier and EQ used in this product review.

 So… as a single BA earphone, what do you expect in the first place? Great detail, fuller mid range, lesser dynamic, Flat bass… Well, these signatures are what you might get in Westone UM1, but not a total truth for Hippo ProOne.
Hippo ProOne, it just… sounds like a dynamic + Balance armature, dynamic, impactful, aggressive and detail, more like a baby Beyerdynamic DT880, it has the same direction of the headphone, of course with more compact, straight forward and aggressive version.

Treble – It has good extension, it can go far to be exact, from mid to treble transition, it is reachable on the top, slightly added with sparkly and crispy effect. However, there is a slight mid high slope in my listening, you don’t get a rich mid high process to high, but kind of a skipping step. Other than that, instrument sounds wonderful, exciting and synergy enough to make the whole music listening enjoyable. You get power in the earphone sound presentation, compare with Westone UM1, ProOne definitely has much more dynamic, open and better expansion to the top range. Mind me, I’m using with Silicon tips, the end result might change when switch over to foam tips, as there will be small cut off at the top end.

Mid range – Vocal sound natural, it has the similar feel of Phonak Audeo  and Beyerdynamic product, light and analytical with a lean on mid to high, forward and aggressive provide engaging effect for fast music track. ProOne is not a warm sounding earphone, it doesn’t offer a thick, dark and smooth mid range, but focus on how to balance all frequency spectrums. Mid range is clean and lesser decay, you get amazing accuracy and detail without emphasizing too much on external airy and ambience effect, roll up to a nice position and depth for certain recording. Comparing with UM1, Westone has a richer mid range with tight control over mid high and low, it rendered to a much flat audio response.
Be it or not, both of them sound great, with the tendency of “forwardize” the mid range by the placement of the driver in ProOne, it has its own unique advantage.

Bass ProOne is still able to preserve decent amount of mid low rumble, both having the same quantity but ProOne has outstanding bass texture. It is more revealing in my experience, the speed and transparency of bass are fast and straight to my ears without much delay. The sub bass decay is lacking in ProOne mainly due to full range single BA driver, however it is not in a bad way actually, but to provide a better control over excessive bass  roll. Once again, there isn’t much emphasize in Bass region, tight and accurate without boom boom pow style, so don’t expect ProOne is a bassy earphone.

Summary of Hippo ProOne Single Balance Armature Driver:
- A full dynamic sound in single BA earphone
- Amazing detail and transparency
- Sound signature similar to Beyerdynamic DT880 and phonak audeo series
- Aggressive and forward introduce a fun sound
- Neither harsh nor sharp to your ears
- Balance in all frequencies
- Average mid high presentation

Final verdict :

Is it worth the money? I couldn’t conclude it yet, as I still don’t have a confirmation on the selling price, Jaben Malaysia told me it might be retail at a cheaper price then Westone UM1, that of course, is interesting.
Hippo ProOne is indeed a great earphone, beyond decent in my expectation, it is the flagship  of Hippo family, and their first step venture into more expensive price point earphone product, encouraging and intrigue. I have no complaints over  the sound signature, they are good for sure and  will be proofed as a good boy, I’m positive that regret is a word you won’t be needed in this product. Thanks for your time and sorry for my bad english

P/S : The sleeve is from Phonak Audeo

32 comments:

  1. Is it better then UM1 by far? according to your review, Hippo ProOne seem to have advantages.

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    Replies
    1. I wouldnt conclude it is better then UM1, overall it is about personal preference. ProOne has certain advantages which are lacking in UM1, eg the treble and low extension, however UM1 has the tendency of creating great and rich presentation.
      If comparing about how will they affect the audiences, my opinion inject me the idea of ProOne has upper hand, due to it has more dynamic and aggressive, suitable for mainstream and wider genres.

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  2. hi , nice review....impresive..may grab one once it is out. But how does it when compare with Phonak Audeo PFE012? thanks.

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    Replies
    1. A very good comparison, while both are having equal quality of sound presentation.

      -Phonak 012 has stronger bass (if you using the green filter)
      -Phonak 012 has slightly laidback sound
      -ProOne is aggressive and forward sound
      -ProOne has better engaging sound
      -ProOne has crispier sound presentation

      There isn't any accurate pros and cons, but depend on which condition you like the most.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. how do it compared to beyer xp3 as well as shure 215??

    it rumored will be priced around shure 215 range??

    is it a worthy upgrade for both products mentioned?? thx

    DO it have a forward sound presentation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Latest news it might be expensive then SE215, maybe Hippo thinks it should price at a different sound rank.

      Hippo ProOne has aggressive and forward sound, my guess is their unique driver placing.
      ProOne has much more dynamic in my opinion, balance type to be exact. If comparing bass between SE215 and xp3, yes both of them provide much better bass impact, part of it is because of dynamic driver VS BA driver. However, ProOne able to achieve great treble and decent low frequency without any problem, while SE215 and XP3 might lack on certain part/frequency.

      May i know which earphone you are using now?

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    2. Wow in Indonesia the standard price of Shure SE215 by jaben is 1.4 million rupiah and jaben sell the ProOne for 975 thousand rupiah

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    3. Guess the official price of SE215 is more expensive in Indo

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  5. Planning to get one after your review, however i would like to ask, will Hippo ProOne suitable for all the main stream music nowadays? I listened to them mostly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should be, or it will be.
      Hippo ProOne is not a huge heavy bass beast, i'm not really sure on what you mean by main stream music nowadays, will it be club music, R&B, K-pop? or do you require strong bass presentation for these music?

      Why i mention is that, ProOne has fast, foward, impactful and decent amount of bass, technically it should fit into all main stream music, but will you like it or not, it is a matter of preference.

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  6. Hi, i just bought this today, and it comes with a cute case and 3 sizes of eartips, s, m l.
    the box also says wax loop but i cant find it haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is it? the review sample i got is without any box and accessories attached, i already placed a pre-order unit, it should be coming soon to Malaysia. Possible do you able to send email or call up Jaben Singapore to check with them?

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  7. it's worth to upgrade to Pro One from Hippo VB?

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    Replies
    1. That is a hard decision, i wouldnt consider ProOne is an upgrade of Hippo VB, as they both sharing totally different sound signature.
      I would like to put it as "Brand new" sound signature, Hippo VB has great versatility due to its bass adjustable feature, however ProOne offers more clean, detail and aggressive sounding that Hippo never tried before.

      Delete
  8. How was the Sound compared to MEElectronics A161P & Shure 215?

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    Replies
    1. So sorry i never try A161P before, so couldnt put any comment on that.
      To me, ProOne has more exciting sound, better extension on treble, however SE215 provides better bass impact due to dynamic driver.
      Detail level ProOne has slightly advantage, mainly of its nature bright signature, it is much more revealing.

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  9. wonder what kinda socket it uses? westone socket? if i get one, i would go into thinking of the aftermarket cable availabilities

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    Replies
    1. Not too sure on that thou, as Hippo didn't enclose it, might need to dismantle and have a look.

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  10. hi, im just get my hippo pro one, purchased without audition.

    A little sibilance and vy lack of bass, is it BA driver is sure lack of bass, it even poorer than xp3 bass..

    Very clear out of the box, anything improved after burned in? any amp overcome its bass deficiency?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hippo ProOne is presented in slightly bright signature, technically the treble is better then XP3, and the bass will lose out mainly because of the driver is different, and XP3 is design with bass in mind.
      If the sibilance still persist, try change around the stock tips or the hippo foams, see whether they improved with different seal.

      Delete
  11. can you compared it to Shure 215LTD?

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    Replies
    1. Not really a direct comparison, as Hippo ProOne and SE215 are both totally different signature, pretty much the opposite way.

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  12. Why would you need to burn in a BA driver earphone? I heard that BA don't need burn ins to achieve better sound quality

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    1. Technically you don't it, as BA doesn't vibrate like a dynamic driver. However it requires basic short amount of burn in to get the cable and driver to have proper synchronize, and yes Cable require burn in, however a 50hours burn in will be sufficient.

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  13. Have u tried the re262 ? How will you compare these 2? :)

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    1. O yea i tried RE262, in fact, RE262 has much superior detail and separation compares with ProOne, without a doubt the price different between RE262 and ProOne is huge.

      However, RE262 has very accurate, detail, balance type of sound, for me, Hippo ProOne still has the excitement, forward, aggressive and fun signature that don't exist in RE262.

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  14. Hi master.. Interesting review.. How was the Sound compared to Sony mh1c?

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    Replies
    1. Haha, not really a master, just a guy love to enjoy music.

      So sorry i didn't try on Sony Mh1c before, so i couldnt give any conclusion between the comparison =(.

      Delete
  15. Hi, really nice review spring biscuit, how is the pro one compared to ety hf5 ?

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    Replies
    1. Hf5 has warmer, laid back and lesser bass compares with ProOne, these are the traits i found in Etymotic earphone.

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  16. Hi, thx for the review. I would like to ask your opinion. I'm interested with hippo proOne, beyer XP3 and XP1. I like swing Jazz and slow pop type of music. Which IEM do you think will suitable for me? Thx.

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