Alright so I wanted to finally review these. I feel itās been long enough and I have had enough time to sit with the pad swap as well. Please keep in mind as any reviews go this is a subjective point of view based on my hearing.
Build Quality, Comfort, Cables: Build quality sucks lol okay before your like screw this review hear me out here. I practically received a really piss poor quality control product in this case. The cable is showing some fray already where the twin cables get crimped into one right after the silver connector is starting to fray, the leather padding on the headband actually partially came off and is peeling from either lack of adhesive or whatever I donāt know, Weight doesnāt feel distributed equally and feels a bit off for me, metallic portions of headband and metal grills gather dirt, grime, dust, and fingerprints like crazy and due to the inlets of the top of the band it gathers it worse in that area, headband adjustments are really loose and no indicators. padding on the headband is very thin and doesnāt seem to really protect you from much at all I can feel the metallic components on my head which causes discomfort. No excuse for this piss poor quality I received and this product is brand new(I messaged the guy I received it from the reason it was dirty was because he removed it from itās box for some pictures and shipping caused damage to the case). Alright, so thatās out of the way letās go to cables these are duel sided 2-pole 3.5mm connectors going to a 3.5mm jack and I didnāt have an adapter which is odd good thing I had some spares. Comfort wise due to the imbalanced weight and bad padding on the headband this is a hit or miss for meā¦ It came with suedes that appear to be thicker than what I have seen in like zeosās reviews and others they are around a full inch thick and really soft, as someone who really doesnāt like suedes after a while I found these actually really nice due to just how soft these are they are practically a really smooth set of pillows.
Portability: This is so niche it disturbs me. Itās an open back designed for portability which is strange to me. I guess if your okay with annoying people around you or do stuff like jogging on a trail alone these would be okay? Even after stretching itās a little uncomfortable around the neck due to how huge those cups are. I would have preferred if they had an add on to replace the metal grill making it a closed back as well since the grill can be easily removed from the headphone this would make it even better in my opinion and not such a weird addition despite the cups being so large.
Amps: not picky in the slightest. Sounds good on my liquid platinum probably the most in my opinion since it adds some warmth to the lows and mids. Probably best to use this with an amp that doesnāt increase the brightness further though. Paired with Magni 3+, Liquid Platinum, and Asgard 3 for my auditioning
Sound staging Imaging and Seperation: Sound staging is more along the lines of my HD 598 maybe slightly wider with good imaging and good seperation. No real complaints here itās pretty good.
Sound Signature: Neutral - bright. Bass is light with some punchy tones to it and a decent extension into sub bass nice detail and a good amount of quantity on them, mids donāt feel very natural to me and seems to be lacking in my opinion in relative tonality and delicacy though they do have some detail to them and are present the S sound sibilance that is present from time to time really gets in the way, highs seem to be well extended with enough detail and sparkle making them enjoyable however I had some sibilant tones in some cases depending on genre, more so with electronic keyboards and edm alongside female vocals in that same kind of genre the the present S sounding sibilance was the issue. Not particularly bad but it was noticeable and treble is definitely raised more than the lows and mids. If I were to compare this to another headphone it sounds like my HD 598 or HD 599s and somewhat similar in comparison to the Sundaras and dt 880 but with less detail in the mids.
Price point: I donāt feel this headphone in particular really strikes high above itās pricepoint. I do think at $200 itās very respectable. However, in terms of comparing it to what I already own this is kind of eh for me. I do like it but not more than whatās already in my collection. For a budget entry though I do think itās nice.
VS 990s: I wanted to do this comparison for a while. DT 990s has better bass and treble in both detail and quantity with ethereal highs though doesnāt sound as full so to speak and has more recessed mids meanwhile the helios is more balanced out in itās frequency without a heavy bass to speak of in comparison. Personally speaking, I like my 990s -post pad swap more than the helios here
vs 1990s: unfair comparison. I feel they can completely shut this headphone down in everything except mobility and versatility in so many pad swaps and amp/dacs.
Vs Sundara: In terms of bass I think the helios sounds better to my ear more quantity and just more detail to it despite being so bass lite provided we are ignoring the fact that sundaras still maintain some slam and speed due to being a planar. Mids I think are both a bit lacking in this area but if I had to give a win here I probably really couldnāt but sundara sounds smoother and laid back so I will give that one to the sundaras, highs I found helios to sound better though not as smoothed out and relaxed itās very apparent and intimate with good extension and sparkle. These two can probably go head to head pretty well. I found the comfort to be much better for me, if you remember I had quite some issues with the sundaras overall fit, as someone with bigger ears so the larger cups was a welcome addition but in terms of build quality helios rather pisses me off but so does hifiman which I refuse to buy from anymore since I have been screwed out of a headphone 4 times now.
Vs HD 599: My best friend has had this headphone for a very long timeā¦ This sounds so identical to that headphone itās dumb. Not sure if perhaps this is the same driver. Though could just be my hearing. Letās call this one even and move on. Stylish design and more versatility based on amps and pads goes to the helios as well.
Equalizers: This is actually very pleasant. It responds well to equalization I had no issues adjusting the treble, some vocals, and bass at all. Bass when increased is quite enjoyable as it gains quite a satisfying thump to it that doesnāt sound bloated or muddy instead it sounds very welcomed in the mix you can increase the treble too by a bit and make it sound brighter without risk of overwhelming sibilance outside of the S sound though I will get into this issue in just a minute.
Pad Swaps: This sound signature definitely changes based on the pads. Sheepskins add more bass, mids lack of naturalism seems more apparent, brightness seems to become more noticeable but not very sharp, sound staging gets pulled in a little more and becomes more intimate and aggressive. Velours(dekoni elite velour), bass becomes even lighter sounding, mids gain some air alongside the highs, treble becomes increased and more apparent. Suedes(stock pads) Bass still has a decent enough thump, mids arenāt natural but still sound good, treble is raised with sparkle detail and good extensions. With suedes and a warmer amp setup like my asgard 3 the S sibilance did go away by a great margin and was more manageable
Gaming: due to the sound signature of this headphone I find this to be really good in the gaming genre. Itās stylish, bass lite without a ton of rumble, and highs are brought to light really well with mids still being present. Soundstage could be larger but still I would say this isnāt a bad all rounder for gaming more towards competitive. Though I do feel in terms of comp gaming it will lose out to the dt 880s though If you wanted a headphone with a more āfullā sound with more body while still maintaining a similar signature and donāt mind losing the detail of the midsā¦ this is a great alternative to that
Final Notes: So this headphone isnāt bad but definitely not a giant killer. Definitely sounds good but has build quality problems and some definite sibilance based on what you use it with alongside itās pads. I really donāt recommend Perforated pads or Velours on this one it makes the brightness far to peaky and velours seem to take away from the overall full sound it has with the warmth in the lows and mids. Suedes and sheepskins sound really good here especially those stock suedes which do well to curb that brightness just enough to bring out the sparkle on those highs. I cannot by any means recommend this to those who are treble sensitive as you will quickly get smacked in the head with that brightness, about the dt 880s level of brightness but with a higher peak. There pitch of a ābalanced and natural sounding headphoneā I am sorry but noā¦ anything with that much brightness I wouldnāt call very balanced and natural lmao thatād be like me saying oh yeah the dt 990 sounds completely natural that sharp treble is how itās meant to sound with the vocals sounding like they are pushed behind the drums lmfao thats a bit extreme but still. I do think this is a very solid headphone and a good buy at $200 but itās not without itās faults. Sadly, I will not be keeping this one but if I had to choose my first headphone this would be a great choice. I do really like the headphone but when I really sat and contemplated it I found what I already own to be in the general criteria and cannot warrant it staying in my collection
Recommendations to help alter and really bring this headphone to greatness? Change the headband either entirely or add more padding and cover the top, make sure you have some fine cleaning cloths to clean this headphone, have an optional grill attachment that allows for you to have more portability access instead of straight up open back, make sure you have an amp and dac that can help that brightness if you donāt I can see this being a huge deal breaker for quite a few. Asgard 3 + the suedes worked fine so itās not particularly too picky
big sound 
I would be 500$ the copper aināt even decent.
