Jon Musgrave tries these new headphones from Thomann’s low cost brand. Can they provide a meaty sound?
KEY FEATURES DESIGN: Closed-back, over-ear TRANSDUCER: Dynamic TRANSDUCER DIAMETER: 45mm FREQ RANGE: 10Hz to 26kHz IMPEDANCE: 32 Ohm MEAN SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL: 97dB MAX. POWER HANDLING: 1500mW ACCESSORIES: 3m cable (minijack to minijack), adapter 3.5mm to 6.3mm WEIGHT: 290g (incl. cable)
Thomann’s t.bone brand is aimed squarely at the budget end of the market. But the vast majority of its products I’ve tested have been pretty decent, and recently I was particularly impressed by the performance of its RM 700 ribbon mic. Up for review now I have the new HD 515 headphones. At £25 a pair, you probably wouldn’t have big expectations of these headphones, but it’s fair to say other brands such as Superlux have certainly shown that it is possible for budget headphones to challenge more expensive designs, so I am optimistic these can do the same.
As you might expect for a budget offering, the design is simple and the accessories limited to one 3m lead. That said, the use of a regular minijack connection on the underside of the left earcup means you can use any minijack-type lead if you want to. There’s no locking system for the plug, but the socket produced a reassuring click when I plugged them up.
Construction uses a combination of plastic and metal, including metal earcup enclosures, and this no doubt imparts a quality feel. That said, the earcup adjusters which slide into the headband are not particularly smooth. Both the headband and earpads use regular foam, which is quite soft but feels good in use. I found the overall fit tight but comfy. The HD 515 has quite a classic look that’s somewhat reminiscent of the popular Sony MDR-7506, and although they may not offer the same finesse or foldability of the Sony headphones, the finish and new t.bone logo look stylish.
Thomann describes the HD 515 as a monitoring headphone and I found the closed back over-ear design delivered reasonable passive noise cancellation. In a recording environment this means there’s not going to be bleed into any close mics, and from a performer perspective much of the room soun
