Helium Hik D1 Pro - Headphones with APTX HD, excellent battery life, active noise cancellation. All this is less than 400.
Packaging & Accessories.
The headphones come in a gray box and are quite informative in design. On the front of the case, you can find the large ** of the headphones, as well as information about their features: support for APTX, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and long battery life. There is another headset on the back of the box** and specs. The Helium Hik D1 Pro comes with the earphones, USB-A USB-C charging cable, AUX cable, instruction manual and warranty card.
Appearance. The Helium Hik D1 Pro headphones feature an understated, minimalist design reminiscent of the Sony WH-CH720N. The main material is matte plastic. Satisfied with the complete absence of glossy elements. The headband consists of three parts: plastic on both sides and a leatherette lining in the middle with foam padding. Inside the headband is a curved steel plate.
All buttons are located on the right side (the power button has tactile markings). There's also a noise-canceling microphone, a connector for connecting audio cables, and an LED connection indicator. There is a USB-C connector and an LED power indicator on the left side.
Ergonomics. The headband is soft and elastic. The headband can be extended by more than 3 on each side5 cm. The earcups can also be tilted against each other and folded inside the headband to reduce the size of the headphones during transport. The ear cushions are made of faux leather. They are medium in size and filled with soft foam. The ear cushions measure 97x80mm on the outside and 57x40mm on the inside. My ears are almost completely integrated into it. With long use of headphones, your ears and head will not get tired. The Helium HIK D1 Pro seems to be more comfortable for me than other headphones. Since the ear cushions of these headphones are the same, I think the headband is more comfortable if it is not too tight.
Soundproofing. The Helium Hik D1 Pro headphones have good passive sound isolation, active noise cancellation (ANC). Here's how I tested noise cancellation: I connected the headphones to my phone (the headphones didn't have **anything), stood next to the TV, **a male voice on the TV**, and increased the volume of the TV until I felt uncomfortable. I get the following results: passive sound isolation - 20% volume, active noise cancellation - 50% volume. Active Noise Cancellation is suitable for low-frequency sounds (a feature of ANC technology).
Battery life. The headphones are equipped with a 600 mAh battery, and it is recommended to use a 5V 1A charger to charge the headphones. It takes an hour and a half to charge the headphones. The claimed ** time is up to 60 hours, which is impressive. Actual battery life is hard to measure, as the headphones do run for a long time, and you can't remember them at all. It has been observed that the actual battery life is in line with the claims.
Activating Active Noise Cancellation reduces battery life to 55 hours. The APTX HD codec improves sound quality, but it can also negatively impact battery life. While the earbuds are charging, the wireless connection will be disabled. You can charge the headphones and use a wired connection at the same time.
Control. The headphones remain well connected and no stuttering or breakage is detected. The microphone is very good. Since I intend to use headphones, including in games, low latency is very important. I spent half a day doing various latency tests (using different codecs, when connecting different devices, comparing with other headphones, etc.), but it was almost impossible to test the latency rate due to some issues with the measuring device (phone). But I can find that when connected, the headset connected to the laptop has a lower latency than when connected to the phone, and it is not felt in the game (at least I can't see it).
Sound. The Helium Hik D1 Pro headphones feature a V-shaped design with a comfortable dark sound with a slight emphasis on the low frequencies. When connected via Bluetooth with the APTX HD codec, the Helium Hik D1 Pro ** works well. As expected, other codecs produce lower sound quality. Simple sound is obtained through a wired connection.
With standard wires, the sound is noticeably better: the bass becomes heavier and denser, and the midrange is softer and more accurate. This is despite the fact that the quality of the wire is not as good as it could be. Generally speaking, if you plan to use these headphones with a wired connection, you should definitely buy a high-quality AUX cable.
As mentioned above, connecting the aptx HD codec format via Bluetooth can get good sound. The bass is deep, deep, and bouncy, similar to the bass of a subwoofer. The midrange is warm and slightly sunken, but smooth and comfortable. High frequencies also don't hurt the ears. The treble becomes smoother on Bluetooth, but not as smooth on a wired connection. The details are still quite good.
Equalizer. Classic: The default preset.
Jazz: A little less bass. More midrange and treble.
Electronic: The midrange is lighter.
Classical: Dull, unnatural midrange. The high frequency is less than the default preset.
Rock: The bass is more subtle. Emphasis on mid-to-high and treble bass.
Bass Boost: Powerful bass boost.
Treble Boost: Boosts high frequencies.
Summary. I bought the Helium Hik D1 Pro mainly to use them with a laptop. This way I can neutralize the strong noises of the computer cooler as much as possible, get a decent sound in single player games and movies, and also make the ** work that I hear in the background sound normal. The headphones were better than I expected. I was a bit surprised by the sound of a wired connection (I expected it to be better or at least not bad than a Bluetooth connection). The equalizer is also very good.