HEDD Audio has released the HEDDphone D1, the company’s third headphone design and the world’s first headphones with dynamic drivers and Metamodal Thin-Ply Carbon Diaphragm (TPCD) technology. The idea of integrating Thin-Ply Carbon into a headphone design was conceived eight years ago and has now been realized through extensive development and refinement in collaboration with Composite Sound of Sweden.
HEDD Audio (Heinz Electrodynamic Designs) was founded in 2015 and is based in Berlin. The driving force is Klaus Heinz, who, together with his son, musicologist Frederik Knop, designs and manufactures loudspeakers and headphones for both professional and hi-fi use. All HEDD products are developed and manufactured in Germany.
Headphones that redefine what a dynamic driver is—that’s how HEDD Audio characterizes the results of this industry first. The HEDDphone D1 is the world’s first headphone with dynamic drivers and Thin-Ply Carbon Diaphragm (TPCD) technology. This is the application of an innovation that introduces an entirely new material to the personal audio category. Developed in collaboration with Composite Sound, the Swedish specialists in advanced diaphragm design and manufacturing, it elevated the original TPCD technology to a whole new level by successfully implementing a method for developing modal behavior.
Composite Sound Metamodal technology builds on TPCD production and enables cones and diaphragms optimized for any given geometry with distributed breakup modes. This technology allows for customization of modal behavior by optimizing the thickness and stiffness in different parts of the cone or diaphragm. This technology has been extensively tested and successfully implemented in speaker cones and tweeter domes, but it required close collaboration to successfully introduce it into the headphone category.
HEDD Audio’s first headphones featured AMT drivers, setting the Berlin-based manufacturer apart from its competitors. Just as company founder Klaus Heinz extensively researched and perfected the Air Motion Transformer drivers that form the foundation of HEDD Audio’s studio monitors and headphones, this collaboration, they claim, has taken a giant leap forward in dynamic headphone driver design. The result is a true standout that delivers sonic precision and tonal integrity, achieving a level of realism rarely found in conventional dynamic headphones, according to the proud manufacturer.
With an ultra-lightweight construction and studio-grade monitor precision, the new HEDDphone D1 delivers an immersive, fatigue-free, and effortlessly transparent listening experience. Its precision-engineered diaphragm structurally controls resonances, eliminating the need for traditional damping materials at the diaphragm level and enabling faster, cleaner, and more precise movement across the audible spectrum.
“Dynamic drivers always involve compromises: bass versus treble, weight versus stability, quality versus price. The D1 changes this by rethinking the fundamentals: a transducer with the precision of a studio monitor, but with the intimacy of high-end headphones,” HEDD Audio explains on its website. Designed for long, immersive sessions without fatigue, the HEDDphone D1 headphones combine a moderate 32 ohm impedance and 100dB sensitivity for easy pairing with most sources, while scaling elegantly with premium amplification.
According to HEDD Audio, the D1 brings professional, studio-quality precision to personal listening, without the usual compromises. Each D1 headphone is made in Germany, with its custom-designed TPCD diaphragm produced exclusively by Composite Sound in Sweden. All components are fully repairable, and HEDD backs this promise with an industry-leading five-year warranty. This is rare in this category and reflects the belief that good headphones should be an investment, not a disposable item.
Price: $700
