REVIEWED
Prodipe Pro 880 Headphones
PRODIPEPro 880 Headphones
Prodipe’s 880 series headphones present an affordable way for project studio engineers to control their acoustic environment...
Words: D.P. Wilson
Headphones are an often overlooked item in the studio but in the case of the typical bedroom project studio, which often presents less than ideal acoustic surroundings, headphones can be absolutely essential. Prodipe is not a name you may have come across before but they have been around for a while. The French-based pro audio company is refreshingly open in its use of carefully selected Asian manufacture to maintain competitive pricing but it is also keen to stress that its products, which also includes microphones, studio monitors and audio interfaces, are designed in consultation with industry professionals.
PRODIPE Pro 880
SRP
All prices include VAT CONT
ACT
Zen Audio Ltd T:
W: 01924 476533
zenaudiolimited.co.uk 44 3pickup £79.00
Open and shut case The Pro 880 headphones are Prodipe’s top of the range model and are duly described as ‘Professional Monitoring Headphones’. Starting with the specifications the Pro 880s are a closed back design.
Most headphones fall into the open or closed category and really mean just that: Closed let very little sound escape once you are wearing them whereas open headphones will let almost as much sound escape from the back of the driver as is going into your ears. Closed headphones therefore seem the better all-round solution however, as with everything it’s never that simple. Open headphones normally have a more open, balanced and more natural sound. The stated frequency response is 10Hz to 35 kHz which is slightly meaningless without a frequency plot to look at but nevertheless promises audio performance beyond that of a bat’s! Maximum power output is 1500mw (miliwatts – 1/1000 watt) which is powerful enough to cause hearing problems if not used responsibility. Out of the box the Prodipe’s look robust and indeed professional, although I think it’s fair to say that visually at least
they bear passing resemblance to a popular Austrian brand of headphones. Most headphones require you to adjust for head size by sliding the earpiece up and down whereas with the Pro 880s you simply stick them on your head and the elastic takes up the slack. The audio cable itself enters through the left side only and is a of sensible length of combined straight and curly cable terminating to a gold plated mini jack (for iPods etc) or the included 6.3mm stereo jack convertor. I was a little disappointed to see that this wire is not user replaceable in the event of a wire failure. In the studio the Prodipe 880s circumaural ear pads that sit around the ear rather than on it, are certainly comfortable enough. The closed back design does really help keep leakage away from vocal takes and although I have previously used headphones that have demonstrated less spill the 880s should be still adequately silent for all overdubbing purposes. Listening critically to some mixes it’s quickly apparent that the top end frequencies sound clear and uncongested and the bass end is strong, maybe even a little overbearing. Over the course of my listening tests the low frequencies did seem to calm down, which could
indicate that the headphone drivers themselves needed time to loosen up but by the end of the test I still felt there was an emphasis on bottom end. Volume was not a problem; these ‘phones will go up to unhealthily high levels without distortion and the Pro 880s present a fairly benign 32 Ohm load which didn’t faze any socket I plugged them into. Despite the rich bottom end I found them quite easy to mix on and a couple of rough mixes I used them on seemed to go without hitch and also translated well on other systems. PM
SHOULD I BUY ONE?
For the price these Prodipe Pro 880s certainly offer good value for money. Where I think the Pro-880s really excel though is the home studio and I would rather mix on these headphones than through a set of substandard monitor speakers in a small boomy room any day! On top of this they do a sterling job on overdubbing duties too.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72