the t.bone HD 150

When headphones like the t.bone HD 150 are designed for a very specific purpose and a narrow target group, it is important to put them through their paces. Often, there is hardly any scope left for this type of specialist headphone to be used for other purposes. In the case of the HD 150, t.bone is specifically aiming at drummers with these closed headphones. In this review, we will examine how they perform in practice.

Package

The t.bone HD 150 comes with the bare essentials. In addition to the headphones themselves, an almost 3m long straight cable is included in the package. Its plugs are gold-plated for corrosion protection, and sufficiently large bend protectors prevent cable breakage at critical points. The enclosed adapter is also gold-plated and is securely connected to the cable via a screw thread.

Material, construction and technology of the t.bone HD 150

The t.bone HD 150 are closed headphones with ear pads that completely enclose the ears. These all-black headphones have a simple design, and their exterior is largely made of plastic. Inside the headband, however, there is a metal brace for adjusting the size. This suggests stability.

The headphones’ ear cups employ 45-mm drivers that reproduce audio at a frequency range of 10 Hz to 26 kHz. This means that the HD 150 should offer both open highs and be able to reproduce deep bass well. This is a frequency range that should not be underestimated when monitoring, especially for drummers in bands. After all, not all bass sounds from the woofer have sufficient mid or high sound components. The impedance of 32 ohms should make them sound loud enough even with headphone outputs that only apply a relatively low voltage.

Handling

The first thing you notice when handling the t.bone HD 150 is that they are very light. They weigh just 225 grams without the cable. All matt black surfaces are slightly textured, so no fingerprints remain. The size of the headphones can be adjusted smoothly, but it is quite difficult to do. Therefore, both hands have to be used. Once the headphones are on, the contact pressure is hardly noticeable. This is especially good if you’re going to wear the headphones for a long time.

The arms that hold the ear cups can be turned sideways. The ear cups themselves can be tilted 180°. This allows the headphones to adapt well to the shape of the head, and it also means that the ear cups can be turned outwards. However, this only works smoothly with the right cup. This is because the single-sided cable is plugged into the lower end of the left cup, so it cannot be turned completely around. The leatherette earpads are comfortable to wear but do cause slight sweating after a short time. Overall, however, I give these headphones a thumbs-up for wearing comfort.

The sound of the t.bone HD 150

The first sounds that came out of the t.bone HD 150 surprised me. Because what I heard corresponded to the specified frequency range. I would not have expected that from a pair of budget headphones. It even sounded surprisingly open because the highs seemed relatively unlimited. And even if not every detail was audible in this frequency range like with high-end headphones, the treble and super treble range provided so much space that being under these headphones didn’t feel like being between two tin cans. On the contrary: the reproduction really “breathed”. This is an important point, especially for longer sets and sessions. The vocal presence range came through well with these headphones. The same applied to rock and heavy guitars. And although the corresponding frequencies sounded quite penetrating, they were nevertheless not overbearing or shrill.

Drummers can therefore always keep their band’s vocals in focus with the HD 150 and can find their way around songs. Guitar reproduction, which was sufficiently separated from the vocal frequencies, further supports this orientation function.

If you think that headphones for less than 25 euros will disappoint in the bass range you will be proven wrong here. Even with higher amplification, the HD 150 can reproduce even Urban Music’s deepest bass without distortion. At this point, I was scratching my head and wondering in amazement, “How the heck do they do that?”

In the end, it doesn’t matter; the main thing is that the user can clearly hear the bass player in the drums’ monitoring signal. And that is exactly the case here.

These headphones have more to offer in terms of volume than they promise on paper. I can’t think of a time when I’ve put on a pair of headphones in this price range that could deliver such a high volume without distortion. And yet the dynamics were still intact, transients were sufficiently concise, and they even managed to hit the spot in aspects such as stereo impression and depth gradation.

The attenuation of external noise was perfectly acceptable. And there was nothing to complain about in terms of acoustic isolation from the outside world. Of course, you shouldn’t expect these headphones to be able to compete with closed-back models. However, with this purchase price and the lightweight construction of the HD 150, the acoustic shielding was decent.