Yamaha HPH-PRO300 looks rather synonymous with Beats

Designed for use on the go with large cups and soft fitting, but Yamaha hasn’t neglected the audiophile.

With a unibody design, the HPH-PRO300 looks rather synonymous with Beats by Dr Dre, right down to the plastic finish and prominent logo on the outside of the enclosures. They incorporate a newly developed 40mm proprietary driver with neodymium magnets for high efficiency while the ear cushions are fashioned from memory foam and leather, which combine comfort with good acoustic properties. Impedance is highish at 53ohms, but is counteracted by a sensitivity of 107dB.

Yamaha HPH-PRO300

Yamaha describes the closed-back HPH-PRO300s as being an on-ear design, but the 4mm diameter of the cups is sufficient to encapsulate my ears ensuring a closer, more sound-isolating fit than expected – although they press into my glasses. The headband is hinged so they can fold for storage in a durable soft case. One cable is supplied, which is removable and attaches to one ear cup rather than the more cumbersome Y shape adopted by B&W. It’s a tangle-resistant flat 1.2m cable made from material that seems durable and is designed to reduce touch noise transfer effects. It features an inline remote for Apple mobile devices but a gold-plated 6.35mm adapter is included. The cable’s flat construction separates the internal cores to minimize interference. A low-profile right-angle connector plug with four collars should outlast any other connector here and seals the PRO300s’ mobile-friendly credentials. The headphones aren’t lightweight but, with glasses removed, feel suitably comfortable.

Sound quality

From the moment you first hear Richard Burton’s sonorous voice at the start of The War Of The Worlds SACD you know you’re in for a treat. Detail retrieval is spot on and I’m mesmerized by the narrator’s rich tones. As the strings kick in the PRO300s deliver their sonic goods with energy and precision – despite the poor bass extension result – and is complemented by an impressive performance from the midrange and treble. With the opening of the tripod in track two the soundscape is broad and the sound of the cylinder unscrewing has a wonderful delicacy. The twang of the lead guitar is dynamic and controlled.

Yamaha HPH-PRO300

The Lark Ascending SACD is likewise a great listen that’s tonally balanced with superb definition that lets you feel the draw of Hilary Hahn’s bow across her violin’s strings. And with each shift in register you’re totally gripped and unaware almost of the headphones’ presence on your head.

Minus The Bear’s 24/96 Blu-ray version of Listing is a delight. Jake Snider’s vocals, the acoustic guitar and percussion all breathe effortlessly and are presented with aplomb. The midrange is highly detailed, while the treble is smooth and accurate. These qualities are also apparent with Snowed In At Wheeler Street, delivered by the Musical Fidelity headphone amplifier, where Kate Bush’s voice does its mesmerizing thing and Elton John sounds focused. The piano roll at the start isn’t entirely clean and there isn’t as much pin-sharp detail as you get from the AKG K545s, but this slight softening of hard edges is arguably a more satisfying listen on the Yamahas. The hi-res Could You Be Loved simply rolls along, with that tricky bass nicely kept in check.

Yamaha HPH-PRO300

Overall, these are terrifically rewarding headphones that deliver a nicely balanced sound. The styling might be very ‘street’ and robust but the HPH-PRO300s are designed to deliver a high sonic standard and are suited to almost any environment.

On Test

Easily the most sensitive headphone of the group, the Yamaha developed a high 121.6dB SPL at 1kHz for an input of 1V rms. Principally this exceptional sensitivity is due to the HPH-PRO300 having the lowest impedance, ranging from a minimum of 15.8ohms at 22Hz to a maximum of 20.7ohms at 1.2kHz – figures which bear no relationship to the claimed 53ohms at 1kHz. This large variation means that the Yamaha also has the greatest frequency response variation when driven from a finite source impedance, amounting to a total change of 0.9dB for a 10ohm source or 1.5dB for a 30ohm source. Capsule matching was the worst in group at ±10.0dB, high even for a headphone, and the diffuse-field-corrected frequency response was one of the strangest I’ve seen, peaking between 100 and 200Hz and falling away both above and below, hence the poor bass extension of 73Hz (-6dB ref 200Hz).