The Box
Most things like headphones come in blister packs made of plastic. These suck. Some of the better blister packs pop open easily, but mostly they all just suck. Case in point, I bought a dozen el-cheapo Koss headphones once upon a time and after slicing my thumb open on the first one, I used a razor knife on the others.
To cut to the chase, the packaging for the HPA2’s is mercifully easy to open. It pretty much just popped open. It’s well packed and a little amazing that all the kit fits in there. Now, the weight of the headphones and all the associated paraphernalia weighs in at a hefty 935g, which is a little over 2lbs. But just take a look it all:
Inside the package you get:
- HPA2 Headphones
- 5.1 amplifier doodad
- AC power adapter
- Removable Microphone
- 5.1 splitter cables
- User’s guide
I usually toss out user guides. I dunno, it’s a macho-reviewer thing, I guess. But, these headphones demand a little bit more attention than a normal pair of headphones. First off, not only do you need to hook up 4 cables, they also require AC power. Yup, they require AC power. Which requires having a free power outlet close by. Compared to a set of Plantronics GamePro 1 USB, for example, the HPA2’s are like juggling spaghetti.
The cables are thankfully tagged and labeled. From left to right, AC power, front, rear, center/subwoofer, microphone, and main connection to the headphones.
The HPA2’s are solidly built. They don’t look too fancy at first glance, but when you start to play with them you start to clue in to some of the fine details. The cup holders are made of metal, solid and beefy, and is held together with screws. The whole thing is relatively light, even if the major portions of the earcups and their holder are made of metal. The design is circumaural and open-back, that is, the HPA2's fit completely over your ears, and let sound through the backs. The headband is a soft plastic-like material that has a stretchy band in it allowing you to fit whatever size head you have into it.
The cushions are soft and cushy, but the quality is surprising. They're sown together, but with seams that are hidden from view so it's not obvious. The connector to the amplifier is anodized with a pearlescent coating.
The HPA2’s clamp to your head like a shark on a surfer. It’s the most comfortable vise I’ve ever put my head in though, because within a few seconds the headphones disappeared. I have a small head (so the wife tells me, anyway, baddaboom), so those with a larger size head just might feel a little clamped in the HPA2’s.
The HPA2 headphones include a microphone on a flexible stalk. I keep bending it around, just because it can.
The microphone is odd because it uses a standard 1/8" mini plug, and a stereo one at that, to connect to the HPA2 headphones. This doesn't seem to be such a great idea at first, using a mini plug, but it is actually pretty smart. The receiving side of the plug is very firm, and it makes it easy to swing the mic away when you don't want it there.
Rounding out the package is quite possibly the funniest stock photo I’ve ever seen. If you have ever followed the strange story of Everywhere Girl, this one just might be one to watch. Well done Turtle-Beach! It's the Turtle Beach Guy...
Or not watch. Yeah, I think I don’t want to watch.
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