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h.ear 2nd Generation Developer Interview

The h.ear Series of Hi-Res Audio-compatible headphones introduced in 2015 earned high praise for its diversity of offerings, with over-ear and on-ear types as well as in-ear types, noise-canceling models, wireless abilities, and more. The recent simultaneous release of five new models is signaling a second generation of the h.ear Series. Here to tell us about the changes are the series’ developers.

Introducing a Headband Model Designed Even for Women

--Each model of the acclaimed h.ear Series has undergone a change in this second generation of the line. Can you give us a recap of the concept of the series?

Ide: Looking back through history, headphones became widely known with the introduction of the Walkman, and I think users’ perception of headphones has undergone three major changes since then. First, users learned the pleasure of listening to music outdoors. Eventually, it became normal to listen to music outside. The next change found users searching for headphones with higher sound quality, but at the beginning it was only the audiophiles, the true fans of audio devices, who were choosy about sound quality. Now that smartphones are ubiquitous and we have more portable players, the portability of music is simply a part of life, particularly for young people. More and more headphones provide quality sound at even lower prices, so we’re seeing headphones become a fashion item in the same way as wristwatches and eyeglasses. Essentially, we’ve entered an era where headphones are a mode of self-expression.
In response, we launched the brand h.ear, joining “hear” and “ear” with a dot to create a straightforward, yet memorable way to promote the premium quality of Sony headphones to the market.
The three foundational elements of Sony headphones are sound quality, of course, along with wearability and design. We developed the h.ear Series with particular emphasis on sound quality and design. We are launching the second generation of this series, but our approach remains the same. We also incorporated fashionable medium-tone colors and expanded the envisioned market to millennial women and girls.

--The vivid colors of the original h.ear Series were impressive. Why were the color variations redesigned for the new series?

Kosaka: In the original series, we aimed for neutral colors based on our “Colors in Between” concept. Each of the five colors features different saturation and brightness to enable the product to play different roles: products with low-saturation colors were conducive to fashion, while the vivid colors were intended to serve as highlights. For the second generation, we kept Colors in Between and added the new concept of “Medium Tone.” We used medium tones with muted saturation and brightness in an effort to enable the products to mesh with a wider array of fashions and lifestyles. We kept the number of colors the same at five, but chose five completely different colors from the first generation.

--The five color options of the h.ear Series are the same as those for the Walkman A40 Series, which will debut concurrently. I heard there was difficulty in developing one set of color options for both lines.

Kosaka: As with the previous models, we designed entire products to be a single color, with all parts appearing to be the same color.
We used aluminum and various plastics for the products and parts, so an extensive variety of materials was required to achieve all five colors.
It was extremely difficult to match the colors and textures of the different materials in both the visual and mechanical designs.

--The h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) was not a part of the original series. Why was it added?

h.ear on 2 Wireless NC(WH-H900N)
h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless(WH-H800)
h.ear in 2 Wireless(WI-H700)

Matsushima: h.ear on 2 Wireless NC (WH-H900N) are over-ear headphones, and are the successor model of h.ear on Wireless NC (MDR-100ABN). In contrast, h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) are compact on-ear headphones.
h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) are compact, lightweight, stylish on-ear headphones. We decided to develop them to spread the joy of the h.ear series to users with smaller heads, namely women and girls. We had to thoroughly revamp the structure, and we started by examining the size of the headband. We sent design teams to Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world to measure the shapes and sizes of people’s heads, paired that data with past data gathered by Sony, tested headbands of various sizes, and finally determined the optimal size.

We developed h.ear on 2 Wireless Mini (WH-H800) headphones to address the concern that normal headphones are too big
Lightweight, Slim, Compact: These attributes guided our meticulous efforts

Kosaka: The housing of conventional over-ear headphones is elliptical, but we made the housing of h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones circular for a compact look and, ultimately, a more iconic design. We also took a closer look at the thickness of the swivel mechanism, and took the curvature of the head into account. The swivel mechanisms on our first prototypes were thicker, but the design team requested thinner products, so I studied together with mechanical design team time after time, examining the internal structure down to the tenths of a millimeter to create smaller and smaller prototypes.

Matsushima:We developed a new structure for h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones in pursuit of compactness, while maintaining the design of the overall h.ear Series. We revamped every single component, from minimizing the diameters of internal cables to developing new, slim driver units and more.

--Hi-Res compatibility is the theme of the h.ear Series. Tell us more about the obsessive effort made to create Hi-Res-level sound quality in wireless headphones, as you did for three products in this line.

Our original diaphragm for h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones

Ide: The goal for all h.ear Series models was to create sound with variation and vividness that mirror the design and colors, thereby making music even more enjoyable to listen to.
h.ear on 2 Wireless NC (WH-H900N) and h.ear in 2 Wireless (WI-H700) headphones are successor models equipped with the same driver units as the originals. We maintained the directionality of the sound, but adjusted it toward a somewhat calmer tone quality than the originals to accommodate trends in music.
h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones have compact housing, but we were still able to equip them with our newly developed 40-mm driver units with improved sound quality. We had to design our thinnest units yet to make them fit inside the slim housing. This required us to make the diaphragms even thinner. Generally, slimmer diaphragms are softer, which compromises treble reproduction, but through repeated simulations and tests, we fine-tuned the shape of the diaphragm to achieve the current size, which performs consistently on Hi-Res bands.
For any given room, there is an accepted range of speaker sizes that will work well; for example, it is difficult to make large speakers work well inside a small room. However, a high level of output can be achieved with the right tuning, which is advantageous in terms of overall reproduction quality. In that sense, although the size of h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones made it difficult to develop 40-mm driver units for them, we rose to the challenge because we could not compromise on sound quality. The adjustments were difficult, but the difficulty made it all the more worthwhile.
In addition, all three models are equipped with DSEE HX, which upscales sound compressed for wireless listening on the headphone side to deliver sound quality on par with Hi-Res. I know many people worry about a degradation of sound quality with wireless headphones, but a major feature of the h.ear Series is that you can enjoy good sound regardless of the source.
Each of the three models comes with a cable for wired listening, but we crafted the sound such that there is as little difference as possible between wired and wireless listening.
We expended every effort to create sound quality that cannot be differentiated between the two modes of listening.

--Tell us other ways the new models have evolved from the originals.

The built-in magnet clip helps keep the housing in place
Left: Housing of the new model h.ear in 2 Wireless (WI-700)
Right: Housing of the original model (MDR-EX750BT)

Ide: h.ear on 2 Wireless NC (WH-H900N) headphones features a noise-canceling function like the previous models, but we also built a new touch sensor into the housing to enable playback control as well as the popular Quick Attention Mode-where a simple touch enables the incorporation of ambient sound-from the MDR-1000X. Adding the ability to hear announcements and the like without removing the headphones has made them extremely convenient.

Matsushima: For h.ear in 2 Wireless (WI-H700) headphones, we improved wearing comfort by miniaturizing the earphones and rerouted the cables. The cables emerged from the tip of the neckband in the first generation, but we changed that location for h.ear in 2 Wireless (WI-H700) headphones so that the cables are no longer a concern when the headphones are put on. We also used a magnetic clip to make it easy to fix the earphones in place, even when the headphones are removed from the ears. To improve convenience, we added a function that makes the neckband vibrate when a phone call arrives.
Also, all three wireless headphones are compatible with Sony | Headphones Connect, a new app exclusively for these headphones. The detailed functions differ for each product, but you can adjust EQ and surround (VPT) to customize the sound quality to your liking.

--Are there any features designed to attract certain people?

Kosaka: In our advancement into the second generation with h.ear on 2 Wireless NC (WH-H900N) conventional over-ear headphones, we also developed compact h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless (WH-H800) headphones that are lighter than conventional on-ear headphones. I feel like many different kinds of people have had the opportunity to give our headphones a try, but I would be particularly happy if our designs inspire women and girls to open their minds to trying our over-ear and on-ear headphones.