We’ve got the new, striking km5 Hp1 headphones in for testing, but can they be daily driven as your next everyday wireless headphones?

Launched in April, when we first saw images of the km5 Hp1 wireless headphones, we knew we had to get a pair in the office to see if they looked as cool in person. Spoiler alert, they absolutely do. However beyond look, can these practically be used as your everyday headphones?

Known for their minimal, modern CD players, Hp1 are the first headphones from Japanese audio company km5. While streaming services have seen strong growth in Japan in recent years, CDs are still widely popular in the country.

Unboxing

The packaging of the Hp1 headphones is just as stylish as the headphones themselves. With a magnetic clasp, the box unfolds to reveal the headphones first and foremost. Under the headphones, you’ll find a number of accessories, including an “exclusive pouch” soft carry case, instruction manual, additional ear pads and cables.

The Hp1 come in white and black. The white model comes with gray ear pads installed, with turquoise ear pads included in the box. The black model comes with black ear pads installed, with carmine (red) ear pads included in the box.

The included cable is a unique three-ended USB-C cable. Usually with over ear headphones, installed in the headband, there will be a physical wired connection between the left and right side. This means if you want to charge the headphones or use wired audio, you only need one cable inputted into one port. With the Hp1, there is no physical wired connection between each side, so charging and wired audio must by plugged into each side independently. The two USB-C ends connect to each side of the headphones, while the one USB-C end plugs into your device. While you can use a regular USB-C cable to charge the headphones, you’d have to charge one side and then the other, or have two USB-C chargers. Finally included in the box is a USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack to connect the headphones to older devices.

Design

The km5 Hp1 looks every bit as cool as the photos make out. They are super sleek and light at just 103g. There’s a plastic squared outer cup connected to the circular ear units, which can swivel to fit properly. A polished steel band goes over your head connecting the two sides together. Both squared outer cups hold controls, USB-C ports, microphones and LED indicators. There is no 3.5mm audio jack, so you’ll need the included three-ended USB-C cable if you want wired audio.

The ear pads are magnetically held in place and can be simply pulled off to switch them for the included replacement pair. I can’t see any replacement pads being sold online. This feels like a missed opportunity to sell additional colors and styles.

Set up

With Bluetooth 5.4 supported, the km5 Hp1 connected quickly and easily to my iPhone. I simply pressed the power button on each side and the headphones automatically entered pairing mode and were available for connecting right away. Despite essentially being two different headphones, they act as one unit, much like earbuds. By simply holding the power button on each side, both headphones powered off. After turning them back on again, they immediately connected without prompting. It is possible to just power on one side to listen through just one ear.

As mentioned earlier, the headphones do also support wired audio via the two USB-C ports. When plugged in, the headphones turn themselves off to charge, which means the playback controls don’t work. When wired, the headphones support 24-bit/96kHz audio. The battery lasts for a repectable 24 hours of playback.

Fit

Before we start playing audio, we need to discuss fit. The km5 Hp1 simply don’t clamp down and grip your ears hard enough. The headphones easily fall off my head with a simply tilt forward or side-to-side shake. I wouldn’t want to run with them for risk of breaking them within the first mile. They also sit a little funny on my large head, at somewhat of an obtuse angle, rather than each side lying parallel. This isn’t too much of an issue as the ear unit swivels to sit flush at any angle, however it does looks a little funny. The arms are adjustable. Just be sure you don’t adjust them while wearing the headphones, as you may trap your hair.

Sound

While the fit may leave a little to be desired, the sound far exceeded my expectations. The Hp1 headphones sound great! Housing 40mm drivers, the headphones sound way better than you might expect by looking at them. Unfortunately the aforementioned loose grip means the low end isn’t quite up to scratch when compared against a good over-ear or in-ear option. They get plenty loud enough, but be aware, they leak a lot of sound!

Controls

Both sides have a power/play/pause button, which double as an answer/reject/end call button when on a call. On the left side, there are also next and previous track buttons. On the right side, volume up and volume down. Holding the next track button activates the device’s voice assistant, while holding the right side switches between ANC on, ANC off and transparency mode.

Unfortunately there is no app for additional controls or customization.

Active noise cancellation

Surprisingly, there is technically noise cancellation on the km5 Hp1, but don’t be buying these headphones if isolation is your goal. Holding the volume up button switches active noise cancellation mode, with voice prompts to tell you which mode is which, which is helpful as each mode makes little difference. When ANC is on, you can hear the headphones are trying to do something, but to little effect. Transparency mode is unnecessary as the headphones have zero passive noise isolation anyway. In quite settings, ANC and transparency modes are actively worse than with ANC off, as they unintentional provide considerable white noise.

Pricing & availability

The km5 Hp1 are available to order from km5 for $189, with international shipping from Japan. They are also available on display at four BEAMS stores in Japan.

Please note, these headphones were sent to us by km5 for review. We were not paid for our opinions on the product.