The Package
HiFiMAN ships the Deva in a nice plush box. You do not get a dedicated carrying case for the Deva, but if you take care of the box when opening it you can definitely use it for safe storage as its insides are nicely padded and covered in fabric to avoid scratches.
Like we saw on previous HiFiMAN Bluetooth headphones, the USB-C standard has been embraced. The supplied mini-jack cable is of really good quality. It is sleeved, so it is a bit microphonic on some surfaces.
The Bluemini is what makes the Deva unique. For $299, you get both a planar magnetic headphone with a cable and a Bluetooth capable one, though it is not as sleek-looking as the Ananda-BT.
Closer Examination
HiFiMAN has gone in a slightly different direction with the Deva's design. The headband is simpler and a little bulky looking. However, this new headband does bring with it a few improvements.
Since it is not a suspended design, it takes up less space and looks slightly better. While still bulkier than what you get on most portable around ear headphones, it is also really comfortable. HiFiMAN definitely sacrificed looks for comfort here.
The Deva is probably the first HiFiMAN headphone people with small heads will be able to fit on their heads snugly. The new headband allows for a much larger adjustment range.
On the ear cups are a few changes compared to what we have seen from HiFiMAN before. Most noticeable is the switch to tan pleather. The pads are still vented, which really improves comfort over full pleather pads, and roundish and angled like most current pads from HiFiMAN.
The cable no longer floats to the top of the ear cups, but is put inside a small groove, which hides it better and nicely avoids having it catch on something when handled. However, the new cable guide does seem to limit articulation somewhat, and the cable will in some cases take the strain when rotating the cups around the horizontal axis. While it does seem to be of high quality, I would definitely add a little slack where the cable enters the cup to avoid any issues with the cable. Since the cable is easily accessible, you can pull some of it out of the groove a little, which should give it more slack.