Packaging and Closer Examination

The MIRPH-1 shipped directly from Germany, so anyone purchasing it from MIRPH Designs now is likely to find a similar unboxing experience. Expect to find a larger shipping box with plenty of bubble wrap over a glossy print 1-sheet primer on the headphones, this information is also available on the product page. There's more packing material around the actual product box, which is plain cardboard with direct printing as opposed to using a banderole over the cardboard—it looks better, but costs more to where I imagine everyone reading this review would rather save the money instead. The product name, specifications, and a factory rated frequency response curve is seen here along with the measurement setup. Remove the branded sticker on the side and open the box to reveal egg crate-style foam packaging on the underside of the lid and the base, with the various items sandwiched between for added protection. There's not a lot to see here, but expect to find a handwritten "thank you" note from Homero and the cable inside a plastic zip-lock bag.


The MIRPH-1 comes with a custom handmade cable that is ~1.5 m long, which already tells you the creator is intending for the headphones to be used with portable sources too. There is no connector option at this time, with the cable using a 3.5 mm TRS single-ended source termination housed in glossy aluminium metal hardware. There is good strain relief throughout and the 8-strand cable uses silver-plated pure copper conductor. The entire assembly looks and feels plenty professional, and I like that the cable is on the supple side, allowing you to shape it easily even if it occasionally develops kinks if you don't wrap it properly. There are no microphonics in use either, so good job overall. The splitter and the rest of the hardware is similar in composition, and these match the overall silver color scheme going on. The two split channels of four strands each head to the headphones where again we see the use of 3.5 mm SE connectors, with a white/red ring to help identify the left/right channels, respectively. The various metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance. It's early days of course, but having the brand logo on the splitter would help add a personal touch—something for the future, perhaps.


The MIRPH-1 has a certain style to it, which bodes well given the industrial design employed throughout. I've seen many references to Grado headphones and I can see that with the ear cups. But really that's where the comparison should end given the MIRPH-1 has massive ear cups, and most Grado headphones are on-ears. The predominantly black color scheme with silver accents works well in my opinion, as does the large Portuguese leather-wrapped headband that feels really nice in the hands and on the head. It's not overly padded, yet I found it to be extremely comfortable and also managing to minimize hotspots on the top of my head. Stitching is excellent throughout and the inner steel band fits into the CNC-machined aluminium sliders in a native silver finish on either side. There's really no branding seen anywhere here, with white/red rings here to again indicate the left and right channels, respectively. We also see everything is put together using screws, making it easy to replace parts as needed. MIRPH Designs is not yet selling replacement parts, although there are plans to do so in the near future.


Vertical sizing comes via the headband and aluminium sliders moving up and down the steel sizing rods—or vice versa with the ear cups moving up and down the sizing rods—with the mechanism feeling slightly janky. It relies on a friction stop and I can't predict how well this will hold up over time—it worked as promised during the course of this review. There's also the part where the sizing is step-less, and it's not easy to line up both sides exactly the same. Thankfully you don't have to do this, with the headband being helpful in this regard as long as it's close enough. I found there is plenty of sizing to accommodate those with heads small or large alike, and the headband itself stretches easily around larger heads too.


The sizing rods fit into aluminium gimbals that hold the ear cups in place, and the design is such that the ear cups move freely—almost too free, as I've found holding the MIRPH-1 with one ear cup results in the other floppily moving and spinning around. It might not be a bad idea to integrate some form of rotation limit, or even a rod lock on the vertical sizing rods in case the ear cups slide down over time. The good news is it's all under control when you hold the ear cups properly in both hands and place them over your head, so it's a minor issue—if that. You get extensive ear cup rotation and swivel thus, allowing for the MIRPH-1 to easily fit around your specific ears while helping maintain a good seal.


If you have trypophobia then look away now. The MIRPH-1 is an open-back set with concentric holes in the grille facing outward, starting as a star and getting more circular towards the edges. This grille can actually be removed, since it's held in place via magnets, but that exposes the driver immediately behind. There is a second section around this one, and we see the ear cups are made of industrial-grade resin in a black splattered finish that is resistant to dust, fingerprints, and human oils too. The ear cups lead to the relatively massive ear pads themselves that stretch around the bottom section of the ear cups and fit into grooves, making it again easy to replace them once spare pads are made available. The stock ear pads are made of protein leather on the side with a velour contact surface, making them hybrid ear pads, and use medium-density foam filling with perforations on the inner side for added airflow. They are slightly contoured to better fit around the ears and have a 110 mm diameter to where I dare say they will easily fit even the largest of ears. The pads feel good enough in quality to last awhile; I've been using these headphones on and off for over a month now without any noticeable or measured effects on tuning. Removing the ear pads also provides a good look at the drivers, with a felt ring and a 3D-printed grille over the 50 mm driver underneath—all part of the tuning system used in the MIRPH-1. I am not sure how much that extremely open grille is doing for protection or tuning, but either way the main takeaway here is just how far the driver is from your ears!


On the bottom of the ear cups are aluminium extensions that contain the jacks for the cable connectors, and these are angled outward to prevent the cable from hitting your shoulders directly when connected. The cable simply clicks in place, and the use of dual 3.5 mm TRS connections means you can easily use a third-party cable if you prefer a different cable length, source termination, color, or conductor type. A lot of desktop equipment doesn't come with 3.5 mm outputs anymore, so MIRPH Designs providing a compatible 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm adapter would have been handy here. Overall I do like how the combination looks, even matching my silver headphones stand to an extent.