Hyland Headphones opens its announcement with the Eclipse, the brand's first closed-back model, while the Venus is touted as “the latest step up in the open-back range”.

Naturally, we are assured that new models continue the Watford-based firm's ethos of designing and building its products with care, and in small quantities, from beautiful, ethically sourced hardwoods.

We are told that the closed-back Eclipse headphones sport a complex cup design machined from separate pieces of wood in a two-step, two-day process. This, says Alex Hyland, hands these headphones a sound quality equal to their open-backed designs, but with the advantage of the passive noise cancelling that makes a closed-back design so appealing.

Said design also features two chambers, with sound-absorbent damping in the outer chamber to ensure no stray reflections colour or distort the sound that reaches the listener's ear. The multi-wood design of the Eclipse also allows for additional customisation options, with Hyland suggesting a creamy white Maple cup with a deep red Padauk top. Alternatively, a dark, gold-flecked Panga Panga cup combined with the beautiful figuring of rippled Ash.

As its name suggests, Hyland's flagship open-backed Venus model is tuned for a romantic listening experience. This is achieved by a more coloured, V-shaped sound signature than any of Hyland's other offerings.

Both headphones feature large memory foam pads and are wrapped in sheepskin leather. Additionally, the Venus comes with a separate pair of super-comfortable hybrid pads that allow you to tune both the sound (to a more neutral signature) and the comfort of the headphone right out of the box.

The Eclipse and Venus share the same 50mm 32ohm dynamic drivers that promise low distortion across the quoted 20Hz-17.5kHz +/- 10dB frequency range. Furthermore, the large surface area is said to enable both headphones to plumb the lowest depths of the hearing range with confidence. Meanwhile, their power handling capabilities should allow EQing to satisfy the most ardent bass-heads without driver break-up. Finally, there is a smooth treble roll-off that Hylands says will provide “sound that is never fatiguing and yet extremely detailed, with excellent separation and imaging that is the equal of any headphones in their price class”.

Furthermore, we are told that thanks to their 32ohm impedance and 98dB driver efficiency, both models can be driven reasonably comfortably by a mobile device.

All Hyland Headphones models are bundle with handmade cables from NLovell Audio as standard and packaged in a hand-branded wooden box along with a hand-printed protective drawstring bag.

Alex Hyland told StereoNET:

With the launch of the Eclipse and the Venus, we can finally show you the results of more than two years of research and development. In keeping with our tradition, we love to work with our customers to create products that they love, allowing them to choose every part of their new headphones, from the wood of the earcups to the material of the headband, from the connectors on the cable to the sound signature.

The Hyland Headphones Eclipse and Venus are priced at £850 and £650, respectively.

Visit Hyland Headphones for more information