Baum makes guitars. Danish ones, built for working musicians. So a pair of studio headphones from them is a fair reason to raise an eyebrow.
The Baum Ellipse is a closed-back, over-ear headphone with 50 mm dynamic drivers, aimed at musicians and home studios, and it costs €399 on Baum’s EU store. I’ve spent time with it on my desktop setup, and the short version is this: it’s warm, a little veiled, comfortable, easy to live with, and it feels properly premium.
Disclaimer: This sample was provided by Baum for an honest review. All observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.
Design
Build quality is the first thing that stood out. The frame is aluminium with brass detailing, and the earpads and the lining on the headband feel solid in a way that suits the price. I love how it looks, too.
Comfort is great. The clamping force is moderate, never aggressive, and the velour front of the earpads, the part that actually touches your head, feels really nice. Baum lists the weight at 320 g, and they feel reasonably lightweight.
Baum includes two detachable cloth-braided cables, 1.5 m and 3 m, and the cable plugs into either cup. I used the 3 m. The pads and cables are replaceable, which matters for a headphone you’d hope to keep for years. There’s also a link function: plug a second pair of Ellipse into the first and both share the same signal, no splitter needed.
Sound
I listened through the SMSL D100’s built-in headphone output, mostly around 41/100 volume on default settings. The overall tuning is warm and rich, with a U-shaped sound signature.
Bass
The focus is on the mid-bass. It’s somewhat thick, and it bleeds a little into the lower mids. I think the Ellipse is voiced that way, and the bloom doesn’t sound detrimental or overpowering. Sub-bass is decent too. I turned the volume up to 60 for Scarface’s “Smartz”, and it handled the low end fine, though it’s clearly the mid-bass doing most of the work.
Midrange
Vocals don’t sound recessed to me, but they’re not pushed forward either, which is a contrast with many ChiFi headphones that shove them up front. On Jennifer Warnes’ “Bird on a Wire”, there’s no shout and no fatigue from the upper mids. Clarity could be better. I’d call it a slight veil, but it doesn’t bother me.
Male vocals carry a nice blend of body and presence. The thickness in the upper bass pulls them back a little, and on James Taylor’s “That’s Why I’m Here” the voice sat slightly behind the music and blended into the low end. A forward recording still comes through clearly, but you’ll notice the Ellipse leans warm and full, not crisp and upfront, with vocals.
Treble
The treble is relaxed. Nothing up top reaches for your attention, and paired with the lack of upper-mid shout, it’s a big part of why the Ellipse never gets fatiguing. The trade-off is that if you’re after a bright, airy top end, this headphone keeps it understated. Micro-detail up there is moderate, as it is on so many full-size headphones.
Technicalities
Micro-detail is moderate. Imaging is quite good thanks to the Ellipse’s solid sense of forward depth, even though the soundstage dimensions are fairly modest. Vocal and instrument timbre is convincing, and separation is on point.
Comparisons
SIVGA Peng
The Peng is classic SIVGA. It leans hard on the upper midrange, which gives it great clarity and a very forward, present vocal sound. That same tuning is also why it can get a bit tiring over longer sessions.
The Ellipse is more easygoing, warm and relaxed, with no shout in the upper mids and nothing in the treble that grabs at your attention. If clarity and immediacy are what you’re after, the Peng gets there faster. If you want something you can leave on all day without noticing the clock, the Ellipse is the more comfortable pick.
Meze Audio 99 Classics V2
The Ellipse, to my ears, sits closer to the 99 Classics V1 in spirit. It has that same cozy, inviting presentation, and I just find it more engaging and more pleasurable to listen to. So if I had to choose between the two, I’d take the Ellipse without much hesitation.
Meze is still hard to beat on design. Those headphones look and feel incredible. But the Ellipse is no slouch there either, and the brass hardware, the camel brown velvety material and the matching cables make it a very good-looking headphone in its own right.
Verdict
If you prize musicality over fidelity, the Baum Ellipse is easy to like. It’s warm and relaxed, vocals aren’t shoved at you, nothing gets fatiguing, and it’s comfortable for long sessions. It also looks great and feels adequately premium for the price.
If you want an analytical, brighter tuning, this isn’t it. The slight veil and the enhanced bass are the things a fidelity-first listener will notice. On the other hand, if you want something that’s silky smooth or if you’re sensitive to treble, the Ellipse will be a very easy headphone to live with.