advertisement


Hifiman Edition XS Headphones

Big Tabs

Big Tabs

looking backwards, going forwards
I got my Hifiman Edition XS, new stealth magnet version in November last year. I auditioned a few at the time, and the XS stood out by a mile.

comments -

The cradle is huge, I had to buy an aftermarket addition that made the headphones extremely comfortable. A Geekria headphone pad >
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0993NBFCR/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

The shape of the headphones takes a little getting used to as nothing touches your ears. This makes the headphones great for long listening sessions with no pressure on the ears whatsoever.
The clamping force is weak, but they stay in place. Not suitable for headbanging.

individual 3.5mm jacks either side. good.
The supplied cables are fine, if a little short. Non-tangle plain affair. 90° jack at the amp end.

The ear pads are directional. I haven’t had the headphones long enough to comment much, but I find them comfortable and my ears do not get hot when wearing for hours.
Most family/friends are not sure about the look of the headphones - but they all agree on the sound.

3406624-b.jpg



The sound -
Different.
Extremely wide soundstage that is very engaging.
Imaging that is a bit weird as it is so well defined.
I don’t use EQ of any kind, although I have tone and loudness available.

The bass isn’t slamming but it is there, well defined.

Vocals are outstanding. This was reported by everyone who had a trial.
I have heard lyrics far more clearly than any other method. Exceptional clarity.
These are planar headphones.
I have the Hifiman Sundara, which are good, but the XS sounds in a different league.

I got my XS headphones as a box-damaged Amazon warehouse deal for £325, they arrived unused with a minor bump to the box.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTYSTNBF/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21


I think they are worth an audition if you have never heard planar headphones. They have halted my quest for headphones that sound a bit special, without spending a grand.
If you have a giant head, you will not require the extra padding.

the other headphones I tried are here >
Headphones Advice - Wired for Sound


lots of reviews oot there
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/hifiman/edition-xs


used with an Arcam Alpha 9 tinkered cd player
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
How do they feel on your head compared to the Sundara's?
I tried the Sundara's but couldn't wear them for more than a couple of minutes - too heavy and too much clamping.
I currently have a pair of Akg702's which are lighter and almost comfortable (I can wear them for half an hour) a little sweaty but not in the same league sound-wise.
 
I did consider these but went for the Sundara. May have to listen to the XS. The Sundara are good headphones in some ways, not so much in others (as most Hifi). The one thing I wished they had more of is dynamics and slam. They are not bad per se and in isolation will probably satisfy many but compared to the Beyers and Grado's, it's a more subdued sound (with advantages elsewhere).

I am not a 'soundstage' guy. I do not find the narrower stage of the 58X Jubilee an issue but actually admire the aspects it does well. It's my 'midrange' HP. - Does the Edition XS have better dynamics and slam than the Sundara?
 
steveinspain said:
How do they feel on your head compared to the Sundara's?
I tried the Sundara's but couldn't wear them for more than a couple of minutes - too heavy and too much clamping.
I currently have a pair of Akg702's which are lighter and almost comfortable (I can wear them for half an hour) a little sweaty but not in the same league sound-wise.
Click to expand...

They (the XS) feel completely different to the Sundara.

The clamping force on the Sundara is high compared to the XS.
 
steveinspain said:
That's great to hear, I'll see if I can get to listen to some over the next few days. Many thanks, there is hope...!
Click to expand...

I think I have a fairly big head, but I needed the extra pad as mentioned to get the headphones to sit correctly on my head.
Premium Sound in London stock Hifiman headphones, so if you have the opportunity to try some I think they are worth a shot.
I have just tried my Sundara’s on again - I can just feel the ear pads touching my ears, whereas the XS has space all around my ears due to the oval shape.
 
Big Tabs said:
I think I have a fairly big head, but I needed the extra pad as mentioned to get the headphones to sit correctly on my head.
Premium Sound in London stock Hifiman headphones, so if you have the opportunity to try some I think they are worth a shot.
I have just tried my Sundara’s on again - I can just feel the ear pads touching my ears, whereas the XS has space all around my ears due to the oval shape.
Click to expand...
So do I. Space for all the dead brain cells to dance in. I saw the pad you mentioned and have emailed Premium Sound to ask about a demo, and thanks for your help!
 
I did forget to mention that the XS headphones like power.
They are not loud enough on an old iPod Classic.

I use an old Technics SU-7100 amp which powers them easily.
 
I do have an ifi zen amp to use with whatever I get. I'll also reply on the other thread of the day in this section in a sec....
 
Interesting thread.
I've had some older Hifiman headphones, HE 400 and 500. They sounded quite good, the 500 justifying its almost iconic status to a fair degree, but for me the fit and comfort are best described as awkward and clumsy.

I then tried the more modern Deva, with its optional Bluetooth dongle. The Bluetooth implementation was poor sounding imo, and I'm rather a fan of Bluetooth. Much better to use a different Bluetooth receiver into the Deva jacks, or go straight wired from an amp.

Sadly after a while the Deva died on one channel. Despite my having bought them used and them being out of warranty anyway Hifiman offered me a quite generous trade in deal, which I decided not to accept. Nonetheless well done Hifiman.

I moved on to the Sundara
Yeah, they're OK. Despite being a clear sonic improvement in a direct comparison, I actually enjoyed listening to the Deva more!
There's a thickness, a slight opaque veil, to the Sundara sound that keeps them a bit earthbound and "matter of fact". A little bit disappointing, personally I don't think they live up to the hype.

I'm very interested in trying the XS, from threads like this and reviews it seems that they improve on the Sundara in the ways that I'm looking for.

I'm a bit concerned about the elongated shape of the XS earpads, not entirely convinced they'd give a good seal, but I guess they do?

I'm also a bit concerned seeing a faulty pair on ebay, one side dead. Hifiman don't have the best rep for reliability, and with my own Deva experience.....

But I wish I'd seen that Amazon deal!
 
jandl100 said:
I'm a bit concerned about the elongated shape of the XS earpads, not entirely convinced they'd give a good seal, but I guess they do?
Click to expand...

They form a seal.
There is a lot of adjustment available.
The earcup pad does not touch your ears,
and it depends on where you want the cradle to sit on your head - more forward or more towards the crown of your head. The oval cups are very comfortable, I put this down to having a lowish clamping force and the pads not resting on the ears.
 
Last edited:
I have a pair of Hifiman XS now.

I like the sound a lot, but I'm having comfort issues. The top of my left ear gets sore after a while!
Which seems ridiculous, as the earcups are so large.
I've only had them a day, so lots of fiddling with position and angle still to be done.
I've ordered a Geekria headphone pad to see if that helps.

Sonically they bring to mind Sennheiser HD 700, but all round significantly superior. (Fwiw I liked the 700, the only Sennheiser I've tried that I can say that about, although I've not tried the 800 series.)
 
jandl100 said:
I have a pair of Hifiman XS now.

I like the sound a lot, but I'm having comfort issues. The top of my left ear gets sore after a while!
Which seems ridiculous, as the earcups are so large.
I've only had them a day, so lots of fiddling with position and angle still to be done.
I've ordered a Geekria headphone pad to see if that helps.

Sonically they bring to mind Sennheiser HD 700, but all round significantly superior. (Fwiw I liked the 700, the only Sennheiser I've tried that I can say that about, although I've not tried the 800 series.)
Click to expand...

The geekria pad made them sit better for me. Just too big without it.

Do the cups touch your ears?
they encompass my ears with no part of the cup touching any part of my ears.

They will sound better after a couple of weeks usage, or at least that is what I found.
 
The cup doesn't seem to be quite deep enough for my left ear.
I guess I have a sticking out left ear.
I don't recall having this issue with any other headphone.
It may just be I haven't yet found the sweet spot for them.
Then again I wouldn't be that surprised if they went in ebay on the next low fees weekend!

Great sound, they leave the Sundara in the dust imo. But at least the Sundara are comfortable for me.

And I also have Monoprice M1570, which are at a comparable level of sound quality (although very different to the XS) and are very comfortable (I seem to have a very strong neck as well as a sticky out left ear).
 
Ah, maybe that's part of the problem.
But it's the top of my ear that gets painful.

The Geekria headband cover has arrived. I've fitted it to the XS, and it's certainly improved the overall comfort, but I haven't had time today for an extensive listen to see if they've helped with the particular issue.
I'll have a chance tomorrow hopefully.
 
Over an hour so far continuous listening this morning with the XS fitted with the Geekria headphone cover/pad and, so far, no urge to take them off. Success?!

Position and angle are critical. I still wouldn't say they are the most comfortable headphones I've worn. Quite a long way from it, but they are now acceptable, I think. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to Big Tabs for the suggestion.

Now I can focus more on the sound quality.
They certainly are not the tonally lushest I've heard, just a little on the thinned out side. Much more listening to do now that I can tolerate the comfort issues
 
jandl100 said:
Over an hour so far continuous listening this morning with the XS fitted with the Geekria headphone cover/pad and, so far, no urge to take them off. Success?!

Position and angle are critical. I still wouldn't say they are the most comfortable headphones I've worn. Quite a long way from it, but they are now acceptable, I think. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to Big Tabs for the suggestion.

Now I can focus more on the sound quality.
They certainly are not the tonally lushest I've heard, just a little on the thinned out side. Much more listening to do now that I can tolerate the comfort issues
Click to expand...

Over an hour of wearing the cans is a good indicator - the aftermarket headband made that difference for me as well.
Where the headband sits on ones head can be altered quite a bit I found - there is plenty of room to explore. I end up with the headband sitting away from the crown of my head - must be to do with the angle of my ears!
I definitely prefer them when the optimum position is found were the pads don’t touch my ears at all.

Have fun.

Note the height of the soundstage.
 
Yes, I need the headband sitting a bit rearward of the crown of my head to get the earcups angle right. The long, not very wide earcup space needs to be aligned just right for the user's particular anatomical shape.

Sound quality, initial assessment....
All imo & ymmv, of course.

Clarity and lucidity are the key words. With, I suspect, a soupcon of extra 'niceness'.
The dynamic headroom seems unusually generous, allowing a relaxed, unforced naturalness and an easy musical flow.

Deep, firm bass (very noticeable), smooth detailed treble, mids perhaps a tad lean, certainly not rich and creamy.

I'm playing these without any eq at all, unusual for me.

They can be driven straight from my phone's socket, but undoubtedly benefit from a headphone amp with a fair bit of power.

They are the most expensive headphones in my collection, by a fair margin. They will need commensurate sound quality to justify being kept. Early days yet, but I'd not be surprised if they achieve that.

(For reference, my other headphones include Monolith M1570 and M1060c, Oppo PM3, Hifiman Sundara, Audioquest Nighthawk, Beyerdynamic DT 990, B&O H7, Master & Dynamic MW60).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top