Distortion on Hifiman Edition XS

[Rayman30]

Was looking for a pair of headphones with big soundstage to accompany my plethora of other options, so I figured hey Edition XS are a good deal for what they offer so I pulled the trigger, however I am having an issue. When I play these headphones at any volume on my head, I do not hear any distortion, however as soon as they are off my head and do not have that pressurization, they distort severely. This is not a huge issue, I am more than happy with their performance, but this still seems abnormal, my LCD-X do not experience this issue. Is this a defect that I need to seek RMA for?

See below, it only distorts when the cups are not pressed together to create a vaccume.

 

[InfiniteJester]

This model, as other Hifimans with the same design, are known to have issues with high distortion levels.

 

[Dunring]

I sometimes hang the HE5xx up and play to go do something and have music. They will distort if they aren't being worn, they're tuned to a distance to the ear pad, not beyond that. The HE6se is the same, you can hear music but it's not as clear as a small set of desktop speakers. The pads get in the way of sound traveling any kind of distance. If they sound normal when wearing them, they're fine. I've taken that model apart before, unless the nine mounting screws are loose, or the pads aren't securely snapped into place, not much else to check for.

 

[MC_RME]

This is fully normal behaviour. The drivers need dampening. In open space they are undamped and swing out too much. Yes, others don't do that, but others also don't sound like they do.

 

[Rayman30]

Thanks for ensuring me that this is normal behavior.