BTW, How did the Edition XS sound wothout the back grill?
Somebody already said, it sounded brighter, what about you?
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Hifiman Edition XS
- Thread starter mr.at
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Somebody already said, it sounded brighter, what about you?
odyo
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I did it with Ananda. I'm waiting for XS to arrive. I will probably not bother with that.
With Ananda, it definitely sounded different though i can't say it's bright, i think i'm not treble sensitive anyway. I'm more sensitive to shout stuff around 3-5k. It's about forwardness of the stage and vocals that bothers me, not specifically the treble. I don't listen loud anyway. What i can say is that it sounded even more lightweight. Ananda sounds lightweight, ''ethereal''. It amplified that.
So I just wanted to share my experience with this HP.
I got my XS 4 days ago. But sadly I've come to know about Hifimans infamous QC. Left driver is 2-3 db lower than right and channel correction can't compensate fully, theres is a lack of midbass even with channel correction. At first I thpught it was the cable, but running a new balanced cable didn't correct this. Thoug it did improve the overall sound significantly. Don't settle with the stock cable it sounds so bad.
Its pretty frustrating, cuz they sound so good -for a defective HP that is
I'll get back when I've been in contact with my local dealer.
I got my XS 4 days ago. But sadly I've come to know about Hifimans infamous QC. Left driver is 2-3 db lower than right and channel correction can't compensate fully, theres is a lack of midbass even with channel correction. At first I thpught it was the cable, but running a new balanced cable didn't correct this. Thoug it did improve the overall sound significantly. Don't settle with the stock cable it sounds so bad.
Its pretty frustrating, cuz they sound so good -for a defective HP that is
I'll get back when I've been in contact with my local dealer.
Send it back, it has a bad diaphragm on left.So I just wanted to share my experience with this HP.
I got my XS 4 days ago. But sadly I've come to know about Hifimans infamous QC. Left driver is 2-3 db lower than right and channel correction can't compensate fully, theres is a lack of midbass even with channel correction. At first I thpught it was the cable, but running a new balanced cable didn't correct this. Thoug it did improve the overall sound significantly. Don't settle with the stock cable it sounds so bad.
Its pretty frustrating, cuz they sound so good -for a defective HP that is
I'll get back when I've been in contact with my local dealer.
You can never compensate for that.
Talked to my dealer and no problem. I send it back, they will then confirm the error and send me a new set. I've made them open the new set and be sure they work before sending so i don't risk another sendback
Looking forward to hear them in their full potential By the way, the new cable I raved on about has been returned because I realized that while anything else improved a great deal, the timbre (which is the one thing i appreciate the most on this hp) got a lot worse becoming the same thin metallic sound i know from the Sundara. So now I've ordered a pure copper cable without silvercoating. Hope It will still be a significant upgrade from the stock one but without compromising timbre.
I really didn't believe in the whole snakeoil thing regarding cables. But have been proven otherwise. It's almost like listening to a different HP.
Maybe Hifimans cables are just faulty and really really bad, and any aftermarket cable will be a huge upgrade?
odyo
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Cable is cable.Talked to my dealer and no problem. I send it back, they will then confirm the error and send me a new set. I've made them open the new set and be sure they work before sending so i don't risk another sendback
By the way, the new cable I raved on about has been returned because I realized that while anything else improved a great deal, the timbre (which is the one thing i appreciate the most on this hp) got a lot worse becoming the same thin metallic sound i know from the Sundara. So now I've ordered a pure copper cable without silvercoating. Hope It will still be a significant upgrade from the stock one but without compromising timbre.
I really didn't believe in the whole snakeoil thing regarding cables. But have been proven otherwise. It's almost like listening to a different HP.
Maybe Hifimans cables are just faulty and really really bad, and any aftermarket cable will be a huge upgrade?
I noticed a sound quality difference with my Edition XS with different cables too.Talked to my dealer and no problem. I send it back, they will then confirm the error and send me a new set. I've made them open the new set and be sure they work before sending so i don't risk another sendback
By the way, the new cable I raved on about has been returned because I realized that while anything else improved a great deal, the timbre (which is the one thing i appreciate the most on this hp) got a lot worse becoming the same thin metallic sound i know from the Sundara. So now I've ordered a pure copper cable without silvercoating. Hope It will still be a significant upgrade from the stock one but without compromising timbre.
I really didn't believe in the whole snakeoil thing regarding cables. But have been proven otherwise. It's almost like listening to a different HP.
Maybe Hifimans cables are just faulty and really really bad, and any aftermarket cable will be a huge upgrade?
But remember , this is ASR!
What can't be measured (yet!) doesn't exist.
I was under the impression that Science is there to explain what we experience in life, it seems it is the reverse! Science dictates what we should experience, and if we don't , we are imagining it .
In my experience, Silver, Copper has been irrelevant .
I use pure silver solid core, but I did try Copper solid core, and It sounded the same.
It doesn't have to be expensive. As an experiment, I used Cat5 individual wires (one per conductor ) and it sounded as good as my pure silver wire, it is just that silver is softer.
I ordered this one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08CX78M1T/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Cheap. But believe it will be an upgrade. Not sure if going balanced and OCC will make any audible difference from then on.
But, I'm not as skeptic as before.
Boughtthe silvercoated cable for length not to improve SQ. But I was rather shocked when i heard it.. Had no preference in to cheating myself in any way in this regard.
Also I can confirm that this HP thrives with more power, as others also has suggested (to some debate i believe).
The zen stack sounds great, but going from dac to amp and then again from low to high gain on the can, and at last switching to variable, to improve input voltage from the dac to the amp.
Every one of of these steps gives incremental improvements -noticeably in form of control, overall dynamics and punch. Just more body and weight. This should make sense in a scientific sense also. Though im not the one to explain it
I will invest in a more powerfull amp in near future. Any good suggestions. Must not be clinical/sterile in sound. Like the can for it´s warmth. To bad it´s on the limits with this HP.
But seriously for those who say it just need to be loud enough. Try running them from a phone, then from a powerfull amp. If you can't hear a difference you really shouldn't own a HP at this price. Why would an upgrade in power from a small to a bigger amp with better power delivery not also be an improvement
If you can cancel it.
This one I have tested both subjectively and objectively .
It shares ground wire up to the Y split, which is sacrilege !
Bundled cable is better (still crap).
Balanced, usually is better, if your amp has balanced output.
Damn it! But cancelled it. It did have a lot of great reviews though?
It is not that easy finding a replacement in pure copper for the Edition xs -balanced or not. I found this one though its on the expensive side;
Balanced shouldn't make a difference. It has a fully balanced circuit, but from measurements it delivers the same or actual lower output into balanced than SE in to a <32ohm HP. So I would be happy with any decent SE copper cable replacement. Have a suggestion. I live in DK so
It is not that easy finding a replacement in pure copper for the Edition xs -balanced or not. I found this one though its on the expensive side;
Headphone Cable For Hifiman Sundara Ananda HE1000se HE6se he400i he400se Arya | eBay
3.5mm 3 pole (Stereo) Plug. 3.5mm 4 Pole balanced plug. 2.5mm 4 Pole balanced plug. XLR 4 Pole Male plug. XLR 4 Pole Female plug. Dual XLR 3 Pole Male plug. Dual XLR 3 Pole Female plug. This is 16 cores 99% Pure 7N OCC Copper Cable.
www.ebay.com
Balanced shouldn't make a difference. It has a fully balanced circuit, but from measurements it delivers the same or actual lower output into balanced than SE in to a <32ohm HP. So I would be happy with any decent SE copper cable replacement. Have a suggestion. I live in DK so
$48 isn't expensive !Damn it! But cancelled it. It did have a lot of great reviews though?
It is not that easy finding a replacement in pure copper for the Edition xs -balanced or not. I found this one though its on the expensive side;
Headphone Cable For Hifiman Sundara Ananda HE1000se HE6se he400i he400se Arya | eBay
3.5mm 3 pole (Stereo) Plug. 3.5mm 4 Pole balanced plug. 2.5mm 4 Pole balanced plug. XLR 4 Pole Male plug. XLR 4 Pole Female plug. Dual XLR 3 Pole Male plug. Dual XLR 3 Pole Female plug. This is 16 cores 99% Pure 7N OCC Copper Cable.www.ebay.com
Balanced shouldn't make a difference. It has a fully balanced circuit, but from measurements it delivers the same or actual lower output into balanced than SE in to a <32ohm HP. So I would be happy with any decent SE copper cable replacement. Have a suggestion. I live in DK so
I have something similar in my bits'n'bats box (pure silver thin multicore), though it is an improvement over bundled, but sounds the same!
For me, it was the solid core that did it, silver or copper was same.
even OFC was same.
Well not that expensive
I guess I'm going with this as it is the only one, besides the one i just cancelled, which is pure copper and has the proper connectors.
I can always buy a 4.4mm>3.5mm jack adapter if i want to go SE. Thanks for the advice on the other cable.
Just to be clear, you dont think this will be an upgrade from the stock cable regarding to sound? Or are you referring to there being no difference in the types of pure copper/silver cables you own, besides feel?
The difference, as i mentioned before, between stock and ofc silvercoated was huge, so would expect some of the same benefits with this one, but without loosing the sweet warm timbre
Both. apart from feel of them, there was no audio improvement for me. But I have Chord DACs, not same as you.Well not that expensive
I guess I'm going with this as it is the only one, besides the one i just cancelled, which is pure copper and has the proper connectors.
I can always buy a 4.4mm>3.5mm jack adapter if i want to go SE. Thanks for the advice on the other cable.
Just to be clear, you dont think this will be an upgrade from the stock cable regarding to sound? Or are you referring to there being no difference in the types of pure copper/silver cables you own, besides feel?
Yes, the metal was irrelevant .
I only used silver because it is softer! remember mine is Solid Single Core, by default a stiff cable.
The difference, as i mentioned before, between stock and ofc silvercoated was huge, so would expect some of the same benefits with this one, but without loosing the sweet warm timbre
So a little update.
My dealer received the HP today and upon initial listening couldn't fault it. He said he meassured with pinknoise and that there was no imbalance between left and right. That frustrated me quite a bit cause I did not return a product that worked 100%. Why would I. I'm inside the return window anyway so could just return it if I did not like them. Anyways, after a little back and forth he admitted to some lack of bass definition and some midrange differences compared to their demomodel.
But he could not reproduce the 2 db imbalance I heard. Why?
Could the diaphragm have an error that could've somehow corrected itself to a certain degree under transport? Is it me who is really sensible to that and him who is not detecting it? I don't believe my hearing is superior in anyway! 20 years as a musician doesn't exactly do good things to your ears
Does anyone had similar experiences with faulty planars? Were the driver is functioning like 80 or 90%ish? Or is it normal totally dead or distortet if faulted?
I'm getting a new pair tomorrow so exited to give them a listen. Hopefully they just work!
My dealer received the HP today and upon initial listening couldn't fault it. He said he meassured with pinknoise and that there was no imbalance between left and right. That frustrated me quite a bit cause I did not return a product that worked 100%. Why would I. I'm inside the return window anyway so could just return it if I did not like them. Anyways, after a little back and forth he admitted to some lack of bass definition and some midrange differences compared to their demomodel.
But he could not reproduce the 2 db imbalance I heard. Why?
Could the diaphragm have an error that could've somehow corrected itself to a certain degree under transport? Is it me who is really sensible to that and him who is not detecting it? I don't believe my hearing is superior in anyway! 20 years as a musician doesn't exactly do good things to your ears
Does anyone had similar experiences with faulty planars? Were the driver is functioning like 80 or 90%ish? Or is it normal totally dead or distortet if faulted?
I'm getting a new pair tomorrow so exited to give them a listen. Hopefully they just work!
odyo
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Did you measure them ? I don't think we are reliable to detect 2db imbalance precisely. Some things may sound off for a moment but most of the time it's psychoacoustics.So a little update.
My dealer received the HP today and upon initial listening couldn't fault it. He said he meassured with pinknoise and that there was no imbalance between left and right. That frustrated me quite a bit cause I did not return a product that worked 100%. Why would I. I'm inside the return window anyway so could just return it if I did not like them. Anyways, after a little back and forth he admitted to some lack of bass definition and some midrange differences compared to their demomodel.
But he could not reproduce the 2 db imbalance I heard. Why?
Could the diaphragm have an error that could've somehow corrected itself to a certain degree under transport? Is it me who is really sensible to that and him who is not detecting it? I don't believe my hearing is superior in anyway! 20 years as a musician doesn't exactly do good things to your ears
Does anyone had similar experiences with faulty planars? Were the driver is functioning like 80 or 90%ish? Or is it normal totally dead or distortet if faulted?
I'm getting a new pair tomorrow so exited to give them a listen. Hopefully they just work!
Some factors: Uneven hearing loss, the fit, amp, volume knob position etc
Hifiman seem to match their drivers well but on the other hand their QC and reliability is just bad so anything is possible.
So I tried them with different cables, different amp/dacs and tried to put them on backwards and nothing solved it. I put around 40 hours of listening in to them and tried to compare with different HP. so I think i eliminated all of the factors you mentioned.
The singers and bass especially would be off slightly to the right in all songs all of the time. With a channel compensation it evened out.
I dont think phsychoacoustic is the explanation here as much as an defaulted driver.
@odyo is right, take it on board.So a little update.
My dealer received the HP today and upon initial listening couldn't fault it. He said he meassured with pinknoise and that there was no imbalance between left and right. That frustrated me quite a bit cause I did not return a product that worked 100%. Why would I. I'm inside the return window anyway so could just return it if I did not like them. Anyways, after a little back and forth he admitted to some lack of bass definition and some midrange differences compared to their demomodel.
But he could not reproduce the 2 db imbalance I heard. Why?
Could the diaphragm have an error that could've somehow corrected itself to a certain degree under transport? Is it me who is really sensible to that and him who is not detecting it? I don't believe my hearing is superior in anyway! 20 years as a musician doesn't exactly do good things to your ears
Does anyone had similar experiences with faulty planars? Were the driver is functioning like 80 or 90%ish? Or is it normal totally dead or distortet if faulted?
I'm getting a new pair tomorrow so exited to give them a listen. Hopefully they just work!
But you originally said, one side had a lack of Bass!
That is a tell tale sign of a diaphragm problem, if it is twisted, or stuck, you loose bass. I had a HE560 once with a partially stuck (to magnets) diaphragm on one side, Hifiman replaced the whole headphone.
"Take them on board" not sure what this means?
When I did not compensate with channel correction, singers and bass which was supposed to be in center was of to the right. especially subbas was lacking in left.
When channel compensated with 2db gain on left, singers would even out presenting in centerstage. But bass especially sub-bass was still lacking in left.
The dealer said it lacked bass overall when he compared to a demomodel they have, so something is definitely off. But as mentioned he did not find them to be unbalanced. I guess the left driver is loose and is acting up.
Means consider what he is saying, my accent!
I would have measured them if I could. But i think I did all the testing I possibly could to eliminate any outside factors.
I'll report back tomorrow when I get the new pair.
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