Hifiman Edition XS

[mr.at]

The 6XX are the cans I reach for when I'm working and just want the music to surround me while I focus on tasks on my screen, not the notes in my ears. There's nothing in the 6XX sound that distracts yet I don't find it as gauzy or veiled as some. It's just the perfect chill can for my tinnitus-ravaged ears.

I agree with how you feel about them. Yeah I think put on and forget type - especially if the clamping has relaxed, yeah, really unattended wearing.

 

[MrOtto]

What are Edition X V2? Pretty high rating at Crinacle

Higher price, but compared to Edition X as an upgraded version:

Headphones & portable audio - HIFIMAN.com

 

[Jmm22]

Can anyone compare these to the HE-560 being sold for $229 from time to time? When not on sale the HE-560 is around the same price point. I have an SP200 now, so the power needed to drive the 560 shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[mr.at]

Can anyone compare these to the HE-560 being sold for $229 from time to time? When not on sale the HE-560 is around the same price point. I have an SP200 now, so the power needed to drive the 560 shouldn’t be an issue.

I can confidently say the XS will be better than the 560. In all respects, TBH.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Can anyone compare these to the HE-560 being sold for $229 from time to time? When not on sale the HE-560 is around the same price point. I have an SP200 now, so the power needed to drive the 560 shouldn’t be an issue.

As capable as 560's are, but ultimately they are flawed, to the point HFN are discounting them so much to get rid of them.
Sundara beats 560's as a whole, let alone the Editions!

 

[Jarlaxle]

It has been two months since a bought a pair of brand new Sundaras. And now everyone is saying Edition XS is a step up. Oh well.

Joking aside, there is no standardized measurements of these yet but, from the reviews, what I understand is Edition XS have better bass, (maybe doesn't roll off in the sub bass area as much as Sundara) and have classic 2k mid dip which in Sundaras minimal.

Sundaras are my only planars but I'm expecting a pair of Sendy Peacock to arrive. I guess I'm good without XSs.
Sorry for thinking loud.

 

[raistlin65]

As capable as 560's are, but ultimately they are flawed, to the point HFN are discounting them so much to get rid of them.

Or they are discounting them because of how much they cost to manufacture. The HE400 series originally sold for $399

HiFiMan HE-400 review: HiFiMan HE-400

HiFiMan HE-400

www.cnet.com

Now the latest gen HE400SE is selling for $129.

HE560 originally sold for $899. So now having the V4 for $229 seems about right compared to the HE400 series price change.

We know this is common practice: Hifiman starts out with extremely high retail markup on items. Most likely to recover their development costs. And then the pricing drops over time to better reflect the actual production costs once they've recouped that.

 

[mr.at]

It has been two months since a bought a pair of brand new Sundaras. And now everyone is saying Edition XS is a step up. Oh well.

Joking aside, there is no standardized measurements of these yet but, from the reviews, what I understand is Edition XS have better bass, (maybe doesn't roll off in the sub bass area as much as Sundara) and have classic 2k mid dip which in Sundaras minimal.

Sundaras are my only planars but I'm expecting a pair of Sendy Peacock to arrive. I guess I'm good without XSs.
Sorry for thinking loud.

Understand where you're coming from. Thing is here, one real important thing in the Sundara vs XS comparison really is the physical size of the headphones. You see, larger, egghead planars will almost always be better than the rounder ones (real few, maybe one odd exception here), but this is what will generally be the case. The Susvara is a different animal - yet even that is still a little larger than round Hifimans.
Same would be true when you'd compare the LCD1 with LDC2s or higher ones etc. Even with monoprice monoliths, the 570 variants when compared to the 1060/70,1570 variants. Larger - is going to have it's own advantages. This comes especially with soundstage, naturality, and airiness and openness.

But the Sundaras have been around for quite a while now - the XS is a new release, and for all purposes, a much economical, cheapened version of the Edition X, Ananda, Aryas for example. It's already being compared with those cans. You don't usually pit any He-400 series cans or something against those big dogs - but the XS has to be pit with them to see how it compares. And many folks around that I see are at least as happy with the XS as they would be with the Ananda.

Now, the XS may not make a lot of sense to existing Arya.Ananda,X owners, like I've stated before - but it really is something else entirely for He400/500/Sundara owners.

That's how I'd respond to the general perception of 'better', and why that is really happening.

Let's not forget - given the price (where it can go as low as $380 at some places), and the use of the better magnetic design (stealth), which well, let's not glorify is more than it deserves, but it's still a feature Hifiman stresses on, and even prices it's variants accordingly - so all that, does actually make the Edition XS a breakthrough product. We may consider the Sundara an equally breakthrough product at the time - but that's old news now.

Guess you bought it a bit late. I always felt like buying it while it was making waves, but something held me back.
Now I feel content that I held back and bought the better cans.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Understand where you're coming from. Thing is here, one real important thing in the Sundara vs XS comparison really is the physical size of the headphones. You see, larger, egghead planars will almost always be better than the rounder ones (real few, maybe one odd exception here), but this is what will generally be the case. The Susvara is a different animal - yet even that is still a little larger than round Hifimans.
Same would be true when you'd compare the LCD1 with LDC2s or higher ones etc. Even with monoprice monoliths, the 570 variants when compared to the 1060/70,1570 variants. Larger - is going to have it's own advantages. This comes especially with soundstage, naturality, and airiness and openness.

But the Sundaras have been around for quite a while now - the XS is a new release, and for all purposes, a much economical, cheapened version of the Edition X, Ananda, Aryas for example. It's already being compared with those cans. You don't usually pit any He-400 series cans or something against those big dogs - but the XS has to be pit with them to see how it compares. And many folks around that I see are at least as happy with the XS as they would be with the Ananda.

Now, the XS may not make a lot of sense to existing Arya.Ananda,X owners, like I've stated before - but it really is something else entirely for He400/500/Sundara owners.

That's how I'd respond to the general perception of 'better', and why that is really happening.

Let's not forget - given the price (where it can go as low as $380 at some places), and the use of the better magnetic design (stealth), which well, let's not glorify is more than it deserves, but it's still a feature Hifiman stresses on, and even prices it's variants accordingly - so all that, does actually make the Edition XS a breakthrough product. We may consider the Sundara an equally breakthrough product at the time - but that's old news now.

Guess you bought it a bit late. I always felt like buying it while it was making waves, but something held me back.
Now I feel content that I held back and bought the better cans.

Great. If I stumble upon a decent deal, I would definitely consider buying a pair if that is the case. I also bought my Sundaras for a fair price brand new so by no means I regret buying them.

 

[xer0]

It has been two months since a bought a pair of brand new Sundaras. And now everyone is saying Edition XS is a step up. Oh well.

Joking aside, there is no standardized measurements of these yet but, from the reviews, what I understand is Edition XS have better bass, (maybe doesn't roll off in the sub bass area as much as Sundara) and have classic 2k mid dip which in Sundaras minimal.

Sundaras are my only planars but I'm expecting a pair of Sendy Peacock to arrive. I guess I'm good without XSs.
Sorry for thinking loud.

I just bought my Sundaras on the 30th of December and found out about these here this week.

Awesome timing as always.

I love the sound from the Sundaras but the allure of the Edition XS' better resolution/imaging and larger soundstage have been making me consider returning them. Only thing holding me back was the headband as I really like the one on the Sundara. I've been going back and forth on this for a few days now until earlier tonight when I saw that Amazon had a few XS' in stock for delivery this week. I jumped on it and figure I will compare them over the weekend and will return the loser on Monday.

 

[mr.at]

I just bought my Sundaras on the 30th of December and found out about these here this week.

Awesome timing as always.

I love the sound from the Sundaras but the allure of the Edition XS' better resolution/imaging and larger soundstage have been making me consider returning them. Only thing holding me back was the headband as I really like the one on the Sundara. I've been going back and forth on this for a few days now until earlier tonight when I saw that Amazon had a few XS' in stock for delivery this week. I jumped on it and figure I will compare them over the weekend and will return the loser on Monday.

That's a fine decision sir! I expect you'll like the XS. The headband on the XS at least offers swivel. But trust me, it's not a bad headband. Of course a nice suspension strap variant could be better. But this may be a little price to pay. It should exceed in other aspects for it to make it worth keeping.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I just bought my Sundaras on the 30th of December and found out about these here this week.

Awesome timing as always.

I love the sound from the Sundaras but the allure of the Edition XS' better resolution/imaging and larger soundstage have been making me consider returning them. Only thing holding me back was the headband as I really like the one on the Sundara. I've been going back and forth on this for a few days now until earlier tonight when I saw that Amazon had a few XS' in stock for delivery this week. I jumped on it and figure I will compare them over the weekend and will return the loser on Monday.

Great news. Hope you don't regret whatever decision you make. In this part of the world, you can't find "audiophile" headphones as easily unfortunately. Either we import them ourselves with lots of shipment tax cost, close to no return options without even trying them. So when I find a decent price I jump on them. (I bought the Peacocks pre-owned for around one third of the retail price)

 

[cs342]

Does anyone own both the Sundara and the Edition XS? The only thing holding me back from returning my Sundaras for the XS is comfort. I wear glasses and I want to make sure that the XS is equally as comfortable, if not more comfortable than the Sundara before pulling the trigger. I know that the Sundara headband seems to be preferred over the one on the XS (I'm not sure why though - the XS looks more sleek and less bulky), so that does worry me a bit.

 

[Rayman30]

Does anyone own both the Sundara and the Edition XS? The only thing holding me back from returning my Sundaras for the XS is comfort. I wear glasses and I want to make sure that the XS is equally as comfortable, if not more comfortable than the Sundara before pulling the trigger. I know that the Sundara headband seems to be preferred over the one on the XS (I'm not sure why though - the XS looks more sleek and less bulky), so that does worry me a bit.

You're always going to have FOBO, why not buy a pair of XS then spend some time with both, and return the one you don’t like?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Does anyone own both the Sundara and the Edition XS? The only thing holding me back from returning my Sundaras for the XS is comfort. I wear glasses and I want to make sure that the XS is equally as comfortable, if not more comfortable than the Sundara before pulling the trigger. I know that the Sundara headband seems to be preferred over the one on the XS (I'm not sure why though - the XS looks more sleek and less bulky), so that does worry me a bit.

Rather than the headband, sundara is on the lighter side, also has moderate clamp force which reduces pressure on the top of the head. Also cups retain the position you adjust (don't swivel) which helps seal a lot. Some of my headphones break the seal below my ear while my focal clear mg apply pressure to the same point more than necessary and cause a slight discomfort.

Now I don't know how XS' headband and cup design fit. I just wanted to shed some light to advantages of Sundara's design to other types of headband and cup designs.

 

[cs342]

Also cups retain the position you adjust (don't swivel) which helps seal a lot

I thought the lack of swivel was one of the most common complaints about the Sundara?

 

[Jarlaxle]

I thought the lack of swivel was one of the most common complaints about the Sundara?

Horizontal swivel yes, however I was talking about vertical swivel. Sorry I wasn't clear on that part.

 

[odyo]

Can anyone compare these to Sundara?
Im listening mostly Rock music, and just got sundara a few days ago and a bit annoyed how the drums sound, too crisp an just hurts my ears sometimes, guitar with sundara sounds amazing though.
Should I upgrade to XS?
Although im not a fan of plastic design ..

Sundara probably better for rock. They are more intense than egg shaped Hifiman's.

 

[ngs428]

Are there any FR graphs from the big reviewers for these yet? I am holding off until I can get a better idea of what we have here.

Thanks!

 

[inscythe]

Are there any FR graphs from the big reviewers for these yet? I am holding off until I can get a better idea of what we have here.

Thanks!

There are some measurements posted in hifiguides and head-fi comparing the Edition XS to Ananda. Not going to link them here in case it is against the rules, but shouldn't be hard to find them. I don't think there are big reviewers' measurements yet.