Hifiman Edition XS

[rjley]

Probably and us mortals can get the wrong idea and hype these more than necessary.

Just really impressed with the XS. A lot juicier sound than the HEKV2

 

[vikinguy]

I just sold my arya stealth for a little extra dough (will be rebuying or grabbing he1000v2 in a couple months), does anyone think these would get me through for my open back needs for a few months?

 

[rjley]

I just sold my arya stealth for a little extra dough (will be rebuying or grabbing he1000v2 in a couple months), does anyone think these would get me through for my open back needs for a few months?

I would say so. I may be selling mine if interested (HE1000V2)

 

[inscythe]

My Dekoni leather pads for my Edition XS finally arrived. It does somewhat change the tuning, adding some extra microdetails at a cost of some sibilance. Bass gets more texture, but the mids lost a bit of emphasis.

Overall, the change is very minor, within 3-4% by my estimate. I prefer the comfort of the memory foam and leather skin from Dekoni.

 

[mr.at]

My Dekoni leather pads for my Edition XS finally arrived. It does somewhat change the tuning, adding some extra microdetails at a cost of some sibilance. Bass gets more texture, but the mids lost a bit of emphasis.

Overall, the change is very minor, within 3-4% by my estimate. I prefer the comfort of the memory foam and leather skin from Dekoni.
View attachment 182533

Yeah can't ever go wrong with Dekoni if one can afford them. These should have you set for a long time.

 

[inscythe]

Yeah can't ever go wrong with Dekoni if one can afford them. These should have you set for a long time.

Dekoni is pretty pricey for just earpads, but this is my only option for what I'm looking for. Third-party oval Hifiman earpads with clip mount was rare. Before these, I saw some cheaper compatible oval Hifiman earpads, but they are glue mount.

I had good experience with Dekoni pads for my Sennheisers, so I went for it.

 

[mr.at]

Dekoni is pretty pricey for just earpads, but this is my only option for what I'm looking for. Third-party oval Hifiman earpads with clip mount was rare. Before these, I saw some cheaper compatible oval Hifiman earpads, but they are glue mount.

I had good experience with Dekoni pads for my Sennheisers, so I went for it.

That is true. You see, the Edition XS pads would cost almost $90 or more from Dekoni - I myself have ordered sheepskin for aliexpress (yes glue mounted only) but they're just $20 (shipped), so the price gap is just huge for me to be able to justify it.

I got two different pairs of Dekoni with two pre-owned cans i got - the pads are great yes, but can never force my hand to buy some from Dekoni myself either.

 

[Veri]

Yeah can't ever go wrong with Dekoni if one can afford them.

Plenty can go wrong sound-wise, though. Aftermarket earpads can mess up the sound over stock earpads in many cases.

 

[mr.at]

Plenty can go wrong sound-wise, though. Aftermarket earpads can mess up the sound over stock earpads in many cases.

Yes that is true - well the moment you go non-stock, you know you've gotten off the road.

But it's not all true. Besides obvious advantages in fit and longevity, any aftermarket pads will always deviate from the stock sound - but that is often the point some times.

I've pad-rolled so much and come to the point where on some cans, I do prefer aftermarket pads for many reasons. Yes, on some headphones, you just can't have aftermarket pads. So it does vary from headphone to headphone, and for some headphones, it can be very particular.

 

[inscythe]

That is true. You see, the Edition XS pads would cost almost $90 or more from Dekoni - I myself have ordered sheepskin for aliexpress (yes glue mounted only) but they're just $20 (shipped), so the price gap is just huge for me to be able to justify it.

I got two different pairs of Dekoni with two pre-owned cans i got - the pads are great yes, but can never force my hand to buy some from Dekoni myself either.

Hmmm? I actually searched for the pads on AliExpress (and Taobao too) before settling with Dekoni. The cheapest I found is still around $60 for oval Hifiman (I saw a lot of $20 ones for round Hifiman). So I guessed $20 difference from Dekoni for a better brand would be quite worth the experiment. I got mine slightly cheaper than directly from Dekoni at $79.

I'm curious though... Do you have a link for yours?

 

[mr.at]

Hmmm? I actually searched for the pads on AliExpress (and Taobao too) before settling with Dekoni. The cheapest I found is still around $60 for oval Hifiman (I saw a lot of $20 ones for round Hifiman). So I guessed $20 difference from Dekoni for a better brand would be quite worth the experiment. I got mine slightly cheaper than directly from Dekoni at $79.

I'm curious though... Do you have a link for yours?

I see. Yes I did see the ones with the mounting rings. But $60ish just for the stupid mounting option is too much.
I went for these instead.

 

[inscythe]

I see. Yes I did see the ones with the mounting rings. But $60ish just for the stupid mounting option is too much.
I went for these instead.

Thanks! The one you linked did not show up on my search before, so I was actually talking about this one. I'll keep your link as a backup.

Also, I think the extra $60 premium that Dekoni asks for isn't just for the mounting option, but also goes to QC and testing (like those FR graphs that Dekoni published for their earpads). I got some sheepskin earpads for my Sennheiser HD650 from AliExpress before and it was quite poorly made that I got channel imbalance, so I got Dekoni pads for it during a sale. Same goes with my HD800S. That said, I do feel that Dekoni could've lowered the price a little here... I think $50-60 region would be more reasonable.

Meanwhile, my other headphones are using AliExpress earpads just fine (I particularly like Defean earpads), so really depends on the luck, I guess...

EDIT: Oh crap... This just got listed. Damn, could've tried getting this instead.

 

[mr.at]

Thanks! The one you linked did not show up on my search before, so I was actually talking about this one. I'll keep your link as a backup.

Also, I think the extra $60 premium that Dekoni asks for isn't just for the mounting option, but also goes to QC and testing (like those FR graphs that Dekoni published for their earpads). I got some sheepskin earpads for my Sennheiser HD650 from AliExpress before and it was quite poorly made that I got channel imbalance, so I got Dekoni pads for it during a sale. Same goes with my HD800S. That said, I do feel that Dekoni could've lowered the price a little here... I think $50-60 region would be more reasonable.

Meanwhile, my other headphones are using AliExpress earpads just fine (I particularly like Defean earpads), so really depends on the luck, I guess...

Yeah that does make sense - funny how the ones you saw are almost (or maybe exactly) the same and $40 more lol.
I've had great luck on AE for various pads - I grabbed $18ish to $25ish sheespkin round earpads for my other cans too, so I usually go there. Dekoni's cheapest can't match my wallet so that has to not work out for me then - unless, like I said, the earpads I got free with the pre-owned purchases.

 

[Carlo2AC]

I bought these to try out while already owning the HEKV2.
Very impressed with them, running them through just the RME ADI-2 DAC.

Am I crazy if I'm considering selling the HEKV2's and keeping the Edition XS?

Yes, sounds like new toy syndrome.

 

[vikinguy]

I've had them on for a couple hours. I'm more than impressed given the 500 dollar price. It's a really good set.

 

[vikinguy]

Agreed about the wooden bass. They sound a lot better with alpha kann than my smsl m200/sp200 stack.

Don't let anyone tell you "they sound just like Arya stealth"

They're a very good set of planar open backs and for $430 I'm glad I got them.

 

[rjley]

Agreed about the wooden bass. They sound a lot better with alpha kann than my smsl m200/sp200 stack.

Don't let anyone tell you "they sound just like Arya stealth"

They're a very good set of planar open backs and for $430 I'm glad I got them.

Where'd you get them for $430?

 

[mr.at]

Where'd you get them for $430?

If you try harder, you can get them for even lower. Some lucky basterds (pun intended) grabbed these for as low as $390.
Check hifigo or AE coupon options, then also whine a little to the seller, they may lower the price for you.

 

[vikinguy]

If you try harder, you can get them for even lower. Some lucky basterds (pun intended) grabbed these for as low as $390.
Check hifigo or AE coupon options, then also whine a little to the seller, they may lower the price for you.

Thanks! I'm cool with $430

 

[mr.at]

Thanks! I'm cool with $430

Yeah I meant for @rjley