Hifiman Edition XS

[ngs428]

You could sell both and just have 1 pair of the XS. Worth it!

My thoughts too. You beat me to it.

 

[ngs428]

IMO THD is a bit of a red herring, as has been demonstrated by multiple papers on the subject (the Temme & Olive paper, or the Geddes & Lee to name a few important ones). But there are times when it's worth noting it, like if it's bad enough to be audible or cause problems for important EQ adjustments for a given headphone.

For the Edition XS, no such issues showed up, but with that said, here's a result around 95dB:

View attachment 185095

You see some 2nd and 3rd harmonic stuff there but again, not at all audible.

Thanks for the graph and explanation here. I appreciate it. Also, thanks for the review. I was waiting for a reliable reviewer and you delivered. Just made the purchase!

 

[Veri]

This one looked too promising - ordered one for below 400 bucks at AliExpress. I hope it works for my ears as it does for so many others. And not seeing horrible distortion and group delay plots later on from amirm...

To be fair my Audeze Sine was shown by amirm to have above average distortion levels when playing loudly but at "normal" listening volume I have never found that to be the case in practice. I don't listen to 90+dB SPL. Group delay, ringing or other messy stuff might be another problem altogether, though.

 

[Bernard23]

Has anyone developed some .wav convoluted DSP files for these yet? Nothing on Jaakko's AutoEQ database. I guess it would be relatively easy to make some adjustments based off the info in @Resolve's review, or even having a go myself, but need a reliable FR plot.

 

[MC_RME]

IMO THD is a bit of a red herring, as has been demonstrated by multiple papers on the subject (the Temme & Olive paper, or the Geddes & Lee to name a few important ones). But there are times when it's worth noting it, like if it's bad enough to be audible or cause problems for important EQ adjustments for a given headphone.

For the Edition XS, no such issues showed up, but with that said, here's a result around 95dB:

You see some 2nd and 3rd harmonic stuff there but again, not at all audible.

Much appreciated - and a delight as well, looks like there are no serious issues, especially in the low bass area.

 

[ngs428]

For those of you using the Math Audio EQ plugin for Foobar, here are the EQ presets for the settings @Resolve provided.

 

[Resolve]

For those of you using the Math Audio EQ plugin for Foobar, here are the EQ presets for the settings Resolve provided.

I'll release a video on the reasons for this soon, but I don't recommend EQing anything above 5khz to the target... unless you're only using wide filters to get something in the ballpark. EQ to your ear for the best results.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

Just received my Edition XS today. Oh, the BASS! I didn't know open-back headphones were structurally capable of producing such rumble, yet the XS did it! The overall tonality is just right. They are as warm neutral as the speakers and IEMs I currently own. It's like wearing a pair of subwoofered Genelec on my head. I can switch back and forth between the XS and the speaker system and the tonality shift is almost gapless. Not dull, not thin, not bright, not sibilant, not fatiguing. The only slight drawback is the cymbals sound a tad bit prominent. This makes some metal tracks a little messy and symphonic string a little too airy, but not a problem for vocal and most other instruments, and the overall timbre is nowhere near as bothersome as the HD800/S, Focal Clear, and Sundara. The Edition XS is the best one I've ever owned.

 

[MC_RME]

Please stop this mouth-watering until I got mine...

 

[ngs428]

Does anyone have a hard case for their XS? If so, could you provide a link?

Saturday arrival for mine.

 

[MC_RME]

A case I already have. I expect it to fit well. If not the foam is quite flexible and easy to modify/cut:

39.69US $ |V MOTA TDC Headset Tragen Fall Boxs Für Audeze LCD 2 LCD4 LCD3 LCD X LCD XC HiFiMAN HE 400i HE560 I Felsen Edition X V2 (Koffer)|Kopfhörer-Zubehör| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

de.aliexpress.com

Post edit: turned out this case (most cases) do not have enough height for the XS. The XS requires 11 cm height, most cases stop at 10 cm.

 

[Tobi]

IMO THD is a bit of a red herring, as has been demonstrated by multiple papers on the subject (the Temme & Olive paper, or the Geddes & Lee to name a few important ones). But there are times when it's worth noting it, like if it's bad enough to be audible or cause problems for important EQ adjustments for a given headphone.

For the Edition XS, no such issues showed up, but with that said, here's a result around 95dB:

View attachment 185095

You see some 2nd and 3rd harmonic stuff there but again, not at all audible.

Edit: You could expect it to be higher with higher volume level of course, but as mentioned, you'll never hear that with music. For those who are seeking the lowest THD they can find, you can certainly find better out there, it's just not a windmill I'll be tilting at.

Is this measurement comparable to Amirs Ananda distortion measurement at 94dB, the one with the 40dB threshold?

If so, the distortion (above 1kHz) should be a little higher on the XS compared to the Ananda, or am I wrong ?

I know the discussion on audibility of distortion and its influence on overall sound quality. I for myself dont care too much, at least with headphones at this little(?) level of distortion and in these high dB ranges.

But for comparitive reasons (stealth vs non stealth and different driver) I find it interesting nonetheless.

 

[ngs428]

A case I already have. I expect it to fit well. If not the foam is quite flexible and easy to modify/cut:

39.69US $ |V MOTA TDC Headset Tragen Fall Boxs Für Audeze LCD 2 LCD4 LCD3 LCD X LCD XC HiFiMAN HE 400i HE560 I Felsen Edition X V2 (Koffer)|Kopfhörer-Zubehör| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

de.aliexpress.com

Thanks for the option! I was hoping to use the case I have on my 4XX or 6XX but I don’t think they will be large enough.

 

[odyo]

Just received my Edition XS today. Oh, the BASS! I didn't know open-back headphones were structurally capable of producing such rumble, yet the XS did it! The overall tonality is just right. They are as warm neutral as the speakers and IEMs I currently own. It's like wearing a pair of subwoofered Genelec on my head. I can switch back and forth between the XS and the speaker system and the tonality shift is almost gapless. Not dull, not thin, not bright, not sibilant, not fatiguing. The only slight drawback is the cymbals sound a tad bit prominent. This makes some metal tracks a little messy and symphonic string a little too airy, but not a problem for vocal and most other instruments, and the overall timbre is nowhere near as bothersome as the HD800/S, Focal Clear, and Sundara. The Edition XS is the best one I've ever owned.

Everyone talking about the bass made me super curious. They measure like almost identical to the Ananda. Why XS bass impression is so different. I mean Ananda has ok sub bass but still you don't get really noteworthy bass without eq.

@Resolve Is this lower resonance frequency in effect ? If so, we need more information about this stuff with other headphones too.

 

[Resolve]

Everyone talking about the bass made me super curious. They measure like almost identical to the Ananda. Why XS bass impression is so different. I mean Ananda has ok sub bass but still you don't get really noteworthy bass without eq.

@Resolve Is this lower resonance frequency in effect ? If so, we need more information about this stuff with other headphones too.

Very likely. And yeah that's why I generally post the resonance frequency for planars - or at least in situations where the coupling is really going to matter.

If so, the distortion (above 1kHz) should be a little higher on the XS compared to the Ananda, or am I wrong ?

It's pretty similar. These HFM headphones aren't the lowest for THD by any stretch, but they're also well below audible. I suppose someone could do a ridiculously high level test to show it as having high THD, but that's also a bit pointless. It's not like you need to EQ this headphone much.

 

[GaryH]

Very likely. And yeah that's why I generally post the resonance frequency for planars - or at least in situations where the coupling is really going to matter.

I don't see how that could be behind the 'punch and slam' talked of, as if I remember correctly you've measured the same (well-extended) bass response on-head and on-rig with headphones for which you didn't perceive that slam, so the broken seal measurements don't come into play there. As I understand, what you're seeing with your broken seal measurements is the Helmholtz resonance of the system. But crucially, the frequency of this resonance depends on the (total) size of the 'vents' in the front volume (smaller vent => lower resonance frequency IIRC). If you are not precisely controlling the size of the additional 'vent' you're introducing to different headphones (by breaking the seal), comparisons between them will not be accurate. And as I said above, if the headphone seals well on-head anyway, a broken-seal measurement will not be representative of reality, with a larger total front vent size than when worn, and so higher resonance frequency than would actually be heard.

So what's the actual cause of punch and slam? Degree of front volume seal (between the pads and the wearer's head and within the headphone's front volume itself), and so its acoustic impedance. Which also affects...good old frequency response! But it's also not in your measurements. How? Because you're just not measuring low enough. As Oratory says here:

Now let's look at something really interesting: Audeze's LCD-series. They have famously huge earpads that form an absolute airtight seal and are one of the reasons why the LCD-series has such a serious bass-punch - because they form an absolutely airtight front volume, which allows the driver to work in pressure-chamber conditions, where the sound pressure depends only on the excursion of the driver. This results in linear bass response down to theoretically 0 Hz. Yes, ZERO Hz. Now they are not completely airtight, but they are airtight enough for the bass to be linear to below 10 Hz.

Although our hearing only goes down to around 20 Hz, we can still feel pressure below that. Try measuring headphone frequency response down to ~0 Hz, and I'm pretty sure you'll find that models with the greatest low-frequency extension have the most slam.

 

[MayaTlab]

But crucially, the frequency of this resonance depends on the (total) size of the 'vents' in the front volume (smaller vent => lower resonance frequency IIRC). If you are not precisely controlling the size of the additional 'vent' you're introducing to different headphones (by breaking the seal), comparisons between them will not be accurate. And as I said above, if the headphone seals well on-head anyway, a broken-seal measurement will not be representative of reality, with a larger total front vent size than when worn, and so higher resonance frequency than would actually be heard.

Nah, otherwise DCA headphones would have a stupidly low resonant frequency. That's not how it works. size of vents =/= frequency of the resonance.

Although our hearing only goes down to around 20 Hz, we can still feel pressure below that. Try measuring headphone frequency response down to ~0 Hz, and I'm pretty sure you'll find models that have the greatest extension down there have the most slam.

Too bad most tracks don't even have any content down there...
I'll leave the semantics to others but Resolve has repeatedly mentioned that whatever he perceives as "Slam" / "Punch" is not correlated with bass extension, and probably perceives it with tracks having very little content below a few dozen Hz.

 

[Resolve]

I don't see how that could be behind the 'punch and slam' talked of

I'm not positive it is either - but what it can explain is the reports of more/stronger bass on the XS for example. With that other question of "what is slam", I don't have an answer for you yet unfortunately as I'm still trying to figure that out. But I do think the use of in-ear mics can at the very least help figure out if reports of this quality by listeners are being influenced by bass level and coupling when on an actual human head. I'd say that's the first thing to rule out before going looking for something else. So far, the best I've come up with is that there seems to be a necessary but not sufficient condition of low FS for this subjective quality, but also only because anything that has a super high Fs seems to do quite poorly.

Also re this: "why the LCD-series has such a serious bass-punch" - not in all cases, and I'd argue that the open-back Focals seem to still do even better at it too. Then you might say, "must be because of the extra mid-bass", but then find numerous counterexamples that have an elevated mid-bass that are poorly received for this quality.

What I've found is that... when trying to correlate this stuff with measurements, there are counterexamples everywhere. So I'm still at a loss there.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Thanks for the option! I was hoping to use the case I have on my 4XX or 6XX but I don’t think they will be large enough.

39.69US $ |V MOTA TDC Headset Tragen Fall Boxs Für Audeze LCD 2 LCD4 LCD3 LCD X LCD XC HiFiMAN HE 400i HE560 I Felsen Edition X V2 (Koffer)|box for|box boxbox case

I got one.
The EDX cups only fit perfectly if the cups are together in the centre. The case has a raised centre section, otherwise the sides of the case are too shallow.
My best fit:

 

[inscythe]

Does anyone have a hard case for their XS? If so, could you provide a link?

Saturday arrival for mine.

I got this for my Sundara (which I sold after getting the XS). Fits the XS just as well.

Headphone Travel Case

<p><span style="font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;"><strong><strong><span>Only available for the US,Canada and EU countries</span></strong>.</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Compatible with most HIFIMAN full-size headphones, includ

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