I have had the HEX for about a week now. Immediately out of the box I found myself loving the tonality and musicality of these even on my smartphone. I'm primarily using them at work with my portable Bakoon HPA-01M amp through the current mode, and using the Centrance DACPort Mini as DAC. I can definitely hear a difference between unamped and through my Bakoon. The biggest difference I can hear is the increase in dynamic range and clearer instrument separation. Unamped they sound good but very two dimensional despite the great soundstage. It sounds as if all the layers of sound are flattened into one and placed with a decent soundstage away from your ears. Once amped, the music layers begin to separate out and fill that soundstage. Also, you can hear the quiet parts more easily, rather than everything seeming to be the same volume (better dynamics).
When I finally got around to comparing the TH900 and HD800 I have at home, my first impression switching from either of those to the HEX was noticing that the HEX seemed veiled. I never felt it was veiled until I compared it to the HD800/TH900. I think this is because there's less treble on the HEX. However, after a minute of switching, that veil disappears and all the details I want are there. Switching back to the HD800/TH900, those now sound shrill and unnatural. Before I never thought the TH900 was really mid-recessed like the reviews say, but I could definitely hear it now. I always felt the HD800 was a little bass light, but overall the sound signature was balanced, but after switching from the HEX, it now sounded shrill and without body. Again if I listen to the HD800/TH900 for a while, that disappears, though not as quickly as the veil disappeared for the HEX.
Ultimately, the HEX does not have as much details as the HD800 or even the TH900, but it's far more musical. I feel it has enough detail retrieval to sound hifi. The sub bass can be a bit loose, which is apparent when switching from the TH900, but there's no mid bass hump that bleeds into the mids. I've only had a few problems with the bass in tracks like "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters, but that's more of a recording issue. Even on the HD800 there's some flabbiness to the bass, though it's less apparent than from the HEX. The TH900 cleans up the bass better on this track. The highs are lessened compared to HD800/TH900, but it's still there to prevent the headphones from sounding dark. The quality of the treble is quite impressive and airy. I may be flamed for saying this, but reminds be of some of the airy treble I've heard from electrostatics. However, because it's not emphasized, it's not very apparent unless you listen for it or a track has more prominent treble. The mids are the soul of these headphones and sound very musical. I don't think I've heard any mids quite as musical other than the HEK or STAX SR-007/009.
I think when people say these are veiled, or have a gray background, or aren't transparent, I think it's because of the signature that does not boost treble and also the prominent, but not tightest sub bass. I think if these had the TH900 sub bass, they would be pretty much perfect for me. Because they are easy to drive through a smartphone, the scaling is more subtle. With amping the transparency, imaging, and dynamics definitely improves, but not so much micro details, which I think most people are looking for when it comes to scaling on higher end gear.
One other interesting note is that I've been taking the HEX and Bakoon with me to work each day and then taking them back home. The fact it's portable in this sense is a plus for me. I'm actually able to have more time to listen to these headphones during my normal day than the desktop gear I would otherwise keep at home.
I think if I still feel this way after a month, and that it's not just a temporary infatuation, I'm going to sell my HD800, TH900, and all my desktop gear because I am enjoying these more for the musicality. Sometimes details isn't everything, and it's more about enjoying the music than analyzing it and hearing every 0,1 (or groove if you're listening to vinyls).
Gear:
At home: Emotiva DC-1 -> Questyle CMA800R -> HD800, DC-1 -> Bakoon HPA-01M -> TH900, DC-1 -> HPA-01M -> HEX
At work: Centrance DACPort Slim -> HPA-01M -> HEX
I have had the HEX for about a week now. Immediately out of the box I found myself loving the tonality and musicality of these even on my smartphone. I'm primarily using them at work with my portable Bakoon HPA-01M amp through the current mode, and using the Centrance DACPort Mini as DAC. I can definitely hear a difference between unamped and through my Bakoon. The biggest difference I can hear is the increase in dynamic range and clearer instrument separation. Unamped they sound good but very two dimensional despite the great soundstage. It sounds as if all the layers of sound are flattened into one and placed with a decent soundstage away from your ears. Once amped, the music layers begin to separate out and fill that soundstage. Also, you can hear the quiet parts more easily, rather than everything seeming to be the same volume (better dynamics).
When I finally got around to comparing the TH900 and HD800 I have at home, my first impression switching from either of those to the HEX was noticing that the HEX seemed veiled. I never felt it was veiled until I compared it to the HD800/TH900. I think this is because there's less treble on the HEX. However, after a minute of switching, that veil disappears and all the details I want are there. Switching back to the HD800/TH900, those now sound shrill and unnatural. Before I never thought the TH900 was really mid-recessed like the reviews say, but I could definitely hear it now. I always felt the HD800 was a little bass light, but overall the sound signature was balanced, but after switching from the HEX, it now sounded shrill and without body. Again if I listen to the HD800/TH900 for a while, that disappears, though not as quickly as the veil disappeared for the HEX.
Ultimately, the HEX does not have as much details as the HD800 or even the TH900, but it's far more musical. I feel it has enough detail retrieval to sound hifi. The sub bass can be a bit loose, which is apparent when switching from the TH900, but there's no mid bass hump that bleeds into the mids. I've only had a few problems with the bass in tracks like "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters, but that's more of a recording issue. Even on the HD800 there's some flabbiness to the bass, though it's less apparent than from the HEX. The TH900 cleans up the bass better on this track. The highs are lessened compared to HD800/TH900, but it's still there to prevent the headphones from sounding dark. The quality of the treble is quite impressive and airy. I may be flamed for saying this, but reminds be of some of the airy treble I've heard from electrostatics. However, because it's not emphasized, it's not very apparent unless you listen for it or a track has more prominent treble. The mids are the soul of these headphones and sound very musical. I don't think I've heard any mids quite as musical other than the HEK or STAX SR-007/009.
I think when people say these are veiled, or have a gray background, or aren't transparent, I think it's because of the signature that does not boost treble and also the prominent, but not tightest sub bass. I think if these had the TH900 sub bass, they would be pretty much perfect for me. Because they are easy to drive through a smartphone, the scaling is more subtle. With amping the transparency, imaging, and dynamics definitely improves, but not so much micro details, which I think most people are looking for when it comes to scaling on higher end gear. And the HEX isn't one of those headphones that sounds dark or veiled when listening it to it by like I've heard in others, Audioquest NightHawk for example. It only sounds less resolving when do back to back comparison with treblier headphone like the HD800. I don't consider the HEX dark at all.
One other interesting note is that I've been taking the HEX and Bakoon with me to work each day and then taking them back home. The fact it's portable in this sense is a plus for me. I'm actually able to have more time to listen to these headphones during my normal day than the desktop gear I would otherwise keep at home.
I think if I still feel this way after a month, and that it's not just a temporary infatuation, I'm going to sell my HD800, TH900, and all my desktop gear because I am enjoying these more for the musicality. Sometimes details isn't everything, and it's more about enjoying the music than analyzing it and hearing every 0,1 (or groove if you're listening to vinyls).
Gear:
At home: Emotiva DC-1 -> Questyle CMA800R -> HD800, DC-1 -> Bakoon HPA-01M -> TH900, DC-1 -> HPA-01M -> HEX
At work: Centrance DACPort Slim -> HPA-01M -> HEX
Just a quick FYI...
The grill is NOT dented. It is actually designed that way.
Please stop commenting that your grill is dented, because it actually appears on all units! Don't want people confusing this with bad build quality.
With regards to "portable headphone", it may be a little misleading. Dr. Fang designed these to be a headphone that required minimal effort and equipment in order to get it to sing. It will obviously continue scaling in some manner, which many have proved anecdotally. However, most users will get very good sound out of lesser gear, and great sound out of better gear. The only consideration is to be careful with how much power you are providing, given how sensitive the Edition X is. As with any headphone, too much power will cause audible distortion due to clipping.
These are not, persay, a portable commute headphone, since they are open. However, Dr. Fang believes that a closed-back design heavily impacts the sound quality of a headphone due to unwanted reflections.
