[340519]

I'm very interested in these after all of your great impressions.

Other than mle, which is a great review, are there any other professional reviews? I can't seem to find any.

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Yes, I've heard the Edition X v.1. The "problem" is that I heard them out of a Schitt Yggy/Rag setup which pretty much changes everything. But, Edition XX has that same stunning spaciousness around the instruments and vocals from what I remember. From memory there is similar tonality or kindredness to the sound. Some who have the whole HiFiMan line at their disposal will likely nit pick with close comparisons etc. I'd say XX is a bit more laid back with slightly recessed mids than Edition X v.1--again from memory which is tough.

I had Sundara for about a month and sent them back. Sundara's treble is very smooth to the point of sounding "ghostly" or echoey. They are impressive but in the end I couldn't live with the treble presentation, lack of bass, and general dynamics. Edition XX does not have that problem. Sundara doesn't have the same degree of spaciousness of XX either. Bare in mind that I'm only 2hrs into the break-in period and HiFiMan calls for 150hrs of break-in (I think).

XX frequency response responds to EQ pretty well. I had the urge to give the 2K and 4K area little bump but the stock EQ is fine. XX is a fairly laid back listen compared to.....say.....Beyerdynamic T5p.2 lol.

FYI: I insisted that my disinterested wife listen to these XX cans. She's not really into it. She chose the Pentatonics rendition of Hallelujah and stapped them on. I pushed play. Two minutes later she was sobbing....lol. Stunned she said, "These are not the just the best headphones I've ever listened to.....it was the best listening experience I've ever had--period!" So my point is no matter what people say about recessed mids etc......, XX's ability to give an incredilble listening experience is phenomenal. I play them through my iFi Audio Micro iDSD BL tricked out with iPurifier3, iSilencer, and iGalvanic3.0.

It really is a great cover, Pentanonix are a great group for accapella covers and Avi Kaplans vocals do wonders for showing off the richness and depth in the lower end I think.

Mark

 

[Mizicke5273]

It really is a great cover, Pentanonix are a great group for accapella covers and Avi Kaplans vocals do wonders for showing off the richness and depth in the lower end I think.

Mark

Their cover of Radioactive with Lindsey Stirling is just great. I'm a big fan of Lindsey's and this song introduced me to Pentatnonix, who are also great.

 

[Condocondor]

So I do have a small nit. I don't like the supplied cable because it tangles and is sort of un-wieldy.

For the heck of it, I substituted my old Beyerdynamic balanced XLR balanced cable with a 3.5mm single-ended adapter (Beyers use 3.5mm into the cans too) It uses 7N OOC copper. The differences were immediate: The low end sounded thicker and meatier, mids sounded like they had more body. The dynamics seemed a hair better too. So from this experiment, I'd say ditch the stock XX cable immediately for something nicer. These cans deserve a better cable and you'll hear the difference because XX's are so sensitive and clear. Flammers be damned....lol.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Anyone who has heard LCD2C care to give impressions/comparison?

 

[Condocondor]

FYI: XX is in stock for immediate shipment over at drop.com.

 

[Mizicke5273]

Anyone who has heard LCD2C care to give impressions/comparison?

I'd also be interested in how they compare to the HE-500.

 

[clerkpalmer]

This thread is so quiet. Did literally NO ONE buy these? Hoping I didn’t make a 600 mistake ...

 

[donato]

This thread is so quiet. Did literally NO ONE buy these? Hoping I didn’t make a 600 mistake ...

The Massdrop/Drop site only shows 185 sold. It's not clear if that includes the initial drop or just sales since the initial drop. Either way, it doesn't seem like much of a success for Drop or Hifiman.

That being said, none of that speaks to the actual sound quality, which yeah, it'd be great to get some more reviews. Only reviews run the entire range from flawed (Metal571) to great (MadLustEnvy). So who knows? It's not a "mistake" to buy these unless *you* don't like how they sound. When you get yours, listen to them and tell us all how they sound.

 

[clerkpalmer]

The Massdrop/Drop site only shows 185 sold. It's not clear if that includes the initial drop or just sales since the initial drop. Either way, it doesn't seem like much of a success for Drop or Hifiman.

That being said, none of that speaks to the actual sound quality, which yeah, it'd be great to get some more reviews. Only reviews run the entire range from flawed (Metal571) to great (MadLustEnvy). So who knows? It's not a "mistake" to buy these unless *you* don't like how they sound. When you get yours, listen to them and tell us all how they sound.

Will do. Mine arrive Tuesday. The MLE review convinced me to jump. The 600 price is a tough one these days. So many amazing options at that price particularly with the used market.

 

[IceAero]

I've had mine for a week now, and I absolutely love them. I'm mostly comparing them to the HE560, and I won't profess to be an HP expert, but they sound noticeably better than the HE560s to my ears. Better bass extension, more midrange clarity, more neutral, and a better sound stage. Basically, they simply disappear better than the HE560s.

To me, the HE560s always sounded a bit bright..., with full bass, but not as full midrange... the Edition XX feels much more balanced in comparison. The bass extension is better, perhaps not as full (they just sound more open), but the midrange is great and matches the bass.

I admit I haven't done a lot of critical listening yet, but I at least wanted to contribute some thoughts here since so few people are...

 

[bagwell359]

I've had mine for a week now, and I absolutely love them. I'm mostly comparing them to the HE560, and I won't profess to be an HP expert, but they sound noticeably better than the HE560s to my ears. Better bass extension, more midrange clarity, more neutral, and a better sound stage. Basically, they simply disappear better than the HE560s.

To me, the HE560s always sounded a bit bright..., with full bass, but not as full midrange... the Edition XX feels much more balanced in comparison. The bass extension is better, perhaps not as full (they just sound more open), but the midrange is great and matches the bass.

I admit I haven't done a lot of critical listening yet, but I at least wanted to contribute some thoughts here since so few people are...

This is good, the XX should easily top the 560.

As for cables mentioned a few posts ago: HFM and HMN drops have crummy cables going back years.

 

[Condocondor]

I'll state it again, Massdrop (now simply DROP) has them in stock for next day shipping. Run! Get them! $600. Can't lose.

 

[forestitalia]

I'll state it again, Massdrop (now simply DROP) has them in stock for next day shipping. Run! Get them! $600. Can't lose.

Any specific reason we should 'run', did you tried it?

 

[GirgleMirt]

I'll state it again, Massdrop (now simply DROP) has them in stock for next day shipping. Run! Get them! $600. Can't lose.

Well since they're not free, we can only lose $600 (plus possible applicable taxes, brokerage fees, etc.,), which isn't really chump change...!

That's troubling. I skimmed through some of his other reviews (LCD-4, Nighthawk, HE4XX) and and his reviews were spot on to my experience and tastes, so that concerns me quite a bit for the edition XX and my tastes. Obviously, I'll have to hear them for myself and ultimately decide, but not a good data point so far. Since these are early release models (how did he and DIYAudioHeaven get them so far ahead of release?), I guess I can hope the tuning will still change, but that's probably not very likely.

From the youtube review: "These is not the Edition X or Edition X V2 diaphragm at all, this is a custom design from Massdrop to hit the price target, and it shows... The detail is just not there. Kinda disappointing... [...] (elevated treble) and it's not that resolving..."

These will be a pass for me, at $599, I don't know HFM is releasing so many headphones and their price is dropping so much, it seems like you're much better off buying HFM when their price drop to ~30% of original MSRP...

From the above vid comments;

SHAWN WATSON 6 days ago REPOST from Massdrop discussion:
"Regarding Metal 579. He's dead wrong on the "grainy treble". It is not as extended as Ananda with the extreme air, BUT, that was NOT the design criteria. The design criteria was to offer something different from....rather than less-than. XX has better low end extension. It's a more relaxing listen than Ananda. XX is not just some old HiFiMan parts thrown together with an older designed magnet structure, etc......."which is why they're cheaper". NO!

Massdrop made some decisions and sought a particular sound signature for a particular audiophile taste they deemed underserved by the current HiFiMan lineup. The headband was carefully chosen, not to save on cost. NO! That was an assumption. The older style was deliberately chosen for function, durability, trouble-free operation, and believe it or not--style. Massdrop could have collarborated with HiFiMan on a Susvara derivation with a gold-plated headband if they wanted to.

This narrative by Metal574 and others that XX is some sort of hobbled Ananda or Edition X v2....that was "built to a particular lower price point with lower cababilities--and that's why it costs less--is bull. That is NOT giving the Massdrop team enough credit AND it's not the truth. XX is it's own animal. It has its own unique sound signature for a different audiophile or an under served sound signature niche. I know it's natural to compare, compare, compare, but sometimes a reviewer needs to just see the product as a stand alone for it's own unique merits. I'm telling everyone that will read this post, XX has a very smooth treble and relaxed signature. That is what it was designed to have.

The lower price point has nothing to do with the quality of the sound--It was not meant to be an apology for something that was lacking. The price point was to give the mid-fi'ers the opportunity to taste the high-end without going all in with $1000-1600. Massdrop has succeeded wildly on that note. I'm sure Massdrop could have chosen to make an Ananda version in midnight blue like they did with HD6XX and sold it for $600 too. But Massdrop did not do that. They created something unique just like the Elex. UNIQUE--NOT LESS THAN. Peace out.

My issue with that is kinda that when you're in $600 pricing territory, you should be betting quite a bit more than just a taste of high-end... I mean, the 400i is $200 these days and imho these give also give a taste of the high end. If I'm going to splurge $600 on headphones, they'd better downright be high end...

This is good, the XX should easily top the 560.

Well I'd certainly hope so since the 560s were available for as little as 300 or was it even 250??

In the above youtube, at 10m he's not even sure you should be upgrading to these from the 4xx...! He says that "the grain" annoys him so much... What is 'grain'?! He also says that he feels like the 4xx could have been even more resolving than these... Ouch... "Not the most resolving headphone to say the least" < deal breaker to me...