XIAUDIO Formula S and Powerman

General Information​

Introduction:
XIAUDIO, without knowing ABYSS headphones and its pinnacle headphone 1266 TC’s, is a company that sort of hides and excels in the dark. Thus, I am extremely thankful for the coincidence and opportunities to get to know the brand as well as the wonderful people behind the scenes at XIAUDIO, namely the designer, Michael Xiao, and his wife, Shiny Chang. Briefly, the company has a matured line of audio products ranging from headphone amplifiers for all kinds of headphones, DACs, pre-amplifiers for Genelec active speakers and etc. Where the company caught my eyes are their headphone amplifiers whose designs are Michael’s main expertise from his degree in school as well as work experience in Lotoo. Initially, the main reason for purchasing the Formula S was to fully maximize the 1266 TC’s or hear what it is intended to sound like from the designer’s point of view. There is no doubt that, due to the proximal cooperation between XIAUDIO and Abyss headphones, this amplifier is going to perform well with the TC’s; there is just no reason it would not since Abyss would minimize or remove every possible factor that may go wrong. After a brief discussion with Michael and Shiny, it’s apparent that their products out of all of the amplifiers out there caught Joe's (owner of Abyss headphones) eyes the most. Truth to the matter is that most companies which make headphone amplifiers have sent their products to Abyss to seek cooperation or official endorsement have not had the chance to take Formula S’s place. Furthermore, without genuinely impressive sonic performance, it’d be hard for a “Chifi” company to secure a strong partnership with an American company which produces one of the best headphones on this planet, if not the best (in my opinion). Hence, to minimize my chance in regretting my purchase decision and trying to sell the headphone amplifiers or even the headphones in the used market, I took the safest approach in purchasing the combo: Formula S + 1266 TC’s. The powerman was not purchased initially because this was a blind buying decision. I was not sure what to expect and whether the investment for the upgraded power base was worthy in my books.

To facilitate the understanding of my impressions and sound descriptions, I’ll briefly explain my current headphone system:

Macbook Pro/AK SP2000 -> Audioquest USB carbon -> Chord DAVE (power cord upgraded and added upgraded audio ground box) -> Audioquest Water RCA Cable -> XIAUDIO Formula S/Powerman (fuse and power cord upgraded) -> HD800s (coaxial monocrystalline UPOCC copper cable) /1266 TC’s (litz insulating UPOCC gold and silver litz cross-braided cable)

Appearance and aesthetics:
Not much to say. I dig the looks and feel of the amplifiers. You know it’s a quality piece once you see it and feel it in person. The laser etched logo and the unique look bring out some unique characters that do not resemble the usual black rectangular boxes you’d see with typical amplifiers. One point worth mentioning here is that all of the XIAUDIO products are assembled by the designer Michael himself with careful attention and quality assurance tests were completed by his wife, Shiny Chang. You’d clearly realize that by looking at the signature near the IEC socket and the provided QC report in the packaging box. Knowing these information made it easier for me to justify its expensive price tag.

Sound Impressions:

Formula S only:
HD800s:
The simple takeaway you should get from this section is that it’s amazing. Prior to receiving the Formula S, I never expected to use the formula S with my 800s because you typically don’t see amplifiers designed to drive both planar and dynamic headphones. This is due to significantly different power requirements for these two types of headphones. In my 4 four years of owning the 800s, I have never thought it could sound so awesome with this much potential. To my ears, I feel that there’s more vocal density, quantity and quality of bass, and refined and controlled highs. It “fixes” the problems that I had with the 800s being too analytical with not enough bass and mid-range while highs are accentuated. I also felt a sense of effortlessness in driving 800s as well as a better control of these drivers. Before receiving the formula S, I had always thought (according to popular suggestions on forums) that you’d need tube amplifiers for 800S to round the edges better, to “fill the space and hollowness” and to provide a fuller sound than the existing thin and cold sound signature. At this point, I truly believe that I have been converted to a Class A amplifier fanboy and I do think Class A topology offers the opportunities for the solid-state amplifiers to approach the sound signature from tubes.

1266 TC:
There is no question and doubt that Abyss AB-1266 TC is a pinnacle headphone that deserves its respect where it’s due. 5 years of developmental research went into this where they weren’t even clear if the results would turn out successfully; luckily, everything turned out exceptionally well. Pairing the formula S with 1266 TC results in a very nice synergy. I don’t feel there’s much bad things to say about this combo other than the fact that the sound may not be as full and rich as I’d would like but this is where the power supply discussion comes in later. Briefly speaking, bass punches deeply with very nicely controlled quality and texture. Mid-vocal has quality and density to it. The high extends well enough but never shouty and sibilant. The most notable feature that stood out to me is how the resolution can be achieved; you simply hear everything in the track presented without any reservation. Using plain and simple language, the bass rumbles yet you hear zero and absolutely no bleeding into other instruments/tracks that are playing simultaneously. Every track simply presents itself in its own channel without interfering with one another. The ability to enjoy its very high performing technicalities without fatiguing your ears is simply tremendous and should be paid attention to. In my opinion, the experience simply is unique in a headphone set-up and most likely make up one of the reason for its praise among the audiophile community.

Formula S + Powerman:
Before trying the Powerman, I’d always thought power supply upgrades are nice to have but you could live without it if budget is an issue. After having my hands on the Powerman, my opinions changed drastically. The sonic upgrade or improvement is immediate; you hear better dynamics, more holographic (3D like), more details due to lower noise floor, and more articulation and strength in the sounds. It is truly an upgrade experience which once you hear it, it’s hard to go back thinking “everything will be alright”. I have made my earnest attempt in minimizing “new purchase hype” by listening to the combo for a few days to get used to the sound before switching back to only Formula S only to find out what was missing. Despite its expensive price tag, it is totally worth it to get the Powerman so the Formula S could shine and establish its place in the TOTL solid state game.


Concluding Remarks:
It is no doubt that I have been converted to a XIAUDIO fanboy after these months spent in listening to the Formula S and a few days together with the Powerman. I am extremely glad by the opportunities to experience XIAUDIO products and to talk to the people behind this company. Together with the Powerman purchase, I have also purchased a Broadway S amplifier for my IEMs. Review of this will come out soon as I will exultantly share my experience in creating the best desktop experience in driving IEMs by running my Chord DAVE as a DAC and Broadway S as an amplifier.