Hifiman Edition X

[tuna47]

I find them extremely soothing can wear them longer than any other headphone I have owned which is many
Different strokes for different folks

 

[waifu]

 
The same happened to me with AKG Q701. At first, nothing bothers me, it's just music. But after 30 mins, I used to get ear fatigue, I couldn't tolerate it anymore. Most likely, treble peaks bother your ears but not right away, slowly. From measurements, it seems HEX has a nasty 8-9 Khz peak. Also distortion of these headphones are high. Some impressions mention upper mid glare. I have had no chance to try these so far and like you I've bought stuff without auditioning a lot. Upper mid harshness cause ear fatigue as well. At $1.8K, treble peak, upper mid glare, sub-bass roll-off (again see measurements) and high distortion made me think "No, at this price, don't buy before trying." After reading your impressions, I'm glad for this decision.
 
I just checked Q701's measurements, it has 8-9 khz peak as well. That probably causes ear fatigue for you.

 
Thanks, I'll try EQ the 8k down then, and see if that helps. 
 

I find them extremely soothing can wear them longer than any other headphone I have owned which is many
Different strokes for different folks

 
 
I actually think they are smooth sounding too! It's just everyone's physical hearing is different, and with that comes different tolerance levels and irritations. Seems like my ears are super sensitive to certain frequency peaks. Someone said the Edition X has an 8-9 khz peak. Going to try to EQ that down and see if that changes.
 
It's kind of frustrating, because it's totally just my physical body (how I was made). Can't really do much about that. But yeah, I'll be listening to these for 30 min and it sounds soothing as you say, and everything is silky smooth. My physical ears just start to heat up and ache. 
 
Quote:

You can easily rule out whether it's physical ear pad design causing the fatigue by just wearing them without playing any music for a while

 
Did this, and didn't get any irritation. So it wasn't physical. We can rule that out.
 
I'm going EQ my 8k down and see if that helps. Hopefully this works, since I'm honestly in love with these cans. I've been collecting headphones for 13 years now, and these might be my favorite headphones (in terms of the sound and the way they look). Plus they are so comfy.
 
As a side note, thank you guys so much for listening to this idiotic girl - and being so helpful! You guys are really nice and understanding of my ignorance. 

 

[mysticstryk]

Just got a loaner pair in today.  Listening to them right now, these are really comfortable.

 

[lukeap69]

@waifu

did you try different source and amp other than Mojo?

 

[WCDchee]

I got my Edition X.

Pictures do not do this thing justice. I was kind of afraid that it would look and feel cheap based on the pictures and what some have said. But in person, this IMO feels like a high quality product. I know taste is subjective, but I actually love the way it looks (the big grills on the side + the color). Those were my biggest fears, and that washed away quickly.

In terms of comfort, this is one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. I still think my HD-800 and 700 slightly eek it out, but that could just be the physical shape of my head (I'm a 5 foot 4 petite woman. I'm not super tiny, but I'm also not big). So usually the weight of Planar Magnetic headphones have been a bit much for me (although to be fair I spent the most time with Audeze, and those are known to be heavy). So I really appreciate how Hifiman have made a really accessible light weight planar magnetic headphones.

Something I did not expect though, is that I'm not sure if the sound of these are right for me. Generally speaking, I've gravitated towards warmer/dark sound signatures. My ears are sensitive to treble and certain peaks/spikes. There are certain brands I just can't do (such as Grado), since it gives me ear fatigue. It sounds crazy then that I would have the HD-800. But after EQ + modding it, I've been able to get past any issues with that headphone (and have found the perfect sweetspot).  

So going into this, I expected that Edition X would be just right for me. I've tried Hifiman stuff in the past, and liked it. And I actually love most Planar Magnetic sound. Big fan of warm sound sigs, that are more about musicality and not technicality. I like bass with a bottom slam (that isn't flabby or bloated). So I really thought the Edition X would be an easy fit for me, and would be a good companion headphone for to my HD-800 (something that is a bit easier to listen to, that would make bad recordings more forgivable, and would give me a little more bass slam and presence then my HD800s). Basically, I got them to have a more fun sounding headphone.

And for the most part, Edition X lived up to all of this (although maybe the sound sig difference isn't as drastic I would have hoped).

HOWEVER,

I've been getting a lot of ear fatigue with these. I'm really bummed out about it. I have no idea why. I'm assuming it's my fault, and I didn't do my research enough on these before buying. Unfortunately I don't have any place to try out headphones in person. But for the most part, I've had luck buying stuff online, and figuring out ahead of time which cans will work for me (based on impressions and sound sigs).I guess I jumped the gun on this one, as I was really excited to try them.

I"m giving them a week, and trying to see if different EQ or other things can be done. I'm using a Chord Mojo as a source (which people actually say is a great pairing for the Edition X). But I have no idea why my ears are getting fatigue. I'm not even listening at loud levels. My ears will start to itch, and then burn. And then I get a headache. And that can even last all day if I push it too much and irritate them too much. I don't have this issue with my HD-800s or any of my other cans.  I've had fatigue before with other sound sig/brands in the past, so I know this is the same thing that happened then. I'm just not sure if it's the sound signature, or maybe if it's just where the ear cups sit on my ear/jawline (and the physical weight of them. They are light headphones, but still have some weight). 

So yeah. Kind of where I'm at with this. These things definitely get my endorsement in terms of everything else (the sound is great, these look way better in person, they are super comfy). But my body physically just isn't seeming to click with these. =/

I will put them away for a day, and try again. But if the fatigue stuff keeps happening, I'll have to return them. Something I hate doing. Especially in a case like this, where I actually love them a lot. 

It is highly unlikely to be related to the sound. This is most likely something physical, some sort of physical irritation.

 

[OctaviaeZ]

It is highly unlikely to be related to the sound. This is most likely something physical, some sort of physical irritation.

yeah, itchiness seems to be a weird thing to come from sound
 
 
Although I would have to agree with these giving me fatigue, but I really think for me it's getting used to it. Mind you I'm also pretty bad in terms of describing things, but imo these feel really "in your face" while also being smooth if that's possible. I just feel like they demand your attention, and I have to turn them down to not hurt my ears

 
 
With that being said, I love them! Very detailed and I can really get into the music. I'm using a terrible setup right now so once I get that fixed + getting used to the cans I think I'll be ready to go 

 Definitely my endgame until I graduate from college; very happy with them! Even after that they may stick around, who knows 

 

 

[DarktoreS]

I have a question, the ALO CDM is good macth with my EDX ?? 

 

[waifu]

Just wanted to update you guys. I EQ my 8-9khz way down, and now my fatigue has gone away. I reset them, and the fatigue slowly crept back. So it's definitely the frequency peak on these. After EQ, been able to listen all day with no fatigue. 
 
I've had a chance to do some A/B too, and I'm definitely loving the sound of these more than my HD-800. Could just be a honey moon phase though. But I love the bass so much on these. The HD-800's wide soundstage is also a big difference in sound. But I just love the lush sound of the Edition X + the bass. Been listening to some Pink Floyd albums on these, and man does it sound wonderful.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. Without you guys, I wouldn't have figured out what was causing my ear fatigue. 

 

[Dillan]

Well glad we could help!
 
Perhaps some tubes could warm them up and help with that?  Maybe try a good warm tube amp. (My apologies if you already are, don't remember reading that)

 

[obsidyen]

  Just wanted to update you guys. I EQ my 8-9khz way down, and now my fatigue has gone away. I reset them, and the fatigue slowly crept back. So it's definitely the frequency peak on these. After EQ, been able to listen all day with no fatigue. 
 
I've had a chance to do some A/B too, and I'm definitely loving the sound of these more than my HD-800. Could just be a honey moon phase though. But I love the bass so much on these. The HD-800's wide soundstage is also a big difference in sound. But I just love the lush sound of the Edition X + the bass. Been listening to some Pink Floyd albums on these, and man does it sound wonderful.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. Without you guys, I wouldn't have figured out what was causing my ear fatigue. 

Glad it worked. 8 khz peak is like a sore thumb in the frequency response of HEX. Hard to miss it really. I wish the treble was more linear, that peak is problematic.

 

[mysticstryk]

Nice thing about peaks is that they are usually easy to EQ. The 400i had a similar peak at 8 khz as well.

 

[waifu]

  Well glad we could help!
 
Perhaps some tubes could warm them up and help with that?  Maybe try a good warm tube amp. (My apologies if you already are, don't remember reading that)

 
I actually have  Schiit Lyr/Bifrost DAC combo. I've been using my Chord Mojo though, since I heard that was a great pair with these. But I'll definitely get my Tube Amp out of storage and try them out (my job has me bouncing back and forth between LA and Tokyo, so right now I've been using my Chord Mojo).
 
But yeah, you guys were spot on with the frequency peak. Not having any issues at all after EQ. And after I've A/B these with my HD800, I definitely love these so much. I really wish I could do more then say thanks. But you guys really saved the day! Thank you so much.
 
<3

 

[AudioBear]

Just looking at the peaks on the data posted at Innerfidelity it looks to me like the HE-1000 is more peaky or about the same as the HEX in the 8-10K range but nobody complains about it being peaky.  The spectra are pretty similar.  What am I missing?

 

[obsidyen]

Just looking at the peaks on the data posted at Innerfidelity it looks to me like the HE-1000 is more peaky or about the same as the HEX in the 8-10K range but nobody complains about it being peaky.  The spectra are pretty similar.  What am I missing?

I remember reading complaints about HEK's treble peaks.

 

[versace]

as a current owner of an HEK, yes it is peaky, but not as much so as my HD800's!