[ra990]

It's funny how these headphones grow on you or my brain learns to hear them. Coming from the HE-560's, at first I was struck by the difference in scale mostly but wondered whether I could sacrifice that for what I perceived as the extra detail of the HE-560.. But now listening mostly to HEX's going back to the HE560's makes them (the 560's) actually not seem more detailed but just a more "etched" treble. That treble roll off in the HEX is a deceiving thing.

I've been listening to the Edition X V2 and HE560 off and on and the Edition X is definitely the better headphone in all aspects, including detail retrieval. Like you said, the HE560 has a more toppy treble, and is generally a bit less laid back, which might make it more suitable for certain kinds of music. I think I'm going to keep the HE560 as a backup set maybe or soon list it for sale, haven't decided yet.

 

[SBranson]

I've been listening to the Edition X V2 and HE560 off and on and the Edition X is definitely the better headphone in all aspects, including detail retrieval. Like you said, the HE560 has a more toppy treble, and is generally a bit less laid back, which might make it more suitable for certain kinds of music. I think I'm going to keep the HE560 as a backup set maybe or soon list it for sale, haven't decided yet.

I am definitely finding that the HEX are retrieving more detail and sometimes I'm hearing layers of instruments that I had thought were one instrument or rather couldn't distinguish the two sounds so clearly before. It's a very interesting comparison these two headphones. I just ordered a Solvine cable from Norne that I hope will bring a little extra clarity over the copper Draug3 I have at the moment. The Draug3 is perfect for the HE560.
I'm in the same dilemma over selling the HE560 but am starting to think I'll keep them. They are worth more than what they are going for used and it would seem a waste to sell them.

 

[dcguy73]

It wasn't until I heard the HEKv2 that I realized how good the HEXv2 were. The two headphones are much more alike than different. Once I switched from an OCC copper cable to a silver one, the HEXv2 showed that its treble was not really rolled off as I thought it was. I mean, the HEKv2 are a definite step up, but I could have kept the HEXv2 and been happy with them. Plus the whole being able to drive them from an iPhone is hella great.

 

[pez]

Hey Guys,

Picked up a set of these, but noticed I'm getting some channel issues. I got them 'used - open box' from Amazon, but I'm starting to think they may have been dropped. Going to drop a couple pics below this in hopes it will make more sense. Long story short, cable inserts all the way, doesn't sit flush, cable has lateral movement and can be 'stirred' while inside the connector. Does it with both stock and an aftermarket custom cable.

Just hoping to get some feedback on your guys' thoughts (and hopefully pics) about this:
http://i.imgur.com/PeknqKn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kaSXeAB.jpg

 

[ra990]

It wasn't until I heard the HEKv2 that I realized how good the HEXv2 were. The two headphones are much more alike than different. Once I switched from an OCC copper cable to a silver one, the HEXv2 showed that its treble was not really rolled off as I thought it was. I mean, the HEKv2 are a definite step up, but I could have kept the HEXv2 and been happy with them. Plus the whole being able to drive them from an iPhone is hella great.

I strongly agree with you. They're much more alike than different and the convenience of not needing a ton of power to drive them is really nice. I'm a fan of their slightly warmer sound signature too, I never find myself annoyed at any sibilance.

 

[Vatnos]

It wasn't until I heard the HEKv2 that I realized how good the HEXv2 were. The two headphones are much more alike than different. Once I switched from an OCC copper cable to a silver one, the HEXv2 showed that its treble was not really rolled off as I thought it was. I mean, the HEKv2 are a definite step up, but I could have kept the HEXv2 and been happy with them. Plus the whole being able to drive them from an iPhone is hella great.

The treble veil on the HEX seems quite real, but very unpredictable.

There are just random albums that try to create a mask over the rest of the mix with cymbal shimmer, and the HEXv2 doesn't do it, making it sound as though I have cotton balls in my ears. Yet... and this is quite strange... on other albums that do the exact same thing, it reproduces the shimmer mask just fine without any fuss. Even has treble detail I've never heard before or fathomed at times. Indeed on most albums they sound fine. There is no pattern I can discern for when the veil will or will not strike.

I've done a bit of EQ which has brought down the percentage of albums that are adversely affected to just a few now. I have a warm-ish amp that I used because I had SHP9500s before this (bit of a jump, this one), and geared my whole setup around 'fixing' their brightness issue, which was roughly the exact opposite issue a headphone could have. I suppose I'll look into better amp pairings as well as a better cable. I knew going in that they'd be warm, and that the stock cable would have to go, so it's all good.

 

[marian170]

Hey everyone,
I was wondering if I could find anywhere in this thread a sound comparison between the V1's and the V2's. I'm asking this because I reached page 30 and people were already comparing the HE-560 with the V2's without previously reading about the release of a new version of Edition X's. I might get something wrong so any clarifications would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much and I wish you all the best!

Edit: Found the pages. Thanks!

 

[Vatnos]

I have been having a lot of fun with these.

My EQ settings by the way are:
PreGain: -1
333 hz: gain -3, quantity 0.6
1014 hz: gain -1.4, quantity 1.4

They're not in ideal conditions yet. I'm running them on a warm dac and a warm amp currently (awaiting some other orders), on the stock 1/4", hence the EQ. It was useful to be able to listen to them first on low power equipment to figure out what pairing would be best. Clearly they need the cleanest, most transparent DAC possible and they benefit very strongly from DAC improvements. The amp situation is rather odd. A very weak amp would be best, so that it's easier to control the volume. Weak but clean and neutral, with balanced inputs (not necessarily outputs though... not sure about that yet) is the key. That's a tough thing to find.

Another thing I've noticed is that these are incredibly good at snuffing out lossy files. I already had my whole library in FLAC before this (very glad I did that now) but I still had to concentrate quite hard to tell the difference between a high quality lossy file and a lossless one in the past. With the HEX it's flat out obvious. I'm shocked how congested even the best lossy files sound.

 

[tuby sound]

Hey everyone,
I was wondering if I could find anywhere in this thread a sound comparison between the V1's and the V2's. I'm asking this because I reached page 30 and people were already comparing the HE-560 with the V2's without previously reading about the release of a new version of Edition X's. I might get something wrong so any clarifications would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much and I wish you all the best!

Edit: Found the pages. Thanks!

Which page was that again?

Thank you
Kelvin

 

[Arghavan]

... Clearly they need the cleanest, most transparent DAC possible and they benefit very strongly from DAC improvements. The amp situation is rather odd. A very weak amp would be best, so that it's easier to control the volume. Weak but clean and neutral, with balanced inputs (not necessarily outputs though... not sure about that yet) is the key. That's a tough thing to find.
...

Interesting! I was considering Chord Mojo or iFi iDSD Micro BL for transportable use but since none of them have balanced output would you recommend going with iFi Nano iDSD with 3.5mm TRRS balanced out?

 

[Vatnos]

I think it's more important than getting balanced to limit distortion anywhere in the chain, and to focus on tonal pairing. These are already warm and mid-focused and any amp that is warm and mid-focused will be too much. Absolute neutrality is best I think.

 

[Vatnos]

I think Currawong's Yggdrasil/NFB1 combo for the HEX is probably pretty good. Nice and clean. No personality in any upstream equipment. Probably overkill though.

A Bifrost for the DAC is as far as I'm willing to go for now. I'm not in the church of DACs improving much as far as humans can hear beyond that point. The amp is still an open question though. These are so easy to power it's actually kind of challenging. An NFB1 is vast and utter overkill for someone like me who has 2 headphones, neither of which are hard to drive. Maybe an Aune X7s? I'm genuinely curious what to do for the amp. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.

Tonally, the HEX seems similar to HD650s, to my untrained ear at least. Take that frequency response but open it up, add soundstage, imaging, and planar bass to it, and that's the HEX. Amps that pair poorly tonally with 650s will probably not work for the HEX either. To make matters trickier, the difference in power requirements means things that pair well with 650s (like a Jotunheim) may be overkill for the HEX. There are a couple folks in the thread who mentioned blowing out drivers on the balanced output of a high power amp. That's kind of got me spooked.

 

[marian170]

Which page was that again?

Thank you
Kelvin

Around page 146. You're welcome!
Marian

 

[tuby sound]

Around page 146. You're welcome!
Marian

Thanks for that.

Kelvin

 

[dcguy73]

Sigh...the HE1000v2 are very revealing headphones, unlike the HEXv2. I'm not saying I made a mistake in buying the HE1000v2, but the HEXv2 are much more forgiving of source quality and less-than-great recordings. If I could have afforded both, I wouldn't have sent the HEXv2 back. However, the possibility of overpowering the HEXv2 with a headphone amp (running balanced) gives me pause. At least I don't have to worry about that with the HE1000v2.