[Surf Monkey]

Y’all and your dismaying XS reports! Harshing my mellow!

Fingers crossed that my set remains solid. I’m loving it without reservation at the moment.

 

[BobSmith8901]

Looks exactly like mine

That's exactly what I do - i usually listen on mild level with low gain since just don't need more actually, even for lamb of god or other high energy bands.
Also I downmix all the music and cut everything below 20Hz and above 20kHz, so honestly I wouldn't say that I even close to abuse the gear (except the longevity of sessions if that considered long : ))

Just returned my XS to the shop - they took it for diagnostics - said that sometimes something gets inside like a hair. And yep mine is on warranty so I didn't even took off the pads knowing how actually fragile the film is.

Also I've tried Arya stealth for about 20 minutes and i really like it - I usually tend to be rather skeptical about the amount of money you have to spend against the gain of sound quality you get but seems like Arya worth it, at least I hear the difference and it is quite substantial. But still it's a big step in price from XS and I really concerned now that I could get that buzz again in a year or so. Will keep thinking about it while my XS are in the service. Also still need to find LCD-X for listening and how it could affect my neck after 5 hours...

thanks for the input!

Still surprised by Whitigir's mod for dx220 amp - I thought that XS could get the most out of it but now I hear Arya does even better...

Yes, the Arya is the next move up but it's a big one! Good luck with your cans, hopefully it's something simple to fix or they'll just exchange for another one.

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

So I've had them less than a year (7 months to be precise) and right driver started to buzz on low frequencies after about 10 minutes of listening. Of I put a high cut in parametric from 30 Hz it goes away, starting from 31 and up it buzzez. I have had the same issue with Deva before and again less in than a year of use (didn't check the exact frequencies though then). I tend to have listening sessions of 2-6 hours while working, 3-4 days a week. The sound is like membrane touches something somewhere (see attached recording if interested).

I am very careful with my devices, store them in a case with silica gel, not using them when my wife cooking or in the kitchen generally etc.

And still this issue. That's definitely not a pleasant thing and I will return them to the seller since it is on guarantee, but now I am wondering if that's a Hifiman quality thing or planars are really so fragile, even if you careful with them? Did anyone have such problem? Not very happy to wait for this thing to happen again after getting new pair of XS

The second thing is that I really loved XS, though they a bit bright for me, bit this helps on a bad or dark tracks, otherwise I use parametric if needed.

And now I'm starting to think that if that's Hifiman issue, what to look at to move on, I thought about trying Arya and LCD-x before, but there are certain features to consider (like lack of stage on X in comparison) and definitely not without enough listening before buying. Not sure about Arya now and I remember how bulky were lcd2c when I've tried them in the shop...

Please share your thoughts.

I will attach 2 recordings from my smartphone taken from outside of headphones while they on my head. (rec 2 with buzz from right driver and rec3 without buzz from left driver)

tracks .zip here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zkseBPEwCj_8fDPpY3Ez9x5q7cNEb_AU/view?usp=sharing
Odyssey - from 0:32
Mask from start
Nightmare from start - on low hits

P.S. I have tried to switch cables left to right and also other hphones are doing ok without buzz.

Hi there, sorry to hear that there are some problems with your Edition XS. We always listen to our customers and value their feedback to improve our products. Regarding the issue you met, please feel free to contact your seller or you can always contact us for any questions at customerservice@hifiman.com.

 

[arnea]

Hi,
Is anyone finding the edition X's very piercing/sharp in certain tracks? I'm running the from an xduo 05 plus and using Spotify/quobuz. 'You can't hurry love' by The Supremes is a good example - some really sharp 's' sounds around 11khz.i find the same on several other songs too. On songs where I don't hear this - they sound amazing But this piece, when it happens, is pretty unpleasant.

I'm total n00b, but out of curiosity checked out this song in Deezer. There are three versions of it: 2:45, 2:48 and 3:01 long. I heard the sharp 's' in all of them. I tried with and without EQ: no difference, which was expected because I EQ-ed only lower frequencies. The 3:01 version was best sounding, the sharp 's' was almost not noticeable. 2:45 and 2:48 were pretty bad overall: some instruments were very dominant and illogically placed, some instruments were almost missing and sound was harsh. I've noticed this with other (especially older) recordings as well: XS will bring out the mistakes in the mastering.

 

[ddfcoold]

Hi there, sorry to hear that there are some problems with your Edition XS. We always listen to our customers and value their feedback to improve our products. Regarding the issue you met, please feel free to contact your seller or you can always contact us for any questions at customerservice@hifiman.com.

Hi guys, thanks for reaching out! I'll keep this in mind if face any reject from the seller

 

[bagwell359]

Yes, the Arya is the next move up but it's a big one! Good luck with your cans, hopefully it's something simple to fix or they'll just exchange for another one.

The HE-6 SE is a step up for a lot less than the Arya - if one has the juice, which is not the case for ddfcoold, but not maybe for others.

 

[SomeTechNoob]

Finally got mine in today after a two week wait. Other than a minor paint scuff, seems to be as expected. Been wanting one of these BIG planar headphones since I heard the first HE1000 at a meet many years back. I did a listening session at e-earphone in akihabara and liked the XS enough there earlier this year - moreso than the sundara. Compounded with the aliexpress anniversary sales going on last month, and I was able to pick this headphone up for 360 shipped.

It's been awhile since I've daily driven a brighter sound signature. Need some time since it's only been an hour of listening, but so far pretty good. I have the headphone size adjustment 1 tick out of the smallest setting, but I guess that means my head is pretty damn big.

Decent amount of controlled bass. My M1060C has more satisfying amounts of bass in pretty much all regions. Midrange seems a tad bit metallic, but I suppose you can't compare against the HD 650s in that aspect. Planar clarity is stellar as expected. It's the most open of all the headphones I have as well.

Tested with my Magni 2 with Fulla 2 as the dac. Someday I'll look into upgrading this...but it works and I always listen on low gain right out of channel imbalance range so there's a bunch of power.

Tentatively sitting between a 8.5-9/10 for me. There are of course flaws, but I need a bit more time to see how my ears adapt.

 

[NexusOne]

I have some questions About Dekoni Pads in comparison with the XS.

- There Are 4 different pads. Which Are the Best? Sheepskin?

- Does it improve, change or worsen the Sound? I saw some frequencies and i think it could Make them sound worse?

- but comfort is much better? And it looks good.

 

[ddfcoold]

Yep, i need it to be plugged in my DAP, so I can walk around the house with it. Also I've tried playing my PS4 with XS plugged into gamepad and it was absolutely ok for gaming, not to mention outstanding imaging (and the scale) - some ambient sounds were too realistic, so this also counts for efficient headphones in the future for me.

 

[gubar]

Is anyone finding some S sounds piercing on this headphone? I've tried a few different amps. On Dissident by Pearl Jam, Sour Times by Portishead, The Bends by Radiohead, and many other songs - it's piercing enough for me to want to take them off. Maybe it's just my set, or my ears! It happens often enough to me that it's kind of ruining them for me. Or maybe it's the music I listen to. All hires tracks though.

 

[ddfcoold]

Yep, they can be very hot depending on the source you use and the quality of material you listen too. In this case you probably better use parametric to attenuate this regions for your taste, try high shelf -3 db from 300hz and then maybe play with analog bell at 5500 and at 11700 que 4, -5 db, that is rather strong but might help as a starting point.

This is not a manual, just something to play with that might help, XS is amazing device.

To be more specific, S-sounds that you refer too most likely are sibilants - thats 11700 region in XS, also has a resonance at around 6k - to pin it correct you should use analyzer of any kind.

 

[gubar]

Hi, I have done a tone sweep/watched the graph on a waveform as I play some, and for me I think the problem area is more around 9khz. I see activity the when I get the piercing sounds. I was hoping not to have to eq but I might try a little.

I've also got an issue where touching it rotating the cables in the cups, sometimes causes the sound to drop out... So might return them. Not a good sign for a very new set!

Thanks for the input.

 

[ddfcoold]

Hi, I have done a tone sweep/watched the graph on a waveform as I play some, and for me I think the problem area is more around 9khz. I see activity the when I get the piercing sounds. I was hoping not to have to eq but I might try a little.

I've also got an issue where touching it rotating the cables in the cups, sometimes causes the sound to drop out... So might return them. Not a good sign for a very new set!

Thanks for the input.

The mastering on different albums may vary so much that I completely left the idea of not using the EQ - some tracks are wasted in studio, others are good, so I really don't think any cans can do ok all the time.

Regarding 9k - there are always the initial frequency that drives you nuts and also a resonance ones, which are hard to catch. As I said - 11700 works for me for most of time, sometimes I also use 12300 and 13300 but that is something I came up with after a couple of months with XS, the region at around 6k could also make things hard, but really it is very individual and sometimes better to swipe your finger accross the parametric scale to nail the most annoying part : )

 

[pk4425]

Is anyone finding some S sounds piercing on this headphone? I've tried a few different amps. On Dissident by Pearl Jam, Sour Times by Portishead, The Bends by Radiohead, and many other songs - it's piercing enough for me to want to take them off. Maybe it's just my set, or my ears! It happens often enough to me that it's kind of ruining them for me. Or maybe it's the music I listen to. All hires tracks though.

There's definitely a treble spike with these. Luckily it was in a spot that didn't annoy me, unlike the Sennheiser HD 560s, but I definitely noticed it.

A bit of EQ to dial it out, perhaps?

 

[bagwell359]

Parametric for sure:

35 Hz low shelf +2.2 db Q 1.0
74 Hz low shelf +1.4 db Q 1.0
200 Hz analog bell -1.8 db Q .8
1.7k Hz analog bell +2.8 db Q 1.8
4.6k Hz analog bell -2.4 db Q 6.2
8.2k Hz analog bell -2.8 db Q 7.8
9.8k Hz analog bell -4 db Q 8.0
11.5k Hz analog bell -4 db Q 4.2

Unit to unit variation means that all the settings 4.6k and above might be shifted, the 3 highest more so. Final tuning must by ear on the best recordings you can muster.

The last 3 are so close you may need to raise the area from 7.5-13k and the apply the settings a bit deeper.

The 35, 74, 1.7k, 9.8k are the most critical, then 200, 4.6k, 11.5k