I heard about HIFIMAN Edition XS before opening the box. The most impressive thing was that I switched to a brand new NEO ultra-nano diaphragm (only 1/4 thickness of the original edition X diaphragm) and invisible magnets. After the design, the high-frequency resolution of the new product has a huge improvement that can be heard with "one ear". Although the resolution of the old HIFIMAN Edition X is actually good, it is still not on the same level as the new one. However, since it was just out of the box at the time, the sound of HIFIMAN Edition XS still gave me the feeling of "dry", not very resistant to listening, and had to be "burned". In fact, I used to use headphones of this level for 200 hours before I officially started listening, but because I will be on a business trip next week and this HIFIMAN Edition XS is already in the audio-visual room continuously and uninterruptedly. I have been singing for more than five days, so my voice is stable now.
Let me talk about it first: the sensitivity of this new HIFIMAN Edition XS is 92dB, which is more "powerful" compared to the old model (103dB). Although the official still claims that it can be driven by mobile devices (such as mobile phones), I still recommend that you try to equip it with amps, or at least use a player with more thrust to get better results.
At present, in addition to the phonological Taurus amp, I also use AK's KANN CUBE and Haibei's RS6 player to match the HIFIMAN Edition XS. Among them, Shengyun and Haibei use a third-party balance line, and when connecting to the AK KANN CUBE, the standard single-ended line is used. When directly connecting the player, both devices are set to "medium gain". If it is "low gain", the thrust is still not enough: on the one hand, it is difficult to achieve satisfactory sound pressure, on the other hand, the sound will appear relatively loose;
I must once again praise the new HIFIMAN Edition XS for its great improvement in high-frequency analysis. Compared with the old HIFIMAN Edition X, the difference between the two is so obvious! If I use my familiar photography equipment to make an analogy, the difference in transparency between the two is like comparing ordinary UV mirrors with top-notch B+W lenses.
To be honest, this performance combined with the difference in pricing between the two (the old HIFIMAN Edition X was priced at over 10,000 yuan, and the new HIFIMAN Edition XS was only 2499 yuan), I even have a sense of "disorder"-this is also bad In 5 or 6 years, can technological advancement and the popularization of high-end materials really enable new products to lower their prices so much under the premise of "sound progress"? ! I have to doubt that the speculation that netizens jokingly called the "involution of the earphone industry" led to price wars among manufacturers is correct...
However, I think the high-frequency resolution of HIFIMAN Edition XS is amazingly improved, but it is still harder and sharper than I expected. At this moment, on the contrary, the sound of the old Edition X sounds more "soft"? Compared with the more advanced HE1000se, the treble of the HIFIMAN Edition XS lacks the gorgeous elegance and smoothness of the flagship product, but is somewhat "digital."
Of course, I also know that I should be able to use the HE1000se standard to request HIFIMAN Edition XS, after all, the price difference between the two is 10 times! I even secretly figured out that the feeling of HIFIMAN Edition XS deliberately emphasizes the high frequency of resolution, perhaps just to make some resolution compensation for the high frequency of sound sources such as mobile phones and small tails, so as to control the final effect at an appropriate level. ?
The same obvious improvement as the improvement of resolution, as well as the slackness of HIFIMAN Edition XS in the low and medium frequencies, this is also particularly emphasized in the official propaganda. In fact, I actually don't think the sound of the old Edition X is "inaudible" or "irritable". Yes, compared to higher-end equipment, its mid and low frequencies appear tighter, but in fact, I am very impressed by its flexible low frequencies. And now listening to the new HIFIMAN Edition XS, the mid-range is relatively flat, without special emphasis on highlighting or retreating; the low-frequency still has good elasticity, but it will not collapse so tight and hard, but more natural stretch-especially In restoring some of the low-frequency signals (such as bass plucking) that serve as an atmosphere in some music, I feel that its dive depth remains the same, and the sense of volume is slightly reduced. It should be said that the overall low frequency of HIFIMAN Edition XS has become "loose" and the connection with the mid frequency is also smoother. It can be described as a "seamless connection" and does not feel like a small gap between the mid and low frequencies like the old model.
This change of looseness will bring more "musicality" to the replayed sound, and the charm of the music will be enhanced, and it will indeed appear more pleasing to the ear. Frankly speaking, if the high frequency part of the HIFIMAN Edition XS can also have such a looseness and musicality, then my evaluation of its audio will immediately rise to a whole new level. However, this requirement is too harsh for the HIFIMAN Edition XS, which is currently priced at only 2499 yuan-after all, the high frequency of this headset has been greatly improved in terms of resolution, if it is required to have it at the same time The flagship level of hearing, how do you sell HE1000se and the like? (laugh)
Please note that my description of the HIFIMAN Edition XS sound is based on the premise that it has a very high quality. The various advantages of flat-diaphragm headphones that we have mentioned before, such as extremely fast transient response, very small distortion, and the open sound field brought by the fully open design, still exist. For this level of product, it is actually more difficult for us to simply evaluate the sound "good" or "bad", and the more difference lies in what we call "musicality" and "smell". Compared with the old Edition X, the music of the new HIFIMAN Edition XS is of course significantly improved. Although I have higher expectations for its high frequency (of course not in terms of resolution), the overall performance of the new product is significantly better than the old one. undeniable fact.
So in the end, we have to return to the price. Is HIFIMAN Edition XS worth buying?
In fact, even if the sound of this new HIFIMAN product is exactly the same as or lower than the old one, as long as we think of the huge difference in pricing between the two, we will only say that the new product is "very good value"! What's more, the sound of the new HIFIMAN Edition XS is actually better now, so what can we say besides the word "true fragrance" facing the price of 2,499 yuan?
