Hifiman Edition XS Launched

[TalonFyre]

Just got it in a day ago and will probably set it up tomorrow. If there's any issues, I'm sure I'll find out real soon. Otherwise, will post some impressions later this week.

No issues so far. Have it set on High Gain and it can get plenty loud. No distortion or clipping that I can hear. For reference, my average listening is around 74 dB (ghetto-measured with iPhone mic & app placed at the earcup opening while generating a 500 Hz tone), so I guess it's fine so far for anything + or - 20 dB from that.

Still listening to see if there's any difference, tonality-wise, between this and the AE-7. So far, it's pretty close...

 

[Xerosnake90]

No issues so far. Have it set on High Gain and it can get plenty loud. No distortion or clipping that I can hear. For reference, my average listening is around 74 dB (ghetto-measured with iPhone mic & app placed at the earcup opening while generating a 500 Hz tone), so I guess it's fine so far for anything + or - 20 dB from that.

Still listening to see if there's any difference, tonality-wise, between this and the AE-7. So far, it's pretty close...

Controversial topic but loudness does not mean enough power to make the headphones sound their best

 

[vikinguy]

The Stealth Arya is incredibly easy to drive, easier than the Sundara - so I just don't buy the scalability argument making the differences. Anything that applies to the Stealth Arya would likely also apply to the XS.

The FR between the Stealth Arya and the HE1000v2 seems to be more noticeably different - whereas the XS vs Stealth Arya looks very similar. You're getting into the ultra critical listening differences here... which may matter more to some than others. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Hey, I'm excited to hear them!

 

[TalonFyre]

Controversial topic but loudness does not mean enough power to make the headphones sound their best

True, I meant "fine" with respect to loudness only. I guess it was kind of obvious by the specs and ASR's analysis, but just wanted to confirm it for anyone else that was wondering (at typical listening levels).

I'm still assessing whether they sound better relative to what I had driving them before. I *think* it does, but I need more listening time to be sure.

 

[cycloverid]

Controversial topic but loudness does not mean enough power to make the headphones sound their best

I don't think that's controversial at all. But amplifiers are a very simple device - you JUST need enough power/current + low distortion to make headphones sound the way the manufacturer intended. Of course, you should also have a healthy amount of overhead to render dynamic peaks. It's REALLY that simple guys. It's ONLY if you want a different sound signature (and don't EQ) that you would go crazy with amps/dacs. And the expensive amps/dacs will definitely play around a lot with that - like Photoshop filters applied on images. I'm sure this can be a lot of fun to play with for some people.

I don't want to get too off topic again, but in terms of the Edition XS, it doesn't need heaps of power or current more than the average $100 amp can provide. There's just so much misinformation and mysticism around hi-fi audio for the new guys. The magnitude of misunderstanding around these devices really bothers me.

 

[vikinguy]

You should grab a set of Susvara to see if they're close.

 

[cycloverid]

You should grab a set of Susvara to see if they're close.

What a passive aggressive statement this is. Hey, I'll respect your opinion if you grab one first - which doesn't seem mutual. The $5,500 difference would be hard to justify regardless of performance for me personally.

 

[vikinguy]

What a passive aggressive statement this is. Hey, I'll respect your opinion if you grab one first - which doesn't seem mutual. The $5,500 difference would be hard to justify regardless of performance for me personally.

Enjoy the hobby man. Listen in good health.

 

[jasswolf]

I don't think that's controversial at all. But amplifiers are a very simple device - you JUST need enough power/current + low distortion to make headphones sound the way the manufacturer intended. Of course, you should also have a healthy amount of overhead to render dynamic peaks. It's REALLY that simple guys. It's ONLY if you want a different sound signature (and don't EQ) that you would go crazy with amps/dacs. And the expensive amps/dacs will definitely play around a lot with that - like Photoshop filters applied on images. I'm sure this can be a lot of fun to play with for some people.

I don't want to get too off topic again, but in terms of the Edition XS, it doesn't need heaps of power or current more than the average $100 amp can provide. There's just so much misinformation and mysticism around hi-fi audio for the new guys. The magnitude of misunderstanding around these devices really bothers me.

The dynamic peaks are one element of what the other side of the argument earlier was describing, the other being the ability to smoothly ramp voltage and current so the signal noise doesn't get in the way of control over the driver (unless there are desired harmonics to be added).

 

[cel4145]

The dynamic peaks are one element of what the other side of the argument earlier was describing, the other being the ability to smoothly ramp voltage and current so the signal noise doesn't get in the way of control over the driver (unless there are desired harmonics to be added).

As @cycloverid pointed out, there are $100 amps that can do that.

 

[Xerosnake90]

Guys, use some EQ with these. I use the EDITION X v2 auto EQ on wavelet and it sounds fantastic. It's very subtle but brings out more detail, makes guitars and such a bit punchier

 

[jasswolf]

As @cycloverid pointed out, there are $100 amps that can do that.

By what measure though... test tones? That's not a complete guideline to anything, unfortunately.

I understand that you think this is simple arithmetic, but it comes down to the parts and implementation too, and measurements for real world usage that can yield insight don't really exist yet.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Just found the wife had been hiding a surprise for me...What's in the box? HiFiMan ED XS.... I'm such a lucky guy, just got them running for a bit on my xDuoo TA-20 .... May not need a lot of juice but still seem's they have no problem eating up a good chunk of power if you have it spare, much more bottom end bass than I had expected...

edit: That said lol....... They also seem happy on just the iFi Zen DAC V2 (not the iFi Can, just the DAC) for that matter if your not going to go crazy or super fussy you can get them loud enough...eg: 12 O' clock on the dial, power-match in use with truebass added and I'm reading a nice 82dB in-headphone volume...

 

[cel4145]

By what measure though... test tones? That's not a complete guideline to anything, unfortunately.

I understand that you think this is simple arithmetic, but it comes down to the parts and implementation too, and measurements for real world usage that can yield insight don't really exist yet.

That's your opinion. A lot of people don't agree with it.

 

[cycloverid]

By what measure though... test tones? That's not a complete guideline to anything, unfortunately.

I understand that you think this is simple arithmetic, but it comes down to the parts and implementation too, and measurements for real world usage that can yield insight don't really exist yet.

How would an engineer go about making these parts and implementations without measurements for real world usage? No way this stuff is as loosely understood on the manufacturing side as is the common wisdom in here...

Okay, getting off topic. I feel like there should be a thread for this heh