[povidlo]

house sound

 

[Mr Trev]

So they made some clamping adjustments in later product runs?

That was the rumor. Not confirmed. I only owned the original pair before selling.

HFM has never confirmed any changes, but I have talked with people who had bought them early on, sold them and then bought another pair much later, and they claim the newer pair does fit much better.

As much as I dislike the headband, I couldn't be bothered to get a new pair just to see for myself. The workarounds are suitable enough for me

 

[Jaytiss]

I can't stand this stock headband. Does anyone have any suggestions for mods for this?

 

[Mr Trev]

I can't stand this stock headband. Does anyone have any suggestions for mods for this?

Put some padding on the headband (I use a Geekria pad for the HD650/600). You can also try and straighten the bend at the bottom of the yokes - it'll help with a bit more clamp. Don't get too aggressive trying to bend though. I have no idea what type of metal the yokes are made of and it's possible they could snap - you've been warned.

Beyond that, really nothing aside from tearing the whole thing down and fitting an older style headband - which is on my agenda once the warranty expires and if I can find a good deal on a used headband

 

[vrsx]

sold my XS month ago cause rarely use it and i cant use it for work (1st batch with really loose headband and keep moving if i move my head) , also the warranty almost expired..

and a week ago , the seller that i often bought from said that the newer XS headband are much tighter compare to the 1st batch, and there are some discount coupon from local app, so try bought it again for $420 after discount

and now it just arrived, got brown box like some other people, and yes the headband are much tighter , and wont move if i move my head
but unfortunately i cant find a really comfortable height and i already tried 2 headband cover and also without it , but still find it not that good .... the previous one my height adjustment around 1 dot, and now need 2 or 3 dot

so overall comfort wise (with dekoni elite sheepskin pad)
the old one : really comfortable like not using any headphone at all if im not moving around, but headphone can fall by itself by just me looking down
the new one : cant say its comfortable , but also cant say its not comfortable , but it stays there even if i move a lot

looks like i dont really have a good match with this headphone...
also my other headphone is lcd 2c and i dont have any problem with its fitting

 

[jody2k]

I want to do a heads-up when it comes to the stock cable compared to my new balanced cable I bought for 20$ aliexpress.
The hifiman XS just cleared up, sounded even more open, sounded much thicker and soundstage deeper.
Also this fixed completely the treble peak for me, no more need to fix this with equalizer, no more harsh sounding peak around 5-10k.
I mean it's a complete different sound!

I was very skeptical about this, never thought the difference between balanced and unbalanced would be night and day.
Just wonder why are they not giving a balanced cable as a standard with this headphone?

 

[BobSmith8901]

sold my XS month ago cause rarely use it and i cant use it for work (1st batch with really loose headband and keep moving if i move my head) , also the warranty almost expired..

and a week ago , the seller that i often bought from said that the newer XS headband are much tighter compare to the 1st batch, and there are some discount coupon from local app, so try bought it again for $420 after discount

and now it just arrived, got brown box like some other people, and yes the headband are much tighter , and wont move if i move my head
but unfortunately i cant find a really comfortable height and i already tried 2 headband cover and also without it , but still find it not that good .... the previous one my height adjustment around 1 dot, and now need 2 or 3 dot

so overall comfort wise (with dekoni elite sheepskin pad)
the old one : really comfortable like not using any headphone at all if im not moving around, but headphone can fall by itself by just me looking down
the new one : cant say its comfortable , but also cant say its not comfortable , but it stays there even if i move a lot

looks like i dont really have a good match with this headphone...
also my other headphone is lcd 2c and i dont have any problem with its fitting

Thanks for posting your experience.

Just a few questions regarding your new model XS:

Would you consider yourself having an average-sized head/ears?

When you say you cannot find a comfortable height, do you mean you can't get the right level for ear or jaw comfort/positioning or top of head comfort, or a combination of all three?

I've heard of people getting a hot spot on the top of their head from the way the headband is constructed.

Thanks for any further feedback.

 

[arnea]

I want to do a heads-up when it comes to the stock cable compared to my new balanced cable I bought for 20$ aliexpress.
The hifiman XS just cleared up, sounded even more open, sounded much thicker and soundstage deeper.
Also this fixed completely the treble peak for me, no more need to fix this with equalizer, no more harsh sounding peak around 5-10k.
I mean it's a complete different sound!

I was very skeptical about this, never thought the difference between balanced and unbalanced would be night and day.
Just wonder why are they not giving a balanced cable as a standard with this headphone?

When you changed the cable from unbalanced to balanced you also changed what output of your amplifier you are using, right? I think this is the main difference. Different amps have different internal construction - if your amp has designed around the balanced output then sure, this change will improve the sound. For example the iFi Zen series can deliver more power to balanced output and you might notice it. I suppose it would be quite hard to objectively compare balanced and unbalanced cables because you are also changing the amplifier output. Perhaps it's correct to say that balanced cable unlocks the capabilities of your amp.

 

[arnea]

Thanks for posting your experience.

Just a few questions regarding your new model XS:

Would you consider yourself having an average-sized head/ears?

When you say you cannot find a comfortable height, do you mean you can't get the right level for ear or jaw comfort/positioning or top of head comfort, or a combination of all three?

I've heard of people getting a hot spot on the top of their head from the way the headband is constructed.

Thanks for any further feedback.

I also have new model that came in simpler brown packaging. I have bigger than average head with 61cm circumference. Edition XS is very comfortable. I use them at work and wear almost all day. I do not feel hotspot on top of the head. They have a light clamping feel, but they definitely do not fall down when I look up or down. They would probably move and fall if I would shake my head, but luckily I'm not listening heavy metal I would say that I do not notice them at all, I'm not touching or adjusting them. They are just there. Since they are quite big I have at least two different positions (notches) for headband that feel good. I think I could shrink the headband by two or three notches. I suppose that for somebody with small head (smaller than average) the headband would be too big.

Those are my first real headphones. I went into HiFi audio shop and spent an hour to listen for different headphones with similar price. Edition XS was so much better than everything else. They were so big and ugly that at first I thought I will not try them. So happy that I did. All the other headphones felt and sounded like headphones. Edition XS felt and sounded like I had two living rooms hanging by my ears. Suddenly I understood what people mean when they talk about soundstage and separation of instruments etc. Super happy about my purchase.

 

[Fullbrewz]

I've heard of people getting a hot spot on the top of their head from the way the headband is constructed.

I've used both revisions of the XS and definitely get a hotspot. It also happens with my 400SE and 560v4's which use the same style of band. I've modded all of them to emulate the suspension style and my listening sessions are bliss now .

 

[marekm]

Never a hotspot, but just too !@#$% big (tall really)

But the large soundstage and sound signature make up for the wonky design / size

 

[jody2k]

Never a hotspot, but just too !@#$% big (tall really)

But the large soundstage and sound signature make up for the wonky design / size

Must say they scale well in games too i'm getting sounds even from behind me in horror shooters.
Soundstage is indeed stellar on these headphones

 

[donkashyap]

Must say they scale well in games too i'm getting sounds even from behind me in horror shooters.
Soundstage is indeed stellar on these headphones

Man I started playing doom eternal for the first time with XS I’m constantly removing them to see if someone is knocking lol

 

[donkashyap]

My setup was edition XS with tripowin granvia 4.4mm balanced cable and megatron

I have now got a cheap AMP ( douk audio U5 ) in and I’m loving these even more

Had sundara before this

 

[karloil]

Must say they scale well in games too i'm getting sounds even from behind me in horror shooters.
Soundstage is indeed stellar on these headphones

You mentioned gaming?