Massdrop x Hifiman edition xx
Jan 3, 2020 at 9:34 PM Post #347 of 463
Please try it straight out of the smartphone too, that dac/amp game isn't for me, rather use my lg v30 that I trust enough.

Also I consider paint silver grills to matte black to upgrade sexiness, would that be the task that is worth effort?

So, I know this is really late but... it’s been an extraordinarily busy season lately both the holidays and work-wise... I’ve barely heard head time with these wonderful headphones, unfortunately, and until tonight it’s been largely with a balanced cable on the Cavali LCX or THX 789 but I plugged them into the humble headphone port of my
iPhone SE just now, expecting to be amused and underwhelmed - and it’s not world beating performance by any means but it’s surprisingly delicious and fun sounding, although I did need to max volume to get the big sound I expect.

So, my LG V20 is out on indefinite loan but I’d guess that given it has a significantly more powerful amplifier and better DAC, that it would drive it even better than the iPhone SE - now whether that translates to your satisfaction or not, I’m not sure. :)
A49C428B-93F0-4D6C-8FD2-7D25F2E15698.jpeg
 
Jan 3, 2020 at 10:01 PM Post #348 of 463
I've been interested in these for a while but am still on the fence. Not sure if I should get these or go for something higher end from HiFiMAN.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 6:31 PM Post #351 of 463
My Edition XXs have had 50+ hours of use now, and during which I've replaced the stock respirator tubing for actual headphone cables (NewFantasia silver plated cables, $40 on Amazon), and replaced the cheapo 1.5ft Monoprice interconnect I was using on my DAC/amp with 6in Schiit PYST RCA cables, and both have opened up the clarity, detail, impact and dynamics of these headphones to an appreciable degree.

One thing these headphones will not give you is a super-wide soundstage, but I'd be damned if they don't pretty much give you everything else you could ever really want. For this price I can't imagine not being satisfied. At first I wasn't very impressed with the detail, but crap cables can do that sometimes, and at this point I'd consider the detail among the top I've heard within fairly mid-fi territory ($700-tops gear). Newer detail-oriented headphones than what I've heard will probably top it, and I'd call the level of detail satisfactory for anyone wanting good performance that don't place detail extraction as their top priority.

With the right gear, these dessert plates on your head will hit hard when they need to, give you enough treble splash, and keep track of most instruments during busy segments while confining them to a relatively small area in and around your head. Those wanting tons of air extracted out of all their acoustic recordings will probably need to look elsewhere, but again, I think these will give pleasing results for most people in almost every use-case. In simple terms, those headphones specializing in characteristics that the Edition XXs do not (air, soundstage, imaging) will walk all over these, but what these headphones give you is a little bit of everything, natural tonality and decay, bass, slam when needed, adequate detail and pleasing, non-fatiguing treble at a high level of performance expected at this price range (and maybe a little more than the current $500 asking price).

I'm getting a Meier Corda Classic in the mail next week so I can see how these do with a different amp, but thus far these are the best all-arounders I've come across.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 9:41 PM Post #352 of 463
but I'd be damned if they don't pretty much give you everything else you could ever really want. For this price I can't imagine not being satisfied.
these dessert plates on your head will hit hard when they need to, give you enough treble splash, and keep track of most instruments during busy segments while confining them to a relatively small area in and around your head.

but what these headphones give you is a little bit of everything, natural tonality and decay, bass, slam when needed, adequate detail and pleasing, non-fatiguing treble at a high level of performance expected at this price range (and maybe a little more than the current $500 asking price).

Very well expressed. I agree with everything you've said REPUTATOR.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 11:21 PM Post #353 of 463
Jan 10, 2020 at 11:48 PM Post #354 of 463
Hi all, I am using K702 and Q701 now, and love the musicality and imaging, separation, layering, relaxation of K702 amplified by Audio-gd C-2 amp, a single-end amp whose output can be up to +/- 30V DC.

I have enjoyed K702 for 7 years. Is upgrading to a Hifiman edition xx reasonable if I prefer the musicality? Maybe I will add a balanced amp next year(I have a balanced Audio-gd DAC.). So I will have single-end amps only in 2020. Even the 4-pin XLR output of C-2 is for the convenient usage only.

I am also considering Massdrop's AEON Open X but I prefer Hifiman's technology more as now.
 
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Jan 11, 2020 at 9:05 AM Post #355 of 463
Hi all, I am using K702 and Q701 now, and love the musicality and imaging, separation, layering, relaxation of K702 amplified by Audio-gd C-2 amp, a single-end amp whose output can be up to +/- 30V DC.

I have enjoyed K702 for 7 years. Is upgrading to a Hifiman edition xx reasonable if I prefer the musicality? Maybe I will add a balanced amp next year(I have a balanced Audio-gd DAC.). So I will have single-end amps only in 2020. Even the 4-pin XLR output of C-2 is for the convenient usage only.

I am also considering Massdrop's AEON Open X but I prefer Hifiman's technology more as now.

In my experience with the K702, it was quite a bit different from the Edition XX or most headphones for that matter. I was not a fan of the K702 and found them to be cold, lacking in impact and especially bass. The Edition XX is anything but a linear upgrade from those. There's satisfying bass presence as well as impact, a much smaller soundstage, and not nearly as much emphasis on upper midrange and treble, and as such doesn't have the airiness of the K702s. It's a natural, somewhat neutral sounding headphone with a touch of warmth, clean and unexaggerated highs, and comparitively more forward midrange and intimate staging.
 
Jan 11, 2020 at 3:42 PM Post #356 of 463
In my experience with the K702, it was quite a bit different from the Edition XX or most headphones for that matter. I was not a fan of the K702 and found them to be cold, lacking in impact and especially bass. The Edition XX is anything but a linear upgrade from those. There's satisfying bass presence as well as impact, a much smaller soundstage, and not nearly as much emphasis on upper midrange and treble, and as such doesn't have the airiness of the K702s. It's a natural, somewhat neutral sounding headphone with a touch of warmth, clean and unexaggerated highs, and comparitively more forward midrange and intimate staging.

Thanks for your great comparison. The K702 lacking of bass makes me enjoying the music more than 1 hour without a rest.
 
Jan 12, 2020 at 11:53 AM Post #357 of 463
So, I know this is really late but... it’s been an extraordinarily busy season lately both the holidays and work-wise... I’ve barely heard head time with these wonderful headphones, unfortunately, and until tonight it’s been largely with a balanced cable on the Cavali LCX or THX 789 but I plugged them into the humble headphone port of my
iPhone SE just now, expecting to be amused and underwhelmed - and it’s not world beating performance by any means but it’s surprisingly delicious and fun sounding, although I did need to max volume to get the big sound I expect.

So, my LG V20 is out on indefinite loan but I’d guess that given it has a significantly more powerful amplifier and better DAC, that it would drive it even better than the iPhone SE - now whether that translates to your satisfaction or not, I’m not sure. :)

Sounds good enough, thanks my brother from another mother, now gotta grind some € to get these.
 
Jan 13, 2020 at 12:47 AM Post #359 of 463
I never updated my impressions after getting the Meier Corda Classic. My enjoyment of this headphone increased dramatically with the better amp. I posted a review on Drop's product page but I'll repost it here because it's worth a read for anyone considering these.

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In a way I envy those who are coming from a cheap planar or a thin, metallic sounding pair of dynamic headphones that get to experience these for the first time. In my mind this is exactly how magneplanars should sound. Full-bodied midrange, smooth extended highs, deep and unobtrusive bass that kicks when it needs to... Going back to the late '00s/early '10s, planars first started to re-emerge in the headphone community thanks largely to the efforts of HiFiMAN and their HE-5 (and family) of headphones. My first pair of planars (also known as orthodynamic) were the HE-5LE, an improved version of HiFiMAN's first effort. What I remember most about those headphones were the warm, forward mids, lively highs, and hefty (though somewhat soft hitting) bass without ever any hint of grain or distortion. In 2010 that was the best I had ever heard or owned, but five years later, it along with all the rest of my gear was sold for moving expenses.

I've been yearning to go back to that sound ever since. In returning to the world of audiophile headphones, I could have gone for a popular, well-regarded dynamic headphone. But what I really wanted to experience again was that orthodynamic sound. That smooth, rich, creamy center with a sprinkling of spicy highs and a boisterous low-end foundation. When I got the Edition XX, what I ended up with was something even better.

To be sure, it takes some time to settle into its character. The treble takes the most time to break in. To start with, I found it a bit grainy, but the bass was surprisingly slammy and the mids had a natural tonality. After many hours of use, the treble has sharpened to a smooth edge, and the bass has tightened. I liked what I heard, but there was no question the headphone had its list of strengths, and then the things it didn't do as well. Its strengths are that it's an excellent all-arounder. When the music is mastered for it, the bass can slam. It can go deeply low. When watching TV shows or movies with action scenes, you get that sub-bass and with enough power, it can really rumble. Impact is particularly enjoyable. The treble is smooth and natural sounding with adequate detail, but it won't extract tons of air out of all your acoustic recordings. No harsh peaks that I could pick up on. Very non-fatiguing and enjoyably balanced treble in my opinion.

Where it doesn't shine as much is imaging and soundstaging. In fact it can be rather mediocre, or at least... That's what I thought at first. Your gear makes all the difference. These headphones sound really good out of humble sources like a smartphone. They sound even better with mid-fi $200 amps (such as the Schiit Asgard 3), but they explode with clarity and width when hooked up to highend gear. I moved from an Asgard 3 to a Meier Corda Classic, a discontinued but highend amp from 2014 (Modi Multibit for the DAC). The soundstage just about doubled in size. The imaging cleared up significantly. The natural tambre of the mids unfolded into a clear, shockingly real depiction of acoustic instruments, especially strings. Separation, which I found acceptable before, improved dramatically. The bass which was already good can hit even harder now (while still keeping tight). These are now far beyond what I've ever owned before.

In two words, buy these. These are just about the most inscrutable headphones I've come across. There is virtually nothing they do wrong. They work for nearly every type of music you pipe through them, they're a touch warm, musical, smooth, and reasonably detailed with fantastic clarity and realism (again, with good gear). On top of that they're very well built, and very comfortable with the classic HiFiMAN headband which honestly still works well to this day (and IMO makes this headphone extremely attractive). Everyone mentions the cable, and yeah. It's not good. It's really not any worse than what HiFiMAN packs with most of their headphones these days, but a simple replacement is cheap to come by. The cable I have pictured above is a NewFantasia silver plated cable that cost me $40 on Amazon, and it looks and feels great. The cable issue is nothing to get hung up on (no pun intended). These are great headphones for the price (especially discounted, which they were when I made my purchase) and will satisfy the vast majority of headphone fanatics out there (except maybe the treble heads). The only thing you could ask for is more. More soundstage, more separation, more detail, more air.... But to get "more" you'll have to spend a LOT more. They get my solid recommendation!
 
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Jan 13, 2020 at 3:28 PM Post #360 of 463
I got a chance to briefly listen to a friend's HEXX alongside a HEXv1 with v2 pads and I was disappointed. It made me go for a HEXv2 demo instead of a HEXX. It sounded really sort of grainy compared to HEXv1, that's what really stood out to me. The treble in particular was a letdown. I thought the HEXv1 was absolutely superior to the HEXX. I had though the HEXX was supposed to be a HEXv2 with a different headband, but based on what I heard, no way. For the record, all three of us there more or less agreed on this assessment.

Afterwards I've been wondering if the HEXX I heard was defective, or if this is normal? Doesn't the HEXX use the same internals as both HEX's? How could it be so much worse, did we imagine it? I ended up paying 660€ incl. delivery for a HEXv2 demo unit with warranty, but I'm unsure if I should've just taken a risk and gone for a HEXX and paid a bit less.
 

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