I have not done a thorough testing yet but this is a quick measurement with stock pads in open configuration. It is HEQ compensated so flat line would be quite close to harman target. It's quite perfect except for that 8khz peak which is likely a measurement glitch as I don't find it problematic at all.
Hifiman Edition XS vs. Tres
8khz peak is also there with Edition XS so I would not worry about that with either of the headphones. MiniDSP EARS tends to do wonky things around those frequencies.
Hey guys, new to the whole thread.
I wanted to add my point of view as i have both XS and 16 Ohm Tres on my hands at the moment.
Tres with removed grill dampening and perforated leather pads outperforms XS making it redundant in my eyes.
Both XS and Tres are good headphones that punch well above their price point but i feel Tres has more potential to be a giant slayer, and i haven't had the luck trying the 45 Ohm version which i can imagine can punch well above Arya V3 and others in the 1600$ price range.
Tres has a more natural presentation, while XS has the typical hifiman house sound dip in the mids that makes them sound a little muffled. The pads make a big change in Tres, which are easier to swap thanks to the ring mechanism (all headphones should have this, glued pads is a sin) making them very flexible to adjust to your music taste.
I mainly listen to some EDM, Metal, Folk and ambient music, most of which is not masterly recorded and mixed, with perforated leather and removed grill dampening material Tres makes all the recordings sound their best yet very detailed, for example, Animals As Leaders - Ka$cade at 3:11 there is a lot of sounds happening and when the guitar and drums kick in you can still hear the sounds the the background, both Tres and XS replicate it well but i lean towards Tres more as they are more comfortable, they hug your head better and they keep the liveliness of the sound more then XS, almost all hifiman sound dry and lifeless.
I like punchiness of dynamics and the layering and instrument separation of planars and Tres gives the best of both worlds, mind you i haven't had the chance to try Focals or LCD-X 2021.
I will most likely sell XS and invest in 45 Ohm Tres, because these headphones impressed me by a lot.
My chain is Topping DX3Pro+ as a DAC and Shiit Magnius as amp, both are driven balanced.
Both ware EQd to add a little of bass and more mids energy. (Low shelf at 80 of 5db, peak filter at 1850 of 5db with 0.8 Q value)
I would like to hear from you guys if Focal Clears and LCD-X 2021 can beat Tres in terms of clarity, separation and punchiness.