I have the Aeon closed X (close enough?) XS should be here in 2-3 days
Hifiimhinterhof in Berlin will sell them for 549 ā¬ this month.
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i already ordered them on aliexpress, but thanks anyways
Iām very curious about just how exaggerated these claims are about needing a powerful amp. I am going to purchase these soon. I only have the Fiio K5 Pro, and the impression I get after reading this thread is that I might as well just buy the Koss Portapros because my K5 is gonna be worthless.
Iām embellishing a bit now, but it begs the question.
What are entry level amps for?
Most entry level headphones donāt require an amp at all, and this very mid-range $500 headphone apparently is just way too much for the Magni/Atom/K5 crowd. So what purpose do these amps really serve? Lol.
Iāll tell you this. Iām gonna pretend more powerful amps donāt exist and assume that the K5 is as good as it gets. And Iām going to be happy with my listening experience too. You donāt know what you donāt know. 
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My hunch is that youāre going to be able to be plenty loud with the K5 Pro, will sound pretty good. Can you get better amplification? Sure.
Most all headphones will benefit from going beyond on-board, and still very few headphones need much beyond what you have. A $500 planar driver headphone is not in anyway āentry-levelā in the grand scheme and cost almost 3.5x your dac/amp combo.
Bit of a stretch, but noā¦ k5 wonāt be worthlessā¦ Will it provide the best sound based on synergy of the equipment and topology of the chip in use? Thatās much more debateableā¦ bit of a difference between is it enough power and is the circuitry and sound provided(such as things like level of distortion, spatial recreation, detail, etc) good enough or essentially at the fullest that can be provided.
They drive most headphones up to a certain point and still have enough power to carry you quite highā¦ however, they by no means provide the best quality of sound you can get. Not to say you really -need- to go higherā¦ but as an audiophile the additional sound quality is noticeable and appreciable, a good example for when I started to notice it heavily was when I switched a liquid spark to the asgard 3 then followed to the Liquid Platinum as the changes were rather large especially comparing spark to platinum(more so after a tube swap) as it helped me appreciate my beyers more thanks to the sound changes(it depleted the treble more and woke up the bassā¦ helped smooth out the signature a lot). Granted for hifiman? I tend to lean towards anything of a warmer nature since they usually have their bass recessiveā¦ in this case though? Doesnāt seem like that will be an issue.
I will disagree with this hereā¦ as this depends solely on whats powering them. Cheaper motherboards for example canāt even drive 32 ohms and I have had phones that struggle with 16 ohms.
Nah, should be more than enough power considering the impedance on this.
Hey if it keeps you from diving down the rabbit hole, by all means.
^ agreed. I was driving a dt 880 600 ohm off my Vio stack earlierā¦ does it need anywhere near that level of equipment? hell no, but it sounds great. More along the lines of how far you want to take itā¦ theres just the fact of its driven and sounds alright and then theres the best you can really take it.
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I have been a happy man for 4 years with my smsl m6(dac/amp combo) and sennheiser hd600. Then my friend bought a Tooping a30. At that moment i knew, i could not listen to my smsl anymore. I have bought a new much better amp. Then the same friend bought himself a new dac. I gave it a listen on my setup and momentarily understood that my smsl m6 was a mediocre dac too.
And then i have bought another dac, and another one, and another oneā¦
Now i look like a madman - tearing cables to connect my headphones to a stereo amp, buying longer interconnects because my new ACTIVELY cooled dac is too big for my desk, so i need 1.5m cables to be able to hide it somewhere.
People arround me still canāt understand why i cannot be happy with my perfectly fine phone.
Listen to your K5 for some time, but when you will inevitably get bored - buy an Asgard 
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Hifiman has some difficult to drive headphones with the infamous He6 being the toughest of all. The XS and Arya V2 both want 2w or more to get the most out of them. Susvara and He1000 are likewise difficult to drive.
Edition XS is not an entry level headphone so it makes sense entry level amps donāt push them to their best
The XS is way easier to drive than the Arya specs wise, itās even easier than the 400i and 400s according to hifimanā¦
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For some reason, most amp needs are over-exaggerated, particularly with planars. A lot of these claims are sight-based and heavily influenced by placebo. Measurements show many cheap amps/dacs perform better than higher-end stuff like Mojo, Schiit (bifrost specifically), Burson, etc.
A lot of audiophile stuff is completely placebo effect. Just try what you already have. If it doesnāt get loud enough then get a more powerful amp.
Edit: Thereās no convincing the people who spent more on inferior products that they did so. They know they got duped so they dig in harder. Placebo effect is incredibly strong and the subject of many scientific studies.
These Edition XS seem to be easy to drive by the reviews Iāve read and seen. Itās surprising theyāre so popular on all the forums and very few YouTube reviewers have a review out.
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I think Iām done having these conversations with the audiophile community. Itās almost like politics. You have the side that believes in measurements and then you have the side that have actually heard the effects. The measurement side tells the listening side theyāre wrong, itās a placebo, theyāre not volume matching and thatās what theyāre hearing, etc.
Itās exhausting honestly how many arguements Iāve seen and been a part of in the community in my short time and thatās my own fault for opening my mouth about my experiences. Yāall figure it out for yourselves
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I just stop commenting on that stuff when someone makes the remark about it. Itās not worth it, they are welcome to believe what they want. I will gladly enjoy my better sound 
Havenāt seen much bad reviews on these yet so seems they are quite popular
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You know, you can just look up the sensitivity on hifimanās websiteā¦
Iām going to do the same. Iāll stick with my like minded folks and let the rest believe what they want
Theyāre definitely popular right now and for good reason. Itās great value for the cost and theyāre super easy to listen to for any length of time without fatigue. Iām picking up a pair of Arya V2 shortly and am wondering if Iāll be keeping the XS but I donāt necessarily see myself parting with them
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I am more curious if they will replace my OG aryaā¦ I have considered checking out the newer arya with the stealth though.
Its troublesome for me to get hifiman though since literally all the stores out here have just stopped carrying the brand. Reasoning is just too many quality issues and returns with them to be worth stockingā¦ its unfortunate. Might be able to snag this for listening if I go all the way out to likeā¦ chicago but that would be a hell of a drive lol.
Keeps you from getting a headache for sure. We hear sound differently anywayā¦ so disagreements are in abundance in pretty much every way when it comes to the hobby.
Yeah now compare that to the rest of the lineupā¦ theyāre not specially harder to drive than anything hifiman has released other than the ananda, way easier to drive than the Arya
Yeh bro, donāt let them tell you the earth is round either, Iām out of the argument too.
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I mean, if they were harder to drive than my Aryaā¦ I think I would have some words about that lol. Arya is needy as well as picky about what itās sourced to
Everyone likes curves
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You are obnoxious
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sorry Iām not part of your echo chamber
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