If youāre a sucker for imaging and placement like me (and Iām pretty sure you are lol) I really think youāll be shocked by how much of a difference it makes. And itās like the cheapest one out there. I donāt know what your usual DAC is but both the i2s and coax out of it are pretty substantial leaps on everything Iāve plugged into it.
I will be honest that I have my doubts such a cheaper unit will benefit me personally, but I am for trying out new thingsā¦ as it may help improve my chain later for potential upgrades.
My chains are usually with the bifrost 2, soekris, or some other much higher ended dac around the $600-$1,500 regions.
Yeah Iāve had people tell me itās quite an upgrade on a BF2 (though Iāve never owned one) and on a 1541 I had for a short while it made a pretty appreciable difference in staging accuracy and bass precision. I noticed a lot difference on anything with i2s like the Gustard X16, topping d90(akm), d70s, a spring 2 KTE I borrowed for a couple weeks, and a couple others in the $1-2000 range, but moreover the upgraded model of that DDC, the CMD-17 with nicer clocks is an absolute steal for the ~$130 they cost (liked it much more than a Singxer SU-2 priced at like 3x the cost). If you have a LPS it can plug into and a short i2s or coax cable it can make a pretty crazy amount of difference depending on how your chain is set up.
Are you talking about the ādampingā factor?
I mean, if it improves it alotā¦ I will just upgrade it in that case. I will sit down with it when I get a chance. Though more concerned about alterring the sound too much I may upgrade to a more neutral sound with a ddc
Think it is about a digital-digital converter. Read at several places that Pokrog says that many USB inputs on DACs are not well implemented and even with this cheap USB to coaxial converter the sound will improve.
Hi,
I am considering getting an Hifiman Edition XS to have headphones with different tonality and technicality.
I currently have the following headphones:
- Audio-Technica m50x
- Senheiser hd600
- Sony WH-1000XM3
- Focal Clear
I think having a planar magnetic can be a good addition.
I was able to try the Edition XS for like 1h and comparing them with Sundara, Ananda and Arya.
I was very happy with the sound 
They are very comfy but not so secure. They can move at every small head movement. I guess I can deal with that as I am not really moving my headphone as I plan to use them at my desk with my RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
What is blocking me the most is the build qualityā¦ they feel extremely cheap with a lot of plastic. The Sundara feels way more premium next to itā¦
Not sure if I will pull the trigger, hesitating ā¦
2 Likes
Iāve just been reunited with my Focal Elex. Iāve been amazed yet again with them.
Focal Elexes/Clears areā¦ pretty darn good.
XS are great headphones, but just another addition to your arsenal at this point.
Canāt go wrong with buying them - canāt go wrong with not buying them.
The XS are probably like tower speakers - a bit distant in some elements. The Focals are like bookshelves - bit closer, and more detailed and more intimate. Though the XS have a much bigger stage, Focalās imaging keeps them quite comparable and competitive.
For dynamics though, Focals canāt be beat.
TL;DR: All things considered, I feel that the Focals are a step up here.
3 Likes
I donāt want to start the fire again but there was a good video posted yesterday:
Some may not agree. I just donāt have the experience to say anything about the topic.
4 Likes
Looks like some snake oil to me
Yourā¦ quite the doubtful one huh. I suppose if that helps you cope with not upgrading anything in your setup by all means.
Gave it a shot. I wonāt say it was a dramatic difference but I definitely can hear a change in the soundā¦ Not bad either, I will check an upgrade on this later
many will not agreeā¦ also that dongle dac hardcore depends on what your trying to drive to begin withā¦ its only good for lower impedances that really donāt need much power at all like at 32 ohms but it also definitely depends on the sensitivity too
1 Like
The dongle canāt play back losslessā¦
For those complaining of planar crinkle:
So after complaining I had the planar crinkle, I think the issue has to do with the headband instead.
The headset is a loose fit, and moving my head is causing the left swivel part to make some metallic sound. I noticed that moving the right can put pressure on the headband and made it create some metallic tick (this happen with headphone off too). Currently considering putting some like grease on the head band, to see if it can reduce this.
I wouldnāt be surprised if all the reports here relates to this
1 Like
ā The Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter is designed to transmit audio from the iPhoneās Lightning connector. It contains a digital-to-analog converter that supports up to 24-bit/48 kHz lossless audioā
Replace the Edition XS, the new one doesnāt have the headband issue and I cannot hear any of the metallic sound. FYI.
are those beyer pads on the zeus?
looking forward to comparisons to sundara
1 Like
Cant imagine your struggle to get those beyer pads on lmfao. Looks like 1990 pads since they arent heavily slanted
Why remove the Zeus pads. Best pads I ever had.
Added a tygr 300r filter disk? Okay, in my opinion the Zeus treble is already on the smooth side.
