Thanks! I’ve been looking at pad options for the 400i however I don’t think that’d do the trick. For what it’s worth, HD6XX are too small for me and the one super popular pair of Brainwavz is too, feel like it’s just a matter of shape, I have gigantic ears and Ananda-sized pads will not fit.
So hard to have any general understanding of how power hungry they are since I have seen plenty people saying Atom will suffice.
Well I have the he400i-s as well. 400i is more demanding than the XS or the he-4XX. I think you should be good. These new diaphragms on the XS are thinner, and certainly more efficient.
As for the pads, I know it’s a bytch to get the right ones to go, without affecting the sound.
So far, I’ve gone with some standard AliExpress Fostex clone pads, but the ones on the th610 or Denon 5000, which have a larger opening than the th-x00 or EMU pads. Real cheap, below $10 stuff, that may help you in some way. I also had some success with - Steelseries Sibera pads, which are even smaller, but sounded pretty darn good - though aesthetically, may give a person OCD as they’re smaller than 100mm and look funny - though sound better than stock. But again, you may have fit problems as the holes may still be smaller for your gargantuan (your words) ears.
I have the Brainwavz XL pads. As much as I yearn to use them, they have thoroughly disappointed me with every single one of my cans and are just residents in my storage box. I cannot recommend these to anyone, and I simply wont - the 110mm size is a terrible fit for a proper seal on any cans - Hifimans, Fostexes, Monoprice Monoliths, Beyers… nothing sounds good or fits well. Yes they’re comfy, but beyond that, it’s either the terrible seal or the increased driver distance - or both, that screw things up.
But the XS is not just a fit improvement thing alone - they ARE a clear upgrade to the 4X0 series Hifimans.
Anyhow, larger Hifimans would be a way to go - but I quote you: " I have gigantic ears and Ananda-sized pads will not fit"…
Ananda/Arya/He1000/EditionX/XS - all are the same size. If these large Hifimans won’t fit you, I don’t know what will.
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Wow, really? Opinions on these never fail to surprise me. This is very interesting. Thanks a lot for this. Very deeply eyeing these now…Everything that people say about their sonic performance also seems like it’d be to my taste.
I apologize for being unclear - I meant Ananda sized pads would not fit on the 400i’s. Therefore I feel like it would be a wiser choice to get new headphones which are bigger. I have looked for other pads but none really look like they’re that much bigger and I do need some special treatment, would be way easier to know if I could find opening dimensions but it’s not info that’s displayed everywhere. Shape seems to be key. My ears are certainly large but if XS won’t fit then I am some kind of mutation, which I highly doubt!
For what it’s worth these are the ones I was using with 400i’s before I sold them, they’re legit the most comfortable pair of pads I’ve used, but the store I got them from on aliexpress disappeared, might be worth looking if they’re on ebay or something if you plan on keeping the 400is.
But yeah, the edition xs pads are still much larger, less deep though, also I’d swear the soundstage was wider on the 400is with those pads than the XS, but the bass and detail still make it worth it to upgrade imo.
Yeah not sure if this kind of size would be sufficient. Feels like a bit of a gamble compared to the XS. Depth is not something I worry deeply about (no pun intended), my headphones always seem to touch the driver and it doesn’t bother me. The pain is all round my ears’ edges.
Which ones would you recommend?? I really like the headphones, I got them recently, so I still have to adjust to them, but I’d also like to experiment with different pads.
I hope everybody is enjoying the EDXS. I have been using mine quite a lot, almost everyday.
It is the first pair of headphones I am using during summer, I was afraid that they would be uncomfortable due to the heat but I found out I actually prefer to wear them much more than a pair of iems.
Anyway, I don’t know whether it is the cable or the headphones, but recently I started hearing some distortions that I don’t think I was noticing before - especially on the right cup - which is making me thinking my unit has issues.
For example, I hear clear distortions from the beginning of this track here: Stellaris OST - Faster Than Light Feat. Mia Steagmar - YouTube
I have the flac on my computer but it is the same. How does it sound to you guys?
Thanks!
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I’d test out the full “chain of command”, first check the source make sure the AMP isnt the issue (simple enough connect another headphone/iem to to). Then the cable, gettign a dual 3.5mm cable should be rather simple, after that its pretty much could only be the headphone
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Yes, it seems it is the amp (topping L50) which is failing.
I tested it with an iem I have and on the same track the right channel was atrocious…
EDIT: Today I had ten minutes to do some testing and it seems the issue is not the L50 either.
Anyway, the important thing is that that my EDXS are completely fine.
BTW, thinking at the beginning that it was the cable, I was already looking into a substitution when I found this one: Ivipq-39 4 Core 5n Upocc Single Crystal Copper Modular Headphone Upgrade Cable For Hd580 Hd650 Hd800 Hifiman Ananda - Audio & Video Cables - AliExpress
This looks like such a versatile cable!! And it seems it is 60% off now? It would be useful to use for switching between devices with SE to other balanced ones and forth, however I guess it does add new possible points of failure.
Has anybody experience with modular cables?
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I’ve seen people say the XS cable is the same that comes with the 4XX. As a previous owner of the 4XX, I know that overtime the cable become unusable in this exact way, awful distortion started appearing on many songs, as the right angled plug isn’t durable and seems to naturally get ruined with time.
Personally I ordered two of these as replacements, one 2.5mm BAL and the other 3.5mm SE. They are quite nice and very cheap:
No experience with modular cables like the one you linked.
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Yeah, Openheart cables are pretty good. I bought one for my IEMs, and quite like it.
I actually bought the Openheart knock off Grado (its actually an ok headphone if you mod it), but the cable that came with it is rather solid i use it for my Harmonicdyne Helios. But I treated my Edition Xs to a more “heavy duty” , Tripowin, a very “thick” cable, very nice weave
I also have the tripowin granvia (Amazon) . Got for my Sundara and like it.
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Grabbed a Senn 800 model from Linsoul during one of the megadeals. Purple to 3.5mm and it’s great. I don’t completely mind the stock cable, but it’s just too long and heavy for desktop usage. The build/color/lightness exceeded my expectations. Not weighing in on sonics.
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I have one and I love it. Looks good and sounds great.All NMD Custom Pads are treated with the finest leather conditioner.
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The Most Selected, Type B.
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NGL I definitely want to try these Ntrax pads out. But I’m just cheap and bought some from Ali instead, I can’t tell much difference in the sound. Sorta hard to A/B test but I can’t tell much difference from stock, but they’re comfy, so overall I’m happy since it was pretty cheap.
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Thank you for your interest. All NMD pads are full custom, size, cavity, thickness, color, material.
You should just figure out which ones measure well and do a larger run with lower price tbh, I’d bite in the 100s if I know they’ll work well but you’re more than doubling dekoni and over 10x the ali ones, it just makes no sense for headphones priced $500, maybe for like a he1000 or a susvara…
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