That makes sense and I guess thatās why my Azure amp does such a good job, as it would provide more current with itās specific low impedance headphone setting.
Spent 7 hours yesterday straight out of the box listening to a variety of music genres and The Hobbit film and still very impressed. Iām usually an IEM guy who likes bass boosted sets (Mele for example), and was completely satisfied although I did enjoy it more with the iFi Zen Can bass boost turn on but Iām definitely not a neutral signature guy.
I was considering spending the money on an IEM but since Iām spending a lot of my time at my computer/desk now figured this was the way to go since I wanted an expansive sound stage experience and Iām very happy with the result.
Sad to hear this kind of feedback, im still waiting my, already more than 30 days:))) well if sound will be shitty, i will sell them and question closed:) You mentioned t1.2, did you compared them to 1990? T1.2 is better?
My amp is Topping A30 pro, in specs it is 6wx2, which how i understand this: real 3w to 16ohm, well i hope they will be fine:)
1 Like
Yeh but it means they already survived the big shipping around the world and you can return them and get a refund or get them fixed in days instead of months in case something goes bad, aliexpress makes you wait 90 days before you can even start a complaint and then takes like another 2-3 weeks to refund which means more than 100 days without headphones or money in case something goes bad with the shippingā¦
Basically, donāt buy expensive stuff from there, look up earpads tho I got a huge collections for less than a pair of dekonis by now lol.
1 Like
Well from what Iāve heard the A30 is a beast. My understanding is the G111 was built and designed around the 600 Ohm 880 so the opposite of a planar. People on here have said the kids are a little thin, but this goes beyond that. I expect the new amp Iām getting will fix this- thereās no way these have more recessed and thinner mids than Beyer products, right? Jk, sort ofā¦ I mean I think Beyer mids are stellar theyāre just known for being recessed. For 1990s- depends who you ask. Josh Valour thinks the 1990s are better than the T1s- especially for Bass- I think the T1s are adequate. If you want a headphone to all things well you have to spend more and more. I wouldnāt lose faith until you have them. Only upon plugging them in at 15W a channel or whatever will I sell them if they donāt hit the way I want them to
1 Like
Any headband cover/sleeve recommendations? Something thick enough - the headband is the same as the HE400SE, so anyone using something for that would work here too.
Any suggestions?
Something like this maybe? I have this in another color for my other cans - fits perfect, great quality, but the under-pad (one that touches the head) is a bit messed up and rough for the hair.
PS: I donāt like the wool ones, plenty of those out there, so anything else anyone using? Something one can get from AliExpress maybe?
2 Likes
Add a HD650 Headband . Either attach it removable with some velcro ties or if you donāt mind use double sided stick tape. Of course You could also stick the HD650 pad to one of these (wool) sleeves so you donāt risk leaving any stains on the original headband.
Most of these sleeves are for slim headbands. The hifiman one is quite thick, even had to stretch the wool sleeves for the 400se I had.
Probably many others will suggest dekoni nuggetsā¦
This one looks similar to yours
or as an alternative from the 500er series. comes already with some 3M stick tape.
2 Likes
Ok good, thanks - gives me some ideas - let me see what to do here.
Something else is coming to mind - maybe I will use two earpads, zip them together, will look something like the ZMF pilot pad - yeah I think Iāll try to use a pair to do that, I can find some cheap options to that affect.
Finally - first reviews coming in from our - celeb reviewersā¦
TL;DR: CheapAudioMan likes em. Says maybe his favs.
14 Likes
its funny, i trust randy. he feels like heād be my uncle. glad he likes them.
4 Likes
The fancy cable management ad made me chuckle.
1 Like
Yeah Randy fools around like that - until he gets some serious sponsorship I suppose.
1 Like
all his āsith audioā stuff is because heās a star wars fan and audiophile stuff is expensive because theyāre just evil. i really hope he gets a good sponsor some day, iāve always loved his videos.
3 Likes
Hour ago opened recieved my Edition XS, right from the box they sound a little bit muffled with too much bass, just like for the bass heads, but soundstage is bigger than on 1990, frequency response on mid and highs flatter than 1990. After one hour of burn in not on my head, things become a little bit better. Somebody experienced burn-in on edition XS? Manual tells to burn in for 150 hours.
Anyway for 435$ very good, i hope burn in will make them better.
Straight from the box I canāt say it is love from the first sight;)) Maybe i should try Arya, or lcd-x, or my XS just needs burn-in. On some tracks they sound much better than 1990, on some not so good, mixed feelings at this moment, maybe i should get used to them.
I canāt explain this effect,but my brain and ears much more relaxed with XS than with 1990. So overall i think they are on one level, but with different presentation.
6 Likes
I donāt know what youāre talking about. He already has a serious sponsor. 
1 Like
Finally got a pair of these babies, which I have lusted after since they debuted as a China-only product last year.
First impressions: The Edition XS fulfill the hype ā and then some. Iām beyond delighted with these after the first two hours of listening.
Iām happy to compare these to a few headphones outside of the HiFiMan line ā Iāve owned/own HD 560s, HD 6XX, Elegia, Meze 99 Classics, ATH-M40x, ATH-M50x ā I think itās probably best and most accurate to compare to the HiFiMan headphone that I own, the HE-400se.
I know the Sundara is the step just below the XS in the HiFiMan, but Iāve never owned or tried it. Decided to jump straight from HE-400se to XS after my recent purchase of the Elegia showed me how mid-fi can be a considerable jump over entry-fi.
The Edition XS basically take whatās good in the HE-400se and elevate it about five times. And it takes the flaws of the 400se and fixes them.
All of these impressions are without EQ. Iām not a huge EQ guy, as I like the varying sound signatures of the cans in my collection (HE-400se, Elegia, HD 6XX).
First, the Edition XS bass. Itās more controlled, punchy and present than in the HE-400se, which already has good, entry-level planar bass. Thereās no grain, spike or congestion in the treble so far, which can be a problem in some complex passages with the HE-400se. But the biggest difference in the basic sound signature between the HE-400se and the Edition XS are the mids ā theyāre far more defined and present in the Edition XS than in the HE-400se.
Other thoughts about the XS compared to the HE-400se ā¦ Clarity? Better. Imaging? MUCH better. Soundstage? Considerably wider. Comfort. The same ā both are very comfortable, but the XS has even less clamping force. Good for my fat, bald dome.
Iām not an audiophile with decades of experience and a fat checkbook. Iāve been active in this wonderful hobby and with its cool people for about five years, and my finances finally have allowed me to graduate from entry-fi to mid-fi. But the Edition XS are the highest-quality all-arounders Iāve heard. The only headphone Iāve heard thatās better is the Focal Stellia, and thatās a $3,000 can.
Thereās just nothing in the XSā sound signature that offends my ears and brain in the slightest, which is rare since Iām very treble-sensitive and suffer from raging tinnitus. And thereās a HELL of a lot in the sound signature that matches my idea of audio nirvana.
Time to compare the Edition XS to the other mid-fi can in my collection, the Elegia. Yes, the detail and some of the treble in the Elegia match or possibly exceed that in the XS. But the Elegia donāt do bass or soundstage nearly as well as the XS. The Elegia are great for strings, classical, vocals, acoustic, piano jazz, bluegrass ā music that lives in the mids. But theyāre not so great for rock, alternative rock or metal.
So far, the Edition XS have been great with every genre, just like my HE-400se, which are THE definitive entry-level can, in my opinion. But the Edition XS are just significantly better at everything than the HE-400se.
Finally, I donāt get the fuss about power requirements for the Edition XS. Iām driving them to ample volume on low gain of my JDS Atom+ stack. The dial is at about noon or 1 p.m. Iām sure more powerful amps would elicit even more fidelity, but Iām already in rapture at what Iām hearing.
The Edition XS may stop my headphone churn for a while. Theyāre THAT good. I feel like I would need to pierce the four-figure spend range to get anything much better.
Iām so damn impressed ā and happy!
Feel free to toss any questions my way.
10 Likes
Love to hear how the XS can actually be the ones putting some breaks on some of oursā purchasing frenzy!
I feel exactly the same about them, too - and well, I guess headphones that do that for a person are a treasure.
They help put an end to our otherwise constant restlessness, the search for that āmissing somethingā, trying to find āThe Oneāā¦ and just kick back and enjoy the music!
It is a rare feat. And ever so often, something comes up and fills all the voids.
2 Likes
Thanks for the suggestion of this headband cover! I find the EDXS comfortable but too big for me, this should solve the issue and ordered it immediately.
1 Like
Okay, so I got the Soloist todayā¦ Still blows my mind reading people dont think it needs power. For reasons, itās getting about 3ishV SE, and Iām medium gain at 85 volume and theyāre not even loud. Definitely good listening level but not loud. That being said, shit. Theseā¦ These cansā¦ Hilarious it only cost me $25CAD more than my Sundaras did. Theyāre definitely the best value headphone Iāve ever owned. Theyāre so different to the Hemps or T1s itās not really fair to compare them, but theyāre the most versatile across genres. Imaging is my #1 priority, and while they donāt image like the T1s, theyāre still excellent. XS obviously does bass better. The Hemps still have that āacousticy vinyl warmthā thatās just the tits and will always shake me to my core, but those just canāt so bass in an electronic music sort of setting. @Pokrog yeah- not on the fence anymore. Theyāre staying. Kept distracting me from studying. Now Iām super curious to hear Aryas just to compare. Full disclaimer: that Burson could make a pair of airplane earbuds sound good so take it with a grain of salt.
3 Likes
nice. glad youāre liking your setup! thereās something about the soloist that just drags character and emotion out of headphones, especially hifimans. one thing youāll notice eventually is that the soloist sounds a lot better warm. also idk how much time you have with the XS but theyāll relax a bit and get a bit more stage and clarity and the bass smooths out too a lot.