Yeah thatās actually what made me email hifiman lol
2 or 3 days
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Today, I posted this short reveiw on Headfi.
If interested, There is a bit of discussion going on there, since the review and before it as well.
Here it isā¦
Hifiman Edition XS Mini Review. : 11-03-2021
Box : Typical Hifiman, has the dark lush soft packing.
Cable : Decent. Rubber. Short. Mild Jank
Headband : The Original Edition X and V2 have a superior headband. The XS headband is softly padded but singular. Just a bar, typical of the older Hifiman frames. Comfort of the headband is : 7.9
Pads and Clamp. : The clamp force is going to be moderate on medium heads and slightly firm on big heads. The Pads are ok, not quite soft at first feel, but this will change with break in time
How do they sound right out of the box?
Typical of Hifman, they have a somewhat airy treble, a very slight āVā shape, and credible bass and plenty of treble extension.
Not a warm or cold sounding headphone, but other then the Susvara, the HE1000 series is more clinical and analyticalā¦= And so is the XS.
Hifiman Headphones, from HE1000 - Susvara, have a slight V shape and are slightly Treble oriented in Sound.
Less so with the Susvara.
As compared to the original āEditionā series", right out of the box, and not burned in it at all, I would consider the XS to sound more like the original Edition X, yet more controlled, FR balanced, and slightly more tonally smooth.
1.) Comfort: The headphones are comfortable, but not as comfy as the HE1000 series.
2.) Treble : Its slightly airy, and very typical of the HE 1000 series, but not quite as hyper extended as you find with the V2 and the HEKSE. Right out of the Box = There is PLENTY of Treble in the XS FR that manifests as extremely clean sound.
3.) Midrange : Hifiman does not design Audeze midrange into their headphones, and so, you wont find that type of āhonkā inside the sound of the XS. Mids presented by the XS are very articulate, pleasant, not dry, and very slightly clinical. Vocals stand out, acoustic instruments sound truthful and cymbals are very nicely presented.
Electronic music plays well in the XSās.
4.) Bass : Bass is similar to the Edition X series in tone and layering, but its a bit more controlled in that offers enough power and extension to work well with music that requires it to provide some meat, but its not a Bass Head slamming low end, its more finessed and articulate and balanced.
5.) Soundstage : You are not totally submerged inside a huge room as you find with the V2, yet, its a nicely immersive SS. The height of the SS is good, the depth is good, and the width is not disappointing, but not so wide that you lose the sense of instruments and vocals in front of you. The SS is perceived as āaccurateā vs āenhancedā.
6.) Timbre : Clean and Precise.
7.) Detail Retrieval : Here is where the XS shines brightest. Its a detailed headphone sound that manages to walk the fine line between being quite detail revealing yet still very musical. This is what Hifiman does so wellā¦ They donāt give you that over-cookes lower mid situation that fights the clarity of the treble. Vocals pop in the XSās with a lot of layering. It very impressive.
8.) Instrument Separation : Its very good like all Hifimanās.
9.) Power requirements : These are not going to sound their best out of a cell phone or weak Dac/Amp. They do bloom with Tubes and they do shine sonically their soundstage best best when used with Balanced cables and a little bit of power feeding them.
If you only uses them in SE mode, then the Vocals and the center of the soundstage is more focused and in front.
Final Analysis : A good value. Fans of the Hifiman sound will find much to enjoy. The XS offers what Hifiman does bestā¦the clarity, the details, the soundstage, the treble, and the unique overall sonic presentation that you can only get with a Hifiman Gear.
The XS is designed for listening enjoyment and offers fine detail retrieval and clarity.
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Totally agree here. Reminds me of Arya soundstage size without the exaggeration.
Exactly what Iām getting too. The HEKv2/se have those occasional spicy peaks that if they arenāt pushed give that little bit of extra treble detail but can be too much from time to time but Iām not getting that with the XS. Right on the cusp of sibilance without actually getting sibilant. They found that stopping point and didnāt push it.
I think this is what makes me think of them more along the lines of the HEK line than the HEX, the tuning is just a lot better IMO than the previous HEX iterations. Not to mention theyāre quite a bit more resolving than I remember the HEX line being.
This is why I think they stand out to me. I canāt think of a single hifiman that doesnāt sound at least a bit dry up until the HEK price point, with a proper synergized HE6 being the sole outlier.
Very clean and precise but somehow still sounds very natural unlike 90% of hifimans that come off as a bit tinny.
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I donāt have my pair yet, but I remember with the Edition X V2 the tone changes some based on how the cups are positioned on your ears. If I recall correctly, the sound was brighter the lower they sat on your head. So, it might be worthwhile to experiment with adjusting the headband for the best sound. Iām sure some of you were already aware, but I thought Iād bring this up for those who are new to the large cup Hifimans.
Also, many people have issues with this type of headband, pressure at the top of the head and such. It was an issue for me with the HE400se, so in anticipation of the XS, I ordered a custom knitted headband cover. Other ideas for improving comfort include attaching a HD 600 headband cushion, or a ZMF pilot pad, or Dekoni Nuggets even. I also noticed a leather suspension strap on Ebay that might work. As mentioned earlier in this thread, it should be possible to bend the headband slightly to adjust the clamp too. Iām sure some people wonāt have issues with the stock headband though.
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I think I am keen to give these a try as well. Anyone decided to go the AliExpress route for purchase?
As an Ananda owner Iām curious, but I also remember all the wanking on the Gold Planar threads, lol.
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I went with this listing:
Never actually ordered headphones on AliExpress. Only cables. Went with this listing since it already had a few orders and it was free returns.
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Umm that shop is literally 6 month oldā¦
Got my pair just like an hour ago - am gathering impressions @Pokrog and @FullBright1 are quite right about their impressions. Thatās almost what Iām hearing. @Pokrog yeah I like em! You were right. I have the M1060C on hand to compare - that now sounds too forward and maybe even fatiguing lol.
Finally - the egg-shaped Hifimans Iāve been eyeing for the better part of 5 years, delivers enough of the Edition X to whatever extent I can recall from memoryā¦
And now my watch has ended.
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
Thereās one thing to note here now. I got this from Hifigo.
The box had itās seals OPEN. The tape was cut.
I donāt know what to gather from this. I think it would be quite the trouble for me to chase this āmysteryā down.
Were they tried to make sure allās ok? Were they tested? At Hifigo?
If they WERE indeed tried/tested or whatever, they look fine and good as new really - given the QA issues one could have, itās better for me to keep this pair instead of RMAing for a seal-packed pair which may surprise me of any unknown possibilities.
But I wanted to share this here regardless for any of you ordering - especially from Hifigo.
So for anyone ordering, maybe just ask them to confirm with them so no one else gets it like this.
Hereās exactly how I got them; I did not cut these seals on the box:
@Pokrog @FullBright1 Can you guys confirm this? Anyone else? How did you guys get them?
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I got mine from hifigo and my tape was intact. Maybe to avoid the hassle of returns they tested them? Idk sounds weird.
Hmmm yeah thatās possible I suppose. Maybe it was a testing thing yeah - thatās the most logical explanation here. Anyhow, I donāt see any issues (personally) here so Iāll keep them. Well, all looks good - donāt think I should worry myself about it so much. Should there be any issues, we have the warranty anyhow soā¦ Just missed the true āunboxingā feeling lol as they were already unboxed 
Hehe I wonder if this is the pair in their unboxing video lolā¦ anyhow. Will sleep on it.
EDIT: Hehe maybe - after my order they went out of stock lol.
Ya know you might be on to something. I could definitely see them selling their unboxing one last lol
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