My favorite thing about the Hifiman egg shape is how huge it is. I know thatās an issue for some people with the cups resting on their jaw but mine is able to sit snuggly underneath my ears. Depth wise itās so big, your ears donāt touch anything and I feel itās a big reason you get that large hifiman Soundstage.
If the XS clamp that much less than the Ananda then this is a homerun for me. Ananda clamp force was way too much for me
I HATE those headbands (Sundara and Ananda) TBH; that was always was a bummer for meā¦ good thing I never got the Sundara. Iām happy I was patient - the (hidden & unknowing) wait was well worth it!
Itās weird, I hate the headband on the XS but only on the circle cups. Something about the added grip on my noggin from the extra surface area on the egg cups doesnāt bother me on the XS. Still prefer the fit of the HE1000se but the XS comfort is just fine for my head size I guess.
Those older suspension strap headbands are not too bad - though the He1000 series, with them using much better materials - and then those large holes in the strap, I think that is the headband done right.
Iām going to get some real leather and even have holes on my straps and check em out (for my he400i, and another one I grabbed from ALIExpress here: . This looks at least sexier to me than stock Hifiman bands of that type), but strap will have to be swapped:
Hey guys I just ordered that thing from HiFiGo as my first nice headphone (also my first planar and first open back). It will be an upgrade to my daily driver DT 770 80ohm. So one more pair of these already sold (kind of supporting the hype) : ) Should arrive in 3 weeks. I really appreciate all the detailed comments and feedback I found here from much more experienced enthusiasts. And I am happy that I skipped the Sundara and directly ordered XS.
The Sundara is really a great headphone at the price point but I do think for the extra $150 the Edition XS is a huge improvement and worth saving up for.
Itās like, would you rather get a $350 headphone that sounds like a $500 headphone, or a $500 headphone that sounds like a $1000 headphone? Itās the latter for me.
I totally agree. I got the Sundara back in early 2021 and was very happy with it, but from here on out my advice to anyone who can afford the jump is to go EDXSā¦
Hello there.
Sorry for my english from that point.
Have read litterally every post on that tread (some multiple times).
Finally decided to create an account, since i have bought the xs. Thanks to all of the beautiful people here expressing their thoughts, which helped me convince myself to spend such money (half of a good salary) on a pair of headphones. I will express my sound opinion on XS vs He-560 later.
Now, I will have a question. I power my headphones with a class A DIY integrated amp (i am not the author of this amp). Its beefy enogh, huge capacitors (physically), a toroidal transformer (also speaker amp sized). It has a 6.3 SE headphone out with a resistor (about 3 times reduction in voltage). It wasnāt measured, sadly āit shoud be good for about 30 wattsā is my only datasheet. However it sounds wonderfull, better then any A/B class amp i was lucky to listen to.
I have bought a 3.5 to 3.5 5m long cheap cable. My plan is to tear it right in the midle, therefore creating a ballanced cable, by connecting left/right on the each cable to plus/minus of my amp outputs (left and right channel, respectable). I know about the existence of speaker to balanced 4 pin xlr adaptors (they are extremly expensive). If my little experiment improves the sound, i will try to make one, if not, why bother.
he-560 v2 vs Edition XS
Dac - DIY ak4399 dac (better than my Topping e30 anyway)
AMP - see above.
I already love those huge cups. The headband gives me a hot spot instanly, however it is pretty much cured by an old hd600 pad put right on top of my head (hilarious, i know)
He-560 are harder to drive. The stock He-560 tuning is awful, eq cureās it easily. Xs stock is much better, although far from perfect. I fill the upper mid dip, tame the treble peaks a bit and add some bass 
I listen mostly to metal (Tool, Primus, Pantera, Meshuggah, Animals as Leaders, Slipknot, SOAD, Slayer, RATM, Periphery, Kreator, Gojira, Gojira), different elecrtonic music, rock, etcetera.
Xs is a bit faster, more resolving overall. Xs creates more air between instruments, which helps dissect busier passages. I dont thinks it gets much deeper in the subbasse, however the bass punch is much more noticeable. Isntruments throughout the whole frequency range have more tactility to them. Music sounds more dynamic. Imaging is definitively more acurate, however, i fell that the front imaging is lacking. It can go front, but only when the mix is really calling for it. The STAGE is much taller, not much wider. Timbre is better, especially i feel this on guitars.
How does the XS compare to the arya? has anybody compared them?
Has anyone, or is anyone planning to send their pair to Oratory1990 for measuring? It would be nice to get a proper graph for these if anyone is willing.
Iāll hit him up and see if he cares. First stop is @Falenkor then @bagwell359. Not sure if thereās enough time to send them to him before they have to go to their owners though lol.
Also wanted to give some, simple, impressions. After complaining a little about the seller on aliexpress not shipping them they have been here now for 2 weeks before I had time to listen to them, did some burn-in a few nights though. Compared them A/B with HD800S and the Ananda (v1 with see through mesh) from memory which I had like 3 years ago
Build / comfort: the radius of the headband fits quite good for me, not too much of a hotspot here. The strap of the Ananda did an even better job of course. What the XS shares with the Ananda is that they both are a little bit too big for my head. Iām on the lowest setting and could need like 2 or 3 clicks smaller, have to add some extra padding here. Not sure but I think the Ananda pads were softer, XS seems to be firmer. I donāt really notice the weight increase going from hd800 to XS. Not using the stock cable, only some cheap openheart aliexpress cable.
Source: PS5 games / Spotify / YouTube live concerts on TV > qudelix 5k (As a DAC with EQ) > Sabaj A10h (preamp with remote control) > topping A30pro.
Bass: Even without EQ the bass on the XS is so much better. No sub bass roll of and the upper bass delivers a better punch and slam compared to the hd800. When I had the Ananda I mainly used them on a ifi xcan with xBass on all the time. Songs like run the jewels - oh Mama made a nice subwoofer feeling on the head without messing with the mids or make things muddy. Same experience with the XS and EQ xBass. Of course I can EQ the bass on the hd800 for more quantity but never get the quality of the planar bass.
Mids: the HD800S not being a mid range focused like the Hd6x0 (that I never liked though) I canāt agree with some experiences here that the XS sounds thin here. Vocals on the XS are not as recessed.
Highs: No surprise, XS is more laid back here. Was never really bothered by the 800s highs. Might EQ a little bit for more sparkle.
Soundstage / imaging: As expected here the XS falls a little bit behind. The Soundstage actually is not that much smaller. When I changed from my Ananda to the hd800 (not 800s) the difference seemed bigger. Imaging goes to the HD800S. On songs like wintergatan - marble machine or yosi horikawa bubbles / letter I can follow the objects moving around better.
Power consumption: the a30pro outputs 6W at 16 Ohm( high gain, pot almost at max). My Qudelix 5k is set to low gain (1V output instead of 2V ~ - 6dB) for a lower noise floor.
The sabaj preamp is at around -44dB when I listen at a louder, more fun volume. Together this would be - 50dB. Some (rounded, - 10dB = power devided by 10) calculation 6000mw/10/10/10/10/10=0.06 mW.
0.06mW (without EQ preamp) so rather easy to drive I would guess. Will try to run them just with the qudelix 5k when I get the time. When I was changing back and forth between hd800s and XS I didnāt had to adjust the volume. Pretty much on the same volume level.
I am not someone who has multiple main headphones for different use cases. Like I always want the comfortable headphone with good bass and an immersive headstage. So my plan was to sell either the hd800s or the XS. Given the price difference I think I will keep the XS and try to EQ for a little more open sound, adding some energy at 6khz like the 800 or so.
@ all who heard the hd800, Arya and maybe XS. How big of a step up would the Arya (V2) be? Especially in the stage and imaging category.
The arya has a bigger stage for sure, but both the arya and hd800s stage is exaggerated and unnatural. Arya also has tinny timbre. Arya is probably a bit more resolving but not by enough to make a massive difference.
I can burn them in before they leave if preferred, recomimended burn is 150 hours.
I am new to this so maybe I donāt know what I am talking about, but is this correct? To output 6W per channel one shouldnāt feed 4V to it?
Topping claims the same output power and gain from rca and xlr input. Must mean either the 4V from xlr gets pulled down or the 2V RCA get boosted. They say the same for like the L50.
Output SE or XLR doesnāt matter either because the a30pro is not a real differential build up amp. Balanced connectors just for convenience.
Can you suggest few songs where you noticed the changes the most? I got myself a new cable too and I would like to do some A/B testing. Thanks!
Ok, but i think all chain is important: my dac connected to the amp via balanced, and the chain is d1se->a30 pro->399$ hifiman balanced cable->headhones
Music in wav format via ASIO, foobar, here is several tracks:
Justin Timberlake - What goes around comes around
Kingdome Come - Mad Queen
Coolio - Ganstaās paradise
Justin Timberlake - Cry me a River
The most noticeable thing to me, thay stage height become 5% smaller, 25% wider. Frequency balance changed a lot, recessed mids on se becomes full on balanced, bass frequencies become flatter because midrange become fuller. General impression very balanced sound with no presence on any frequencies.
I would never have bought such an expensive cable if not for such a good offer of $60, but I already understood why it was sold so cheaply, the four-pin xlr connector was replaced by a classic neutrik for some reason. The cable may have been broken and then repaired, but it sounds magical.
