I ordered my Sundara from Hifimanās site, they shipped from New Yorkā¦
Iām not in the US
I get that, just saying they donāt just ship from Chinaā¦
If itās any consolation, the original price was $380 before tax and vat and wound up at like $470 anyways and the hifigo price was $430+ tax so it really wasnāt all that much cheaper. Just order directly from hifiman and ask them for the introductory price and see if they cave.
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But theyāre all made in the same factories in China. Shipping from New York provides smoother, faster transport than AliExpress but does nothing to ensure better quality control.
Still, you should have better and faster return/exchange processes through HiFiMan or Amazon than an AliExpress store.
For anyone interested, the XS has been officially released in Australia.
Amazon
AUD $769/USD $555
https://www.amazon.com.au/HIFIMAN-Headphones-Adjustable-Audiophiles-Studio-Black/dp/B09PH1N67T/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1I8P0TLP4CQD&keywords=hifiman+edition+xs&qid=1641415489&sprefix=Hifiman+edition+xs+%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-1
Addicted to Audio
AUD $779/USD $562
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Canuck here- got them from electricxiaomi- great packaging and 0 duties paid landed. That being said, these are either the most overhyped cans on the planet or you NEED power. Anyone enjoying these on anything less than probably 1.5/2W has never heard good headphones. Itās about 750mW from my G111. Itās also geared for high voltage so it might be design as well as power, but very underwhelming with that amp. Tried the Zen SE for fun and itās worse. That being said, I was emotionally prepared for this, which is why I have a Soloist already on the way, but the Soloist is going to have to make them at least 50% better for me to keep them. Maybe Iām spoiled by the T1.2s I just got, but thought these and still hope theyāll be a nice compliment. As it stands right now the mids on these underpowered are worse than a DT770 80Ohm out of a LG V30. Theyāre recessed and thin and just garbage.
From where I stand right now, donāt waste your time on these unless you can power the shit out of them. Iāll report back once I get the Soloist
Power could be an Achillesā heel here for these, yesā¦ I, too, mentioned these need a lot of power. A handful of us said it should be fine, but Iām not convinced either - at least not with my pair.
These are the only headphones that make my SE ifi microDSD squeal, and thatās an oldie that goes up to at least 4-5 watts per channel @32ohms - yup. I literally had clipping in bass/sub-bass passagesā¦ though those were quite high volumes, it was not really deafeningly loud volume.
I do agree, these will require some good juice.
As long as your amp powers them enough that you can see the diaphragm move, which you can see from inside the earpads through the black screen while reflecting some light (though be warned, I do not take any responsibility if you damage or burn your diaphragms in any way - AT YOUR OWN RISK), this should give you some indication that you have enough juice.
I used this SoundTraveller SpaceX Falcony Heavy Launch Binaural audio to see the dias move:
DISCLAIMER: LOUD VIDEO, WATCH YOUR VOLUME OUTPUT!
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be interested to hear what you think when you get it.
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Anyone using the Topping L30/E30 to drive these? Enough power?
This power discussion is interesting as there seem to be conflicting experiences on this and another forum on the drivability of these cans with amps that should have more than enough power?
I have two HP amps I use with these:
- Violectric V281
- Holo Audio Azure
The V281 outputs 1500mw @ 16 ohms and 2600mw @ 32 ohms. I use it on the absolute lowest gain to drive these really well and comfortable listening level is around 1:00/2:00 on the volume knob.
The Azure outputs 1600mw @ 32 ohms. It doesnāt have a gain switch and instead uses a low impedance (under 100 ohms) setting and a high impedance setting. It drives the XS fine on the low impedance setting and the volume is usually between 60 and 65 (out of 100).
Could it be that the power output @ 18 ohms on some amps is a really big drop from their 32 ohm published specs? For example, the V281 above is a 42% drop from 32 ohms to 16 ohms.
Just hypothesizingā¦
I think youāre totally right and thatās definitely part of it. Current draw at low impedance is usually really low on most amps and something like a portable like the ifi micro iDSD signature that I saw someone using and said the bass was about even with the Ananda made me laugh. At like 20hz the Ananda is down about 15db vs the XS. Every 3db is effectively double the power, and 15db is 30x the power. Itās no surprise people have a hard time grasping how much more power it takes to sufficiently control that much extra bass, let alone at a lower driver sensitivity and lower impedance where there tends to be very little current in most amps.
For reference, the HE6se v2 at 83ish āratedā sensitivity, it is literally 100 times as hard to drive as something like the edition X v2 at 103db sensitivity if the impedances were the same (and they arenāt, the he6 is just over twice the impedance at a measured and higher than the OG HE6(which was 50 ohm and the HE6-se v2 is objectively harder to drive than the OG HE-6, despite what people claim), 64ohm, making it a little over 200 times as hard to drive as an edition x v2). That stuff adds up quick and people really just donāt pay attention to it. Planars really hog current and people refuse to believe it based on pure skepticism alone with nothing to back up their skepticism other than denial that an amp can make any real difference by having more power because they donāt want to spend money to play with audio. Iām not saying these things require a speaker amp or anything but to sit there and claim anything like youāve heard anywhere close to the amount of bass that the XS puts out anywhere near the price when youāre using a portable or a DAC with a built in headphone amp pushing a watt with no current to back it up is just flat out incorrect. No, a Zen DAC isnāt going to do them justice (Zen CAN with a balanced cable, maybe), and no, a portable most likely wonāt do it either. You gotta have at least a real standalone desktop amp to really get them to actually perform as intended. Thereās plenty of cheap amps out there that would do just fine, but a Magni or Liquid Spark or something super entry level isnāt really going to pull out all the capabilities they have.
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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:)
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.