You can also plug a balanced cable into a single ended output with an adapter, this is fine. It just combines the L+R grounds in the adapter, which is the same as what a regular SE jack does, so it all works like regular single ended.
You get no benefit of balanced with this setup, the balanced cable will works just like a single ended one, with a common ground. But it can be convenient if you donât want to keep swapping cables.
This is the setup I have, with 2.5mm terminated balanced cables, as I like to be able to swap to balanced for portable use (Qudelix 5K / Fiio BTR5) but my desktop amp (Fiio K5 Pro) only has 6.35mm SE out.
What you canât do is try to plug a single ended cable into a balanced output on the amp. Thatâs the no no which can cause damage to the amplifier. The other way around is fine.
Recieved the cable today - and i have no words, sound changed stuningly, the thin midrange become thick, general frequency balance become flat and accurate, donât get me wrong - i have no words, i just cant belive that switching from SE to Balanced on Single end amplifier with better wire conductor make so big difference, im even donât want new amplifier anymore! Cable feelds solid. Midrange much fuller now.
Iâm glad that cable fixed your issues! Iâm still not sure whatâs wrong with the stock one but it makes me wonder if people that arenât liking the XS are using the stock cable and getting poor results. I saw someone say they were grainy and I just cannot see that at all in any part of the frequency range.
I canât compare to the Ananda, but the XS headband is considerably looser than that on the HE-400se. I have a big head, and itâs still a bit loose. Nothing crazy like a SHP 9500, which basically fell off my head every time I tilted it, but I doubt anyone will have any problems with clamp force with the XS.
I own the HD 6XX and the Edition XS. They are polar opposites on clamping force on my head. The HD 6XX have strong clamp force; the XS are pretty loose.
100% agree. Itâs loose but not SHP9500 loose - comfortable, but I may have to add some Dekoni Nuggets.
First âway too earlyâ impressions after listening for about an hour:
Build quality is HiFiMan - if youâre super into build quality thatâs not why you buy a HiFiMan lol, but generally itâs fine, no big complaints or anything. I had a 2020 Sundara and the build quality on these feels pretty comparable, same metal yoke and pads, but I prefer the shape of these pads over the Sundara.
The bend in the headband actually suits my head shape quite well, but they do fit a little too loose for my comfort. Added the Dekoni Nuggets and also carefully but slightly bent the yokes in for more clamping pressure - fits very nicely now.
Iâm running a Bifrost 2 â Jot 2 â Hart Balanced Cable â Edition XS. These sound really, really good. I had a Sundara before but felt the bass was lacking. As @Pokrog mentioned, the bass is much better and more prominent on these. Just a very all-around nice sound, great detail. Punching way above its price point.
I donât hear what everyone is complaining about regarding the mids - yes they feel a little âdryâ but acoustic guitar sounds FANTASTIC and crisp. A few suggestions:
My gold standard headphone that I compare everything to is the Focal Clear Mg - I think it is the best sounding headphone I have ever listened to. The only thing it does better than the Edition XS is dynamics and the âpunchâ in the bass. 2 songs that I listen to to check dynamics:
Iâm going to continue listening to these but so far theyâre giving a very nice impression and also theyâre very comfortable. The fact that I am comparing them to a $1500 Focal flagship really says a lot.
I know theyâre open back, but these donât isolate at all lol. I set them down to run upstairs and it sounded like I left the TV on downstairs or something. VERY loud - you wonât be able to take these anywhere in public.
Iâm starting to get fatigue, going to have to take a break - been listening to these probably a little too loudly and as always itâs âweirdâ adjusting to a new headphone.
Addendum: the guitars - particularly acoustic guitars - in the intro here sound absolutely godlike (some of that is Jeff Loomis but I digress): Nevermore Believe in Nothing - YouTube â YouTube link but use a higher-fidelity source.
Okay, so Iâve gone back and A/B tested a lot of songs listening to the Edition XS vs. the Clear Mg - again, not a fair fight but itâs what I have available.
Thereâs definitely a recession in the mids compared to the Clears. It doesnât sound bad though, just different, like how a DT 770 would complement a Sennheiser 6X0 headphone. Speaking of, I basically am going to have to sell my 660s now, lol.
The biggest issue Iâm having is that while I prefer the Clear Mg, I am completely blown away by the comfort of this large truly over-ear pad from the XS and I guess some of the other high-end HiFiMan products which I havenât felt before. I got completely lost in how comfortable they are and went back to the Mg and while I love the sound, I canât get my ears to fit right in them; they feel like theyâre practically on-ear now lol - itâs so annoying!
unless youâve found it somewhere cheaper