Iām not using the Qudelix to drive them directly. Itās just my USB DAC that I can connect with my TV or PS5 and gives me EQ options. My main amp is the A30pro. I still have to use the qudelix 3.5mm out because I have a sabaj A10h between them as a preamp that only supports RCA. Need it for volume remote control.
If I would use the XS directly on the 5k I would of course use high gain and 2.5mm
@TheGreatOilPainter Did some testing with the XS on the qudelix, 2.5mm only though. Without negative preamp for EQ they get plenty loud. I land mostly at like -10 or -15db.
With a -12db preamp for EQ and on quiet sources (YouTube) I can Max it out for higher volume. Even on bass heavy songs itās still distortion free.
After topping measurements you should get the same amount of power from both inputs, even better THD+N from SE in. Your motherboard has RCA? Guess 3.5mm to RCA? Maybe itās output is less than 2V?
But it wouldnāt be the first time that topping charts are not true. Like for the L30 they claim it has 3.5W but you need a DAC that delivers 3V over RCA, what almost no DAC does. With the normal 2V itās just 1W.
Thanks for your feedback! To pair them with the Qudelix for moving around the house seems a good solution too me.
Yes, it was 3.5mm to RCA. I was about to do some A/B testing for fun the other day, but with the L50 at medium or high gain, the noise level when connected from the motherboard was so audible and I stopped immediately. The D10B on the other hand is dead-silent.
I am not sure whether the D10B+L50 allows me to get almost everything out of the EDXS, but I am enjoying this system for sure!!
I felt that, for me, on the left side. Then I swapped inputs and switched L and R earcups (reverse wore them). Then it seemed fine, seemed there was an imbalance on my amp, that amp is known for such issues - itās an ifi. I feel sometimes you need a very precise seal/fit to get it right. I canāt conclude imbalance, but see if the fit needs some adjustment.
I use my XS on both Asgard 3 and XD05+(w/burson v5i).
There is a noticeable improvement moving up to the A3, though I am very happy on either depending on use case. I do fine I like both amps in high gain mode. Thereās more impact and seems like bigger staging. Are you using the XD05+ in high gain with the bass boost on?
There is something similar I encountered with my He400i.
Almost always, when theyād be in a cold state, when Iād play them for a while, like above average to higher volumes you know, have a nice fun session with them, and then stop the music, there would be some crackling sounds - almost like the diaphragm is now relaxing, reshaping - contracting or something. This would usually happen for me when Iād played them for a while, having warmed them up, and then the sounds would come after Iād stopped. Not after short sessions but longer, loud sessions.
Hardly audible sounds, but audible if one paid attention. Just for a few minutes, and then nothing afterwards.
I asked around, someone told me itās something typical on Hifimans. It really didnāt matter TBH - just some paranoia of that happening - then after a while it would go away like nothing happened. Didnāt affect the sound or anything really - just that weird behavior. I think theyād still do that, though I donāt have them on me right now to recheck.
I havenāt yet noticed this on the XS yet though. Maybe thatās what it is?
Has anybody tried the new Ifi Zen stack designed for Hifiman headphones?
I wonder whether it really is worth from the standard Ifi DacV2+Can stack.
However I am surprised by the power:
Maximum output power (16 ohms): 0 V / 600 mW (balanced), 4.0 V / 1000 mW single-ended)
It doesnāt seem to be a good match for the EDXS. Why also is the balanced outputting less power?
The Zen Can can give out a high voltage but not high current, pretty much like tube amp (because the CAN is class A?)
Into 300 Ohm the CAN delivers almost the same power as the A30pro (600mw to 800mw) but into 32 Ohm or even less the power drops significantly. (1.1W to 5.5W)
Seems like the HFM button mostly compensate for the sub bass roll off but regarding the one XS measurement I saw the roll off is far less than on the 4xx /Ananda.
I havenāt really experienced something like that maybe because I donāt have planars. So I may be completely wrong but the only analogy which comes to my mind is the crackling sounds a car makes after hard drive or hard usage of the brakes. You can hear it when you turn of the engine and you are next to the car. Because the brake discs are with very high temperature (caused by friction during the usage) the metal has already expanded (but there is no way to hear it while driving :D), and after stopping the car the breaks are cooling so the material is cooling and shrinking as well. I can imagine that the same thing is happening with the headphones. Maybe there are some sensitive to temperature materials which after a hard session are kind of hot and you can hear the cracks when they are cooling and shrinking (causing some minor forces on the whole body).
That was just an idea. I am a big noob when it comes to the headphones and I can be totally wrong here : )
EXACTLY that kind of sound - usually from a new car. When you park it and turn the engine off - the little metal ticks coming from inside the car. No, youāre actually right. Thatās the closest example here - you just helped me relate to it!
I currently got the 5XX and im still happy with it, but ive been looking at egg shaped hifimans for quite a while now, and im thinking about getting the edition xs. Is it worth upgrading?
Made an account here to post about my experience with the XS. This thread is what inspired me to get them. Before the XS I had the 400i (2020 version) and my less impressive headphones the m50x and sony xm3. This is my first attempt at reviewing an audio product so take it all with a grain of salt. I use this for a mix of music and gaming. I tried these headphones on a few different audio sources:
Drop O2 + grace DAC
ifi hip-dac
pioneer elite sx-s30 audio receiver
A50s with the drop as the dac
I can say it is a step up from the 400i in just about every way. The is far more balanced , wider dynamic range and a far bigger soundstage. The sound stage isnāt massive but has outstanding imaging and position. The only spot it seems to lack with that is right in front of you. The detail that these headphones can reproduce is crazy.
The sound changed a lot with each amp I tried, even cables seem to make a difference. Iāve never had a headphone that revealed so much about the source. I can say that these headphones can have a very punchy base but you need a very powerful source to get it to behave. With my O2 amp everything sounded a little muddy when compared to others. If it was the only thing I had to listen from I would be happy but once you hear these headphones from better sources you crave more. The base was there just lacking a bit of punch and the rest sounded a little dark compared to other amps. The hip-dac reproduced wonderful highs and gave such an even sound it was lovely but just did not have nearly enough power to make the bass punchy and had some noise in the floor. The Pioneer was by far the best source. Maybe the other could pull a bit more detail out but the pioneer was able to deliver some insane punchy-ness for the base. Made these not sound like typical planar base. I got the Topping A50s to try and get some more power for listening at my desk. It is definitely better than the other smaller amps. Tons of detail, sound stage is improved, it just so well balanced I donāt feel like I am missing anything from the frequencies and the dynamic range is absurd all with zero noise floor. The a50s doesnāt seem to have enough power to truly get the bass to be responsive in the way the pioneer could. Maybe this is from using the SDAC in the O2 maybe a better dac would help. If anyone has any suggestions I am open to improving my setup.
None of this is to say the bass is bad on these other sources as on all of them it has great presence all the way to the sub-bass and is well defined, just that some canāt provide the same impact.
On a note about the cables, The stock cable looked much better then the one that came with the 400i but I swapped for a cable I had made for the 400i and saw the same thing that others here did. The sound stage increased by a good margin. This is coming from someone who thought cables didnāt really matter for sound. I guess sometimes they do thoughā¦
Thank you to everyone here for the great discussion around these headphones. I am really enjoying them! Hope this can help someone else make their choice.
