Iām going by reviews and graphs, but most of the headphones that received the stealth magnet treatment seem to have more balanced frequency response, better bass extension, and are easier to drive compared to the older version ( arya, deva pro, 400se), saw a bunch of claims that they all have less soundstage compared to the older versions thoā¦
But yeah anyway did anyone tried them on a liquid spark? Might as well go ananda with the suspension band if Ć have to upgrade the amp for these ngl, not buying them for a couple months anyway, weāll seeā¦
Iām not a fan of measurements in audio and tend to take them with a grain of salt. How did they come to the conclusion the Ananda was the better Soundstage, just cuz itās wider?
Me neither. I mostly just go by what my ears tell me.
I guess some occasions may require measurements.
Couple of really want to see some to asses things.
Yeah comparing soundstage - super subjective.
I guess whatever is the opinion of the masses.
Thereās one thing to account for here - that is the fiber screen they cover the XS drivers with.
Iāve seen these other larger Hifimans without it (Susvara for example, almost no screen).
Even Focals use a very ingeniously thin screens.
I think these screens/protectors do affect the soundstage to an extent? And the XS ones are glued down to the drivers (I donāt recommend removing them anyhow).
Man, honestly I wouldnāt know where to start in explaining Soundstage. From what Iāve gathered itās a combination of mids and treble as well as driver size (most of Hifiman headphones have large magnet arrays, or the large drivers of the HD 800). Iām unsure if a cloth could make a difference but Ive seen that speculation. I donāt dare remove the cloth on mine lol
Iāve got the DT 1990 at the moment and an Edition XS in the mail. Iāll give a proper comparison once Iāve got both, but Iāll echo the comments about build quality. Beyerdynamics are built as tools first, and are generally quite durable with good access for spare parts. Hifiman offer good price/performance, and are a well trod path for exploring planar magnetic headphones, but historically have poor QC.
That said, I donāt think either are a good beginning point for Hifi, especially if youāre getting your first Amp/Dac at the same time.
Depending on your budget it might be better to get the cheaper DT880 and/or HE400se to explore what type of sound works better for you before jumping right into the $500 mark.
Oh, and Beyers tend to be decent used buys due to how hardy they are. That might change the value proposition depending on whatās available around you.
Anybody compared the XS to an HE6se? I am curious about it, but already have the HE6se v2ā¦ Love this set, not sure there is any point to trying the XS
Soundstage is better (we already knew that for most egg shaped HFM). Without EQ, I preferred the XS straight out of the box to the HE6se V2. They seem to be tuned for most modern music and can handle a wide range of genresā¦as opposed to the Anandas for example. Bass is surprisingly satisfyingā¦not quite the level of any HE-6 variants but itās good. Others have found the mids to be bit hollow but I have not found that to the be case. The wonkiness is less pronounced in the XS vs. HE6se V2 stock without EQ. I believe them being more sensitive than the HE6 variants helps in that matter. I feed them with a Jot 2 / BF2 and I can get to a very enjoyable volume with great dynamics / punch at less than 9 oāclock on low gain.
I actually sold my HE6se V2 after getting the XS. Albeit, I have the OG HE-6 as well so the XS just tipped my decision to do so. Having said that, I do think that the XS are different enough from the HE6 v2 to warrant keeping both.
Can I explain it? No, not really. Basically itās how our head and ear amplifi frequencies measured with speakers at an angle of 30Ā°. Similar to the pinna gain in the 1k-3khz region you probably already heard about.
So in theory if the frequency response matches their PRTF target it sounds like speakers set up at 30Ā°, more or less.
Here behind the chart they explain it better.
Or you Google HRTF for even more info.
