Will they be available in europe?
We donāt know when or if theyāll be available outside China.
The XS seems to be a good all rounder, with a refined, agile and expansive sound. To my ears, theyāre slightly warm, with laid back treble, probably too laid back for some. Mids are very nice, present but not too forward, vocals sound natural. The bass is well extended and controlled, and thereās plenty of it when called for. They sound open and effortless, with great imaging. I feel like I lucked out with these, the sound suits me very well. Theyāre fairly forgiving of poor recordings, but they really shine with more complex music.
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Yeah I like the natural vocals - the timbre too, feels natural to me. I see the lack of treble - to me the mids seem a bit too laid back too sometimesā¦ effortless imaging and space though - yeah, what Iām feeling here.
But overall, most of us are feeling the same way! So far, the XS has disappointed no one. That great news imho.
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Even though the XS is a bit heavier than the HE400se, I find it more comfortable. The headband padding is softer, and it seems like the weight is better distributed. If you have a large head, the XS is also 10x more comfortable than the Edition X V2, their clamp was far too strong. I wish I could provide a comparison of their sound, but I had the V2 a long time ago, and my setup was completely different then.
Iām not sure still whether I think the vocals are recessed or if the staging scale is so linear that itās just throwing off what my brain is programmed to already. Usually with really big soundstage and vocals being recessed thereās not much ability to have a dead center of your head image but @loquitosbr recommended āElis Regina & Adoniran Barbosa - Tiro ao Ć”lvaroā for songs he wanted me to test and when I pulled it up on amazon hd the vocals sounded like IEM intimate like they really were dead center in the middle of my head so I just donāt know what to think. I feel like if the recording has truly forward mixed vocals they come across as forward but if theyāre supposed to sound like theyāre a bit in front of you, they do. Could just be a good parlor trick they can pull off well.
Yes I see what youāre talking about - dead center IEM center vocals, I am hearing that on a few tracks. Yeah I think they do reproduce, quite aggressively, what the recording was done like. If center mic recorded dead center, these will make them sound dead center.
Another point I wanted to share: some things Iām definitely not used to here otherwise - the L and R separation is quite drastic and very strong. Usually all my other cans would have some kind of a mix on both channels, these go hard left and right for many instruments and bass etc to the point where I sometimes feel one side has a problem lol then I play something more balanced and itās all fine. Surprising in this way, these cans - quite intriguing and interesting at the same time lol.
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this so hard. the separation is really really strong. itās caught me off guard a couple times as well where i thought something was wrong but it was just so far to one side it threw me off.
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Have you guys tried crossfeed? Iāve never used it much, but it might be worth experimenting with.
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I like to run a touch of crossfeed via a plugin on Peace. A+ would recommend
Linsoul just got the HEXS instock . $456-22.99= $437 with code LINSOUL1111Z (From Zeos!)
EDIT: coupon is gone :o Im tripping with the shipping soz
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What country are you in that you got free express shipping? I got banged for $28
Likely US. I just ordered and also got dinged with $28 USD shipping to Canada.
edit: Linsoulās shipping policies list out a number of countries where express shipping is the only option. Canada is not on the list but I only had DHL as an option. Iāve contacted support but not sure if theyāll get back in time.
Iām in the US and got that charge. Not the end of the world, but definitely annoying.
Theyāre stupid good. I really hope they catch on and shake up the planar markets pricing.
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Tbh at this price range there really arenāt that many other planar options outside of hifiman lol so Iām not sure how much they will be able to shake up things
Regardless these look really interesting and might pick up a pair as well. Enjoyed the previous hex v2 and if this can take that same signature and at least equal or get close for the money it might be a no brainier. Never really liked the ananda that much, cool to see a new option emerge that actually might be compelling for me
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I really hope you do pick up a pair, Iād love to know what you think they fall short on.
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No. The membrane is thinner, the magnet structure far different.
I have owned the HEX v2 for 4 years, and that is a better more linear can than the XX any day of the week. My friend on the West Coast has many of the top cans and he knows my HEX v2 very well and says the XS is well above those two, the HE-6se*, Arya, and totally crushes the Ananda. Canāt see those comments as a retread in the negative sense - like the putrid 5XX or the 5se.
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Turned it on about a year ago, listened for six months on a variety of cans. Turned it off, and couldnāt believe how dreadful it was. I did not have it set for anything radical.
YMMV