[Mr Trev]

Hifiman Edition XS Mini Review. : 11-03-2021


Box : Typical Hifiman, has the dark lush soft packing.

Cable : Decent. Rubber. Short. Mild Jank

Headband : The Original Edition X and V2 have a superior headband. The XS headband is softly padded but singular. Just a bar, typical of the older Hifiman frames. Comfort of the headband is : 7.9

Pads and Clamp. : The clamp force is going to be moderate on medium heads and slightly firm on big heads. The Pads are ok, not as soft at first feel, but this will change with break in time

How do they sound right out of the box?

Typical of Hifman, they have a somewhat airy treble, a very slight "V" shape, and credible bass and plenty of treble extension.
Not a warm or cold sounding headphone, but other then the Susvara, the HE1000 series is more clinical and analytical. And so is the XS.
Hifiman Headphones, from HE1000 - Susvara, have a slight V shape and are slightly Treble oriented in Sound.
Less so with the Susvara.
As compared to the original "Edition" series", right out of the box, and not broken it at all, I would consider the XS to sound more like the original Edition X, yet more controlled, FR balanced, and slightly more tonally smooth.


1.) Comfort: The headphones are comfortable, but not as comfy as the HE1000 series.

2.) Treble : Its slightly airy, and very typical of the HE 1000 series, but not quite as hyper extended as you find with the V2 and the HEKSE. Right out of the Box = There is PLENTY of Treble in the XS FR....

3.) Midrange : Hifiman does not design Audeze midrange into their headphones, and so, you wont find that type of "honk" inside the sound of the XS. Mids presented by the XS are very articulate, pleasant, not dry, and very slightly clinical. Vocals stand out, acoustic instruments sound truthful and cymbals are very nicely presented.

4.) Bass : Bass is similar to the Edition X series in tone and layering, but its a bit more controlled in that offers enough power and extension to work well with music that requires it to provide some meat, but its not a Bass Head slamming low end, its more finessed and articulate and balanced.

5.) Soundstage : Its very much like the Edition X series. You are not submerged inside a huge room. The height of the SS is good, the depth is good, and the width is not disappointing, but not so wide that you lose the sense of instruments and vocals in front of you. The SS is perceived as "accurate" vs "enhanced".

6.) Timbre : Smoothly Analytical and very clear.

7.) Detail Retrieval : Here is where the XS shines brightest. Its a detailed headphone sound that manages to walk the fine line between being quite detail revealing yet still very musical.

8.) Instrument Separation : Its very good like all Hifiman's.

9.) Power requirements : These are not going to sound their best out of a cell phone or weak Dac/Amp. They do bloom with Tubes and they do shine sonically their best when used with Balanced cables and a little bit of power feeding them.

Final Analysis : A good value. Fans of the Hifiman sound will find much to enjoy. The XS offers what Hifiman does best....the clarity, the details, the soundstage, the treble, and the unique overall sonic presentation that you can only get with a Hifiman Gear.
The XS is designed for listening enjoyment and offers fine detail retrieval and clarity.

-
-

Colour me intrigued.
I've been planning on an upgrade from my 400i, looking at keeping the big sounstage. I was recommended the HEXv2, but it was already discontinued. Maybe the HEXs will fill that role.
I just hope they see a NA release soonly, there's no way I'd consider ordering from China

 

[bagwell359]

XS btw is surprisingly efficient - it takes about 1/4 of Centrance Dacport HD at high gain and have about 80db out.

My 4xx is also collecting dust. Apart of its broken headband it has a weird air pressure effect. There's also of noticeable channel imbalance (ccombo).

HFM has been coming out with a lot of efficient designs compared to the HE-6/HE-500 days the past few years. I always have to be careful volume is all down when using HEX v2's. It works fine on a DAP too, and even makes a decent try at my BHCs which my HE-6sev1 and HE-500 can't at all.

I just hope its not too close to the 5XX.

 

[bagwell359]

Hifiman Edition XS Mini Review. : 11-03-2021


Box : Typical Hifiman, has the dark lush soft packing.

Cable : Decent. Rubber. Short. Mild Jank

Headband : The Original Edition X and V2 have a superior headband. The XS headband is softly padded but singular. Just a bar, typical of the older Hifiman frames. Comfort of the headband is : 7.9

Pads and Clamp. : The clamp force is going to be moderate on medium heads and slightly firm on big heads. The Pads are ok, not as soft at first feel, but this will change with break in time

How do they sound right out of the box?

Typical of Hifman, they have a somewhat airy treble, a very slight "V" shape, and credible bass and plenty of treble extension.
Not a warm or cold sounding headphone, but other then the Susvara, the HE1000 series is more clinical and analytical. And so is the XS.
Hifiman Headphones, from HE1000 - Susvara, have a slight V shape and are slightly Treble oriented in Sound.
Less so with the Susvara.
As compared to the original "Edition" series", right out of the box, and not broken it at all, I would consider the XS to sound more like the original Edition X, yet more controlled, FR balanced, and slightly more tonally smooth.


1.) Comfort: The headphones are comfortable, but not as comfy as the HE1000 series.

2.) Treble : Its slightly airy, and very typical of the HE 1000 series, but not quite as hyper extended as you find with the V2 and the HEKSE. Right out of the Box = There is PLENTY of Treble in the XS FR....

3.) Midrange : Hifiman does not design Audeze midrange into their headphones, and so, you wont find that type of "honk" inside the sound of the XS. Mids presented by the XS are very articulate, pleasant, not dry, and very slightly clinical. Vocals stand out, acoustic instruments sound truthful and cymbals are very nicely presented.

4.) Bass : Bass is similar to the Edition X series in tone and layering, but its a bit more controlled in that offers enough power and extension to work well with music that requires it to provide some meat, but its not a Bass Head slamming low end, its more finessed and articulate and balanced.

5.) Soundstage : Its very much like the Edition X series. You are not submerged inside a huge room. The height of the SS is good, the depth is good, and the width is not disappointing, but not so wide that you lose the sense of instruments and vocals in front of you. The SS is perceived as "accurate" vs "enhanced".

6.) Timbre : Smoothly Analytical and very clear.

7.) Detail Retrieval : Here is where the XS shines brightest. Its a detailed headphone sound that manages to walk the fine line between being quite detail revealing yet still very musical.

8.) Instrument Separation : Its very good like all Hifiman's.

9.) Power requirements : These are not going to sound their best out of a cell phone or weak Dac/Amp. They do bloom with Tubes and they do shine sonically their best when used with Balanced cables and a little bit of power feeding them.

Final Analysis : A good value. Fans of the Hifiman sound will find much to enjoy. The XS offers what Hifiman does best....the clarity, the details, the soundstage, the treble, and the unique overall sonic presentation that you can only get with a Hifiman Gear.
The XS is designed for listening enjoyment and offers fine detail retrieval and clarity.

-
-

Based on what you wrote, the XS seems like it might have more body/musical richness than the Ananda. Can't imagine HFM would abandon that name (cash cow). Seems like an update is coming to the Ananda. XS could hurt new sales of the Ananda and Sundara. Also hurt the used market for the HEX v2 and XX. Seems like HFM continues to extend its #1 status among headphone makers.

 

[misha90122]

Hifiman Edition XS Mini Review. : 11-03-2021


Box : Typical Hifiman, has the dark lush soft packing.

Cable : Decent. Rubber. Short. Mild Jank

Headband : The Original Edition X and V2 have a superior headband. The XS headband is softly padded but singular. Just a bar, typical of the older Hifiman frames. Comfort of the headband is : 7.9

Pads and Clamp. : The clamp force is going to be moderate on medium heads and slightly firm on big heads. The Pads are ok, not as soft at first feel, but this will change with break in time

How do they sound right out of the box?

Typical of Hifman, they have a somewhat airy treble, a very slight "V" shape, and credible bass and plenty of treble extension.
Not a warm or cold sounding headphone, but other then the Susvara, the HE1000 series is more clinical and analytical. And so is the XS.
Hifiman Headphones, from HE1000 - Susvara, have a slight V shape and are slightly Treble oriented in Sound.
Less so with the Susvara.
As compared to the original "Edition" series", right out of the box, and not broken it at all, I would consider the XS to sound more like the original Edition X, yet more controlled, FR balanced, and slightly more tonally smooth.


1.) Comfort: The headphones are comfortable, but not as comfy as the HE1000 series.

2.) Treble : Its slightly airy, and very typical of the HE 1000 series, but not quite as hyper extended as you find with the V2 and the HEKSE. Right out of the Box = There is PLENTY of Treble in the XS FR that manifests as extremely clean sound.

3.) Midrange : Hifiman does not design Audeze midrange into their headphones, and so, you wont find that type of "honk" inside the sound of the XS. Mids presented by the XS are very articulate, pleasant, not dry, and very slightly clinical. Vocals stand out, acoustic instruments sound truthful and cymbals are very nicely presented.
Electronic music plays well in the XS's.

4.) Bass : Bass is similar to the Edition X series in tone and layering, but its a bit more controlled in that offers enough power and extension to work well with music that requires it to provide some meat, but its not a Bass Head slamming low end, its more finessed and articulate and balanced.

5.) Soundstage : You are not totally submerged inside a huge room as you find with the V2, yet, its a nicely immersive SS. The height of the SS is good, the depth is good, and the width is not disappointing, but not so wide that you lose the sense of instruments and vocals in front of you. The SS is perceived as "accurate" vs "enhanced".

6.) Timbre : Clean<

7.) Detail Retrieval : Here is where the XS shines brightest. Its a detailed headphone sound that manages to walk the fine line between being quite detail revealing yet still very musical. This is what Hifiman does so well.. They don't give you that over-cookes lower mid situation that fights the clarity of the treble. Vocals pop in the XS's with a lot of layering. It very impressive.

8.) Разделение инструментов: очень хорошо, как и у всех Hifiman.

9.) Требования к питанию: они не будут звучать наилучшим образом на сотовом телефоне или слабом ЦАП / усилителе. Они действительно цветут с лампами, и они лучше всего светятся звуком, когда используются с симметричными кабелями и небольшим количеством энергии, подаваемой на них.

Окончательный анализ: хорошее соотношение цены и качества. Поклонники звука Hifiman найдут много удовольствия. XS предлагает то, что Hifiman делает лучше всего ... четкость, детализацию, звуковую сцену, высокие частоты и уникальную общую звуковую презентацию, которую вы можете получить только с Hifiman Gear.
XS разработан для получения удовольствия от прослушивания и обеспечивает четкое воспроизведение мелких деталей.

-
-

What can you tell if you compare them to Ananda? And which is better to take, the price for them is about the same, Ananda or Edition xs?

 

[FullBright1]

Based on what you wrote, the XS seems like it might have more body/musical richness than the Ananda. Can't imagine HFM would abandon that name (cash cow). Seems like an update is coming to the Ananda. XS could hurt new sales of the Ananda and Sundara. Also hurt the used market for the HEX v2 and XX. Seems like HFM continues to extend its #1 status among headphone makers.

The XS is a more detailed sound, as compared to the Ananda which has a dry midrange that some define as "glare".

The Edition X V1 and V2 sound nothing like the Ananda or the Arya, but they do share some sonic genetics with the XS.

Some who buy the XS will say it sounds better than the Arya series.

 

[andyha1010]

Mine is arriving next week hopefully. It will be my first HFM, been a fan on Senn.

 

[FullBright1]

Colour me intrigued.
I've been planning on an upgrade from my 400i, looking at keeping the big sounstage. I was recommended the HEXv2, but it was already discontinued. Maybe the HEXs will fill that role.
I just hope they see a NA release soonly, there's no way I'd consider ordering from China

The 400I sounds nothing like the HE1000 series..
So, if you upgrade to the XS you'll gain soundstage, clarity, and detail retrieval.
The XS also sounds more refined and balanced.

 

[bagwell359]

The XS is a more detailed sound, as compared to the Ananda which has a dry midrange that some define as "glare".

The Edition X V1 and V2 sound nothing like the Ananda or the Arya, but they do share some sonic genetics with the XS.

Some who buy the XS will say it sounds better than the Arya series.

So very interesting.

 

[FullBright1]

So very interesting.

Here is the thing about Asian listeners and Asian Headphone builders.
If you study the history of headphones created for the Asian market you find that the audiophile engineers and listeners early on adopted TREBLE as how they rate a good headphone.
This is why the best audiophile headphones that come out of Japan or Asia in general are tuned BRIGHT.

All the AudioTech expensive headphones are bright and do not cater to the bass response.
All the SONY headphones that are expensive, are bright, and do not cater to the bass response.
Fang's best stuff is always a bit treble - centric. The Hifiman is basically the Anti-Audeze and vice versa.

The USA market likes BASS, and the critical listening audiophile USA community likes "natural-neutral" and "balanced" and "resolving".

Hifiman headphones can punish you with their upper FR, ... as anyone knows who tries to listen to badly recorded lossy sound files using a Hifiman .
Audeze Headphones, not so much, as they are not dedicated to the upper FR as much, so, that is where the pain is found..

The XS, competes with the HE1000s, easily, but, once again, its a Fang design, and he had dialed the XS in with the traditional HE1000 approach to sonics which means you are getting crazy clarity, a touch of bright, and unique soundstage, while the bass response is very good.

For example, the Audeze LCD- MX4, is a great headphone, but compared to the XS, it will sound veiled, fuzzy, and FLAT.....yet, its a very very good headphone.....

 

[millzy]

Hi Guys,

Appreciate all the reviews & info thus far.

I've been planning on my first Planar purchase for a while now and was set on the Sundara's, the XS has now muddied the waters.

Can anyone who's reviewed the XS offer their opinion on what they'd choose given the choice?

After an all rounder set of cans.

Cheers

 

[FullBright1]

Hi Guys,

Appreciate all the reviews & info thus far.

I've been planning on my first Planar purchase for a while now and was set on the Sundara's, the XS has now muddied the waters.

Can anyone who's reviewed the XS offer their opinion on what they'd choose given the choice?

After an all rounder set of cans.

Cheers

The Sundara really can't compete with the X-SE, regarding comfort, detail retrieval, soundstage, vocal presentation, bass revelation.
The X-SE can hang with the HE1000 series all night long and still be in the game when the sun comes up.


What it does not offer is sweet midrange or Audeze low mid slam.
This is a recent creation HIFIMAN headphone to the core....so, this means its all about the clarity, the resolution, and the musical insight.
If you want neutral warmth added also, then spend the money for the Susvara, as that is the only model Fang makes that gives you warmth and Hifiman sound.
The rest, excluding some of the awful 400-series, are detail monsters, and that includes the very first HE400.
The Sundara offers this, but you lose about 35% as compared to what you are given inside the E-SE cups.

If you (reader) buy this gear, then be sure to get a balanced cable.
You can spend hours with the Balanced playing the game of..>"wow, i never heard that before",.
Playing any type of Choral music, where you have many voices is a wonder with this gear.
The Balanced setup turns this gear into a impressive microscope and you can spend hours just re-hearing all your music.

This Choral video i'll post......ive heard it with some seriously expensive gear strapped to my head, and hearing it today with the X-SE i heard the backing vocals separated and highlighted like never before.....(Balanced Cable)
So,, i dont want to put too hard of a sell on the X-SE, but, its a good value for the money, as its looking to slay some giants with its sound.
-
-

​

 

[millzy]

The Sundara can't compete with the X-SE, regarding comfort, detail retrieval, soundstage, vocal presentation, bass revelation.
The EXS can hang with the HE1000 series all night long and still be in the game when the sun comes up.


What it does not offer is sweet midrange or Audeze low mid slam.
This is a recent creation HIFIMAN headphone to the core....so, this means its all about the clarity, the resolution, and the musical insight.
If you want neutral warmth added also, then spend the money for the Susvara, as that is the only model Fang makes that gives you warmth and Hifiman sound.
The rest, excluding some of the awful 400-series, are detail monsters, and that includes the very first HE400.
The Sundara offers this, but you lose about 35% as compared to what you are given inside the E-SE cups.

If you (reader) buy this gear, then be sure to get a balanced cable.
You can spend hours with the Balanced playing the game of..>"wow, i never heard that before",.
Playing any type of Choral music, where you have many voices is a wonder with this gear.
The Balanced setup turns this gear into a impressive microscope and you can spend hours just re-hearing all your music.

This Choral video i'll post......ive heard it with some seriously expensive gear strapped to my head, and hearing it today with the X-SE i heard the backing vocals separated and highlighted like never before.....(Balanced Cable)
So,, i dont want to put to hard of a sell on the X_SE, but, its a good value for the money, as its looking to kill some big boys with its sound.
-
-

​

Very much appreciated mate.

The Sundara/E-XS are around the same price in my region so it seems the XS is a no brainer.
I do lean more to the EDM genres and it seems the XS's bass profile might suit those genres better too. Although I'm not looking just for optimised EDM cans, I do want something that works well in a variety of situations.

I've read much about the balanced cable requirment, could you suggest a certain brand/option you'd reccommend?

Thanks again.

 

[jasswolf]

The Sundara really can't compete with the X-SE, regarding comfort, detail retrieval, soundstage, vocal presentation, bass revelation.
The X-SE can hang with the HE1000 series all night long and still be in the game when the sun comes up.


What it does not offer is sweet midrange or Audeze low mid slam.
This is a recent creation HIFIMAN headphone to the core....so, this means its all about the clarity, the resolution, and the musical insight.
If you want neutral warmth added also, then spend the money for the Susvara, as that is the only model Fang makes that gives you warmth and Hifiman sound.
The rest, excluding some of the awful 400-series, are detail monsters, and that includes the very first HE400.
The Sundara offers this, but you lose about 35% as compared to what you are given inside the E-SE cups.

If you (reader) buy this gear, then be sure to get a balanced cable.
You can spend hours with the Balanced playing the game of..>"wow, i never heard that before",.
Playing any type of Choral music, where you have many voices is a wonder with this gear.
The Balanced setup turns this gear into a impressive microscope and you can spend hours just re-hearing all your music.

This Choral video i'll post......ive heard it with some seriously expensive gear strapped to my head, and hearing it today with the X-SE i heard the backing vocals separated and highlighted like never before.....(Balanced Cable)
So,, i dont want to put too hard of a sell on the X-SE, but, its a good value for the money, as its looking to slay some giants with its sound.
-
-

​

What are you listening to them out of? Some balanced amps can be poorly designed with respect to single-ended output, and that's likely the difference you're experiencing running balanced, rather than the very small measured boost from EM shielding when both are properly implemented.

But back to the comparison: is this the 2020 Sundara you're comparing? How do they hold up in terms of tonal balance?

 

[cfranchi]

Very much appreciated mate.

The Sundara/E-XS are around the same price in my region so it seems the XS is a no brainer.
I do lean more to the EDM genres and it seems the XS's bass profile might suit those genres better too. Although I'm not looking just for optimised EDM cans, I do want something that works well in a variety of situations.

I've read much about the balanced cable requirment, could you suggest a certain brand/option you'd reccommend?

Thanks again.

Be careful, you should try both, I prefer Sundara to HE1000 v2 : Sundara is just more engaging, coherent and musical, yes HE1000 v2 is impressive on technical points but music enjoyment is more than that.

Also about confort Sundara is better for me, the new Hifiman headband create hot spot on top of my head after a while (I’m not the only one who get this).

 

[misha90122]

Что вы можете сказать, если сравниваете их с Анандой? А что лучше взять, цена на них примерно одинаковая, Ананда или Edition xs?

Hifiman Edition XS Mini Review. : 11-03-2021


Box : Typical Hifiman, has the dark lush soft packing.

Cable : Decent. Rubber. Short. Mild Jank

Headband : The Original Edition X and V2 have a superior headband. The XS headband is softly padded but singular. Just a bar, typical of the older Hifiman frames. Comfort of the headband is : 7.9

Pads and Clamp. : The clamp force is going to be moderate on medium heads and slightly firm on big heads. The Pads are ok, not quite soft at first feel, but this will change with break in time

How do they sound right out of the box?

Typical of Hifman, they have a somewhat airy treble, a very slight "V" shape, and credible bass and plenty of treble extension.
Not a warm or cold sounding headphone, but other then the Susvara, the HE1000 series is more clinical and analytical.....= And so is the XS.
Hifiman Headphones, from HE1000 - Susvara, have a slight V shape and are slightly Treble oriented in Sound.
Less so with the Susvara.
As compared to the original "Edition" series", right out of the box, and not burned it at all, I would consider the XS to sound more like the original Edition X, yet more controlled, FR balanced, and slightly more tonally smooth.


1.) Comfort: The headphones are comfortable, but not as comfy as the HE1000 series.

2.) Treble : Its slightly airy, and very typical of the HE 1000 series, but not quite as hyper extended as you find with the V2 and the HEKSE. Right out of the Box = There is PLENTY of Treble in the XS FR that manifests as extremely clean sound.

3.) Midrange : Hifiman does not design Audeze midrange into their headphones, and so, you wont find that type of "honk" inside the sound of the XS. Mids presented by the XS are very articulate, pleasant, not dry, and very slightly clinical. Vocals stand out, acoustic instruments sound truthful and cymbals are very nicely presented.
Electronic music plays well in the XS's.

4.) Bass : Bass is similar to the Edition X series in tone and layering, but its a bit more controlled in that offers enough power and extension to work well with music that requires it to provide some meat, but its not a Bass Head slamming low end, its more finessed and articulate and balanced.

5.) Soundstage : You are not totally submerged inside a huge room as you find with the V2, yet, its a nicely immersive SS. The height of the SS is good, the depth is good, and the width is not disappointing, but not so wide that you lose the sense of instruments and vocals in front of you. The SS is perceived as "accurate" vs "enhanced".

6.) Timbre : Clean and Precise.

7.) Detail Retrieval : Here is where the XS shines brightest. Its a detailed headphone sound that manages to walk the fine line between being quite detail revealing yet still very musical. This is what Hifiman does so well.. They don't give you that over-cookes lower mid situation that fights the clarity of the treble. Vocals pop in the XS's with a lot of layering. It very impressive.

8.) Instrument Separation : Its very good like all Hifiman's.

9.) Power requirements : These are not going to sound their best out of a cell phone or weak Dac/Amp. They do bloom with Tubes and they do shine sonically their soundstage best best when used with Balanced cables and a little bit of power feeding them.
If you only uses them in SE mode, then the Vocals and the center of the soundstage is more focused and in front.

Final Analysis : A good value. Fans of the Hifiman sound will find much to enjoy. The XS offers what Hifiman does best....the clarity, the details, the soundstage, the treble, and the unique overall sonic presentation that you can only get with a Hifiman Gear.
The XS is designed for listening enjoyment and offers fine detail retrieval and clarity.

-
-

What can you tell if you compare them to Ananda? And which is better to take, the price for them is about the same, Ananda or Edition xs?