HIFIMAN via Amazon has Lightning Deal: HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Hi-Fi Headphones (Black) for $269. Shipping is free.
Thanks to community member Larry03 for finding this deal.
About this item:
A Major Upgrade of the Popular Edition X: The new Edition XS expands on its predecessor's achievements with several essential upgrades. Featuring Stealth Magnet Technology and the company's NEO supernano Diaphragm, the Edition XS produces a wide, natural soundstage that puts the listener in the best seat in the house. Edition XS from HIFIMAN brings the depth and range of well-recorded music to an affordably priced headphone.
Acoustically Invisible Stealth Magnet: Unlike the sound waves created by a conventional magnet, the special shape of Stealth Magnets enables the waves to pass through the magnets without generating interference. HIFIMAN's advanced magnet design is acoustically transparent, dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence that degrades the integrity of the sound waves. The reduced distortion yields pure sonic output that is accurate and full-range.
HIFIMAN's NEO "supernano" Diaphragm (NsD): The new NsD is 75% thinner than previous designs, resulting in fast response and detailed imaging with lush, full range sonics.
The Headband: The light weight, ergonomically accurate offers maximum comfort for hours of listening pleasure. The exterior is refined matte black material, and the interior features high-grade memory foam for the most comfortable fit and elasticity. The headphone's structural design supports overall durability that retains its comfortable fit for years of enjoyment.
The Cable: HIFIMAN's new 3.5mm sockets are similar to those found on most common audio devices. The supplied 3.5mm cable is user changeable and replaceable.
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HIFIMAN via Amazon has Lightning Deal: HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Hi-Fi Headphones (Black) for $269. Shipping is free.
Thanks to community member Larry03 for finding this deal.
About this item:
A Major Upgrade of the Popular Edition X: The new Edition XS expands on its predecessor's achievements with several essential upgrades. Featuring Stealth Magnet Technology and the company's NEO supernano Diaphragm, the Edition XS produces a wide, natural soundstage that puts the listener in the best seat in the house. Edition XS from HIFIMAN brings the depth and range of well-recorded music to an affordably priced headphone.
Acoustically Invisible Stealth Magnet: Unlike the sound waves created by a conventional magnet, the special shape of Stealth Magnets enables the waves to pass through the magnets without generating interference. HIFIMAN's advanced magnet design is acoustically transparent, dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence that degrades the integrity of the sound waves. The reduced distortion yields pure sonic output that is accurate and full-range.
HIFIMAN's NEO "supernano" Diaphragm (NsD): The new NsD is 75% thinner than previous designs, resulting in fast response and detailed imaging with lush, full range sonics.
The Headband: The light weight, ergonomically accurate offers maximum comfort for hours of listening pleasure. The exterior is refined matte black material, and the interior features high-grade memory foam for the most comfortable fit and elasticity. The headphone's structural design supports overall durability that retains its comfortable fit for years of enjoyment.
The Cable: HIFIMAN's new 3.5mm sockets are similar to those found on most common audio devices. The supplied 3.5mm cable is user changeable and replaceable.
Model: HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Hi-Fi Headphones with Stealth Magnets Design, Adjustable Headband, Detachable Cable for Audiophiles, Home, Studio-Black
Deal HistoryÂ
Deal History includes data from multiple reputable stores, such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The lowest price among stores for a given day is selected as the "Sale Price".
Sale Price does not include sale prices at Amazon unless a deal was posted by a community member.
The Hifiman Edition XS are widely considered in the audiophile community to be one of the best headphones available below $500, and are an extremely good deal at $269. They're normally $379 new, refurbished edition xs have recently dropped to $239 and are also an exceptional deal. Still, for only $30 more, I'd get a new pair rather than refurbished.
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear whats going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are extremely heavy and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
With a weight of 0.93 lbs (421.8 grams) they are somewhat heavier than average headphones, and may be uncomfortable for extended use depending on fit. They use the standard hifiman headband, which while not bad isn't anything amazing (at least in my experience), though this is obviously a matter of personal preference. The earcups are absolutely enormous, and the overall fit of this headphone is best for large heads, if your head is on the smaller side these headphones may not fit well.
The edition xs has an impedance of 18 ohms and a sensitivity of 92db. The combination of quite low impedance along with fairly low sensitivity means these headphones are moderately difficult to drive, but as long as you're not planning on using eq (equalization) you can probably get away with not using an amp if you have a high quality integrated audio solution on your motherboard. To be clear, sound will likely be improved with a dedicated audio setup, but these headphones aren't hard enough to drive that an amp is entirely necessary to get good sound. These headphones are not designed for portable use, and most phones and cheap usb-c to 3.5mm dongles probably won't do a very good job of driving them. If you'd be eqing these headphones to any meaningful degree (negative preamp of more than 3db or so), an amp is recommended. As planar magnetic headphones with low distortion they take rather well to eq, so eq is highly recommended if you have an amp.
The largest issue with these headphones is hifiman's quality control, unfortunately hifiman is infamous for poor quality control and poor product longevity. Poor driver matching, driver failure after months (or less) of use, crackling or rattling sounds when moving your head, and more are all relatively common complaints with hifiman headphones including the edition xs. This is not by any means guaranteed, the majority of purchasers receive headphones without glaring issues or premature failures, but hifimans quality control and product longevity still stands out as being distinctly worse than that of other major brands.
The edition xs come with a 1 year standard warranty, from what I've heard hifiman's customer service tends to be decent (at least in the US), but obviously ymmv.
Hifiman's warranty policy can be found here: https://store.hifiman.com/index.p...nty-policy
Overall, if these headphones would fit your use cases, this is an excellent deal.
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Rtings review: https://www.rtings.com/headphones...ed
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear whats going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are extremely heavy and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
With a weight of 0.93 lbs (421.8 grams) they are somewhat heavier than average headphones, and may be uncomfortable for extended use depending on fit. They use the standard hifiman headband, which while not bad isn't anything amazing (at least in my experience), though this is obviously a matter of personal preference. The earcups are absolutely enormous, and the overall fit of this headphone is best for large heads, if your head is on the smaller side these headphones may not fit well.
The edition xs has an impedance of 18 ohms and a sensitivity of 92db. The combination of quite low impedance along with fairly low sensitivity means these headphones are moderately difficult to drive, but as long as you're not planning on using eq (equalization) you can probably get away with not using an amp if you have a high quality integrated audio solution on your motherboard. To be clear, sound will likely be improved with a dedicated audio setup, but these headphones aren't hard enough to drive that an amp is entirely necessary to get good sound. These headphones are not designed for portable use, and most phones and cheap usb-c to 3.5mm dongles probably won't do a very good job of driving them. If you'd be eqing these headphones to any meaningful degree (negative preamp of more than 3db or so), an amp is recommended. As planar magnetic headphones with low distortion they take rather well to eq, so eq is highly recommended if you have an amp.
The largest issue with these headphones is hifiman's quality control, unfortunately hifiman is infamous for poor quality control and poor product longevity. Poor driver matching, driver failure after months (or less) of use, crackling or rattling sounds when moving your head, and more are all relatively common complaints with hifiman headphones including the edition xs. This is not by any means guaranteed, the majority of purchasers receive headphones without glaring issues or premature failures, but hifimans quality control and product longevity still stands out as being distinctly worse than that of other major brands.
The edition xs come with a 1 year standard warranty, from what I've heard hifiman's customer service tends to be decent (at least in the US), but obviously ymmv.
Hifiman's warranty policy can be found here: https://store.hifiman.c
Overall, if these headphones would fit your use cases, this is an excellent deal.
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