expired Posted by Larry03 • Jul 10, 2024
Jul 10, 2024 4:02 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expired Posted by Larry03 • Jul 10, 2024
Jul 10, 2024 4:02 PM
HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Hi-Fi Headphones
+ Free Shipping$269
$499
46% offAmazon
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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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