HIFIMAN Store has
Open-Box: HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Hi-Fi Headphones on sale for $239 - $23.90 when you apply coupon code
CLR10POFF at checkout =
$215.10.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to staff member
f12_26 for sharing this deal.
Features:
- HIFIMAN's advanced planar magnetic drivers with an ultra-thin diaphragm for fast response, low distortion, and detailed sound.
- The headphones use "Stealth Magnet" technology, which reduces interference and improves sonic clarity.
- The headband is newly designed for comfort and durability, making it suitable for long listening sessions.
- The Edition XS delivers a wide soundstage, deep bass, natural vocals, and energetic treble, aiming to provide an immersive and realistic listening experience.
- Low Impedance: 18 Ohm
- Sensitivity: Rated at 92dB
- Frequency Response: 8Hz–50kHz
- Weight: 14.28-Oz (405g)
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If you're looking to step into audiophile gear w/o overspending, this is one of the best deals out there. I'd highly recommend to get an amp to drive it though.
I've been driving it with Topping L30 & E30 amp/dac combo for the last few years, and I see no reason to upgrade my setup in the near future.
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They're pretty different!
The HD 650/6xx is plain in a good way, its specialty is mids timbre (which is the vast portion of music) and almost any genre sounds good on it. Highs are intentionally a bit pulled back for more comfortable long listening experiences, but with brain burn-in helps you not feel like there's anything missing there, bass is slightly elevated and rich but the leading edge impact changes a lot depending on what amp you use. The clamp force is notoriously high (it was intended as a studio headphone after all), but most people find it comfortable after the headband and earpads break in a bit (like a broken in pair of jeans), and they never slip around AND they're supremely lightweight on your head. It's great for listening to on all-day music marathons, or after a long day and you need something to soothe frayed nerves. For a lot of people, it's been their one-and-done headphone, and it definitely changes between wet and more impactful depending on what amplifier you use.
The Edition XS is one of my favorites from HiFiman. I feel like it has a very tactile sound, and it's better in the timbre department than most of theirs that happen to have circular shaped cups. The big surface area does present a flat wave that interacts more with your outer ear, and it's pretty low distortion so you'll be able to hear recorded details that convey distance, but I'm not particularly impressed with the soundstage. Sensitivity is HIGH and resistance is low, so it's not a power hungry planar BUT it doesn't offer much dampening, so bass and everything sounds rather crisp at any volume but any distortion in the amp can leave a very dry and etched/glaring sound to it (Apple dongle is plenty powerful but sounds a bit harsh). The pads and suspension distribute the weight pretty well over a wide area, though the loose clamp (and loose swiveling when holding it in your hand) might let the headphone slip if you move sharply. It's a big headphone with portable power specifications, like an over ear IEM, and totally I think it's fun when you have a little time and you want to maximize excitement. I do wish someone would make angled earpads for them.
TLDR; HD 6xx is Coca-Cola and Edition XS is Pepsi, as part of a collection they compliment each-other well.
Hope you appreciate this non-AI description, because I'm out of a job đŸ˜‚
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If you can read my comment above, I laid out how different amps can interact with these two headphones that are basically on opposite ends of the spectrum. I had the same question when I started out! It's taken awhile to get a good understanding… let me know if I make sense here:
Listening loud for too long is definitely bad for your hearing!
Amps control loudness, power the headphone's speaker to overcome inertia, give varying degrees of distortion, and sometimes add extra features like analog effects.
Amplifiers are a necessary step in the audio chain. Usually, they're built into a Bluetooth headphone or USB-to-3.5mm dongle, but they can also be separate, discrete components with more room for quality parts, like a graphics card versus integrated graphics. Most amps control loudness by allowing you to adjust voltage, which is like how wide a river is, but they also supply current, which is sorta like the water's current or water pressure. More current can help a headphone sound the same loudness but more snappy and crisp. Bigger capacitors can also help a headphone make a sudden dynamic PUNCH. Also, all amplifiers have some degree of distortion, and different kinds. Basically, the less distortion, the less the audio signal is changed and sounds closer to the recording, so higher quality amps can contribute to more natural and nuanced sound. Some distortion can be caused when there is resistance on the amps output but not enough resistance in the headphone to dampen it down, some distortion is just electrical noise, some is interference.
There's more to it than that, but usually when people look for amps, they're looking to upgrade the quality, not the loudness quantity.
Been wanting to try these for a while now. I have a pair of 6xx and want to see how different planar magnetics sound.
Been wanting to try these for a while now. I have a pair of 6xx and want to see how different planar magnetics sound.
As someone else said, this is one of, if not the best price/performance values for headphones and truly shines on a DAC/Amp.
I've since upgraded to the HE1000 Stealth, which does sound quite a bit better, but the XS gets you 75% of the way there for ~$900 less.
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Technically, you have an amp if you already have a working headphone setup. đŸ˜† but I know what you mean.
I'd say you do not need to get a separate amp "right away," especially with a high sensitivity headphone like this. But even at the sale price, you are kind of throwing away part of what you are paying for with a nice headphone if you choke it with a bad amp. So, if you are not an Audiophile, just get some Koss headphones (Porta Pro, KPH40X) or use AirPods, and you'll still be happy. That said, literally every everybody I've met who got a chance to hear a really nice set up starts talking about how they're hearing things they never heard before, and it was like listening to music again for the first time. I call it the moment they lose their ear-ginity. đŸ˜‚
Even someone with pretty strong hearing loss… they tried on a pair of in-ears with a pressure release system, and they started crying because things came through clearer than they did for them in real life.
Listening loud for too long is definitely bad for your hearing!
Amps control loudness, power the headphone's speaker to overcome inertia, give varying degrees of distortion, and sometimes add extra features like analog effects.
Amplifiers are a necessary step in the audio chain. Usually, they're built into a Bluetooth headphone or USB-to-3.5mm dongle, but they can also be separate, discrete components with more room for quality parts, like a graphics card versus integrated graphics. Most amps control loudness by allowing you to adjust voltage, which is like how wide a river is, but they also supply current, which is sorta like the water's current or water pressure. More current can help a headphone sound the same loudness but more snappy and crisp. Bigger capacitors can also help a headphone make a sudden dynamic PUNCH. Also, all amplifiers have some degree of distortion, and different kinds. Basically, the less distortion, the less the audio signal is changed and sounds closer to the recording, so higher quality amps can contribute to more natural and nuanced sound. Some distortion can be caused when there is resistance on the amps output but not enough resistance in the headphone to dampen it down, some distortion is just electrical noise, some is interference.
There's more to it than that, but usually when people look for amps, they're looking to upgrade the quality, not the loudness quantity.
If anything, electrically amplifying any sound introduces noise, so I am very respectfully arguing that the fewer "middle men" between the sound and your ear, the better. I am not saying amplifiers do not benefit headphones.
Underpowered headphones definitely benefit from an amplifier but most modern ones do not need one.
Moreover, an amplifier won't convert the characteristics of a bad headphone into a good one.
And this specific one here? It is a very low impedance headset, literally a cell phone can drive these.
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