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Refurbished: HIFIMAN Edition XS Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone $96.44 free shipping within USA Aliexpress.com
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As is common with aliexpress, the price seems to jump around depending on how and when you view the listing. The lowest I'm seeing is in a desktop firefox private window at $89.59 before the $9 coupon as mentioned by the poster above, meaning a final price of $80.59. If you're seeing a higher price, try using different browsers and/or incognito mode. You must be signed into your AliExpress account and have your address added to add items to your cart and place an order. You may have to manually type in the promo code to apply it at checkout. If you know where to look, there might be significant CB available on purchases from aliexpress.
These headphones are sold by the official hifiman local store (ships from the US so no concerns about customs, and comes with 1yr warranty), and at this price are pretty much a no-brainer for those looking to dip their toes into high-end audio. I personally nabbed a second pair in the previous iteration of this deal a couple of weeks ago, and am extremely happy with them. Previous frontpage deal with 95 upvotes for reference: https://slickdeals.net/f/19891212-refurb-hifiman-edition-xs-over-ear-open-back-planar-magnetic-headphones-84-90-free-s-h
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 what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), have no built in volume control or equalization, underperform somewhat without a proper amplifier driving them, and are fairly heavy and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The edition xs use the standard hifiman headband, have large oval earcups, and weigh 405g. I have an above average sized head, and I'd say the edition xs are very slightly large for me even at the minimal headband adjustment. Clamping force is also fairly low. If your head is on the smaller side, the edition xs will likely not fit well. The earcups are very roomy inside which I greatly appreciate. The weight may also take a while to get used to, I can wear them fairly easily for hours long sessions, but I can certainly imagine some people struggling. Fortunately, most of the issues with fit and comfort can be mitigated by getting a headband strap that functionally turns the headband into a hammock style one. The ~$25 capra strap is the most commonly recommended one, but there are plenty of cheaper options available and even files available online to 3d-print a strap yourself.
The edition xs has an official impedance of 18 ohms (with some community measurements showing 14 oms instead) and a sensitivity of 92db. The combination of quite low impedance along with fairly low sensitivity means these headphones are current hungry and moderately difficult to drive. Unfortunately, most cheap onboard audio solutions, such as the all in one realtek codecs that are commonly used in laptops and motherboards, struggle greatly specifically at properly powering current hungry headphones. As long as you're not planning on using eq (equalization) you might be able to get away with not using an amp if you have a high quality integrated audio solution, or are willing to tolerate lower volume and poorer dynamics. In general though, you'll want at minimum a high powered usb dongle dacamp.
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), a proper amp is even more highly recommended. As planar magnetic headphones with low distortion they take rather well to eq, so eq is highly recommended if you have an amp.
Oratory1990 presets are good starting point for eq: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6y...xftbum&e=1
Autoeq can also be a helpful tool: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq
The tonality of the edition xs are overall fairly neutral, with a good amount of bass and sub-bass for an openback (particularly when boosted with eq) and some moderate harshness and sibilance in the treble. Separation, detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent for headphones in this price class. The soundstage (much of perception of soundstage is psychoacoustic and depends on the person, so ymmv) is also quite expansive, and imaging is good though not exceptional. If absolute precision in imaging is more important for you than soundstage width and depth, then you might want to consider angled driver headphones like the sennheiser hd560s instead. It's worth remembering that while headphone "burn in" is mostly a myth, the human brain take a significant amount of time to get used to a new sound signature (for example, you might find treble to be annoyingly sharp at first, but not have it bother you much once you've used the headphones for a while). I recommend reserving judgement on any new pair of headphones until you've used them for at least a week.
Diyaudioheaven (run by solderdude from audiosciencereview forums) has a fairly in-depth review of the edition xs, keep in mind this review is in the context of the edition xs being $500 at the time: https://diyaudioheaven.
Hifiman has a reputation for somewhat worse quality control and product longevity compared to many more established western brands. I've personally been using some of their headphones for over 3 years without any issues, but that's obviously anecdotal so ymmv. Since you're purchasing from an official hifiman store, these refurbished headphones come with the standard 1yr hifiman warranty. Hifiman's warranty policy can be found here: https://store.hifiman.c
The previous two refurbished edition xs I purchased (one a couple of years ago, and one in the past couple of weeks) both arrived in near pristine condition, and the same goes for another family member who ordered theirs with this same deal a couple weeks ago. The pair I received from aliexpress recently looked like they'd never been worn, a tiny bit of dust and a couple of small smudges were the worst of it. The pads appeared brand new, and there were no hairs or any other concerning signs. The headphones have no audible issues or signs of physical damage, my only complaint would be some slight squeaking from the headband hinges when I turn my head wearing them. The packaging was ultimately serviceable but definitely could be improved upon imo, they came seated on a foam headphone stand loose in an ups box with some generic packing material around them. The included headphone cable I received was the "sundara" cable, its perfectly functional but fairly short. It was quite microphonic and stiff at first, massaging the cable for a little while improved that. My order arrived within a few days of being placed without any issues.
While there is now significantly more competition in the lower-midrange headphone space (particularly from fiio and their sub-brand jade), the value proposition of the edition xs at under $100 is pretty much unmatched. The only audio deal comparable in value to this recently would be the extremely ymmv best buy open box sennheiser hd 560s at ~$50, but they're only available for literally minutes at a time and sometimes don't restock for weeks. Overall, if these headphones would fit your use cases and you're willing to purchase refurbished, this is an excellent deal.
Doesn't matter. It still won't ship to CA. So weird
As is common with aliexpress, the price seems to jump around depending on how and when you view the listing. The lowest I'm seeing is in a desktop firefox private window at $89.59 before the $9 coupon as mentioned by the poster above, meaning a final price of $80.59. If you're seeing a higher price, try using different browsers and/or incognito mode. You must be signed into your AliExpress account and have your address added to add items to your cart and place an order. You may have to manually type in the promo code to apply it at checkout. If you know where to look, there might be significant CB available on purchases from aliexpress.
These headphones are sold by the official hifiman local store (ships from the US so no concerns about customs, and comes with 1yr warranty), and at this price are pretty much a no-brainer for those looking to dip their toes into high-end audio. I personally nabbed a second pair in the previous iteration of this deal a couple of weeks ago, and am extremely happy with them. Previous frontpage deal with 95 upvotes for reference: https://slickdeals.net/f/19891212-refurb-hifiman-edition-xs-over-ear-open-back-planar-magnetic-headphones-84-90-free-s-h
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 what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), have no built in volume control or equalization, underperform somewhat without a proper amplifier driving them, and are fairly heavy and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The edition xs use the standard hifiman headband, have large oval earcups, and weigh 405g. I have an above average sized head, and I'd say the edition xs are very slightly large for me even at the minimal headband adjustment. Clamping force is also fairly low. If your head is on the smaller side, the edition xs will likely not fit well. The earcups are very roomy inside which I greatly appreciate. The weight may also take a while to get used to, I can wear them fairly easily for hours long sessions, but I can certainly imagine some people struggling. Fortunately, most of the issues with fit and comfort can be mitigated by getting a headband strap that functionally turns the headband into a hammock style one. The ~$25 capra strap is the most commonly recommended one, but there are plenty of cheaper options available and even files available online to 3d-print a strap yourself.
The edition xs has an official impedance of 18 ohms (with some community measurements showing 14 oms instead) and a sensitivity of 92db. The combination of quite low impedance along with fairly low sensitivity means these headphones are current hungry and moderately difficult to drive. Unfortunately, most cheap onboard audio solutions, such as the all in one realtek codecs that are commonly used in laptops and motherboards, struggle greatly specifically at properly powering current hungry headphones. As long as you're not planning on using eq (equalization) you might be able to get away with not using an amp if you have a high quality integrated audio solution, or are willing to tolerate lower volume and poorer dynamics. In general though, you'll want at minimum a high powered usb dongle dacamp.
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), a proper amp is even more highly recommended. As planar magnetic headphones with low distortion they take rather well to eq, so eq is highly recommended if you have an amp.
Oratory1990 presets are good starting point for eq: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6y...xftbum&e=1
Autoeq can also be a helpful tool: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq
The tonality of the edition xs are overall fairly neutral, with a good amount of bass and sub-bass for an openback (particularly when boosted with eq) and some moderate harshness and sibilance in the treble. Separation, detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent for headphones in this price class. The soundstage (much of perception of soundstage is psychoacoustic and depends on the person, so ymmv) is also quite expansive, and imaging is good though not exceptional. If absolute precision in imaging is more important for you than soundstage width and depth, then you might want to consider angled driver headphones like the sennheiser hd560s instead. It's worth remembering that while headphone "burn in" is mostly a myth, the human brain take a significant amount of time to get used to a new sound signature (for example, you might find treble to be annoyingly sharp at first, but not have it bother you much once you've used the headphones for a while). I recommend reserving judgement on any new pair of headphones until you've used them for at least a week.
Diyaudioheaven (run by solderdude from audiosciencereview forums) has a fairly in-depth review of the edition xs, keep in mind this review is in the context of the edition xs being $500 at the time: https://diyaudioheaven.
Hifiman has a reputation for somewhat worse quality control and product longevity compared to many more established western brands. I've personally been using some of their headphones for over 3 years without any issues, but that's obviously anecdotal so ymmv. Since you're purchasing from an official hifiman store, these refurbished headphones come with the standard 1yr hifiman warranty. Hifiman's warranty policy can be found here: https://store.hifiman.c
The previous two refurbished edition xs I purchased (one a couple of years ago, and one in the past couple of weeks) both arrived in near pristine condition, and the same goes for another family member who ordered theirs with this same deal a couple weeks ago. The pair I received from aliexpress recently looked like they'd never been worn, a tiny bit of dust and a couple of small smudges were the worst of it. The pads appeared brand new, and there were no hairs or any other concerning signs. The headphones have no audible issues or signs of physical damage, my only complaint would be some slight squeaking from the headband hinges when I turn my head wearing them. The packaging was ultimately serviceable but definitely could be improved upon imo, they came seated on a foam headphone stand loose in an ups box with some generic packing material around them. The included headphone cable I received was the "sundara" cable, its perfectly functional but fairly short. It was quite microphonic and stiff at first, massaging the cable for a little while improved that. My order arrived within a few days of being placed without any issues.
While there is now significantly more competition in the lower-midrange headphone space (particularly from fiio and their sub-brand jade), the value proposition of the edition xs at under $100 is pretty much unmatched. The only audio deal comparable in value to this recently would be the extremely ymmv best buy open box sennheiser hd 560s at ~$50, but they're only available for literally minutes at a time and sometimes don't restock for weeks. Overall, if these headphones would fit your use cases and you're willing to purchase refurbished, this is an excellent deal.
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The oratory1990 subreddit faq has a basic guide on how to apply eq (though some of the tutorials are really old): https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1...inde
Assuming you're on windows, equalizer apo by itself is your best bet (peace gui is extraneous imo): https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
If you just want to use the oratory1990 preset in windows, after installing equalizer apo for your primary sound device and opening the configuration editor for the first time, you can create a text document named "Edition XS Oratory1990" (exclude quotation marks) in the C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config directory, paste the text listed below in, then save:
Filter: ON PK Fc 70 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 0.5
Filter: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain 5.5 dB Q 0.71
Filter: ON PK Fc 300 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 1.4
Filter: ON PK Fc 950 Hz Gain -2.3 dB Q 1.8
Filter: ON PK Fc 1900 Hz Gain 5.3 dB Q 0.8
Filter: ON PK Fc 2960 Hz Gain -5.4 dB Q 2.1
Filter: ON PK Fc 6500 Hz Gain -1.8 dB Q 6
Filter: ON PK Fc 7900 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 6
Filter: ON HSC Fc 8000 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 0.71
Filter: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 2
Preamp: -5.7 dB
Afterwards, edit the "config.txt" file in the same directory, erase any existing text, paste in "Include: Edition XS Oratory1990.txt" (exclude quotation marks), and save. Check the equalizer apo configuration editor afterwards, at the bottom left of the panel make sure it says "Start from: config.txt", under estimated properties there should be a peak gain of -0.2dB if the eq profile is active.
If you're one of those "bit-perfect" purist types that don't want neither the windows audio stack nor a resampler (even though modern competently implemented resamplers won't have any audible impact) as part of your audio chain, then something like the foobar2000 media player in exclusive mode with the mathaudio headphone eq foobar2000 component would be your best bet.
Meanwhile, the edition xs are generally considered an acoustic side grade to the ananda stealth, the anandas have less bass out of the box and overall have a more relaxed tonality. With eq both headphones will deliver a rather similar experience.
The biggest difference are in the headbands, the sundara and ananda come with a hammock style headband that fits most people better and tends to be more comfortable. If you have a smaller head, and wouldn't be purchasing a third party strap for the edition xs headband, the other two would likely be more comfortable.
I just received mine brand new in original packaging !!!
Meanwhile, the edition xs are generally considered an acoustic side grade to the ananda stealth, the anandas have less bass out of the box and overall have a more relaxed tonality. With eq both headphones will deliver a rather similar experience.
The biggest difference are in the headbands, the sundara and ananda come with a hammock style headband that fits most people better and tends to be more comfortable. If you have a smaller head, and wouldn't be purchasing a third party strap for the edition xs headband, the other two would likely be more comfortable.
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