Hifiman Edition X

[nc42acc]

Wow X marks the spot for me in headphones. Anyone else tried the Edition X?

[allenh]

Heard the HE1000 at TAVES last year, don't think they had the X Edition out yet. Have you heard both? If so, how does the X compare?

My son loved the HE1000! He has good ears!

[nc42acc]

The HE1000 are excellent headphones. The best way to sum it up is the Edition X is a warmer, kinder and gentler presentation. I thought the 1000 were a little too analytical, I have my HD800 for that.

[Alrainbow]

If that is the case Clint me out. It seems Hifiman is doing what sennhiser did and move away from this is what it really is and now this is it dummed up lol. But I do get the point of the whole chain is great or the music is just bad quality and you still like it. He new flagship keeps you there. I own a pair of lcd3 and with a little EQ they are nice and tame.

[Galileo]

I have both the Edition Xs and the HE-1000s. As previously stated, the Xs are much warmer and more euphonic (but not as warm as the Sennheiser HD650s). The HE-1000s have more detail although they can be a little bright (but not as bright as the Sennheiser HD800s) so I use them with a softer sounding cable and a higher current amplifier. My observation, which is very subjective, is that when you have a pair of headphones that aren't terribly sensitive (such as the HE-1000s but not the Edition Xs), a lack of sufficient power, which comes in the form of current or "torque" as you would find in a Class A amplifier, results in the perception of brightness and/or a lack of bass. I have a pair of modified AKG K701s. They have a low impedance but are still not very sensitive or efficient. They've always sounded a little bright and bass shy to me until I paired them with a Cavalli Liquid Gold, a vey high-current amp. Now they sound flat as a ruler. I use a Woo Audio WA6-SE with NOS tubes with my Edition Xs but I need the higher current of the WA5-LE V2 with Western Electric 300Bs to make my HE-1000s sound tonally balanced. In fact, that's one of my favorite combinations, second only to the same amp with the Abyss AB-1266 Deluxe headphones using Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable, although I have yet to try the Focal Utopias or Elears or a vintage pair of AKG K1000s.

[MylesBAstor]

I have both the Edition Xs and the HE-1000s. As previously stated, the Xs are much warmer and more euphonic (but not as warm as the Sennheiser HD650s). The HE-1000s have more detail although they can be a little bright (but not as bright as the Sennheiser HD800s) so I use them with a softer sounding cable and a higher current amplifier. My observation, which is very subjective, is that when you have a pair of headphones that aren't terribly sensitive (such as the HE-1000s but not the Edition Xs), a lack of sufficient power, which comes in the form of current or "torque" as you would find in a Class A amplifier, results in the perception of brightness and/or a lack of bass. I have a pair of modified AKG K701s. They have a low impedance but are still not very sensitive or efficient. They've always sounded a little bright and bass shy to me until I paired them with a Cavalli Liquid Gold, a vey high-current amp. Now they sound flat as a ruler. I use a Woo Audio WA6-SE with NOS tubes with my Edition Xs but I need the higher current of the WA5-LE V2 with Western Electric 300Bs to make my HE-1000s sound tonally balanced. In fact, that's one of my favorite combinations, second only to the same amp with the Abyss AB-1266 Deluxe headphones using Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable, although I have yet to try the Focal Utopias or Elears or a vintage pair of AKG K1000s.

Has anyone done some sort of chart, etc. since simply pairing headphones and amplifiers is way too simplistic. Sounds like a lot of things that can go wrong.

[Galileo]

That's a good point Myles. It's not just efficiency and balanced versus single ended, too. Each model of headphone has its own character as does each amp not to mention headphone cable. As with all other things audiophile, it involves synergy and careful matching based on subjective listening. Having said that, I do have a lot of experience with headphones and own a fair number of headphone amps, at least one of which has a very high quality built in USB DAC and can run on batteries (the Woo WA8 Eclipse). I could create a document listing all of the headphones I have and under what conditions each sounds best, but we would have to add to it collectively with people agreeing or disagreeing or talking a new combination but never deleting someone else's opinion. Even my own 128GB iPhone 6S with a USB adapter, a Dragonfly Red, and a pair of rewired Ultrasone Edition 8s has a certain magic playing all CD rips in ALAC. Let me know if you want me to start and, if so, I think I can upload the document, then other people could add to it and someone (maybe me, maybe you) coukd merge it all together. What do you think?

[MylesBAstor]

That's a good point Myles. It's not just efficiency and balanced versus single ended, too. Each model of headphone has its own character as does each amp not to mention headphone cable. As with all other things audiophile, it involves synergy and careful matching based on subjective listening. Having said that, I do have a lot of experience with headphones and own a fair number of headphone amps, at least one of which has a very high quality built in USB DAC and can run on batteries (the Woo WA8 Eclipse). I could create a document listing all of the headphones I have and under what conditions each sounds best, but we would have to add to it collectively with people agreeing or disagreeing or talking a new combination but never deleting someone else's opinion. Even my own 128GB iPhone 6S with a USB adapter, a Dragonfly Red, and a pair of rewired Ultrasone Edition 8s has a certain magic playing all CD rips in ALAC. Let me know if you want me to start and, if so, I think I can upload the document, then other people could add to it and someone (maybe me, maybe you) coukd merge it all together. What do you think?

That sounds like a great idea. Know Al could add to the list as I'm sure a few other here. We could make it a separate thread and sticky.

[Galileo]

I completely forget about this. I’ve gotten rid of quite a bit of headphone gear as I’vd better learned what I like, but I’ve also gotten to try more combinations. Is there a way to upload a spreadsheet as part of a post?

[Billy Shears]

I have a open Box, Mint pair of Edition X V2 I am selling : 900 $ plus shipping... PM or Post if you are interested.