HiFiMan Edition XS

Overview

Sound

The Edition XS is a generally balanced headphone, only being forward in the upper treble regions, but of the HiFiMan planar lineup, it is one of the more tame treble-wise. The Edition XS has very nice extension into the sub-bass, with good tactility in the mid-bass. The midrange is quite linear up until around 1.5khz, where there is the common upper-midrange dip. 

What's in the box

• HiFiMan Edition XS

• Stereo 3.5mm to dual mono 3.5mm cable

• Foam stand

• Info / Warranty pamphlet

The Edition XS comes with everything you'll need to use these happily and effectively, nothing flashy like a travel case or cable storage box or replacement pads, but all the necessities plus a foam stand. I personally don't find this stand helpful and it is quite light and flimsy so attempting to take off or put the Edition XS onto this stand causes it to fall or move very easily.

Build and design

The build quality and design of the Edition XS is possibly my biggest complaint. The entire body is made out of plastic except for the adjustment sliders and grill. When looking at it you might expect a weighty substantial feeling headphone, you pick it up and it is as light as a feather, making it feel cheap. You can also hear it creak and rattle when you move it around. They have close to no clamp at the bottom of the massive earcups, putting most of the pressure on your temples and the top of your head, creating headaches and a hot spot. I couldn't use it for long without a Capra Strap from Capra Audio at https://capraaudio.com/ 

Sound

Bass

The bass performance on the Edition XS is very well done. Nothing stands out over anything else, the mid-bass is nearly perfectly linear with the sub-bass, no mid-bass bloom or sub-bass roll-off. The bass is smooth and tactile, and very clean sounding. Not much to say, other than I am happy with its well-executed and clean-sounding bass.

Midrange

Starting off with the lower midrange on the Edition XS, much like the bass it is extremely linear and clean sounding, with no meaningful dips or rises leading to no hollowness or bloom, however, the upper midrange is where the problems occur. The Edition XS has the HiFiMan 1.5khz dip, which some believe increases soundstage or removes shout, but for me it just makes female vocals and instruments have a weird timbre and hollowness where there should be shine. 

Treble

Coming off of the weirdness in the upper midrange, the treble is another place I have an issue with the Edition XS. The treble is a bit bright and got annoying and sibilant on some tracks after a while. Besides the amount of treble, it also was very plasticky sounding, further adding to the weird timbre of the upper-frequency range. The treble did sound detailed, but when it got bright, it also got grainy, smearing some sounds in a way that put me off. Granted, the airiness and pluckiness of the treble was good sounding on tracks that didn't get too bright.

Technical Performance

Due to the openness and airiness of the treble, the Edition XS was very wide and spacious, the left and right width along with the depth was presented very well. While sometimes it was unnaturally wide and things sounded too separated from the mix, it was a very fun experience. 

Comparisons

HiFiMan Edition XS VS Sennheiser HD 600

The Edition XS has a leg up over the HD 600 in terms of its deeper reaching and more tactile bass; the Edition XS doesn't roll off until below 50hz while the HD 600 begins to roll off at 100hz. Other than that, I would take an HD 600 over the Edition XS, it has a more correct complete upper midrange, vocals are more thick and textured in the mix instead of being hollow and lifeless. The HD 600 also has a more natural treble response, it is never sibilant to me and the upper treble is more tame and within reason, never getting annoying like how the Edition XS tends to do. Due to this, the HD 600 is much narrower and closed-in soundstaging-wise and there isn't as much depth and layering as the Edition XS.

Conclusion

The HiFiMan Edition XS unfortunately does not score very high, getting a B+. This is due to the clean bass and lower midrange response but disappointing build quality and unnatural timbre.

If you are someone looking for a planar magnetic headphone, while with its quirks and issues, this is one of the best you'll get at this price range. If you want a more natural midrange, I would look into Sennheisers HD 600 or HD 6XX/650 for a warmer option.