Submitted by No-Seaweed-4456 t3_ymj35c in headphones
blorg t1_iv54rls wrote
I think they have a very good soundstage, it's big without sounding unnatural. I have the Edition XS, OG Ananda, Arya Stealth.
HD800S is the headphone that gets into uncanny valley territory with soundstage, it is very large and with some music (like orchestral) very good, but it's sometimes veering into too much unnatural party trick territory.
Hifiman is more natural in this regard, IMO.
Perception of soundstage is extremely personal, it depends on both your physical ears and head and how the headphone interacts with them, and also your brain, just how you personally interpret what you are getting. I think there can be some broad agreement that some headphones (HD800S) are very wide, and others (HD600) are much less so but the specifics of how you find it are going to be quite personal I think.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivbk8ev wrote
How does the Ananda compare to the XS in your opinion?
I’ve heard the Edition XS described as like a bassier Ananda without the ski head band.
blorg t1_ivdi228 wrote
That's basically it, the Edition XS has more bass and is closer to the Arya Stealth in that regard. Ananda maybe slightly smoother through the mids and treble.
Comfort stock is for me much better with the Ananda, it's a better headband. Some people find the Ananda clamp too much, and it doesn't have cup swivel. The Edition XS does have cup swivel and is much looser stock, but for me too loose, it felt very insecure and would fall off if I tilted my head down. Bending it fixed this.
Ananada is much easier to drive from low power portable sources, Edition XS needs around 10x the power.
In Asia they sell for very similar prices, (like within $25) and I think they are competing around the same level. If the Ananda was much more expensive, the Edition XS for sure is better value.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivdo09g wrote
Wait 10x?!?
Does that mean it’ll be quiet through a apple adapter?
blorg t1_ivdqtv4 wrote
10x by the published specifications, it might be a slight exaggeration as the Ananda isn't quite as easy to drive as Hifiman purport on the spec sheet, although it's still very easy to drive. Ananda is 25Ω/103dB, Edition XS is 18Ω/92dB.
You probably wouldn't want to be running the Edition XS off an Apple adapter. Ananda should be fine off one though. I don't have an Apple dongle, but running it off a Qudelix 5K without EQ I'm at 299mV which at 25Ω would be 3.6mW. The Apple dongle does 31mW into 32Ω. Using EQ, I'd go substantially higher. But the Edition XS needs a lot more power than that.
The Edition XS is harder to drive than an average headphone, but it's not crazy hard to drive. It's more than the Ananda is particularly easy to drive, its official sensitivity numbers are similar to an IEM. Now I think it's actually less sensitive than they publish, but it's still extremely easy to drive for a full size over-ear.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivg8jeh wrote
I don’t know how to use Sensitivty and Impedance specs sadly lol
I know they dictate the ease of driving them but I’m a noob
blorg t1_ivi2yxj wrote
If you are using a low power dongle, get the Ananda. If the Edition XS, you want an amp.
The sensitivity is the volume it reaches at a given power (or sometimes voltage) level. So a headphone that has 103dB/mW sensitivity will get to 103dB with 1mW power. One with 92dB will only get to 92dB with the same amount of power. It takes 10x the power to increase volume by 10dB.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivithu2 wrote
Man the Ananda is $200 more :(
I’m torn because the Edition XS has better bass and is $200 cheaper, but the Ananda has better comfort, better detail and soundstage, better mids and highs, and is easier to drive.
blorg t1_ivivhuf wrote
It's not $200 more if you are buying it at current sale prices from China, Ananda was $386 on Ali after discounts last I looked. Edition XS is very much on the same level as the Ananda, just different. But you will need an amp for it, so factor that in if you don't have one.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivkmqxz wrote
Isn’t it always a gamble to buy old Hifiman through Ali? Like a quality control disaster waiting to happen.
blorg t1_ivkopa0 wrote
That's a new headphone. I have almost all of mine from China, aside from the HE6SEV2 which is an Adorama exclusive, I'm actually in Asia so that was a lot more of a hassle for me to get than the Chinese ones. I bought from Chinese sellers on Shopee which is a SE Asian marketplace, I did not buy from that seller on Ali, so I can't say for them. But you presumably aren't in SE Asia and can't buy from Shopee, so I linked Ali. I have spent more than that with other sellers on Ali, without issue, I have spent thousands of dollars on Ali. That seller seem to have a good amount of positive feedback, from selling Hifimans specifically, and their prices are low but not unrealistically so, they are in line with Asian prices.
I have HE400SE, Edition XS, Ananda and Arya Stealth, all from China. They are made in China, Hifiman is a Chinese company, it's ultimately coming from China whatever you do, it's just a matter of the markup.
There are valid warranty concerns and all the hassle with that. But it's literally a matter of you would pay double that price to get them in the US, probably about bang on double when you factor in sales tax. It's not like it's this tiny difference. Up to you.
No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivlvmko wrote
They offer a extended warranty? I accidentally sat on my Sundara once.
blorg t1_ivmtbds wrote
Sitting on a headphone wouldn't be covered by warranty anyway, unless you had a policy that specifically covered accidental damage. If ordering from China it would have to go back to China for any warranty, if you could even get that.
But it's a matter of getting the headphone almost half price. Personally I'd take half price no warranty over paying double for a warranty I probably will never use.
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