Oh man…
Hifiman Edition XX
May be time to part with my beloved HE560.
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My poor wallet, I may have to start selling off some of my gear that I don’t use as much.
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Yea. I can probably sell a couple IEMs and my HE560 and pay a little bit more to get this. 
The headband is really throwing it off though. Good thing I have spare HE560 and Sundara headbands at my disposal that I can slap on this thing if I get it.
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I’m intrigued. Compare the tech description of the new nano drivers at Massdrop to the InnerFidelity review of the old nano driver $3,000 HiFiMan HE1000s. If functionally similar, the Massdrop version is likely to also be soft, pleasant, and easy listening (at 1/5th the price).
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If you’re looking for reasons not to buy this …
It looks like it’s very closely related to the Edition X. From Solderdude’s review and measurements:
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Channel matching looks pretty poor
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Look at that CSD and spectrum plot, what a mess!
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It has a pretty low efficiency, so despite the low impedance may not really be suitable for all portable devices
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Ignore the part where he says “A very, very nice sounding headphone”
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And turn a blind eye to the fact that it cost 3x the Massdrop price…
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I’m just trying to be a good influence …
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You have convinced me to look at the graph of the Ananda/HEX vs the HE560 and I may or may not like it more than my HE560. https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/hifiman/ananda/
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I was simply thinking - I have the HE-560s. The price may stabilize at below the initial introduction. I don’t need another Planar Magnetic more than I need some new STAX…
Oops, gave away a bit too much there.
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I heard these at RMAF. Christian brought them out and we listened to them. Disclaimer: I’m not a HFM fan for more reasons than I care to list.
Anyway… these were very thin. Very light. Pretty darn comfy. It’s good that Massdrop has gone all metal with a more robust headband. Less points of failure.
Very planar sound. Quite neutral. Nice bass extension. Bassheads need not apply. I liked them, but ultimately they aren’t for me. I like a little more rich, non-flat sounding headphone. Just a little more flavor. Still… for $600, I know there’s a bunch of folk who will end up liking them.
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Anyone gone for the Hifiman Edition XX on Massdrop yet?
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Yes. Seems to match my marathon listening session needs.
But ugly beyond belief…
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yeah that and the fact I wasn’t overly wowed by my listening time with the V2 version of these headphones really has me tempering my want for them. Maybe down the road when they are more readily available I will jump on them, as the price is rather nice for the capability. Also despite being ugly, that headband is rather nice on the 4XX, both in quality and comfort (at least so far, I’ve broken in two pairs so far, gave one to a buddy for their bday, then had to buy another because I felt I needed it for some reason.)
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I don’t mind the looks of the cups but they’re a weird shape.
. If they get good reviews and build is ok then I might go for the next drop. I would like some planar’s in my collection. Though for the price the HE400’s on Massdrop look ok. I will see. @TylersEclectic likes them.
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Tempting as they are … the 6 month lead time is more than I’m game for. Though if they’re successful enough to either be re-dropped with a shorter lead time, or appear as in-stock items after the initial drop, I’ll more than likely snag a set.
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6 month lead time equals discipline in spending…will be able to resell if desired.
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I don’t really need to worry about discipline in spending.
I am, however, not a big fan of paying for things far in advance of receiving them. A couple of weeks is one thing. Beyond that, there has to be special circumstances or it be something custom/built-to-order for me to even consider it for something just a couple of months out.
Six months is exotic-car territory …
Especially when a) I’ll probably lose interest in the interim and b) if I don’t, and they’re not re-dropped, they’ll almost certainly be available used and with a wait-time measured in days.
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Nor am I, but that’s the lame excuse I told myself.
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I was really interested in these until I saw the lead time on them and am less than thrilled with it, especially given they are essentially Ananda’s with old skool headbands. Hifiman prices seem to fluctuate significantly too, so I’m still undecided if I want to commit to the drop or not.
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This. I never buy new MD stuff anymore, unless it’s their rotating 1 day drop stuff.
If I were interested in the XX, I’d wait for all the basshead neophyte-audiophiles to start screaming how MD cheated them on HF threads and then pick up their used pair for $525.
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