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Hifiman Edition X (HEX) Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Dec 21, 2015.

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  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Initial impressions:

    - Very good tone. There's a hint of treble roughness, a hint of upper-mid glare, and maybe not the absolute best bass extension, but ultimately I find the tone relatively neutral, very pleasing, and in the same playing field as the HD6X0 family or PMx2. In other words, I can nitpick, but tonally this ranks up there as one of the best behaved headphones I've heard - a very short list of headphones.

    - Stage isn't particularly large. Kind of reminds me of the HD6X0, but with that weird planar effect. That is, a bit too hard left/right, and with a 3-blob stage effect. Panning left to right goes straight through your head with some gaps in between left/right and center.

    - Detail retrieval is pretty good, if not a hair rounded and soft with the smallest details. At low volumes, drivers sound relatively clean and fast.

    - At high volumes, things start to fall apart. Midrange and lower-treble starts to sound really compressed and artificial with lots of glare. Stage gets very congested. These are NOT good headphones for listening loud. Very, very nice at low to medium volumes, very well composed.

    - I'm assuming the above comment is due to distortion, as seen in Tyll's and Marv's measurements. In that case, the Ether stays more composed as you crank the volume but is a little less clear sounding at low volumes. I think the HEX bests the Ether except for the fact it can't handle its volume.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2016
    Hands, Feb 28, 2016
    #41
  2. elwappo99

    elwappo99 Friend

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    A worthy successor for the HE-6? Reviews seemed somewhat mixed on the Edition X. Seems there's a sudden influx of people trying to find a pair of HE-6 laterly.
     
    elwappo99, Feb 28, 2016
    #42
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Can't say. Havent heard the HE-6.
     
    Hands, Feb 28, 2016
    #43
  4. Clemmaster

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    The HE-6 get better at higher volume, so I guess not.
     
    Clemmaster, Feb 28, 2016
    #44
  5. Artasia

    Artasia Friend

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    Awesome set of impressions. About how high of volume could the HE-X stand without distortion? I can guess what you mean by low to mid volume but just want to be sure, since this aspect alone might be a deal-breaker for some. By high do you mean the same level you might push the HD650s on a normal basis, or higher than usual? (One of the great things about the Senns is their ability to flower forth at ever higher volumes more than most planars I have heard).
     
    Last edited: Feb 29, 2016
    Artasia, Feb 29, 2016
    #45
  6. Hands

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    I don't listen quite as loud as some, but I'm talking levels I'd listen to on the HD650. HD650 keeps its composure when you crank it. HEX starts to get weird. For lower background level listening, as I'd like to call it, the HEX does really well.
     
    Hands, Feb 29, 2016
    #46
  7. elwappo99

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    Any ballpark db for when the HEX gets wonky?
     
    elwappo99, Feb 29, 2016
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  8. Hands

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    Probably around high-80s or 90dB is when it starts. Really comes into play hard shortly after that.
     
    Hands, Feb 29, 2016
    #48
  9. Ice-man

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    I had the HEX before on loan. And while I liked it there was just something I couldn't quite put my finger on that bugged me. Pulled the trigger on a new pair last week before of super sale price. Now, I'm loving them! I'm always looking for an upgrade to the hd650, but often I come up disappointed. So far the HEX is working for me.
     
    Ice-man, Feb 29, 2016
    #49
  10. obsidyen

    obsidyen New

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    Is this good for an EDM fan? How is bass impact and slam? Anywhere close TH900?
     
    obsidyen, Mar 29, 2016
    #50
  11. Octavialicious

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    Love these for EDM, they can be very punchy and forward, truly great! What kind of EDM specifically?
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2016
    Octavialicious, May 3, 2016
    #51
  12. spoony

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    You can't expect a headphone with linear bass to have a similar amount of impact to a headphone with a 10 dB bass boost over the mids. That said, dynamics are usually better at bass impact than planars.
     
    spoony, May 4, 2016
    #52
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