Hifiman Edition X V2 Open back Headphones Review

HIFIMAN EDITION X V2 HEADPHONES Unboxing

 

Pros&Cons

There’s no denying it, the Edition X V2’s packaging is quite premium. The box is wrapped in leather and features some contrasting white stitching. On the inside we find some dense foam as well as what seems to be some kind of suede or Alcantara. Everything oozes a sense of premium craftsmanship.

Edition X V2 Specs:

• Impedance: 25Ω
• Planar Magnetic Technology
• Frequency response: 8 Hz – 50 kHz • Sensitivity: 103 dB
• Weight: 399g

What’s in the box?

• EditionX V2 3.5mm cable
• 1/4” cable
• 3.5mm to 1/4” adapter
• 2x detachable cables
• Owner’s Guide

Accessories

Let’s start right off with my least favourite part of these headphones: the cables. Sure, it’s nice that we get both a standard 3.5mm-jack cable, as well as a 1/4”-jack cable; but the cables look terrible. By that I mean, they look like DIY cables. Sorry, but at this price-point, absolutely no part of the product should look like something I could’ve constructed myself. Whilst it is a nice thick cable which doesn’t seem like it’ll easily (if at all) get tangled, it is also rather heavy. The outer shielding seems to be silicone….that’s right, similar tubing you’d find in fish tanks. Other than the 2 detachable cables, HiFiMan didn’t include any ] other accessories. Honestly, for the $1300 asking price, I’d expect at least a nice storage case. I suppose you could use the packaging that the EditionX V2 comes in, but it is gigantic, and not at all travel-friendly.

 

Design:

HifiMan have stayed true to their usual design, but have made a few updates over the original EditionX. This time the earcups are slightly wedged, to create a more form-
fitting and comfortable feel. If you’re not familiar with HifiMan’s designs, it can be a bit of getting use to. The comfort is great, but the looks are rather different. Due to the shape of the frame it can look like you’ve got some sort of weird Martian aerial sticking up out of your head. Or perhaps the spoiler of a Subaru WRX STi is the more fitting image to use. It’s odd, and it’s big. But as mentioned, it is comfortable…really comfortable.
Being an open back design, sound does leak a lot; so don’t expect to use these in a noisy environment or on your daily bus/train commute. These aren’t meant for portable use. The other thing to keep in mind is that these require more power than what a regular closed-back headphone would need. Whilst the impedance may only be

Read:  HIFIMAN HE-1000 Planar Magnetic Headphones Review

Sound

The EditionX V2 does offer some seriously good sound. It’s not the most detailed sound I’ve heard, but it does have some deep, powerful bass. Not overpowering or bloated bass, but rather just well-controlled, impactful bass. The real treat here, though, is the soundstage (thanks to the open-back design) The sound you get is rather akin to what you’d here from dedicated speakers. You don’t get that sense of music getting crammed into your ears, but rather that it’s following a natural path through an open space. Binaural
recordings sound especially good, as do any other genres or albums that are well recorded. As far as the sound signature is concerned, the EditionX V2 does have a warmer than neutral sound. It’s got some kick and punch to it, and vocals sound quite buttery. But it’s by no means a wonderfully detailed sound. What you get is a set of open planars that can play pretty much everything pretty damn well. It’s forgiving, and fun.

Also, due to their exceptionally comfortable design, you’ll be able to listen to your favourite tunes for hours on end with absolutely zero fatigue (in terms of both physical comfort, as well as sonically).

25Ω, because your ears aren’t being sealed off from outside noise, you need to increase the volume more so in order to overcome the external noise for a given volume. For example, I found that I needed the same volume setting for the same sound level on both the EditionX V2 and my Pinnacle P1 IEMs, and the P1 has double the impedance of the HifiMan.

Value

There’s no denying it, the EditionX V2 does sound really, really good. That planar technology makes for a wonderful listening experience. However, I can’t help but feel that it’s that same technology that you end up paying for. $1300 is a fair bit of money, (not pocket change, certainly), so if I’m perfectly honest, I was expecting more in terms of sound quality. As such, you are getting a really good sounding pair of headphones, but I suspect that what you’re paying for the most is to experience planar magnetic technology along with the prestige of the brand name. Whilst this technology does offer some very clear advantages over regular ol’ dynamic drivers, it seems that you won’t be seeing those advantages at this price point quite yet. Perhaps when it becomes more mainstream and cheaper to manufacture would I strongly consider and recommend Planars in general or more specifically from this manufacturer.

Read: Chord Electronics Mojo DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

Rating

As far as the rating is concerned for headphones/IEMs, I’ve devised a 2-part system, the first of which is a rating of the product as a whole. This is an attempt to take every aspect of the product into account.
The second is a 65-point rating which focuses solely on the product as a portable HiFi accessory, disregarding all the (essentially) unnecessary bells and whistles such as packaging, accessories, and wireless connectivity, for example.

Packaging

Look and feel: 5 / 5

Total: 5 / 5

Included Accessories

Protective case: YES Multiple cables: YES Total: 2 / 2

Build

Use of metals: YES Comfortable: YES
Premium look and feel: YES Excellent quality control: YES Multiple colour options: – Seems durable: YES

Low microphonics: 5 / 5

Total: 10 / 11

Sound

Neutral: YES
Balanced signature: – Soundstage: 10 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8.5 / 10 Instrument separation: 9 / 10 Total: 28.5 / 32

Value

Competitive price-point: – Relative value: 7 / 10 Total: 7 / 11

Manufacturer

Has good reputation: YES Sells replacement parts: YES Total: 2 / 2

Overall Rating: 8.7 / 10

Portable Hi-Fi Rating

Sound

Neutral: YES
Balanced signature: – Soundstage: 10 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8.5 / 10 Instrument separation: 9 / 10 Total: 28.5 / 32

Value

Competitive price-point: – Relative value: 7 / 10 Total: 7 / 11

Overall Rating: 8.3 / 10