HIFIMAN Edition XV - Identity Crisis?
A week passed since I've gotten my pair of Edition XVs, and, to be honest, I'm clearly not getting the hype about these. They're just good, but not exceptional all around, like some of the reviewers claim.
First thing that stands out is the bright-ish tint that these headphones have. A good chunk of my library sounds straight up sharp and sibilant, while being overall warm in terms of timbre on Edition XV, and this just throws me off. And don't get me wrong, they sound sublime on certain recordings, but, out of nowhere, you hit that 'screechy' one, and you just want to take the headphones off. I don't know, whether it was a strategical decision or not, but this is definitely a downside to the headphone.
Second thing is they're usually inoffensive and chill, but they're also inoffensive and chill, and this shows whenever you wear a brighter headphone (like ATH-R50x). I always found myself comparing between the two, wearing my R50x, and forgetting about XV completely. It basically feels like a breath of fresh air after the sound that XV presents. Some would even call the XV dull, but I'd rather say inoffensive - in a good and a bad way.
The only thing that makes me think about keeping these headphones is its' bass to lower mids response, which is like perfect. The bass on this headphone is extremely good and refined, though I miss the midbass punch the dynamic drivers usually make an emphasis on. With a bass shelf XV is basically the best open-back I've heard in terms of bass - period, which makes you wonder - maybe keep it and EQ the treble to something like raw diffuse field (which I usually prefer)...
Anyway, what is your experience with Edition XV if you have/had/heard one? Do you also find it having a dark-bright identity crisis, or is it just warm all across the range on your head? And what headphone would you potentially take over the Edition XV in the same or lower price range?