HIFIMAN Edition S Close/Open Back On-Ear Headphones

Had these a couple of weeks now and I think I'm a little bit in love. One of the most comfortable headphones I have ever owned and some of the lightest. These might be lightweight but they really do pack a heavyweight sound - it was between these and the X2's for my latest headphones and honestly I prefer the more neutral sound of these headphones to the slightly bassier and heavier X2's. I am a fan of a more neutral/flat/accurate sound so thats personal preference and a great aspect of these headphones. The X2's are great but I prefer these for gaming and listening to music just because the weight is a great plus, I can forget that I'm wearing these at times. Stereo imaging is absolutely fantastic in games, previously using the awesome audio technica m40x (really only £80 lol?) which I still love but these are a real step up from those in every way. They are also incredibly small for what are actually in fact full sized 50mm driver over ear headphones. They make the X2's look like a large beautiful mutant rather then the svelte sleek catwalk model of the edition s.The open and closed design is not quite the best of both worlds however they are absolutely killer with the covers off - the sound at this price is incredible in my opinion, the clarity, detail, soundstage all of it is just beautiful. With the covers on they don't quite become closed but more semi-open is how I would describe it. They let in a lot more sounds than with a true pair of closed back headphones, this is prevalent in louder environments such as on a tube/train or on a plane however still a lot less than if they were open. In 99% of scenarios these guys have you you covered either way, but use them open as often as possible. They are the only truly portable 50mm openback headphones and they deliver.For music, they are so easy to drive that I can use the built in DAC/amps on my 2016 macbook and iphone SE, I know the SE/6s has a good DAC but the one in the macbook 2016 is even better, not looked into what it's using yet but it is good enough for me to not use an external with these when using my laptop at least. Halfway on the macbook with these and the built in amp is making my ears start to bleed but the sound is amazing.For gaming, wow. Just wow. I play on PS4 and the built in dac in the DualShock 4 is...surprisingly not that bad. You can stream FLAC over bluetooth but not only that the game sounds come through amazingly clear and crisp, I can't hear any noticeable compression on the game audio. The stereo imaging on these is absolutely fantastic on FPS games, can pinpoint everything and playing FLAC in the background is a tasty bonus although totally unnecessary for background music. For long sessions these are not fatiguing at all, combined with the v-moda boom pro this is one of the best gaming headsets you will find.I love the way they look, especially with the covers off exposing the drivers. The headphones fold away really small, like, really small. I often can't believe that these contain 50mm drivers. The construction is surprisingly good for hifimans 'budget' headphones but is kind of expected at this price point, there was more metal than I anticipated which is never a bad thing. The plastics and earpads all seem really great quality, the cable it comes with may not appeal to everyone. Construction is just okay just a bit lightweight but I guess that's in keeping with the rest of the headphone, it's a bit short for plugging into an amp more than a few feet away but for general use it's perfectly fine and replaceable thanks to the well placed 3.5mm jack which will take any 3.5mm hack. The mic it comes with even works on ps4 because the ground pin in the right way around for it which was an unexpected bonus.I think in summary, I wouldn't use these in a library without turning the volume down and i'd only use the backs for being polite/cut out some of the background noise. These are super comfy, easy to drive, great for music, great for gaming - can even double up for some light audio mixing and video editing. They are truly a great all around headphone. I could wax lyrical for days about these, if you are on the fence, just get them and hopefully you love them as much as I do. Try them first - all headphones sound different, but to me these sound perfect and I think these are great value at £209, I would easily pay more. The only problem I can foresee with these is the ear-pads wearing out over time as they are not replaceable however maybe hi-fi man will release new pads in the future, they are not meant to be removable but if they can be assembled they can be disassembled.Well done HifiMan, you pretty much made my perfect headphone. Try them out for yourself, they may or may not be for you but definitely try these.

Bad buggy cable on my pair from the 1st play, don't know if it's a common defect or just my pair. Music cuts on and off by itself, Siri randomly activates also on my iPhone, right side dims randomly on both my iPhone 6S plus and Samsung Galaxy Edge 7. Headphones sound great and work as advertised, really good clarity for a dynamic headphone in this price range. Taking off the covers changes the tonality and spreads things out, it's awesome. Honestly if I didn't have this cable issue 5 stars easy.

Best portable open headphone. Nice bass thats don’t bleed into the mids. For me fint so much better than Grado. No problem with headband shape and no need to adjust (mid size head I think :-)). Easy to drive (sgs7). Closed - bit of a gimmick. Would highly recommend.

Not impressed by these headphones..I wish I just bought another pair of akg545 or beyer dt770 instead now.anyone who thinks these are good for gaming has never heard a pair of dt770!

The headband snapped after two months. The sound of the headphones is great in general. But the quality of ,aterials used is poor. Plastic headband snapped , while putting the headphones on the head. Don't buy them to avoid disapointment.

It's strange how these are hard to come by these days. Stores, online, even used it doesn't appear that these are very well known.But I'm glad I know. I really enjoy these cans, both open and closed, track dependant on which I enjoy more. The material use for the build isn't outstanding but I've not had any issues in that regard, they feel fine to me. They're not particularly stylish on a front facing shot but have an industrial and practical design that works well and feels lightweight and comfortable. The hybrid pads can get warm but nothing out of the ordinary.Sound doesn't differ a huge amount with the backs on or off. Treble swaps with bass and the sound widens. That's about it. Either way you get a crystal sound with fantastic detail. They're wonderful for any genre and just a very enjoyable listen. Audio Technically MSR7 like with the backs on, and Sennheiser Momentum Over Ear like when off. They won't blow many people away, but their versatility and easy listening make them a hidden gem.

I listen to music a lot, at work, at home, on the move and to my self playing my electric gutiar. So I wanted a good pair of headphones and tried a lot of the at a fancy place with heaphones ranging from £100 to £infinite. My budget was arounf £300 and I really liked the HiFiMan. The open/closed option is super nice and really simple to use (the side-plates on are magnetic so it looks to be a sturdy construction. The sound quality is awsome and the they fit me just pefect. 10/10 would buy again if I lost them.

I only used these headphones at home. The headband snapped when I was putting them on. No force was applied at all! They sound great, but the build quality is simply terrible for the price.

Il rivenditore MCRU è serio. Ci sono voluti circa 10 giorni per la consegna, ma era previsto all'atto dell'acquisto. La cuffia si comporta bene e pare che, soprattutto dopo 100 ore di rodaggio, vada molto bene rispetto al prezzo richiesto. Alcuni audiofili la paragonano a cuffie dal costo molto elevato (anche tre volte di più). PS: dopo alcune prove con cuffie di costo superiore ribadisco il parere più che positivo. Per il loro costo sono un affare!

Funziona veramente bene si sente la musica in modo fantastico

イヤホンのRE-400が気に入りその影響で購入しました。<音>特別パワフルなわけでも、高解像度なわけでもないヘッドホンですが、ひたすらに「滑らか艶々」な音です。イヤホンでも全く同じ特性でした。女性ボーカルやクラシックが最高です。サイドパネルの脱着による変化ですが、大して変わりません。オープン時は確かに音の広がりは良くなりますが、僅かです。録音の新しい曲では問題ないのですが、リマスターされていない40-70年代あたりの録音の古い曲では、音が変に「ニュルニュル」してしまい気持ち悪く感じました。<デザイン/使用感>イヤーパッドが特殊な形状のため、替えはなさそうです。装着感はとても良く、長時間でも痛くありません。蒸れも少ないです。ケーブルは左だし。iPhone用の脱着式のものが付属しました。ヘッドホン側入力は3.5ミリステレオミニプラグです。接続部分が変に奥まっていたりしてないので、リケーブルは豊富そうです。ハウジングが金属で高級感があります。一通り見た感じでは、剛性も大丈夫そうです。

I bought one... the ear pads were deformed and one of the adjustable headband sides was just free to move no clicks. returned it and the second set the head band started breaking in a week and all they did was sit on my desk, and go on my head.sadly very sadly, because they sound good and are great for gaming with a boom pro.i bought another set and the ear cup glue failed, i also bought another set and wrapped it in rescue tape, im wearing them now, however you cant fold them as that hinge also breaks, mine cracked before i realized it and i had to wrap that part as well... but i still use them for playing video games.i hope they re-release these with a metal headband and hinges, but for now im using them all wrapped up with rescue tape and it seems to be a nice ghetto fix for a solid gaming headphone.

For starters I just want to say that I had high hopes for these headphones. I read many reviews online and speculated about buying these. I enjoy listening to music with open back headphones but wanted a decent closed pair. The Hifiman edition s came along and I thought , "hey these might be a good buy". I am writing this review at 10pm right after a 3 hour game sessiom. I pulled off the headphones for the 3rd time that day and it felt as if the headband hand gotten loose. To my horror the headband had broke. Listen to those on Reddit or whatever forrum some of you may have seen a negative comment on build quality. STAY AWAY FROM THESE HEADPHONES

So, like everyone else who posted reviews, the sound on these is fun (not really accurate) and perfect for casual music listening or gaming. The comfort is great, as the headband and the pads are soft. You might as well throw out the covers unless you plan on traveling around with these, which I don't recommend as you need to BABY these things so they don't break. The covers make the sound about 10-15% worse, and they don't do much of anything to lower background noise. The only real benefit of the covers is to help minimize noise disturbance to those sitting near you in the office or coffee shop.Now, I won't comment much on the sound quality, other than to say the detail is good, and overall the sound signature is pleasing and inoffensive. It won't blow your mind, but the sound across the board is solid, save maybe a little clumsiness in the mid-highs and sub-bass. Everything else is rock solid. The airiness and feeling of space is the most exceptional part of this headphone. It reminds me of a more balanced Grado signature, with similar airiness but without the overbearing highs of those headphones.Now, my headband has not broken, but after using these in the office and at local coffee shops, the plastic swivel bits which attach to the cups has cracked. I used some adhesive and black tape to seal it all back up, so they are functional now, but look pretty hideous. Now I just use them at home for music while working at my desk or playing video games, and for that purpose I use them nearly every day. I figure they can't break much more if they are just sitting at my desk from here on out, and I just treat them like the plastic is eggshell-level fragile.Now, I do have about 8 other pairs of headphones, ranging from $25 to $300, and I just enjoy the non-fatiguing, fun sound of these so much that I continue to use them at home all the time. When I leave the house, I have other pairs for portable use, and I have one much higher-end set for serious music listening, but I don't always want to pull out the big guns for casual listening or late-night gaming. These are a perfect middle ground for R&R when you're relaxing at home, where you can let the music just become part of the background of whatever else you're doing. For this specific use-case, I am not too pissed off about the crummy build quality (at least for the low price I paid for them). I would like to re-iterate that I have not had the headband crack in any way yet, with fingers crossed that it stays that way. If these do bite the dust, I'm not looking forward to try and find some replacement, as many other models I've tried either were uncomfortable over long periods, or the sound signature was too fatiguing over time.Long story short, if you don't mind having to DIY these a bit (and maybe install a new headband at some point) the cans themselves are great. If I end up finding a suitable replacement headband for these, I will post photos and how to install so others can continue to enjoy these cans after bits holding them to your head fall apart.Cheers!

Learn from my mistakes listen to the 1 star reviews!!I thought that maybe people just abused their headphones but no I baby my gadgets and I've never even traveled with these headphones.One day I go to take them off and they literally snap in half!!! Mind you I have a small head.Also I paid $65 for these headphones and now I see they are going for $149!! I wouldn't pay $10 for these things!!Don't get me wrong they sound great but to have such poor build quality that it should be illegal!! I would love to file a lawsuit if I had the time because I've tried contacting the company via phone and E-mail numerous times with no response.I also purchased the Squaretrade extended warranty because of the bad reviews I saw before purchasing. This was also a waste of money because they are telling me to connect HiFiMan because they are still under original warranty.

Purchased in September of 2017. Broke about an hour ago as of this review. The sound quality was great, no complaints there, but the plastic holding the swivel for the left ear cup broke rendering the headphones unusable. I mostly used them with my computer at my desk but did they get put in a backpack in the case they came with when i would go to work or travel or whatever and taken out and used in those situations.

Headband snapped 10 days after return period.

These sound amazing..but the build quality is terrible..if redesigned would one of be best headphones I experienced

Hands down best headphones I’ve had can’t beat the oroce

Good sound quality and I like fact that it can switch from an open to closed-back headphone. Material quality is so-so and the wire could be a bit longer.

Great headphones for the money! My other Headphones are B&W's and Grado's, and these phones can stand the comparison. They have solid Bass, a good clear midrange and highs, with a smooth overall balance. Highly recommended.

Build quality yet to be determined per previous reviews!

Simply spectacular. extremely comfortable and the audio great. highly recommended