HIFIMAN Edition XS

The bass is rich, mildly elevated. The sub bass is real. Great for EDM.
Mids are somewhat recessed but present.
The treble is way too much for my taste. The sibilance is real and they hurt my ears.
In many tracks the guitars and cymbals are louder than the vocals.
I had to return them but I appreciate them.
To the trebleheads who want massive soundstage and an engaging beautiful hifi sound, take these.
Not for the studio. The sound is too decorated. Luxuriously so, but not studio signature.

After a long search for a very good headphones that could make my cd and mp3 collection shine, I'm FINALLY very satisfied! After testing and owning several different headphones from renowned brands and despite having some doubts about this brand; I have to say that HIFIMAN's Edition XS are great headphones! They have non fatiguing, realistic midrange, are not veiled in high frequency range (but still are not harsh to listen at all) and have very linear bass that reaches very low (especially for opened back headphones). Bass in not boomy, but linear which might NOT be prefered by boosted bass lovers. This pair of headphones are very nice for music enjoyment and after pressing ''play'' I can just listen them for hours. As everything has and some bad points, these headphones have two in my opinion: headstrap could be more comfortable (some people after some time might find it not so comfortable) and headphone cable could be a little longer. But fortunately, both problems can be solved by buying additional headstrap and longer cables. All in all - very satisfied with this product and I'm seriously considering to buy another set (or maybe even a more expensive headphone set from HIFIMAN).

the sound is the best, unfortunately the comfort is a lot less. I have a smaller than average head and it does not fit me. I fixed this by taping a Beyerdynamic DT990 headband on the inside of this one. that works great and I've been enjoying these for over a year now.
the cable is not good and I also dislike the mini-jack connectors. I fixed this in a way, I made custom mini XLR to 2xmini-jack cables. I have multiple of them just in case. that means I can use any jack to mini xlr cable. I use a Beyerdynamic 1.4m jack to mini xlr at the moment. when I feel the need I can swap this out for any longer cable.
In conclusion, these headphones are the best I've ever heard and have everything you want (in the sound department) but the build quality can feel a little cheap in some parts. for my needs they also needed a custom headband and cabling. if you want to put some effort in, these are the best you can get for the money.

I've tested these against many other headphones including the AKG k240's and k702(sent the k702 back because they sucked), Sony mdr7506, Beyerdynamic DT900 pro x, DT990 and DT770 and the Sennheiser hd 600(from a friend).