HiFiMAN Edition S

Crystal clear midrange and treble ; Wide open soundstage in open-back mode ; Powerful, well-appointed bass ; Plush, comfy earpads

Bright upper register lacks body ; Exterior design feels chintzy

While Hifiman’s upper class competes with some of the best audiophile cans in the business, the new Edition S are decidedly middle-rung. Their open-or-closed design is a cool feature, but we would have traded that versatility for richer tone color in...

HiFiMan is a hard one to pin down. True, they’re best known for their high-end, advanced-technology planar-magnetic headphones like the $2,999 HE1000 . Most HiFiMan headphones are planar designs, but this new one, Edition S, is a more conventional...