Here they are after the loooong wait. Upon delivery I wondered what was in the small box, couldn't be my new phones in there. They were. Inside was a cardboard box housing the HIFIMAN Edition XX. The phones were about what I expected from the descriptions, discussions and the few reviews that are available. The same headband as the 4XX , the large drivers etc. We have all had ample time to read the same material and now the time has come, how about the the phones? First off I find them very comfortable. I have large ears and the cups fit comfortably on my head, no problems here for me. Appearance wise, I say UGLY. These will not be praised for their beauty. And now onto the sound. They were still cold from the delivery truck when I fired them up. Ummm, Ahhh, Humpf. I decided that they should warm up a bit so I streamed Qobuz Hi-Res for an hour or so and set them aside. On trying them again they had already opened up and were beginning to show their colors. I think they will continue to improve a bit in the next few days. I am not a true believer in the magic of long break in periods but I have always noticed an improvement in sound with loudspeakers and headphones, something about moving those drivers seems to get things going. The sound. Nothing really jumps out at me. The clarity of the sound is first rate, there is nice coherence throughout the audible range, this is stellar. Everything just flows together, I find nothing pronounced or overwhelming, once again the word coherent comes to mind, a beautiful full range presentation. Tinkling cymbals and bells without ear bleed. Mids are a bit recessed for me. Listening to Jefferson Starship "Blows Against the Empire " (be kind, I am a full fledged wild aged child of the 60's. I was there!) I find Grace Slick and Paul Kantner's voices a bit recessed, but not too much, just a bit further back in the mix compared say to my Sennheiser HD 600's or my Beyerdynamic T 90's. This is not a problem because of the clarity that is a feature of these phones. Every word is discernable, there is no muddiness, for lack of a better word, to the sound. If I could further define this I would say that my concert hall seat would be an expensive center mid row seat, in my experience the best place in the hall. ( However, if you ever get to Symphony Hall in Boston, the second balcony center is a bean town secret. You just might find a famous Maestro up there as I have many times over the years.) And now the bass. Where is it? These phones will not shake your soul, never mind your bones. It is all there though, just tight, faaasssttt and gone before you know it. This will be a problem for some people, but apart from discos and bad rock concerts, where do you find boom boom bass?Beats? Rolling boom boxes stopped at the red light next to you? This bass is precise and clear. I will be queing up some Bach organ music, and Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 to get a better handle on this aspect of the Edition XX's. The other aspect of these phones is the sense of air and space. They do not have a huge width to the soundstage, say like the AKG K7XX, but they do convey the space of the recording venue. Every musician is clearly defined in their own space, the depth and height of the presentation is large, it is airy, it is very nice. So these are my first thoughts about the HIFIMAN Edition XX's. These cans did not bop me over the head with their sound but as the afternoon goes on I am finding that everything I play just sounds RIGHT. I believe these phones are going to do what the 4XX's did to me, I would more often choose them for a listen over my Senn HD 600's, Beyer T90's and even the Focal Elex. The only phones I would defer to whenever I listened to rock or electronica are my Fostex/Massdrop TH-XOO Purpleheart's; now these are cans that will move your soul, your bones, and maybe even your windows and walls with their fantastic bass presentation. All in all I say these phones are winners. Like the smart and wise people you know they are not pretentious. They go about their business with authority, with knowledge of right and wrong and a huge smile on their face that challenges all comers to do better, and all this for $600! Massdrop should start its' own Hall of Fame. These will be at the top for all music lovers. Good job Drop, aka Massdrop.