Sound Exhibition – The sound of the exhibition.
“Currently, we are using imported headphone amplifiers, but their stability and specifications do not meet my requirements. For instance, this XX headphone amplifier has distortion measured at 0.x%. Therefore, we must develop our own headphone amplifier, which may not be sold but will be used for our own demonstrations,” said Mr. Lin from Xiangsheng Audio during an exhibition two years ago. Thus, at the end of 2017, Xiangsheng launched its first pure analog model, the flagship fully discrete balanced preamp/headphone amplifier P1, and chose to publicly release it.
Unboxing
Instruction Manual
Recently, the Xiangsheng P1 arrived at the San Ear studio. As with previous unboxings of Xiangsheng products, the first thing we see is this “letter to users.” In summary, the P1 is a necessary product for Xiangsheng’s high-end product line; it has extremely high development and material standards; requires a long burn-in time; and needs careful pairing.
Xiangsheng P1
The design of the P1 is clearly different from any other Xiangsheng machines we have seen before. Its more compact design allows this desktop machine to fit comfortably on a traditional Hi-Fi isolation rack or on a desk. More importantly, the craftsmanship of the chassis fully meets the flagship positioning of this model, with details that withstand scrutiny.
P1 Front Face
The front face layout of the P1 consists of a 6.35mm single-ended and 4Pin XLR balanced headphone jack, a glass screen for input selection and display, and a mode selection switch for preamp/headphone amplifier and a potentiometer. It is worth mentioning that this ALPS potentiometer, despite being covered with a lackluster cap, feels excellent.
Back Connections
On the back connections, in addition to the common single-ended/balanced analog inputs/outputs, we can also see the machine’s gain options and two special ports. The HDMI port in the input area is used for connecting the Xiangsheng MR1 player via SAW link, while the USB A port in the output area can provide a low-noise linear power supply, making it a very compact wireless music playback system when paired with the MR1 player or Raspberry Pi.
Pairing with HD600
Initial Impressions
This P1 has been burned in for over two hundred hours and is basically stable. San Ear tried using the most familiar HD600 headphones to experience the sound characteristics of the P1 in the headphone amplifier mode.
Although the official burn-in time for the P1 is long, it must be said that even in its first startup state, the P1 does not exhibit the typical harshness often found in new machines, which is a maturity not achieved by previous Xiangsheng models with analog outputs. As it gradually settles, the sound style of the P1 also feels different from past Xiangsheng models. Previously, Xiangsheng models, especially in the high-end price segment, often conveyed a pursuit of delicate cleanliness, while the P1 showcases more of the musical elegance that traditional high-end HiFi equipment excels at, providing a high density and dynamic sound while still offering a warm and relaxed feel, with a thicker line quality compared to older models. It is not difficult to “hazard a guess” that the tuning of the P1 will be very versatile and easy to pair.
Xiangsheng P1
Although this is just an initial experience, it is easy to feel the higher maturity and new design philosophy that Xiangsheng embodies in the P1. In the upcoming detailed review, San Ear will explore the potential of the P1 by pairing it with different types of sources, headphones, and speaker systems, so stay tuned.