HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La Headphones Review — Headfonics

In this article, Marcus reviews the HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La, a new electrostatic, pro-bias headphone amplifier system priced at $2300.

Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I am grateful to the Headfonics team. HIFIMAN for your support.

To read more about the HIFIMAN Products we have previously reviewed on Headfonics click here.

Please note that this post follows our current trend. Scoring Guidelines which you can read in more detail here.

The HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La are the company's fifth electrostatic headphone offering, if we include the original Jade headphones released in 2008.

In line with the last three electrostatic headphones launched, the Shangri-La, the Shangri-La Jrand the Jade IIThis product is primarily marketed as a system, i.e. an energizer and a pair of headphones priced at $2300 per package. However, they can be purchased separately for $1100 for the headphones and $1500 for the amplifier.

That price puts the Mini Shangri-La above the Jade II, which cost $2,499 as a package in 2019 and now costs $1,700. At the time of writing, the Jade II is still available, which could confuse potential buyers about which is the best option for them.

I'll go into more detail on how the two compare on page 3 of this review. The bottom line is that the new Mini Shangri-La offers a very different experience to the Jade II with a smoother, more mid-range sound.

It has a few design quirks (most notably the earcups), but otherwise represents a solid and capable electrostatic system for those looking for a middle path between starter kits like the Koss ES950 and high-end models such as the Shangri-La Jnr.

Characteristics

The HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La are open-back electrostatic headphones combined with a dual 550-650V 5-pin energizer (amplifier) ​​(Pro-bias).

Headphones

The Mini Shangri-La earphones seem to draw a lot of design inspiration from the Jade II. They have a similar 90mm connector.

The new earphones are also designed with a nanometer-thick acoustically transparent protective layer, a feature that HIFIMAN previously referred to as a dust cover.

Given the softer tone, I wonder if the diaphragm tension on the Mini Shangri-La earphones is slightly looser compared to the Jade II driver design.

Amplifier

The energizer (amplifier) ​​is a solid-state topology with direct output high voltage pro-bias transistor (550 V – 650 V) equipped with a fully balanced and discrete preamplifier and power supply.

It also uses a linear transformer located on the left side of the chassis. However, despite being quite heavy (almost 6 kg), the transformer does not alter the weight balance of the unit.

Thanks to the pro-bias ratings, you are not forced to use only the Mini Shangri-La headphones. HIFIMAN has equipped the amplifier with dual 5-pin outputs, meaning you can use two electrostatic headphones from the amplifier at the same time.

Headphones

The new design of the Mini Shangri-La headphones has its advantages and disadvantages, at least compared to the Jade II version.

On the plus side, they are quite lightweight, coming in at 320g, or just over 40g lighter than the previous Jade II design. With their large ovoid cup and opening for the ear cushions, I found them to be very comfortable to wear.

The ear cushions have a similar hybrid construction to the Jade II version, however they offer a wider contact surface and more discreet stitching on the edges that are less likely to touch your ears when worn.

The inner wall of the new pads is also slightly deeper and has improved perforation compared to the shallower Jade II pads. It's hard to tell after 4 years of use, but you could say that the fabric materials on the Mini Shangri-La pads are of a higher quality than the previous Jade II pads.

The retention of the driver's iridescent color scheme, which shifts from the original Jade green to a slightly red hue depending on the angle of the cup, remains a very interesting detail.

The downside is that the choice of material and frame was taken from their last generation of mid-priced plans, such as the XS EditionIt works fine but it presents the wrong image for me considering these headphones are about 3 times more expensive than the Edition XS.

I must say, however, that the stifling rigidity of the previous generation Jade II frame used with the Sundara and the Ananda It's a thing of the past.

The Mini Shangri-La frame has a higher level of lateral articulation to accommodate more head sizes, and with fewer disconcerting squeaky noises from its aluminum yoke than the fixed-frame version of the Jade II, which is a plus.

Serial cable

The Mini Shangri-La earphones use the same cable that comes with the Shangri-La Jr and Jade II, which isn't exactly a marvel in terms of aesthetics or build quality.

If you're looking for positives in the cable design, it's lighter and thinner than the Stax and DCA variants, making it much easier to handle. I've used the previous two headphones with this cable without issue for a few years now, and neither of them have developed any wiring issues.

However, I've been fairly observant in handling the cables, more so than the more durable Stax SR-L300 Limited or Dan Clark Audio. CORINA cables.

The cable is terminated with a pro-bias 5-pin connector and I have no issues with the durability of the connector. To be fair, the original cable has excellent strain relief at all connection points.

Amplifier

Design

I love the look and feel of the Mini Shangri-la amplifier. Its design language is more classic hi-fi, with its two-tone brushed silver aluminum exterior finish and black panel, which is inspired by the more compact amplifier. EF400 solid state resistor amplifier

I don't have the EF400 here to make a nuanced comparison, but the Mini Shangri-La amp is much larger on paper and weighs twice as much at just under 6kg. Its quad-column and rubber base do an excellent job of keeping that weight firmly in place on smooth surfaces.

Its uniform rectangular shape makes it very stackable, but I would stack it on top of the amp rather than placing it on top of another amp unless the other amp is a huge unit like the Gustard H26.

The front panel is adorned with two oversized dials; one is a rotary function selector that replaces the Jade II's wobbly button for selecting the amp's balanced XLR input or single-ended RCA input.

The other is a similar 21-step attenuator that feels substantially more precise, with better resistance and tighter clicks than the one used inside the Jade II amp.

IS

The back panel of the Mini Shangri-La amp is very clean and similar to how you would expect everything to be lined up on a Stax amp, with the inputs located on the left side and the power and voltage selector switch on the right. You have both balanced and single-ended options with two 3-pin XLRs and two RCAs.

Like the Jade II and Shangri-La Jr. amps, the Mini Shangri-La amp has a dual 5-pin output with professional biasing, meaning you can connect two electrostatic headphones to the amp at the same time. This makes my review job much easier.

An important note is the 110V to 230V voltage selector on the rear panel. This is user controlled and should ideally be set to your region's power requirements by default. However, I always recommend checking this before powering up the amplifier to avoid damaging the internal circuitry.

Packaging and accessories

The Mini Shangri-La system comes in a single, rather nondescript, large courier box containing two smaller boxes, one for the headphones and one for the amplifier. If you order them separately, I assume the courier packaging is smaller.

Both the headphone and amplifier boxes are the newer brown HIFIMAN type, with a single product information label on one side.

While both units are well protected with black foam, you won't get any fancy boxes with the headphones. Rather, they're more about functionality than aesthetics, but they do their job.

The Shangri-La Mini Amplifier is wrapped in a lightweight protective fabric to protect it from the elements and comes with a power cord in a separate box in the top foam layer.

There is no other accessory like an interconnect set, although HIFIMAN is offering a free Shangri-La Jr headphone stand while supplies last (?) for initial orders during its launch month.

Click to page 2 below to see my sound and pairing impressions.

Click on page 3 below to see my selected comparisons.

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