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[New] Philips Fidelio X1

Oct 12, 2012 at 9:24 AM Post #301 of 5,964
Quote:
mad lust envy said:
You take that back, foul knave! The CAL was better than the 770/80.
Click to expand...

lol I know how much you love the CAL's MLE, unfortunately we'll never see eye to eye on it. My $30 HTF600's are better than the CAL's :P
 
Oct 12, 2012 at 9:29 AM Post #302 of 5,964
Quote:
rayleighsilvers said:
 
How wide is the soundstage? For me movie/gaming headphones should be relaxed and laid back rather than forward so that they do not cause fatigue. From your impressions I get the feeling they are forward sounding? 
 
Also doesn't bode well that you think the CAL's (which I thought were rubbish) are better than a headphone that costs over 4 times as much.
Click to expand...

We expect the higher the price, the more listening pleasure you get from the phones. But there could always be exception. CAL is one of them :)
 
Well, I wouldn't use X1 for gaming, the soundstage is not that wide (compared to AKG Q701). The X1 has an immersive soundstage like I say.. you are placed at the center of a movie theater. But you don't get the exact pinpoint accuracy of sounds form all direction like the AKG. 
 
Anyway, I'm saying HE-400 for MUSIC, X1 for Movies, AKG for FPS and Gaming? :) CAL for Ipad.
 
Oct 12, 2012 at 9:35 AM Post #303 of 5,964
rayleighsilvers said:
lol I know how much you love the CAL's MLE, unfortunately we'll never see eye to eye on it. My $30 HTF600's are better than the CAL's :P
Click to expand...

How's that WS55? They look interesting. I'd like to try the WS70.
 
Oct 12, 2012 at 8:54 PM Post #304 of 5,964
Quote:
mad lust envy said:
How's that WS55? They look interesting. I'd like to try the WS70.
Click to expand...

Absolutely love the sound signature. The best way I can describe the bass is "solid". It massages your ears. The mids and highs are well balanced. It's just a really exciting headphone. Like the Grado, but without the harsh treble, wider soundstage and much better bass. Excellent separation and no boom. My music doesn't have much sub-bass so I can't comment on that. They are transportable but not portable. Tried them on for a day through town (i.e bus, lots of people talking, cars driving past). Hardly blocks out any of the sound and the bass completely disappears, leaving you with treble. 
 
Comfort wise they are horrible. First time I tried them they started hurting my ears with sharp pain after only 10 seconds. I stretched them out for a week like suggested, but I can still only wear them for half an hour max. Didn't bother trying it with gaming.
 
 
 
I'm not an audiophile so take my review with a pinch of salt. If the comfort wasn't so bad I'd have left this forum as the sound is perfect for me, but it's so bad I'll probably sell them.
 
Oct 12, 2012 at 10:15 PM Post #305 of 5,964
Sounds like the ES7. My favorite sound off a portable headphone, but it was torture on the ears. Audio Technica never learns. Comfort is a priority.
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 5:50 AM Post #306 of 5,964
I have been listening to the X1 over the past 2 nights and have been thoroughly impressed. Construction, comfort and esthetics are all top notch. It has a signature that is pretty unique IME, compared to what else I have heard.
 
I really love the presentation of the X1. IMO, it tops all of the mid-fi cans that I have heard. It absolutely stomps all over the $1200 Denon D7100 (from my traumatized memory of them). The most appropriate comparison I felt them worthy of was against the TH900 and W3000ANV. 
 

 
 
What makes them unique is their openness, excellent clarity and impact. Their bass weight is less than the TH900 and more than the W3000ANV. SQ is excellent. They are mid recessed, with a mid-bass focus. Less sub-bass also than the TH900. Treble is very good with no veil or sibilance. Frequencies are clean with no bass bleed. The biggest differences lay in the bass, mids, and soundstage.
 
I do not find them ridiculously bass heavy or flabby. I found the LCD3 to have an uncomfortable bass emphasis, and could not stand to listen to them for any length of time. The TH900 has more bass than the X1, and less than the LCD3. Sometimes, the TH900 can suffer from a little congestion from fast bass heavy music. The X1 does not. The soundstage on the X1 is bigger than the TH900’s. 
 
I consider the W3000ANV to have the biggest sound stage of all three, due to the way it positions the driver slightly off the head creating more distance to the ear. This also results in great clarity and pushes the mids and treble to the forefront. The greatest strength of the W3000ANV is their sweet, intoxicating mids. The best I’ve heard. I really like them with female vocals and baroque music. Comparatively though the W3000ANV IMO, does acoustic jazz with less conviction because of the lighter bass presentation. PSI Audio A17M’s are my absolute reference these days.
 
I do not wish to convey that the X1 is at the same level of refinement as the W3000ANV or TH900, but the SQ is not that far off really. The X1 will not displace the AT, Fostex or my open back D7000 on my home rig, but will be first choice for use around the house with my portable rig after I find a shorter cable. BTW, the X1 is more difficult to drive than the others I just referred to. I think that’s why its cable is ¼” terminated with a mini adapter. To me that’s a hint that they need to be driven properly to achieve optimal results.
 
Based on my preferences, I would recommend the X1 above all of the headphones in the “Phones history” in my signature. The X1 does live up to the potential that the L1 promised in my book. Great job Philips. Who would have thought?

 
Oct 13, 2012 at 6:27 AM Post #307 of 5,964
Quote:
lmswjm said:
I have been listening to the X1 over the past 2 nights and have been thoroughly impressed. Construction, comfort and esthetics are all top notch. It has a signature that is pretty unique IME, compared to what else I have heard.
 
I really love the presentation of the X1. IMO, it tops all of the mid-fi cans that I have heard. It absolutely stomps all over the $1200 Denon D7100 (from my traumatized memory of them). The most appropriate comparison I felt them worthy of was against the TH900 and W3000ANV. 
 
 
 
 
What makes them unique is their openness, excellent clarity and impact. Their bass weight is less than the TH900 and more than the W3000ANV. SQ is excellent. They are mid recessed, with a mid-bass focus. Less sub-bass also than the TH900. Treble is very good with no veil or sibilance. Frequencies are clean with no bass bleed. The biggest differences lay in the bass, mids, and soundstage.
 
I do not find them ridiculously bass heavy or flabby. I found the LCD3 to have an uncomfortable bass emphasis, and could not stand to listen to them for any length of time. The TH900 has more bass than the X1, and less than the LCD3. Sometimes, the TH900 can suffer from a little congestion from fast bass heavy music. The X1 does not. The soundstage on the X1 is bigger than the TH900’s. 
 
I consider the W3000ANV to have the biggest sound stage of all three, due to the way it positions the driver slightly off the head creating more distance to the ear. This also results in great clarity and pushes the mids and treble to the forefront. The greatest strength of the W3000ANV is their sweet, intoxicating mids. The best I’ve heard. I really like them with female vocals and baroque music. Comparatively though the W3000ANV IMO, does acoustic jazz with less conviction because of the lighter bass presentation. PSI Audio A17M’s are my absolute reference these days.
 
I do not wish to convey that the X1 is at the same level of refinement as the W3000ANV or TH900, but the SQ is not that far off really. The X1 will not displace the AT, Fostex or my open back D7000 on my home rig, but will be first choice for use around the house with my portable rig after I find a shorter cable. BTW, the X1 is more difficult to drive than the others I just referred to. I think that’s why its cable is ¼” terminated with a mini adapter. To me that’s a hint that they need to be driven properly to achieve optimal results.
 
Based on my preferences, I would recommend the X1 above all of the headphones in the “Phones history” in my signature. The X1 does live up to the potential that the L1 promised in my book. Great job Philips. Who would have thought?
Click to expand...

 
 
My feelings exactly !!!   However they are even better with different cables . My currently favourite is Moon silver dragons v1.  This gets rid of the recessed mids and top end. Thoroughly enjoying the listening experience through my Xcan v3's and Nuvista CD player.  They are very revealing of source material though.  Will be trying listening to some Vinyl over the next few days, This should be interesting.!!
 
They are sensitive enough to be reasonably well driven from an iPod as well ,quite remarkable !!!
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 7:18 AM Post #308 of 5,964
Nice comparison, i also have the W3000ANV next to my X1 and enjoy both at the same level, for different things. Actually the only headphone that sounds a bit close to the X1 is the L3000. The X1 has a unique signature.
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 1:00 PM Post #310 of 5,964
Quote:
hekeli said:
 
Say what? X1 has clearly more emphasis to me overall, yet you don't find it distracting?
Click to expand...

I tried the LCD3 once at home. To me its bass prowess was a constant presence. I don't know if that was a product variation or not but I don't think so. The treble was not veiled, but the overall signature was dark in addition. That is also why I did not care for the Thunderpants.
 
On the X1, the bass is present only when called for. I'm only listening to jazz and baroque so that may be a factor but I doubt it. The bass on the TH900 would be more of a distraction on bass heavy music, and that can is not a bass monster.
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 1:14 PM Post #311 of 5,964
Another factor is the tight seal and subsequent ear canal pressure on the LCD3. The X1 is light and airy with no seal at all on the ears. You can clearly hear ambient noise around you like you're not wearing headphones when music is not playing. This is also apparent in their signatures as a result.
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 2:37 PM Post #312 of 5,964
Quote:
lmswjm said:
I tried the LCD3 once at home. To me its bass prowess was a constant presence. I don't know if that was a product variation or not but I don't think so. The treble was not veiled, but the overall signature was dark in addition. That is also why I did not care for the Thunderpants.
 
On the X1, the bass is present only when called for. I'm only listening to jazz and baroque so that may be a factor but I doubt it. The bass on the TH900 would be more of a distraction on bass heavy music, and that can is not a bass monster.
Click to expand...

 
Maybe we are talking about completely different things/terms or your LCD-3/source/amp/etc were "non-flat" either by design or fault. I mean I'm trying out jazz right now on both LCD-3 and X1. For example contrabass on X1 sounds too emphasized and the sound is not natural to me at all. LCD-3's presentation again is much less bottom heavy and I don't understand how it could be worse to someone on the "when called for"-factor.
 
What comes to the ear pressure, I guess it depends. My LCD-3's have very light clamp (I believe someone bent them before my ownership). There's zero pressure to my ears and I hear no difference on outside ambience. So YMMV, but I had just to comment since to me it sounded like you were saying that X1's bass is somehow not emphasized. To me it is to the point that they are somewhat annoying on anything that probably most people would like to sound natural (rock/jazz/etc).
 
edit: And yes it makes little to no difference if I push my LCD-3's against my head for (very marginally) better seal. So it's fine to have a lighter clamp.
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 6:20 PM Post #314 of 5,964
I received mine this morning and have been listening to them on and off while they are burning in.  First off, this is a beautiful headphone and very comfortable.  Sound wise, it does have a small v-shape to it.  No spectrum is offensive to me though.  When the music calls for bass and treble, it's definitely there but not on others.  Vocals don't sound recessed to me but it's too forward.  The stage is wide and quite deep.  I hear how this headphone would be good with movies.  Overall, I find these easy and very pleasant to listen to.  It's not dark like the L1, this one has more energy, sparkle and the details come through and doesn't sound congested.  
 
Oct 13, 2012 at 6:35 PM Post #315 of 5,964
Quote:
hekeli said:
 
Maybe we are talking about completely different things/terms or your LCD-3/source/amp/etc were "non-flat" either by design or fault. I mean I'm trying out jazz right now on both LCD-3 and X1. For example contrabass on X1 sounds too emphasized and the sound is not natural to me at all. LCD-3's presentation again is much less bottom heavy and I don't understand how it could be worse to someone on the "when called for"-factor.
 
What comes to the ear pressure, I guess it depends. My LCD-3's have very light clamp (I believe someone bent them before my ownership). There's zero pressure to my ears and I hear no difference on outside ambience. So YMMV, but I had just to comment since to me it sounded like you were saying that X1's bass is somehow not emphasized. To me it is to the point that they are somewhat annoying on anything that probably most people would like to sound natural (rock/jazz/etc).
 
edit: And yes it makes little to no difference if I push my LCD-3's against my head for (very marginally) better seal. So it's fine to have a lighter clamp.
Click to expand...

 
I understand that damping factor between amp and headphone has some effect on the bass emphasis.  The X1 have only a 30 ohm impedance which I believe means that they are better suited to to very low source impedance amp in the region of 5 ohms or so. Perhaps this is an issue ?? Certainly mine sound better with the Xcans than the SPL auditor.  Xcans I believe have a lower output impedance than the SPL's 9 ohms.  
I have got rid of my recessed mids by changing the stock cable.which helps to balance the phones better.  However there is a small hump in the mid bass which I certainly find can get attention in a good way on some classic pop and rock tracks ( In my opinion more P.R.A.T. factor !!!!)  
As I have said more than once in this thread, these phones are very revealing of source equipment and issues in the upstream equipment balance are under the microscope .  One thing is certain to me the transient response in the music is 2nd to none with these phones, sometimes almost electrostatic in nature. Also they have highlighted about half an hour warm up for the valve based equipment I use before music is in its best focus.
 
For me with the right cable change they are a great phone at a good price, certainly with some of the discounts that have been available in Europe recently.  I am waiting to receive the special manufacture Toxic*Cables lead which I do hope will be the final solution on X1 matching.  ( Unless I can get a Xcan V8 with 1 ohm source impedance cheaply!!!)
 
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