[New] Philips Fidelio X1 - Page 19

Sending my X1's back to Amazon, but if someone in US really wants, I'll ship the cheaper there for $300 (paid 213€ total myself).

 

 I believe changing the external cable changes the signal balance into the transducer coils giving rise to a change in performance of the headphones. Its like improving the source equipment generally improves the quality of sound from the downstream equipment.

 

I have tried 5 types of cable so far with different results  ( Obviously to my ears and equipment)

 

Stock I found recessed the upper mids and dulled the highs 

 

Van Damme Microphone cable copper with some silver plated gave a better balance but still not a massive improvement.  ( Cost made up approx $18 equivalent)

 

5 9's purity copper cable was similar to Van Damme  some improvement but not dramatic enough ( Cost $24 equivalent and a mini to 1/4 adaptor)

 

Solid silver wires from Silver Dragon completely changed the balance putting you right in front of the recording and increasing the low end performance to another level . Quite stunning but not for all types of music and reveals all defects in you equipment.  Not for the faint hearted  ( I paid $45 for these about 6 years ago and have just added a mini jack).  Can only recommend with a valve based head amp but really exciting. Reminds me of a Grado sound without the colouration

 

I am just trying some 7 9's purity copper cable which I have only just got.  They seem  a better balance for most types of music and certainly do not show the recessed Mid / highs at all. I need to listen further to gauge a fuller opinion  on these  ,   cost $20 equivalent plus a phono to 1/4 jack adaptor.

 

I am waiting for my toxic*cable specials to arrive but they will not be here for about 4 weeks.

 

Believe me I would not be spending so much time on these phones if I didn't think they were worth the effort.  Certainly for me better SQ than My HD650's and Q701's .  I will wait for the toxic cable before any final summaries though.

Don't know if you noticed but I sent you a PM.

Review at pocket-lint

 

Pros:

• Delightful sound
• incredibly comfortable
• perform as well as more expensive cans

 

Cons:

• Still a bit pricey
• earpieces gather dust and aren't replaceable

 

Verdict:

• The X1s produce a beautiful sound, feel amazing on your head and will do justice to anything. They come very highly recommended
• 5/5

 

...and more pictures

Been using them for a few hours today. The X1's strengths are exactly the same as I pointed out with the L1, so they are very similar. The improvement in the audio department is better than the small price difference would suggest, though - especially since build quality is even better.

 

Very good cans indeed, although my DT-880 sounds more mature and truthful to the recording at the same price point. The X1 is more about immersion and brings much more life to the recording.

I'm interested in seeing graphs on its frequency response.

Anyone here with Beyers compare how much extension the X1 has compared to the Beyers? For example, I wear my Beyers a bit loose on 7-8th notch. Would you say the X1 fully extended is about as big as the Beyers at 7 or 8 notches?

I don't see that as contradicting. Bring more life to the recording usually means romaticizing the sound a bit, usually by having emphasis in certain regions, like bass, mids, etc. The DT880 is more 'true' because its more about making it sound as close to the source as possible. This can be less enjoyable to some. We all have our preferences, and despite having owned so many cans, I still prefer emphasis on bass and treble, rather than a flat, inoffensive sound signature.

These look very interesting indeed. Bit of a hassle to get them into australia at the moment though.

 

The X1 plays much closer to your ear, but still has great depth. The 880 projects everything flat from the front.

 

So when I imagine the band play, with the 880 I can view everything in front of me. With the X1, I would have to turn my head left and right because I'm up front and a lot is coming from the sides. That's immersion.

Plus, the X1 really packs a punch. It's like you can really feel the air move from the hitting of the drums. You don't have that with the Beyer.

 

I feel the same with Z1000 and L1, just slightly different. L1 takes a step back from X1 in distance, but as it still has the incredible surround feeling, everything just sounds incredibly huge. With the Z1000 everything comes from the front but much much closer than with the DT-880.

 

I already posted my head measurements, it should pretty much tell you this. 45 cm under-ear-to-under-ear. I reallly need to pull X1 to the limits for that.

 

 

 

My offer to ship mine to someone for $300 still stands. Of course I can't give any warranty. But I can burn it in to test. ;-)

I wanted a comparison between the Beyers and X1. So if say someone had a Premium Beyer (880/990/770) and could tell me if using the X1 at it's full extension is being smaller than say the Beyer at 7-8 notches (almost full extension) would really help.

edit: I tested it with a straight measuring tape, and came up to over 46 cm. Ack.

When you say tight, you mean it won't take over 45cm?

Is the X1 strong enough to bend the headband enough upward (in more of a cone shape, instead rounded, where the extension will be a bit longer?)
Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 10/10/12 at 6:26am