[New] Philips Fidelio X1 - Page 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIPmember 

 

If you are ordering from Amazon Italy to the UK, when you get to the checkout it adds VAT, this takes the price to around £200 plus they charge for delivery.  

 

I have noticed Philips have some amazing discounts for their website, there was also a 40% discount which I missed out on.  Someone has posted here about getting the X1's for £120 after discounts, that would have been the bargain of the year.

Hi VIPmember . When I ordered a pair from Amazon Italy in October I was charged 203 Euro's including VAT and Delivery to UK.  This came to around £167 at the Euro/£ rate at the time so similar price as current Phillips discount.  Yes I too missed out on the 40% and other double discounts .Seem they are only available for a very limited time. 

Hope you enjoy the headphones when they arrive!!!

Same for me as well. The total came to €203 through Amazon and shipping it to the UK. I should receive mine in another day or two and be able to compare it to the DT 880s.

I received my X1's last night when I got home from work and thought that I should give my first impressions after using them for about 4 hours. Obviously, they still need a few more days to burn in properly but I think I can give a bit of a preview into what they sound like. My headphones are currently being driven by an ASUS Xonar Essence ST. This is not the ideal amping situation for the low impedance X1's but I do have a Creative Titanium HD and Schiit Magni on order to alleviate the low impedance amping issue of the Essence ST. In the meantime this is all I have to work with.

For comparison's sake I have owned or used extensively, the following headphones in the past:

• Sennheiser HD 555
• Beyerdynamic DT 770 80 Ohm
• Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 Ohm
• Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 Ohm

Build Quality

• The X1's are very light despite the steel arching brace. It was surprising because they are noticeably lighter than my DT 880's. Sort of like when you compare the weight of the iPhone 5 to the new Nokia Lumia 920. Still, despite the lightness, the headphones appear to be of noticeably higher quality than the DT 880's in my opinion.
• The left and right phones have a plastic grill that is completely open, hence the open headphone design. There is a machined steel ring with the headphone's name on it which looks very nice. 
• The calf leather headband is soft as can be and is very stretchy so it should theoretically fit most heads unless you look like an extra-terrestrial or something. 
• The velour memory foam ear cups are...like marshmallows. I swear they are the most comfortable pair of ear pads ever. I actually almost forgot I had my headphones on once I stopped listening to music. Honestly, every manufacturer should find out who the supplier is for these ear pads because they are just...EPIC.
• The cable is probably the most disappointing part of the entire package. On the positive side of things it is nice and long, detachable, comes with a 3.5mm adapter, and has nice steel machinery at the end of each connection with the word Fidelio on it. On the negative, this cable is thin and does not feel as robust as the DT 880 cable. It may simply be that the DT 880 cable has a rubber housing while the X1 cable appears to be mesh, but I think it may or may not be authentic mesh material. I haven't had a problem with the cable or any microphonics as of yet though so everything appears to be alright and the cable, while thin, does appear to be quite durable.

Comfort

• As I have already explained, the ear pads are just freaking amazing. Additionally, the calf leather headband is extremely soft so there is hardly any pressure on your skull when wearing these for long periods.
• The headphones do seal nice and tight to your skull due to the design of using the stretchable headband as opposed to the traditional slider system found on the Beyerdynamics. I do prefer the Philips system and once they are on they do not slip whatsoever.
• The earpads themselves are relatively deep, far deeper than all of the headphones I have used in the past. In addition, your ears stay nice and cool and comfortable as a result when the headphones are on your head.

Sound

• Let's get this out of the way since this has been the most obvious recurring opinion on here. The headphones definitely pack a punch in the bass department. However, in terms of quantity and impact they are certainly not on the same level of the monstrous DT 770's I used to own. In my opinion they are very similar to the DT 990's level of punch. The biggest difference between the X1's and the DT 990's would be that the X1's have more control of the sub-bass for sure. It's quicker responding and seems to retain its technical composure in that frequency range. 
• The mids are definitely the most recessed part of the headphone. However, they aren't what I would call missing or muffled either. We all know the DT 990's are so bright that the mids are pushed out into the open even more than is probably acoustically accurate. The DT 880's are less bright than the DT 990's but definitely still accentuate these sounds compared to the rest of the frequency range. To me, the mids of the X1's are most similar to the HD 650's which I demoed for a short period of time. However, the HD 650's to my ears were way too laid back and the X1's are definitely more pronounced than that. If I were to sum it up I would say that the mids of the X1's could use a touch more forwardness (but not too much like the DT 880 and DT 990), but the mids of the X1's have a much fuller sound with much more depth than the beyerdynamic headphones. While the mids are less pronounced, you never lose any of the transparency compared to the beyers, it's just less in your face.
• The highs are certainly on par with my DT 880's. While the mids are slightly recessed, the highs are there in full force and have good depth and resolution. I don't have anything very negative to say about the highs with these headphones to be honest.
• Sound stage, depth perception and positioning accuracy are definite strong points compared to my DT 880's. After using the X1's for 20 minutes I realized how blind my ears were when listening with the DT 880's. Starting with music, the sound has so much more depth than the 880's. The 880's feel claustrophobic by comparison. You really do feel like you are sitting in the very front row of a concert when listening with the X1's whereas the 880's felt more like I was in a padded cell in comparison. The X1's are far more airy, as they should be considering their open nature, and this really does add to the depth and gives instruments a much more realistic sound in most songs in my opinion (especially guitars and pianos). Depth and positioning is further reinforced by my experience with the virtual barbershop binaural recording that you can find on youtube. The X1's truly gave a wonderful sense of 360 degree range. I found myself smiling and looking around because the sound positioning was so damn convincing. The DT 880's by contrast had much worse positioning accuracy and it feels like you only have maybe 220 degrees of range as anything behind you sounds like it is coming from the centre. Also, due to the lack of depth and airiness the whole recording felt much less immersive. Next, I switched to 8 channel Dolby Headphone with my ASUS Xonar Essence ST and played some Borderlands 2 with my friend. Again, I had no idea what I was missing with the DT 880's until I started using the X1's. For the first time I actually had a 360 degree range and could pinpoint within a couple of degrees where each enemy was coming from. Amazing. I have heard all of the good things about Audio-Technica ATH-AD700's and the Sennheiser PC360 for gaming and positioning accuracy but haven't tried them. I would guess that the X1's couldn't be too far off though but until I have demoed them I wouldn't know. The DT 880's are horrific in comparison for gaming purposes though.

Music

• I listened to several different tracks with both headphones to try to get a feel for the differences and determine the positives and negatives of the X1 in comparison to the DT 880's. The tracks I particularly focused on were "Gravedigger" by the Dave Matthews Band, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine, "The Watcher" by Dr. Dre in Chronic 2001, "Still Dre" by Dr. Dre in Chronic 2001, and the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song all in FLAC quality.
• "Gravedigger" - The X1 has more depth and better sound stage so the instrument separation is greater than the DT 880 but something is off in this recording for the X1. Dave Matthews' voice sounds a bit muffled and less clear and the instruments are a bit too recessed at times. Therefore, despite the lack of depth and sound stage the DT 880 wins simply because Dave's voice is more natural, clear and rich and the instruments are done a better service due to the brighter nature of this headphone.
• "Bohemian Rhapsody" - X1 wins this by a landslide. I was expecting a similar performance to "Gravedigger" but the complex nature of this track is handled so well by the X1. Freddy Mercury's voice sounds fcuking (avoiding censors) amazing. The range of his voice with the X1's is so clear and so much more dynamic than the DT 880's. Additionally, the piano in the beginning of the song sounds so much more like the piano in my house on the X1's than the DT 880's. I think the extra bass the X1 has helps here. And when the song turns into a sort of orchestrated melody (or whatever you want to call it) around the 3:00 minute mark it really comes alive. The X1 handles the whole frequency range so much better than the DT 880's and really did this song proper justice.
• "Killing in the Name" - Instrument separation and the extra bass of the X1 really help this song out and Zack de la Rocha's voice sounds powerful and angry just as it should. The DT 880's handled this song pretty well too though and perhaps Zack's voice was a bit better handled here, but the lack of sound stage and bass really hurts them here. X1 takes this.
• "The Watcher" - Bass heavy track which I played simply because I wanted to compare the bass quantity and speed of both headphones. X1 really makes this song sound as I would suspect Dr. Dre envisioned it. The DT 880's just lack the punch to make this song enjoyable but I guess that would be suspected since I never thought of the DT 880's as a headphone which did hip hop tracks very well. Additionally, the DT 880's bass was noticeably slow compared to the X1. 
• "Still Dre" - Not as bass heavy as "The Watcher" but still has a bit. The song is probably best known for the continuous piano sound throughout the song. Just like in "Bohemian Rhapsody" the X1 handles the piano sound so much better than the DT 880 and when the synthesized trumpet (?) noise which comes on during the chorus at regular intervals occurs, the X1's superior sound stage really brings it to the forefront. Additionally, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog's voices sound quite a bit more authoritative.
• "Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Song" - X1 by another landslide. It handles brass instruments so much better and since this recording benefits from a better sound stage and depth the X1 just stomps it. Honestly, the X1 makes you think you are observing the recording live in a concert hall, which I have done since I have seen the Pirates of the Caribbean performed live by the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra in Lucerne, Switzerland, while the DT 880 makes me think I am listening to it on the radio in my car...

Gaming

• I already discussed the sound stage and positioning accuracy and in my opinion they are both pretty good. Of course, I have never demoed a supposed sound stage and positioning monster like the PC360's but compared to what I have heard I think they are at least on par with DT 990's in this department. I truly do.
• The slightly recessed mids don't help so much here for truly competitive gamers. Yes, I can still make out footsteps, voices and bullet directions but because games often have lots of explosions when the bass hits, it does mask those items a bit. Not as much as the DT 770 where all you can here is the bass when a grenade goes off, but it's not as good as the DT 880's or DT 990's here. So, this headphone is definitely better for a non-competitive to semi-competitive gaming environment for those who want a more enjoyable and cinematic experience.

Overall, the X1's have been pretty surprising in terms of quality of materials and sound. I wasn't expecting the headphone to be this balanced as all of the comments about them being far too bass heavy was turning me off as I waited for them to be delivered. Also, after listening to them I'm not sure if the Beyerdynamics are necessarily as accurate sounding as many people claim they are to native source material. Yes, in some genres and songs they do a much better job than the X1's, but in the DT 880's strong genres the X1's don't lose very decisively like the DT 880's do when comparing with the X1's to other genres. 

I'm looking forward to burning these in for over 50 hours and receiving the Creative Titanium HD and Schiit Magni amp to see if the sound quality improves over time and the mids become a bit more forward as others whom have commented on here state they do. 

Can I ask, how much sound leak would these create in comparison to the L1? I currently use the L1 in the office and there's 0 leak at my preferred listening volume. Would the X1 at low volume be ok for an office?

Quote:

Originally Posted by blankets 

Can I ask, how much sound leak would these create in comparison to the L1? I currently use the L1 in the office and there's 0 leak at my preferred listening volume. Would the X1 at low volume be ok for an office?

I've not used the L1 but I can tell you that there is no way you can use the X1's in your office. They leak like a son of a bitch. My wife had the X1's on for a couple of songs and it sounds like you are listening to laptop speakers at about 20-25% volume. They are a completely open design.

At low volume they would probably be like having your laptop speakers at 10% or so. Still audible but you couldn't really make out what song was on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cib24 

 

• The highs are certainly on par with my DT 880's. While the mids are slightly recessed, the highs are there in full force and have good depth and resolution. I don't have anything very negative to say about the highs with these headphones to be honest.

 

Just to say I still find the mids recessed compared to the HD650's and AKG Q701 when using the stock cable even after burn in. Certainly the stock cable to my ears limits the X1's . The Custom Toxic*cable I have recently received gets rid of this problem and the slightly recessed mids as well.  Welcome to the X1 club!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruffra 

Just to say I still find the mids recessed compared to the HD650's and AKG Q701 when using the stock cable even after burn in. Certainly the stock cable to my ears limits the X1's . The Custom Toxic*cable I have recently received gets rid of this problem and the slightly recessed mids as well.  Welcome to the X1 club!!!

Should have said slightly recessed "Highs" rather than mids as well Sorry !!!  I do hear a difference in the high end sound signature between my Xcan v8 and my SPL Auditor when using the X1's and the Toxic*cable. It would seem that the X1's reveal some transistor hardness (brightness) on the Auditor not easily identified when using my Beyer T1's. I do believe the X1's reveal a lot about the system feeding the headphones as they are very transparent !!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruffra 

Should have said slightly recessed "Highs" rather than mids as well Sorry !!!  I do hear a difference in the high end sound signature between my Xcan v8 and my SPL Auditor when using the X1's and the Toxic*cable. It would seem that the X1's reveal some transistor hardness (brightness) on the Auditor not easily identified when using my Beyer T1's. I do believe the X1's reveal a lot about the system feeding the headphones as they are very transparent !!!

I suppose the highs could be recessed but they sound pretty decent on my setup when directly comparing to the DT 880s I have here as well. Of course, I would expect T1's at nearly $1,000 to sound better ;-) But yeah, I haven't burned them in yet and things could change. I also only listened to a select number of tracks last night so I still have quite a bit more to check out before getting a better feel.

I do agree with you about the stock cable being very transparent. I am hearing all kinds of artifacts in certain mp3 recordings that I own which I have never heard before with other headphones. They definitely let you know when your source material isn't up to snuff. I may be looking into that Toxic cable you ordered after Christmas but we will see once I change to the Creative Titanium HD and Schiit Magni if it is still required.

I can get both the X1 and hd600. Which one should I get?

I prefer 600 over 650 because the details seems to get lost in a somewhat muddy sound of the 650. I like that the 600 has a bit more trebble too. 

Is this enough information? :D What should I say to make clear what my prefered sound is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cib24 

 

Gaming

 

• I already discussed the sound stage and positioning accuracy and in my opinion they are both pretty good. Of course, I have never demoed a supposed sound stage and positioning monster like the PC360's but compared to what I have heard I think they are at least on par with DT 990's in this department. I truly do.
• The slightly recessed mids don't help so much here for truly competitive gamers. Yes, I can still make out footsteps, voices and bullet directions but because games often have lots of explosions when the bass hits, it does mask those items a bit. Not as much as the DT 770 where all you can here is the bass when a grenade goes off, but it's not as good as the DT 880's or DT 990's here. So, this headphone is definitely better for a non-competitive to semi-competitive gaming environment for those who want a more enjoyable and cinematic experience.

 

 

Enjoyed reading your review, makes the wait for my X1's all the harder, Philips have still not dispatched mine, so it looks like it will be a late Christmas present.

I currently have DT 770 Pros and while I love them for short gaming sessions (around an hour) any longer and its a relief to take them off and give my ears a rest.  I think this is down to them being closed and having such in your face bass.  As I enjoy more cinematic story driven games I am sure the X1's will be great for me.  Will keep the DT 770's for when the girlfriend is in the same room 

Good to hear the X1's earpads are so good, most headphones I have tried have been less than ideal in this respect.

Really tempted to pick these up for home use. Given the low impedance, is it necessary to be driven by an amp, or will my iMac suffice, until I get around to buying an amp next year?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HolyCheese 

I can get both the X1 and hd600. Which one should I get?

 

I prefer 600 over 650 because the details seems to get lost in a somewhat muddy sound of the 650. I like that the 600 has a bit more trebble too. 

Is this enough information? :D What should I say to make clear what my prefered sound is?

That's tough for me to say as I have never heard the HD600. How much treble in relation to the rest of the sound signature do you like? Because if you want a balanced sound with treble push then maybe one of the AKG K701/702 headphones? To me, the X1 has a nice sounding treble that isn't over accentuated like the DT990 and DT880 and at least to me, is more pronounced than the HD650. However, if you are looking for a bright headphone then maybe you want something forced more than the X1 like the AKG's? Perhaps user ruffra could help you here since he has tried the AKG's before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

I will be picking these up from Accessoryjack in a few weeks. Even if I have to pay $419 for them, I cant hold out anymore. I must have them.

I will be eagerly be awaiting your review since you have such extensive experience with so many headphones. If I had to guess by your previous review scores I would say you might rate them the following way:

Fun - 9 (the cinematic experience!)

Competitive - 7-8 (due to recessed mids and according to ruffra the highs as well)

Comfort - 9 -10 (the earpads dammit!)