dsnuts said:

maricius said:

I agree. The L2 is actually very close to neutral for me. I've never heard the DX90 but I always thought it would exhibit that metallic treble a lot of ESS based players/DACs have. I truly find the L2 to be better than the older flagships like the HD6x0s, the Beyer DTs, etc. They have this inherent clear yet smooth sound which isnt just the effect of an overly forward treble. I've never found them to be analytic either. I really wish more people would get to hear it too

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I use my DX90 with the L2. The important aspect of the DX90 is that you have to burn the player in for a long time.. IBasso suggests 400 hours. I actually did this and on open box there was a bit of that sabre sheen. But that went away the first 24 hours or so of use. My L2 and the DX90 make an amazing pairing. Highly recommended as a player for the L2.

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I understand why burning in headphones makes a difference. But can you explain why burning in a DAC or even a cable makes a huge difference? I've heard it with my own ears, I just don't understand it!

The DX90 uses 2 sabre chips 2 buffers and 5 op amp chips and all of them are new when put together..Running music though them matures the components and actually changes the sound for the much better. My DX90 now has easily over a 1000 plus hours of use and the sound has settled in very nicely. All amps and hardware in general benefit from use from my own experiences with various dacs daps and amps.. Cable burn in is somewhat of a mystery to me as well. All the nicer silver cables and such all seem to sound cleaner with more use on them..That is for another thread I suppose but that is just what I hear from them..
 
Now I am a believer in better cables optimizing sounds for headphones. I use one of my silver cables for my L2s. The sound between stock cable and the silver one is definitely different. I know some of them cables in them audio mags are somewhat crazy in that they cost more than the system your using them on and such. I have no idea how well them cables work but to me I would rather buy more music and or a new phone for that much money. 

dsnuts said:

   
Now I am a believer in better cables optimizing sounds for headphones. I use one of my silver cables for my L2s. The sound between stock cable and the silver one is definitely different. I know some of them cables in them audio mags are somewhat crazy in that they cost more than the system your using them on and such. I have no idea how well them cables work but to me I would rather buy more music and or a new phone for that much money. 

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Since it is so easily replaceable, I would like to try out a nice quality cable.
But not spend a fortune.(Best with one hooked plug and one straight)
 
Who has any suggestions?
(Live in the Netherlands)
 
 
Thanks

I have a feeling that the cable is a design flaw or oversight on the part of Philips. The X1 cable is measured by Tyll to have 1.8 ohms resistance which is quite high and the L2 cable probably has the same problem. I would try to find an ordinary cable with 0.5 ohms or less before looking at silver cables.

head1 said:

  I have a feeling that the cable is a design flaw or oversight on the part of Philips. The X1 cable is measured by Tyll to have 1.8 ohms resistance which is quite high and the L2 cable probably has the same problem. I would try to find an ordinary cable with 0.5 ohms or less before looking at silver cables.

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Actually, Tyll already has a Fidelio L2 on his hands and I believe he's already written a review but isn't posting it until the L2 us released in the US market… I guess we're never going to see that review.

head1 said:

  I have a feeling that the cable is a design flaw or oversight on the part of Philips. The X1 cable is measured by Tyll to have 1.8 ohms resistance which is quite high and the L2 cable probably has the same problem. I would try to find an ordinary cable with 0.5 ohms or less before looking at silver cables.

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Thanks for the tip.
I tried a cheap low resistance cable and it already improves the sound. The cable is not a headphone cable (stiff, heavy, ugly) so I will not keep on using that.
 
Now I ordered a VModa cable. Looks good and not expensive.
Will take some time to ship though

I was going to mention V-moda but thought there might be an alternative available locally. I found this on amazon.co.uk, seems to have good reviews and a very reasonable price but no mention of resistance.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirekt-Series-3-5mm-Stereo-Cable/dp/B0071MAQPE
 
Maricius - headfonia have just reviewed the NAD HP50 and while they like it a lot, they think the L2 is better, purely on audio capability. I suppose Tyll could post his review to his non-american audience. 

head1 said:

  I was going to mention V-moda but thought there might be an alternative available locally. I found this on amazon.co.uk, seems to have good reviews and a very reasonable price but no mention of resistance.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirekt-Series-3-5mm-Stereo-Cable/dp/B0071MAQPE
 
Maricius - headfonia have just reviewed the NAD HP50 and while they like it a lot, they think the L2 is better, purely on audio capability. I suppose Tyll could post his review to his non-american audience. 

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I was the the first of the two who asked for a comparison between the NAD HP50 and the L2 hehe. ALSO, today, I demoed the B&O H6. Very wide soundstage for a closed back, better than the two upper tier Focals but nowhere near the soundstage of the L2, especially in depth. In terms of tuning, the H6 would be better for those who like a thinner and quicker note presentation even compared to the L2. Overall, I heard it, had my L2s in my bag, didn't see any purpose for the H6.  
 
*Edit* I really do wish Tyll would post his review on the L2 as I'm interested in hearing his thoughts on them. Maybe it would even push Philips to finally release in the US market

Me too i listened several times to a lot of cans before decide to take the....Fidelio L2
Nad are good but not as L2.
B&O too thin, no basses, too expensive

lucadoc said:

Me too i listened several times to a lot of cans before decide to take the....Fidelio L2
Nad are good but not as L2.
B&O too thin, no basses, too expensive

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My sentiments exactly!! The L2 which is more open than closed had better and stronger bass which is saying something.

L2 are good with my Iphone 4 but better with DX50

lucadoc said:

L2 are good with my Iphone 4 but better with DX50

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Not even considering that the L2 is an efficient headphone, they scale quite a lot and they are very transparent in reflecting changes in source component and amplification. Maybe there aren't as much night and day differences such as between a well-driven vs a poorly-driven HD650 but I feel the L2 has a higher peak (read more potential). Even if I'm wrong as I don't think I've heard the HD650 at their best (nor the L2), I find the L2 to be more responsive to system changes.

head1 said:

  I was going to mention V-moda but thought there might be an alternative available locally. I found this on amazon.co.uk, seems to have good reviews and a very reasonable price but no mention of resistance.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirekt-Series-3-5mm-Stereo-Cable/dp/B0071MAQPE
 
Maricius - headfonia have just reviewed the NAD HP50 and while they like it a lot, they think the L2 is better, purely on audio capability. I suppose Tyll could post his review to his non-american audience. 

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Thanks again
 
I'll just wait for about five weeks till the cable arrives
Might as well go on holiday in the meanwhile 

How would these headphones be for rap/hiphop music and gaming?

dakanao said:

  How would these headphones be for rap/hiphop music and gaming?

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For gaming, I can definitely recommend it for its imaging but in all honesty, there are more open sounding headphones at cheaper prices if you want to use them solely for gaming. I actually quite enjoy Hip-Hop on these but this is purely dependent on how much bass you want. The L2s are more on fast, tight, and punchy bass as opposed to heavy and deep bass. Also, they're quite revealing of recording quality… they aren't particularly forgiving for some tracks as the soundstage would be all over the place (and not in a good way). I'm currently listening to Illmatic XX and the delivery and quality is just stellar. 
 
Overall, if you're mainly into Hip-hop and gaming… I'd advise the Fidelio X1 over the L2s. Wider soundstage but less deep, huge but still quality bass for an open back