[Skipshrike]

The Fidelio X1 has been a purchase I am very pleased with. After lurking on this thread until the X1's review, and then reading various other reviews/user-experiences, I pulled the trigger.
 
Setup-
PC - Creative Sound Blaster Z
Consoles - Astro Mixamp 2011
 
This headphone delivers a soundstage that causes me to actually look away from the screen to see if the sound sourceis next to me! The bass is tasteful enough to provide a fun listening experience while not obscuring everything else.  I was very pleased that I did not have to purchase additional amps/DAC's for this headphone. Granted both the sources I use (soundcard and mixamp) are amps.
 
BF3 is a bit overwhelming to me now because the sound immersion level is much higher than my previous SteelSeries Siberia V2's. The V2's did an excellent job, but were light on the bass without providing the directional clarity I prefer. In L4D2 I can now shoot through trees/walls to nail those pesky boomers with ease.  I highly recommend the X1's because they require minimal extra stuff while producing a great experience for games/music/movies.
 
Two questions:
1) I'm using the KOSS vc20 volume control because the sound coming out of my computer is extremely loud without the ability to lower the volume (I have the in system volume around 30). Does the use of a volume control lessen the quality of sound? I've tried listening to music with/without and have heard to significant difference.
 
2) Has anyone used the V-MODA Boom Mic with a higher-end headset? I was considering that to replace the mic I lost when I put the V2's away.
 
This thread has a LOT of knowledge in it. Great work to MLE and everyone.

 

[ethan7000]

Having a lot of trouble with deciding what headphones to get at the moment. The highest I'm willing to pay for an amp/DAC is less than £60 ($100), so the Fiio E10 is the best I can probably get (would the E10 be able to drive all the headphones listed below?). I was trying to decide between the M50 and DT770s, but after viewing this thread you've made my dilemma much harder - I'm coming from a pair of broken Sennheiser HD555s, which I found to be flimsy (I've had two pairs, and they've both broken the same way, with a crack near the ears holding them together) so I'd like something sturdier than them, and possibly somewhat less boring, good for various games and music/movies etc.

Here are the prices of various headphones I've narrowed it down to in my local currency:


Fidelio X1 - £270 ($412)
Q701 - £230 ($351)
K702 - £215 ($328)
K701 - £200 ($305)
DT770 - £130 ($198)
DT990 - £120 ($183)
ATH-M50 - £90 ($137)
Creative Aurana Live - £53 ($81)
Sony MDR-V6 - £49 ($76)

 
The Fidelio X1 sounds really great from your review, but do you really think it's worth more than twice the price of the DT990? You obviously have a lot more disposable income than me, so keep that in mind.
 
Another question: you only review the K702 'annie' from what I can see, which is too expensive for my liking ($600!). How much worse do you think the regular K702 is? I know you specify the improvements it makes over it, but, like, the annie is 5th on your 'all-arounder' rankings - how much lower do you think the K702 would be on that list, if it was on there at all?
 
Thanks.

The X1 is only $250 on Amazon in the States, anyway you can get it that way? It's well worth that price even with another $30 or so with International shipping.

 

[ethan7000]

The Fidelio X1 has been a purchase I am very pleased with. After lurking on this thread until the X1's review, and then reading various other reviews/user-experiences, I pulled the trigger.

Setup-
PC - Creative Sound Blaster Z
Consoles - Astro Mixamp 2011

This headphone delivers a soundstage that causes me to actually look away from the screen to see if the sound sourceis next to me! The bass is tasteful enough to provide a fun listening experience while not obscuring everything else.  I was very pleased that I did not have to purchase additional amps/DAC's for this headphone. Granted both the sources I use (soundcard and mixamp) are amps.

BF3 is a bit overwhelming to me now because the sound immersion level is much higher than my previous SteelSeries Siberia V2's. The V2's did an excellent job, but were light on the bass without providing the directional clarity I prefer. In L4D2 I can now shoot through trees/walls to nail those pesky boomers with ease.  I highly recommend the X1's because they require minimal extra stuff while producing a great experience for games/music/movies.

Two questions:
1) I'm using the KOSS vc20 volume control because the sound coming out of my computer is extremely loud without the ability to lower the volume (I have the in system volume around 30). Does the use of a volume control lessen the quality of sound? I've tried listening to music with/without and have heard to significant difference.

2) Has anyone used the V-MODA Boom Mic with a higher-end headset? I was considering that to replace the mic I lost when I put the V2's away.

This thread has a LOT of knowledge in it. Great work to MLE and everyone.

Most likely the Koss is lowering the quality of your audio, but is probably fine for gaming. For music, you'll have better results coming directly out of the Z. No idea on the mic, but have you tried the one that comes with the Z?

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

1) I'm using the KOSS vc20 volume control because the sound coming out of my computer is extremely loud without the ability to lower the volume (I have the in system volume around 30). Does the use of a volume control lessen the quality of sound? I've tried listening to music with/without and have heard to significant difference.

 
 
A little bit.  I tried one with my AD700 and I discovered that it was collapsing the soundstage and rolling off the highs.

 

[burritoboy9984]

2) Has anyone used the V-MODA Boom Mic with a higher-end headset? I was considering that to replace the mic I lost when I put the V2's away.

Boom Mic + X1 + Mixamp = MMOOONNNEEEYYY

-Erik

 

[Skipshrike]

Quote:

Most likely the Koss is lowering the quality of your audio, but is probably fine for gaming. For music, you'll have better results coming directly out of the Z. No idea on the mic, but have you tried the one that comes with the Z?

I had forgotten about the mic that came with the Z. I'll give that a try and see if the sound is acceptable to others as I play.
 
For the Z itself, I just slapped on the profile for 'First Person Shooter' and then tweaked the sliders around. For BF3 I placed the sound option to Hi-Fi and turned on the stereo enhancement. It's too bad I can't use the Dolby Digital Live as that only goes through the SPDIF-Out.

 

[Skipshrike]

Quote:

 
 
A little bit.  I tried one with my AD700 and I discovered that it was collapsing the soundstage and rolling off the highs.

Might the V-MODA be made out of superior bits and not dampen the soundstage as much? Without the inline volume control something makes my computer volume crazy loud, even at a system setting of 6.

 

[davidsh]

In europe you can get the x1 below 200€ easily. Don't see why one would have to pay 270£

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

Hmm, though I can't test how much more volume the E12 raises over the Mixamp for harder to drive cans (since I only have very easy to drive cans), I MIGHT.

 
If you need to, I can lend you one of my cans to test it's power. Just let me know...

 

[timnswede]

Has anyone used the Sennheiser 350se and 360? I'm kind of leaning towards the 350se since they're closed, but I also don't want to give up audio quality "/. Is the 350se's audio quality comparable to the 360?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Going from closed to open is a revelation in it of itself. Even if they had the same specs, the open headphone will trump the closed one. Just off my experiences. You can't compare closed to open. Ever. Open wins in everything but bass presence and isolation.

 

[timnswede]

Thanks for the quick reply, having a hard time trying to decide whether isolation is worth it I have Siberia V2s right now, so either option would be a pretty big upgrade. I guess I will have to sleep on it.

 

[Sidiun]

Quote:

In europe you can get the x1 below 200€ easily. Don't see why one would have to pay 270£

You say that, of course, without providing any links. Where would I buy it for below 200 euros? I'd really appreciate you finding the cheapest place to get them.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Fidelio-X1-00-Headphones/dp/B008ZW2T7M
That is the norm, or perhaps even cheaper than the norm. Can't find it cheaper anywhere else, even on eBay etc. 
 
@Mad Lust Envy - any advice in regards to my last post?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Advice ? On what to get? My vote is for the X1. It's the best all rounder for my needs.

 

[Sidiun]

Seems that way, mainly just the boldened questions that are confounding me at the moment:
 
 
Quote:

Fidelio X1 - £270 ($412)
Q701 - £230 ($351)
K702 - £215 ($328)
K701 - £200 ($305)
DT770 - £130 ($198)
DT990 - £120 ($183)
ATH-M50 - £90 ($137)
Creative Aurana Live - £53 ($81)
Sony MDR-V6 - £49 ($76)

 
The Fidelio X1 sounds really great from your review, but do you really think it's worth more than twice the price of the DT990? You obviously have a lot more disposable income than me, so keep that in mind.
 
Another question: you only review the K702 'annie' from what I can see, which is too expensive for my liking ($600!). How much worse do you think the regular K702 is? I know you specify the improvements it makes over it, but, like, the annie is 5th on your 'all-arounder' rankings - how much lower do you think the K702 would be on that list, if it was on there at all?

 
Also, do you think that the E10 is the best amp/DAC below $100? Not sure if it would do a good job powering all the stuff I listed.