[frustin]

Quote:

It hasn't arrived yet. I expect it early next week.

 
So are you planning on using the E12 to drive the phones on your iphone 5 and computer?
 
Slightly off topic, reason i'm asking as i have some Westone 3's.  I've always wondered about what an amp would do for me on my iphone 5 (techno, house, dance).
 
Back on topic, and using the E12 not just for the iphone but to help drive the X1's on my computer as well.  So i'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the E12.

 

[Vidmaven]

So are you planning on using the E12 to drive the phones on your iphone 5 and computer?

Slightly off topic, reason i'm asking as i have some Westone 3's.  I've always wondered about what an amp would do for me on my iphone 5 (techno, house, dance).

Back on topic, and using the E12 not just for the iphone but to help drive the X1's on my computer as well.  So i'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the E12.

I don't have the iPhone 5 but I do have a 4S as well as the E12 and the X1s. On the higher gain setting the E12 can get the X1s to very high levels if needed. I do have the original E12 that has the tighter bass boost and it provides plenty of slam for me with the X1s (I don't consider myself a basshead but I do appreciate a nice tight bottom end (no jokes). The X1s obviously dont require an amp but the E12 takes them to another level when used with an Apple DAP IMHO.

 

[dailysmoker]

Does this one fit like the dt770 cause had that on yesterday and thought it was not comfi at all too big and round not that soft either,the L1 was perfect in shape and size so how does it fit...?
And what cable is best the v-moda one or the Sony or O.G...?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Who said anything about me having an iphone5? I will never own any Apple product. I own the Galaxy Note II.

And no, I plan on using the E12 with my laptop. For now my source is the Fiio D03k, which I think sounds great, even next to my just sold Compass 2 which cost me over $600. The Fiio D03k is $30.

 

[ColeHarris]

Hey everyone, new here. Firstly I wanted to thank you all for convincing me (passively) to buy the X1's, if it weren't for posters like Mad Lust and Chicolom taking the time to put together such great reviews and answering so many questions about these cans I likely wouldn't have these glorious things on my head right now! So thank you! 
 
Anyways quick question for you guys. I don't currently have a amp/dac as I sold my e11 and D3 along with my M50's to fund these beauties, so I was hoping you guys could offer some suggestions. I'm looking mainly at desktop dacs/amps but I'm open to mobile solutions if there's something more suitable in that range. Mainly I've been looking at the Magni/Modi stack, Aune T1, and maybe something from little dot if I feel the extra cost is justified. I'm concerned however that these being such low resistance that most amps will have too high gain to power these without bad channel imbalance or other such issues. Another worry is that the improvement in SQ offered by a dedicated amp/dac won't be worth the additional cost, currently I'm just listening to these from my laptop/iPod and they sound surprisingly good, far better than my M50's sounded un-amped. I don't want to spend that much money on a very minimal return so if someone that has used these with the aforementioned amps or similar could chime in as to what kind of SQ boost I could expect I'd really appreciate it. 
 
Anyways thanks in advance for your help. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Well, you could get the Schit stack, and if the gain is too high, lower the pc master volume to around 70% . Because it's a 24 bit dac, you won't lose any bit data that actually matters. That will allow you to have more play on the Magni's volume knob.

As for it being worthwhile, you're basically ensuring you get a quality, clean signal, and clean power to the headphones. The X1 definitely does not need anywhere near as much power as the Magni throws at it, however. Don't expect a night and day difference. It will be subtle, at best, but I feel it's still worthwhile to jump to at least that stack.

 

[ColeHarris]

Quote:

Well, you could get the Schit stack, and if the gain is too high, lower the pc master volume to around 70% . Because it's a 24 bit dac, you won't lose any bit data that actually matters. That will allow you to have more play on the Magni's volume knob.

As for it being worthwhile, you're basically ensuring you get a quality, clean signal, and clean power to the headphones. The X1 definitely does not need anywhere near as much power as the Magni throws at it, however. Don't expect a night and day difference. It will be subtle, at best, but I feel it's still worthwhile to jump to at least that stack.

Thanks for the response. One more question. At a hundred bucks the Modi seems to be a fair bit more expensive than many similarly specced dacs, what reason other than aesthetics would there be for not getting something cheaper for the dac portion like a D03K Taishan or Muse Mini? Is the Modi worth the extra 75 dollars assuming you don't need usb? 

 

[jincuteguy]

Hey everyone, new here. Firstly I wanted to thank you all for convincing me (passively) to buy the X1's, if it weren't for posters like Mad Lust and Chicolom taking the time to put together such great reviews and answering so many questions about these cans I likely wouldn't have these glorious things on my head right now! So thank you! 

Anyways quick question for you guys. I don't currently have a amp/dac as I sold my e11 and D3 along with my M50's to fund these beauties, so I was hoping you guys could offer some suggestions. I'm looking mainly at desktop dacs/amps but I'm open to mobile solutions if there's something more suitable in that range. Mainly I've been looking at the Magni/Modi stack, Aune T1, and maybe something from little dot if I feel the extra cost is justified. I'm concerned however that these being such low resistance that most amps will have too high gain to power these without bad channel imbalance or other such issues. Another worry is that the improvement in SQ offered by a dedicated amp/dac won't be worth the additional cost, currently I'm just listening to these from my laptop/iPod and they sound surprisingly good, far better than my M50's sounded un-amped. I don't want to spend that much money on a very minimal return so if someone that has used these with the aforementioned amps or similar could chime in as to what kind of SQ boost I could expect I'd really appreciate it. 

Anyways thanks in advance for your help. 

So you bought the X1, did it live up to the review that most ppl wrote on here?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Thanks for the response. One more question. At a hundred bucks the Modi seems to be a fair bit more expensive than many similarly specced dacs, what reason other than aesthetics would there be for not getting something cheaper for the dac portion like a D03K Taishan or Muse Mini? Is the Modi worth the extra 75 dollars assuming you don't need usb? 

Cost to performance is subjective.

I have the Fiio D03k. Also had the Modi, ODAC, D3, E7, E17 and some amp/dac Audio-GD equipment with great internal dacs, and borrowed a Pico dac. The difference between all of the them dac wise was incredibly subtle, except the E7 which was not as detaioed as the rest. I can pick out nuances in amps and even certain cables, yet I found that dac differences are incredibly overblown. If you're happy with the D03k, stick with it. It's only $30, and I thought it sounded fabulous. Even next to the others that cost many more times the price.

But I'm a realist, and I don't equate performance to price. I like the Modi because it looks nice with the Magni. Shallow reasoning, but its true. Out of all the dacs I have tried, my fave sound-wise was the ODAC. Its was like 1% better than the rest to my ears. When I have the funds, ill be getting another one to hook up to my E12.

 

[ColeHarris]

Quote:

So you bought the X1, did it live up to the review that most ppl wrote on here?

For the most part yes, definitely. There are some comments farther back I don't agree with; it's not the most detailed can I've ever heard nor does it have the largest soundstage or the even the best bass presentation. But here's the thing: of all the headphones I've tried and or owned it has the best balance of negatives and positives I've yet to encounter. I've heard headphones with great base but lacking highs or mids, I've heard cans with superb detail and soundstage (K701) but felt they were too cold and limited. The X1's do few things extraordinarily but do everything very very good. If you're someone who listens to only electronica or some who listens to only classical then there are probably better cans out there for you, but if you're someone like me who listens to a little bit of everything I think these are very very hard to beat; especially considering their amazingly low price at the moment.

 

[ColeHarris]

Quote:

Cost to performance is subjective.

I have the Fiio D03k. Also had the Modi, ODAC, D3, E7, E17 and some amp/dac Audio-GD equipment with great internal dacs, and borrowed a Pico dac. The difference between all of the them dac wise was incredibly subtle, except the E7 which was not as detaioed as the rest. I can pick out nuances in amps and even certain cables, yet I found that dac differences are incredibly overblown. If you're happy with the D03k, stick with it. It's only $30, and I thought it sounded fabulous. Even next to the others that cost many more times the price.

But I'm a realist, and I don't equate performance to price. I like the Modi because it looks nice with the Magni. Shallow reasoning, but its true. Out of all the dacs I have tried, my fave sound-wise was the ODAC. Its was like 1% better than the rest to my ears. When I have the funds, ill be getting another one to hook up to my E12.

I'm a sucker for aesthetics as well (large part of why I bought the X1's) I'm just not sure I care enough about them to spend an extra 70 some dollars. On the other hand I do like the idea of putting money in the pockets of a small local business, so there's that as well.
 
Anyways thanks for your help. 

 

[jincuteguy]

For the most part yes, definitely. There are some comments farther back I don't agree with; it's not the most detailed can I've ever heard nor does it have the largest soundstage or the even the best bass presentation. But here's the thing: of all the headphones I've tried and or owned it has the best balance of negatives and positives I've yet to encounter. I've heard headphones with great base but lacking highs or mids, I've heard cans with superb detail and soundstage (K701) but felt they were too cold and limited. The X1's do few things extraordinarily but do everything very very good. If you're someone who listens to only electronica or some who listens to only classical then there are probably better cans out there for you, but if you're someone like me who listens to a little bit of everything I think these are very very hard to beat; especially considering their amazingly low price at the moment.

yea the only weakness that stops me from buying the X1 right now is the not replaceable earpads, and second the velour is black so it shows a lot of lint and dirt so you have to clean it everyday with tape.

 

[s0ckpupp3t]

Quote:

I love flat cable. Let us know how it turns out.

 
Here's a pic of the Belkin cable.  The color is actually a matte dark charcoal similar to the earcups on the X1 so bonus for the complimentary look.  The cable is very light and pliable with no microphonics (my pet peeve).  They sound great but maybe a smidge warmer than the Mediabridge cable, but honestly my ears aren't qualified to compare.  I don't know how these sound vs. the stock cable since I haven't even taken those out of the box.  I don't have a multimeter so I can't measure the impedance but I'm very curious so someone buy them and measure them - for science!  They look nice and suit my needs so I'm keeping them.
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, the mediabridge cable is the brightest cable ive paired up to the X1 other than the Inakustik premium which was even brighter. That's why I like the chinese cable. Some warmth.

 

[ColeHarris]

Quote:

yea the only weakness that stops me from buying the X1 right now is the not replaceable earpads, and second the velour is black so it shows a lot of lint and dirt so you have to clean it everyday with tape.

Yeah that is a shame, such a blatant oversight.