Fegefeuer
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2011
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Yep, not one noty again, tighter, more detail, tactile.
Philips really only need to do 2 things on the X2.
- Removable earpads.
- Tighten the bass just a little more.
Just 2 very simple things and they'll have one of the best $300 headphone ever (and if the trend follows, near $200 rather).
The treble is still grainy and needs to be cleaned up. Although I bet there are people who don't agree with that.
For example me. Please describe more accurately what You mean by that? I`ve tested with all my sources and compared with all my cans and also find no grainy highs. Also using custom cable and amping with X1.
Littlebit smoothed but detailed clean highs with no sibilance/fatigue ...but definitely not dark, muddy or grainy. But of course everyone has own subjective opinion
It's not as bad as I think you think I'm saying. There's no sibilance or fatigue, but I can hear a certain graininess in the treble. It's just not silky smooth, like there's some kind of breakup or just a bit of edge to it. I'm not using a custom cable because the resistance on the stock cable is so ridiculously low that you can't convince me that it's causing a problem - and that's if you even have one of those notorious (for whatever reason) high-resistance cables.
I took your advice from the X1 thread and decided to use my Xonar DG to amplify it. I think you might have been right about it bringing out the bass, but that had nothing to do with the stock cable. I know this because I actually have tested out another cable and I heard no difference from the same source (my onboard audio). Highs seem unaffected to me. This could be enclosure-borne.
My X2 is on the way. Will be here on friday (I hope so).
...but that had nothing to do with the stock cable.
I know this because I actually have tested out another cable and I heard no difference from the same source (my onboard audio). Highs seem unaffected to me.
It's just not silky smooth, like there's some kind of breakup or just a bit of edge to it.
My X2 is on the way. Will be here on friday (I hope so).
I think I speak for everyone here; we want:
- Pictures
- Cable impedance measurements
- Ear pad removal assessment
- SQ impressions
I`m not the only one who says it`s the cable exchange that makes that difference in bass & kick tightness: http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4320#post_10475263
Amping even improves it more but I doubt if Xonar DG is good for amping X1.
Now, that`s not a good method to draw conclusions. Onboard audio is not something adequate for making judgments.
It`s "silky smoothness" depends pretty much from your DAC/Amp. With Aune T1 it has most smoothness to it (depending on tube can be pretty silky smooth), next comes DX50 and then ELE EL-D02 DAC. I don`t know if it`s Your Xonar DG, onboard audio, cable or source files etc. but I really have not experienced any "breakups" or "edge" regarding to X1 highs section. Like I told - littlebit smoothed but clear but with no sibilance, fatigue or graininess. Well, this is only my subjective opinion
Xonar DG should do ok with X1 but separate dedicated amp/dac would be probably better. I personally find ELE EL-D02 DAC/Amp (recapped with ELNA SilmicII) to be good and cheap solution for X1. Aune T1 is another league of course but ELE matches with X1 suprisingly good.
Hmmm... while I do kinda agree the grain is there on the X1's treble, it isn't really very significant that it detoriates the highs. Moving the Aune X1 Pro did help it quite noticeably, but yeah... maybe that's another area where Philips can look at although I personally don't think it is a very significant issue, at least not as much as having a no-brainer removable pads option.
The sound is extremely clean, zero grain, one of the blackest background I’ve heard (think Fostex TH900 level black background — ahead of all the other dynamic drivers). In a way it’s very clear and clean sounding like say the Hifiman HE-6/HE-500 but the L2 is smoother than them and is MUCH easier to drive.