[Pharmaboy]

I ordered my new X2 a little over 6 years ago. It was a time of turmoil, where the Phillips to Woox/Gibson transition had caused QC issues with X2s, to the point that Amazon was temporarily barring their sale on the website so as not to continue piling up angry customers and paypal cases.

I bought mine from eBay. They were brand new and the box had the markings described (in the online headphone community of the day) as being OK, not risky to purchase.

I lucked out. Mine sounded wonderful from day-1. They still do sound wonderful. In the years since I've learned a ton about headphone audio and have (had) any number of headphones that beat the X2s in every sonic category.

But my X2s still sound great. It's the same relaxing/enveloping/open sound I first fell in love with. Bassy, though not high in bass resolution--but that's OK. For what I paid for the X2s, they were my first serious headphone "win" and still please me...

 

[Ufasas]

I tested x2hr with Asus Strix Soar and burson v5i-d op-amp, sounds wonderfull, tested with evga nu audio - sounds wonderfull, creative SXFI amp - still great, lol, what would you want, unicorn amp?

 

[CTR640]

I tested x2hr with Asus Strix Soar and burson v5i-d op-amp, sounds wonderfull, tested with evga nu audio - sounds wonderfull, creative SXFI amp - still great, lol, what would you want, unicorn amp?

Why unicorn amp when you can plug the audiojack up the unicorn's butt lol

 

[Mr Trev]

I ordered my new X2 a little over 6 years ago. It was a time of turmoil, where the Phillips to Woox/Gibson transition had caused QC issues with X2s, to the point that Amazon was temporarily barring their sale on the website so as not to continue piling up angry customers and paypal cases.

I bought mine from eBay. They were brand new and the box had the markings described (in the online headphone community of the day) as being OK, not risky to purchase.

I lucked out. Mine sounded wonderful from day-1. They still do sound wonderful. In the years since I've learned a ton about headphone audio and have (had) any number of headphones that beat the X2s in every sonic category.

But my X2s still sound great. It's the same relaxing/enveloping/open sound I first fell in love with. Bassy, though not high in bass resolution--but that's OK. For what I paid for the X2s, they were my first serious headphone "win" and still please me...

I was in the exact same boat ("time of turmoil"… awesomely poetic). My earpads were the glued type. I only found out because I needed to take them off due to the gawd-awful chemical smell. I did purchase them from Amazon and chose to take a partial rebate rather than chance a different pair - and I figured the pads would off-gas in a day or two (which they did). Been flawless otherwise. Personally, I think alot of the glue-gate issues were overblown (mostly people ripping the earpads trying to see if they're glue on). But, even once the XR era kicked in I did read a few reviews complaing about channel mismatch. That was in the early days, and I haven't heard too much about the recent production lines to say if it has been fixed or not. That said, if I was looking to get another pair, I don't think I'd hesitate on getting a XR.

** if the extra bass is a potential issue (I do find it can be a tad overbearing on some music) a simple mod can fix that: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/fidelio-x2hr/ (towards the bottom of the review)

 

[JKDJedi]

They sound awesome off a tubed amplifier.. I got lucky with mine, purchased off Amazon years ago... still going strong.

 

[Ufasas]

I paired them with schiit Fulla 2, fricken amazing, what is the sibilance many users talking about? they hear it on x2hr, but not on senn hd650?? Am i deaf or just not as picky?

did several hours in music and gaming with schiit fulla 2:

X2hr > sony ma900 > akg k702 for music (xh2r most full bodied and laidback, i am least picky)

X2hr > or = k702 > ma900 > for gaming (from least harshness/tiresome and pinpointing to more fatigue)

 

[Radio81]

I like the 9500 and X2HR, and don't think I'll ever get rid of either. With a pad swap, the 9500 is awesome. I run these pads and they are awesome. They are thicker, which adds a small (but needed) amount of clamping force. The headphones no longer feel like they are going to slide off of your head. The pads are much thicker than OEM, so my ears do not touch the driver anymore. Any treble harshness from the stock pads is gone, and some bass is gained. No, these are not bass cannons like the X2HR, but I much prefer the lighter weight of the SHP9500. For gaming, I find the SHP9500 to have better imaging than the X2HR. The bass from the X2HR muddies up the other frequencies when explosions kick in. They are fun headphones, though.

Back to the X2HR, I ordered these pads to try out:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09LSWPF85/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll post some impressions after I've put some hours on them.

 

[Ufasas]

Black Ear Pads Earmuffs Foam Covers For Philips Fidelio X1 X2 X2HR X1S, anyone tried these? would it make bass muddier, bloated?

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Black Ear Pads Earmuffs Foam Covers For Philips Fidelio X1 X2 X2HR X1S, anyone tried these? would it make bass muddier, bloated?

I should think that would make them terribly muddy and bass bloated. I've tried pleather pads with mine, complete no go.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Behringer BC12, haven't plugged this into xh2r socket yet, but I am sure these work like OneOdio cable with mic, but it looks like it has even less flexible cable than OneOdio, it took me 2 months of bending OneOdio cable and it stopped working, lol, wondering how long would it take for BC12 to fail

The V-Moda boom mic pro is great. Had mine for several years now.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Black Ear Pads Earmuffs Foam Covers For Philips Fidelio X1 X2 X2HR X1S, anyone tried these? would it make bass muddier, bloated?

I've tried pleather pads. Disastrous changes in sound.

I'd stick with velour pads, if you can find them with the X2's backplate. Dekoni has those, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Pharmaboy]

what is the sibilance many users talking about?

Good question. I've never heard that, myself (5+ yr old X2s still sound awesome)

 

[CTR640]

No sibilance here either and I use it with my Klipsch Heritage amp. And also stock velour earpads.

 

[Gee Simpson]

The X2HR definitely does not have sibilance. Surprised that someone thinks that.

 

[Ufasas]

I've tried pleather pads. Disastrous changes in sound.

I'd stick with velour pads, if you can find them with the X2's backplate. Dekoni has those, I'm pretty sure.

True, just arrived to the address, listened to jazz and rock, sounding bloated, boomy, busy metal tracks impossible to listen, good for listening to reviews and discussions on youtube, maybe some less busy drum and bass tracks, single player games like Half Life Black Mesa and doom 4 also fine, but it's insane how sound changes, sometimes even unbearable boomy, i like it with velour more tbh