[Kerry56]

I had the HD6xx for five months or so before selling it. Good headphone in many ways, just not entirely to my taste. I preferred the warmer sound of the X2 and its wider presentation. The HD6xx was terribly closed in, and had a more intimate sound stage, which worked well with some music, but not with a great deal of the indie and alternative rock I normally listen to.

For some of the bass centric music I prefer, the HD6xx just didn't compare. Bass guitar reverb, in particular, would fall to the background in songs where I knew it was the intended dominant sound of the song, and the HD6xx had no real impact in the bass, or the treble for that matter. It seemed smoothed over in the highs, which makes for a very relaxed sound, but lacks bite when its called for in the music.

 

[Ynot1]

If I wanted bass happy headphone which among these would be better:
HD650 dynamic
X2 dynamic
Monoprice 1060 planar
AAW GTR planar

I think they are in the same price ball park.

 

[peter123]

My take on the HD650 vs X2 is that the HD650 is very mid-centric with great mid quality. It's really warn (almost too much for me) and has a roll off in both subbass and treble extension. Personally I'm more disturbed by the mid bass bloom on the HD650 than on the X2's.

The X2's had more recessed midrange and better extension in both ends making it a much better all-round headphone imo. It does also have a lot more width. The HD650s definitely has a sweeter midrange though. I'm a midrange lover but would still pick the X2's if I could only choose one of them. As always, and obviously, YMMV.

Edit: I've auditioned the HD600 several times and would definitely say that they're the most neutral among the three. I think, from your description, that the HD650 would give you the warmth that you miss on the HD600.

To me the modded HD700 is better that both HD6XX siblings as well as the X2's so if you can find those at a good price they're definitely worth considering as well, especially for electronic music.

 

[Danger Mouse]

Just wanted to say thanks guys for mentioning the Euro price of these, I was just about to order from Amazon UK for £194 (I'm not a prime member so missed the deal) and then noticed Amazon Italy was charging £162 including fast shipping, then finally bought from Amazon Spain for £157 including fast shipping so a lot better deal than buying from my own country!

Here's hoping I really like them

 

[thecrow]

Thank you very much for your reply.

I havê a couple of questions though.... Other hd650, hd600 and x2 owners (or who havê tested all of these) feel free to answer as well please...

Would you say that the hd600 and hd650 are superior headphones to the x2? By this i mean in terms of technicality, texture, resolution, etc....

As i said before i AM a hd25 fan and also a momentum over ear fan and i have been trying to find a open over ear pair that matches those presentations without breaking the bank.

Luckily i had the chance to get a mint hd600 for 125 euros and i got the x2s brand new from amazon for 139.

I like the hd600 and i may feel that they havê more resolution and detail in the highs and mids but unfortunately i feel that they are somewhat lacking in the bass for electronic music (although not thin sounding at all) and also there is somethig on the hd600 that messes up my hearing. I get ringing buzzing on my ears after a couple of minutes with them.

I always thought of getting the hd650 to see if it suíts me better but here is the question.... Having the hd600 and Fidélio x2 would i really get anything new from a hd650? What would i win/loose? I want more bass on the hd600 and a bit more musicality or warmth but despiste the ringing on my ears i kind of wanted to maintain a similar mids and highs presentation because their resolution is awesome and make electric guitars sound raw and powerfull (like a hd25 that lacks bass extension but still hás nice impact and cymbals).

Another thing that makes me question my need to buy the hd650 is the x2s current pricing... I got my x2s for 139 on prime day but they can still be bought on amazon for 159 while the hd650 costs 320 euros and a AMP is still needed... Is the hd650 really worth double of the price of the x2?

Thank you...

for the music you've mentioned definitely stick with the x2 rather than the hd600/650 - you are good with that one

Enjoy!!

 

[Joong]

X2 is underestimated, and the opinions about it are biased due to the lower price tag on it.
X2 on big band like full orchestra is still equal or better than any phone that I have.

 

[pouyan]

hi guys
I bought an X2 last year from us but I thought it defected so I send them back to Philips and they accepted and send my money back.now I bought a new one from Germany and sound like last one(no soundstage no huge bass).I want to know is it possible it because i don't use amp?i have an iPhone 6 and I don't like the sound of my x2 at all
sorry for bad English

 

[Pharmaboy]

hi guys
I bought an X2 last year from us but I thought it defected so I send them back to Philips and they accepted and send my money back.now I bought a new one from Germany and sound like last one(no soundstage no huge bass).I want to know is it possible it because i don't use amp?i have an iPhone 6 and I don't like the sound of my x2 at all
sorry for bad English

I don't have a cellphone & never heard my X2s that way. However, when I bought them, my headphone DAC/amp was the FiiO E10K unit. I liked the sound of the X2s immediately. They had IMO excellent bass and a relaxed soundstage. I thought all was good. Then I got my first serious headphone amp--a Lake People G109-A. The sound of the X2s through that plus a standalone DAC (Peachtree Audio DAC iTx) was very different from the E10K: everything got bigger, better, and hit harder. The backgrounds sounded "blacker" (all the Violectric/Lake People units apparently do this no-distortion trick very well).

So I can honestly say I didn't really hear the X2s (not fully) until I got a better amp.

I suspect the average cellphone has even less output power than the E10K. So my guess is that you're not hearing what these headphones can really do.

 

[HungryPanda]

I have HD650's and X2's. I find that I always prefer to pick the X2's for most music I listen to

 

[OldDude04]

I borrowed my bro-in-law's HD600 and HD650 a little bit ago and directly compared them to the X2. I found the X2 to be more my style across the board. I found the HD600/650 to both be boring. I know, I guess I should put on my fire suit around her when I say things like that. I'm not looking for my music to be neutral and flat, I want musical and lush. The X2 has a far wider sound stage than either of the HD sets, better sub bass extension, and it doesn't have the mid bass hump of the HD650. The only thing the HD650 do better imo is mids, they are the best of all 3 pairs I compared at the time. If I had to rank the 3 pairs, I'd go X2, then HD650, then HD600.

 

[zeekz]

Recently got rid of my HD650, HD600, AKG K712 and Beyer DT990...but kept the X2. I find the X2 to be slightly sibilant on certain tracks with my cheap portable AK4490 dac/LME49720 amp but there is absolutely no problem with my Yulong Canary dac/amp combo. Smooth and sweet. Had to cull the herd for financial reasons and the X2 is the most versatile among all the headphones I've listed so that's why they're still here, at least that's how I feel. Still sad I had to get rid of those Senns and AKG.. Not so much for the DT990 though. The treble spike on those almost killed me one evening.

 

[pouyan]

pair

I don't have a cellphone & never heard my X2s that way. However, when I bought them, my headphone DAC/amp was the FiiO E10K unit. I liked the sound of the X2s immediately. They had IMO excellent bass and a relaxed soundstage. I thought all was good. Then I got my first serious headphone amp--a Lake People G109-A. The sound of the X2s through that plus a standalone DAC (Peachtree Audio DAC iTx) was very different from the E10K: everything got bigger, better, and hit harder. The backgrounds sounded "blacker" (all the Violectric/Lake People units apparently do this no-distortion trick very well).

So I can honestly say I didn't really hear the X2s (not fully) until I got a better amp.

I suspect the average cellphone has even less output power than the E10K. So my guess is that you're not hearing what these headphones can really do.

thanx bro for advice.also, I think E10K is better than iPhone 6.

 

[MisterMudd]

Have owned my X2 since 2014 and tried with several phones including Apple and my current Galaxy S5. Sound has been marginal at best. Amped is the way to go and makes the X2 blossom gloriously. If money is tight I recommend Topping NX1 or lower price Fiio's. But moving up in price such as with a Fiio E12 improves them again an order of magnitude. This is a fabulous all-rounder I will never get rid of.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

I had the HD6xx for five months or so before selling it. Good headphone in many ways, just not entirely to my taste. I preferred the warmer sound of the X2 and its wider presentation. The HD6xx was terribly closed in, and had a more intimate sound stage, which worked well with some music, but not with a great deal of the indie and alternative rock I normally listen to.

For some of the bass centric music I prefer, the HD6xx just didn't compare. Bass guitar reverb, in particular, would fall to the background in songs where I knew it was the intended dominant sound of the song, and the HD6xx had no real impact in the bass, or the treble for that matter. It seemed smoothed over in the highs, which makes for a very relaxed sound, but lacks bite when its called for in the music.

But in terms of reolution and pure detail did you dind the x2's on par or the hd6xx's were better? Would you say the hd650 is even warmer /colored/dark sounding than the x2's?

My take on the HD650 vs X2 is that the HD650 is very mid-centric with great mid quality. It's really warn (almost too much for me) and has a roll off in both subbass and treble extension. Personally I'm more disturbed by the mid bass bloom on the HD650 than on the X2's.

The X2's had more recessed midrange and better extension in both ends making it a much better all-round headphone imo. It does also have a lot more width. The HD650s definitely has a sweeter midrange though. I'm a midrange lover but would still pick the X2's if I could only choose one of them. As always, and obviously, YMMV.

Edit: I've auditioned the HD600 several times and would definitely say that they're the most neutral among the three. I think, from your description, that the HD650 would give you the warmth that you miss on the HD600.

To me the modded HD700 is better that both HD6XX siblings as well as the X2's so if you can find those at a good price they're definitely worth considering as well, especially for electronic music.

DavidA already suggested me the hd70's as well but they cost more than 400 euros right now. Not thats is a bad price but for me its too much to spend on just one pair.
Same question to you.... would you say the hd650 is darker or even more colored sounding compared to the x2s? the highs and mids from the hd600 and 650 are very different?

Just wanted to say thanks guys for mentioning the Euro price of these, I was just about to order from Amazon UK for £194 (I'm not a prime member so missed the deal) and then noticed Amazon Italy was charging £162 including fast shipping, then finally bought from Amazon Spain for £157 including fast shipping so a lot better deal than buying from my own country!

Here's hoping I really like them

They are a great deal indeed. i got mine for 139 (143 with shipping) and even though i never tried the hd650 i doubt they are a much better deal for 320 euros right now unless you are reeeeeeeeally in to their kind of sound... i would love to try the hd650 sometime but i don't know if i am willing to pay more than 250 euros for them....

for the music you've mentioned definitely stick with the x2 rather than the hd600/650 - you are good with that one

Enjoy!!

Yes they are indeed perfect for more beat centric stuff. I am pretty sure (from my experience with the hd600) the the hd6*0's may be better in terms of resolution and detail (and even musicality) for more organic music but for modern music the x2's are a much fun headphone. I really think they are the next step for those who want a sig similar to a m50x or a hd25 on a open back and without having to spend money on a amp.

I have HD650's and X2's. I find that I always prefer to pick the X2's for most music I listen to

What typed of music do you listen more to? Sound signatures aside, would you say the hd650 is a step up from the x2 in terms of resolution, detail and technicality?

I borrowed my bro-in-law's HD600 and HD650 a little bit ago and directly compared them to the X2. I found the X2 to be more my style across the board. I found the HD600/650 to both be boring. I know, I guess I should put on my fire suit around her when I say things like that. I'm not looking for my music to be neutral and flat, I want musical and lush. The X2 has a far wider sound stage than either of the HD sets, better sub bass extension, and it doesn't have the mid bass hump of the HD650. The only thing the HD650 do better imo is mids, they are the best of all 3 pairs I compared at the time. If I had to rank the 3 pairs, I'd go X2, then HD650, then HD600.

How different is the hd650 from the hd600? how much do they differ on bass, mids, highs, resolution and overall coloration of the sound (specially the new versions with silver drivers)?

Recently got rid of my HD650, HD600, AKG K712 and Beyer DT990...but kept the X2. I find the X2 to be slightly sibilant on certain tracks with my cheap portable AK4490 dac/LME49720 amp but there is absolutely no problem with my Yulong Canary dac/amp combo. Smooth and sweet. Had to cull the herd for financial reasons and the X2 is the most versatile among all the headphones I've listed so that's why they're still here, at least that's how I feel. Still sad I had to get rid of those Senns and AKG.. Not so much for the DT990 though. The treble spike on those almost killed me one evening.

I tried the dt770 250ohm and already thought it was super thin a lifeless.... i had the 80ohm for 2 years and always needed a couple of minutes to adjust to their soudnbecause they always sounded a bit thin and flat compared to my other headphones.... even the hd600's without bass extension, sound fuller and hit harder than the 770 80ohm.... i can only imagine the pain that the 990s' are....

Would you mind comparing the hd600, 650 and x2's as well please? Same question to you as others.... i know every one of the are better for different genres but in terms of resolution, detail.... would you say the hd6*0s are a step up from the x2s? For example despite sounding more spatious i think the x2 in not as good on showing detail and instrument placing as the hd600s....

PS: Thank you very much to all of you for the mass reply..... you guys rule!!!!!

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Have owned my X2 since 2014 and tried with several phones including Apple and my current Galaxy S5. Sound has been marginal at best. Amped is the way to go and makes the X2 blossom gloriously. If money is tight I recommend Topping NX1 or lower price Fiio's. But moving up in price such as with a Fiio E12 improves them again an order of magnitude. This is a fabulous all-rounder I will never get rid of.

I also had many headphones but only 2 AMPS.... The nx1 and the e12 as well....
I dont plan to upgrade to be honest.... I know my hd600 may deserve a better AMP/DAC and i will only reach their true potential by doing that but i dont like to spend money on AMPS to be honest. Maybe its a wrong way of doing things in this hobby but if i havê money i always go for new headphones....