The carbon version works great if you have a big head. If in doubt get the metal version as you obviously can’t adjust the tension on the carbon version. For me the carbon version was the ultimate solution for this pair. Very happy with my other two pair just putting the new leather strap on.

Turbulent Lab. Keep in mind not a perfect fit so a little mod required cutting to size. It also depends a little on the version of the headband you have from John. In retrospect may have been easier to just get the Audeze headband. The leather strap it comes with is nice and soft. I got the...

The leather strap is sized for Audeze. Takes a little cutting to make it fit.

John was kind enough to send me a pair of his new pads for the XTC2’s to try out. I have been using the fuzzy pads, which I love. The new ones are quite a bit thicker moving the driver further off your ear and with more volume inside the pad. The effect is not subtle in my case. It in essence...

We are very fortunate to be able to participate in this journey.

Agreed!

The safe bet is the 2.5 - it will not disappoint and you can retune it as your system or taste changes. I’m His other closed back will have the same sound signature as the 2.5 given that the drivers are the same just at a little more intimate level so if $ is a concern that would be a great...

I have the 2.5 and the GH50 JM MKII. The GH is such a special beast in many ways. You really need to listen to it to see if you like it or not. It’s usually you love it or hate it. With the 2.5 it also depends on how you tune it. John can probably boost the bass to GH levels for example. One...

Was lucky to get my XTC2’s in Zebra - gorgeous. My favorite so far. Eating the beeswax would have driven the non-toxic point home for sure! 😁

The 2.5 does have naturally more bass impact being closed. I have both the XTC2 open and XTC2.5 closed. With my XTC2 open tuning of Defined Bass with elevated Detail the bass impact is equivalent to the closed 2.5 tuned linear down to 10hz. At that tuning the open is still plenty warm/organic...

Well put!

I see you use the Phonitor. I have had the X and XE. With their linear nature a little bump in the bass may not hurt.

Enhanced bass detailed on the warm side. However depending on your amp with the closed back you may just want to go linear like I did with my Burson GT. I have both. The GH50’s bass response sometimes can be a little too much overshadowing especially the lower mid range due to the horn loaded...