Hrmph, so this is really weird. This morning I've been listening to them wired, with ANC off, but this time streaming Tidal from my iPad to my Leckerton DAC/AMP, and now I find the sound distinctly better with the ANC off. The Leckerton is a lovely and musical amp, but I didn't think it would...

Yep pretty much. I haven't plugged them into my desktop rigs but I don't imagine that would make much difference with these.

On my wireless versions I find the sound when wired and with ANC off relatively poor. Definitely a bit boomy and veiled. I have no idea if that's how the wired version sounds, but I would find it strange. The wireless version really does sound much better when switched on, it comes alive and...

Just for the record, I'm not having BT issues with mine at all either.

So I was finally able to order the M2 wireless yesterday and received them today. I've had limited time with them, but here are some preliminary impressions: 1. They look and feel amazing out of the box. Really nice materials. I got the white ones. 2. These are my first ever wireless...

So apologies if I'm re-treading old ground with this question, but I'm very new to the world of CCK connections from my iPads and iPhone and after a chunk of reading I'm still confused about what's the best way forward. Basically, I have an iPad 4, an iPad Air 2 and an iPhone 5S and recently...

The M2 wireless should be available here in Europe in a few days, and I think I've convinced myself to pick one up the moment I can.  Currently I'm using the M100, which someone else also mentioned recently - they are definitely overly bassy for my tastes.  I only have Apple mobile devices at...

I've never been able to like my HD 800s quite as much as I've wanted to. Can't bring myself to sell them either though! The HE-500s are the ones that have clicked for me more than any other headphone I've heard.

LOL yes everyone is fine with another potentially good DAP coming out, but less so with the Pono marketing language as it's extremely misleading if not downright dishonest in regards to digital music formats.

Great, thank you both! Sounds like we should be able to work something out. :) I'll happily bring my Taboo MKIII and my Violectric V800 / V200 stack, together with my HE-500s and HD 800s. I also have some portable gear.

I couldn't live with the HD 800s as my only pair of headphones either. I love having them around, and do admire them greatly, but as a listener of rock and metal I very often reach for the HE-500 instead.

I wouldn't mind bringing my rig(s) but I don't have a car so someone would have to drive me from Amsterdam. :)

Everyone has seen the charts and knows the mathematical differences. It's more a matter that under test conditions it turns out that all that extra 'data' is inaudible.

So after a couple days I'm definitely enjoying the X5. It's everything I wanted and expected it to be. Including a bit quirky, and occasionally buggy (songs skipping, one freeze so far). The sound is good and I enjoy my colleagues expressions when they go 'what the hell is that?!' :)

Well I switched to some albums that suit the M100s better and it sounds good so far, but I'd need to do some further A/B testing to see if there's any significant difference to the Samsung S4 I normally use when out and about. I will try my HD 800s and HE-500s with the X5 too, just for fun...

LOL this thread..... sigh. Anyway I received my X5 from HDPHNS today. It's got some quirks but none of them are surprises cause I did my homework before buying. Soundwise my first impression was of a boomy mess - then I remembered that's how my M100s sound. :) Next purhase will definitely be a...

A lot of strange comments here. I think the X5 will work well for most people, which is all any manufacturer can ask for. EVERY consumer electronics device will have some dealbreakers for some people. Whether that's size, removable storage, colour, features, whatever. Just look at how many...

Yep looking forward to putting Bafflegate behind us and seeing these come to market (even though I doubt I'll feel the need to upgrade from my HE-500s for quite a while).

My goodness those accessories look great. I'm tempted to get the E12, not for any auditory reason, but just because it looks so cool as a stack. :-D

Thanks Fried! I don't think I really need the 24/192, but great to know that it's an easy upgrade if I decide I do.

LOL none of the retailers knew when they'd get their stock. FiiO has been shipping out as devices roll off the production line. They couldn't possibly have shipped all orders at once to everyone without delaying another month.

Yeah what a mess. How dare Hifiman release yet another set of amazing headphones. And then listen to customer feedback! I would certainly never spend money with a company like that. Sigh... :)

  Great, thanks!  I suspect that the delay that HDPHNS are talking about is the last one that pushed shipments to where we are now.  Shipments were previously meant to have gone out a bit earlier, by the end of March iirc.

To be fair when that thread was created the hype train in this one was pretty extreme.

So the email from HDPHNS today stated that there's a one to two week delay in shipping because of updates to both hardware and software. That doesn't sound right - or are they referring to an earlier delay?