Nice reviewi was surprised that you found the Beryllium "smoother" and the Biowool "sharper" !

good review.
very interested in these as a 300ohm version (as i have my 1st otl amp on order)
curious to know if they are worth the extra over original XTCO of identical spec driver as idealy i would like to keep cost down.

@oldson it's worth it. The price difference is not that big and the XTC2 offers some noticeable advantages over the XTC og even though both are very good. The XTC2 in my opinion offers a bigger sound stage.. things sound more 3 dimensional but it also seems to work better with more ear pads I try. The OG XTC, I really landed on 1 ear pad that worked best for me, but with the XTC2, I actually equally love how it sounds with 3-4 different ear pads and use them all depending on how I want to tweak the sound for my mood that day. I think the XTC2 is very well worth the extra spend. Since writing this review, this headphone has actually shot up to my #1 favorite product of all time. I can't think of any headphone at any price point that I like more than the XTC2.

i want a closed pair too.
my Mrs has hid my wallet