I just got my Philips X2's and I will be doing a little comparison between them and my Beyerdynamic DT880's 600ohm. A few other headphones I've owned in the past are the Audio-Technica ATH-AD700, Sennheiser HD595 and Astro A40. I'm using a Asus Essence STX soundcard as my source and Matrix-m-stage amp. Keep in mind I just got the X2's and I'm still burning them in.
BUILD:
The X2 are very nice looking headphones and have that nice black sleek look while the DT880's has its classic Beyer look. The build quality is top notch and they feel like they can take more of a beating compared to the DT880's. This all depends on how you take care of the headphones. Like the DT880's I actually like that the cable only comes out from the left phone, I find that the cable gets less in the way like this. The cable on the X2's is a braided cable while the DT880's use a rubber housing. The ear cushions on both headphones are velour padded, the X2 has memory foam inside the padding while the DT880's have more of a regular type of foam.
COMFORT:
Comfort is a big deal to me as I do long music listening and gaming sessions and the X2's do not disappoint. Compared to the DT880's I found the X2's clamp down more around my head so I'll be working on widening them and you can also bend the headband to help with this. Other than that they feel on par with the DT880's comfort wise and that's saying a lot, the ear cushions are deeper on the X2's and the memory foam inside feels very comfortable. Everything from the headband design, slightly stronger clamp and ear cushions make the X2's a snug but well conformed fit around my head where the DT880's feel more loose and airy. The X2 and DT880 are two of THE most comfortable headphones I've ever worn.
SOUND:
From listening to both the DT880 and X2 i finally understand what people mean when they say that some headphones "let you see the music"(DT880) while others "let you feel it"(X2). The X2 was exactly the headphone I was looking for with its fun and punchy sound with a touch of warmth. It has a great bass heavy thump that is lacking in the DT880. The highs of the X2 are smooth and the mids are neither recessed or up front, they stay very much intact considering the bass it has, it is very well rounded. The DT880 does have a more refined detailed analytical sound, distinct bass and delicious treble that it's known for and I find myself switching back and forth between the two headphones depending on what I'm doing. Both headphones do have a large and open sound stage, from my previous experience with the ATH-AD700 which is king in this area I'd say the DT880's have a slightly wider and deeper sound stage but the X2's for being a open bassy headphone are definitely no slouch.
I also tried Dolby Headphone mode in Xonar Audio Center for both headphones using the headphone output on the soundcard which uses the soundcard's internal amp. I found Dolby mode made the bass muddy and made the sound hollow. I'm sure I can play around with equalizing that in foobar to make it work.
FINAL WORDS:
Overall I'm very happy with my purchase of the X2's. They have that fun warm sound, thumpy bass and are very well rounded. The build quality is top notch and they're as comfortable as the DT880's while looking awesome. I feel the X2's complement the DT880's and I'll be switching back and forth between them a lot. I'll probably use the X2's for more gaming, movie watching and head bobbing edm listening and the DT880's for more relaxed music listening but who knows as I just started using the X2's. I wish I had the HD650 to compare with these two but I have owned the HD595 in the past and while they have that great Sennheiser warm sound signature I just don't remember them being as comfortable as the DT880 and X2. I don't see myself buying any new headphones for a while as I'm really happy with this combo.
