Pahani
500+ Head-Fier
Initial impressions, after 3x4 hrs listening.
The colors of the earcups are much more brown than orange. Not what I expected, but I like it.
My ears comfortably fit into the earcups without touching anything.
The headphones are much lighter than expected. They look quality, but somehow I expected more impressive appearance.
My main headphone was X2 for more than a year, so most of the comparison will be to X2. Worth to mention, I recently bought and sold NH as well (had it for 2-3 weeks).
I do not really believe in physical burn in, more in brain burn in. And the time of brain burn in may differ. But I spent quite some time with each of these headphones.
I am not going into scaling, using the headphones with different amps, I just mention, I used Mojo for comparison. (I can't stop myself to say that X2 scales surprisingly well.)
So, in music listening I am looking for a fun sound more than a natural studio monitor. Casual music listening is my aim, not analytical detail hunting. Also, much of my music is electronic, so detailed and deep bass is essential.
I love however the space and naturalness of opened headphones, I can even sacrifice some bass for more air.
This is how I ended up with X2. Best opened back bass, but still there is some naturalness and space and air. HD600 felt pale next to X2, HE400s just didn't have bass at all. M100 was too closed and boomy, Nighthawks was good. Great actually. Superb bass, details, warmth and smoothness and warmth and smoothness, and more warmth. Like you were locked into a fluffy bubble. In long term I might have been able to embrace it. But 1-2 weeks with NH was not enough for that.
Close, intimate experience with NH, but upper frequencies just not my taste.
X00 was my best hope.
It does have a more exciting sound than X2, it is obvious in the first few minutes. The sound is not as close and not as intimate as it is with NH. But still much closer than X2. Bass is much better than X2, same level as NH, but with more impact and "slam". NH bass is smoother, more mellow. X2 bass in comparison is just a sneeze in the gloomy autumn dawn.
Highs on X2 are more airy and more natural. X00 highs seem to be emphasized a bit. Just as its lows and mids. NH highs are just melt away, nothing left to say about it. So warm and dark.
Mids on X2 are slightly recessed compared to a HD600, but still more natural than X00 or NH. And more airy and natural. X00 feels a bit like W shape sometimes. NH was just bass, and then less mids, and then even less highs.
The truth has to be said: X2 sounds boring compared to X00. While it still competes with NH for a fun and bassy sound, X00 just beats it and finishes the debate. NH has such a unique sound signature, that it divides people. Love it or hate it.
X2 has good space, and sounds quite natural. But X00 is just better in every other aspect. Better and more bass, more details. (Maybe even more than with NH.) More punch, more impact, more fun. X2 is still like open air music listening. NH is a closed fluffy bubble, X00 has like a covered tennis court amount of space.
With my music I am happy to sacrifice a little space for better bass.
My only concern is, after longer listening X00 almost sounds a bit fatiguing after X2's smoothness. Stronger bass, stronger highs. Is this something that tames with burn in?
Even though this initial harshness worries me a little, I already find I couldn't go back to X2 only, as it sounds grey and unexciting compared to X00s.
Awesome!! As a fellow X2 fan, I've been awaiting your X00 impressions
I will say that my X2's have taken a back seat in recent weeks to my new T50RP Mk3's. I still can't pinpoint their sonic signature, but the clarity, detail, and the excitement is there I switched back to my X2's for just a few minutes and was absolutely shocked at how muddy they sounded in comparison.
It'll be a long wait until August for my Purplehearts to show up >.< But those cups are just so beautiful in pictures that I wouldn't have it any other way. I suspect as well that X00 will be my last stop on the Mid-Fi train, and it'll take a large jump to top them.