[The Third]

I finally received my X0X0's and the first impression they give me is that they sound somewhat like the HE-400 I also own, but with more texture to the entire sound. The bass is absolutely masterful; reaches deep, good control and rumble/slam. The soundstage gives me the impression I am sitting in a car, which is good for a closed headphone but not excellent. I think the X0X0's would not  be my go to cans for gaming or watching movies, but for music listening
 
What actually surprises me the most are the organic mids, and the little nuances in sound that can be heard even though there is such a huge bass body present. The highs are definitely hyped up to my ears but far from being harsh. Now when it comes to accuracy, imaging and speed these don't do exceptionally well. I actually find the Soundmagic HP150 at half price doing a better job in those departments. But what these X0X0's do have over the HP150 is pure enjoyment within all music tracks without sacrificing a hint of quality. The X0X0's spectrum is just brilliant and fun. 
 
These are just my first impressions but I get the feeling these headphones are an instant must have for those who want to get the most out of their music listening.

 

[betula]

  I finally received my X0X0's and the first impression they give me is that they sound somewhat like the HE-400 I also own, but with more texture to the entire sound. The bass is absolutely masterful; reaches deep, good control and rumble/slam. The soundstage gives me the impression I am sitting in a car, which is good for a closed headphone but not excellent. I think the X0X0's would not  be my go to cans for gaming or watching movies, but for music listening
 
What actually surprises me the most are the organic mids, and the little nuances in sound that can be heard even though there is such a huge bass body present. The highs are definitely hyped up to my ears but far from being harsh. Now when it comes to accuracy, imaging and speed these don't do exceptionally well. I actually find the Soundmagic HP150 at half price doing a better job in those departments. But what these X0X0's do have over the HP150 is pure enjoyment within all music tracks without sacrificing a hint of quality. The X0X0's spectrum is just brilliant and fun. 
 
These are just my first impressions but I get the feeling these headphones are an instant must have for those who want to get the most out of their music listening.

Nice first impressions. I can agree with most of your statements.
I'd like to add, that the experience/sound becomes better, as your ears get used to the headphones.
Also, IMO a good DAC is important to have with X00s. They sound good out of anything, but a better DAC is quite a bit of an improvement especially in clarity.

Someone else has mentioned a few posts earlier, that they didn't find the bass the tightest. IMO this also improves with a little burn in time and adjusting your hearing to the X00s, plus using a good DAC.

These are fun headphones for music listening first of all, with fabulous bass and over average resolution. I totally agree with that.

 

[ATau]

Check out my new HifiMan's

 

 

[WayTooCrazy]

I like these for single player gaming. I wouldn't try online competitive though.

 

[ATau]

They sound incredibly natural! Birds chirping, children crying, etc.

 

[betula]

I didn't say they are not good for gaming. They are. But if I had to rate them on a scale of ten for gaming or music listening with the X2s for example, in X00s case I'd give 10 for music, 8 for gaming (8 is still a good score), while in X2s case it would be the opposite. Probably just because of the spaciousness of the opened back design. 

 

[The Third]

 
Nice first impressions. I can agree with most of your statements.
I'd like to add, that the experience/sound becomes better, as your ears get used to the headphones.
Also, IMO a good DAC is important to have with X00s. They sound good out of anything, but a better DAC is quite a bit of an improvement especially in clarity.

Someone else has mentioned a few posts earlier, that they didn't find the bass the tightest. IMO this also improves with a little burn in time and adjusting your hearing to the X00s, plus using a good DAC.

These are fun headphones for music listening first of all, with fabulous bass and over average resolution. I totally agree with that.

Yes I definitely need to upgrade my DAC/AMP, I am running them through an UCA-222 with Fiio E11  
I just unboxed these so I only can give very rough first impressions. I will definitely give another impression after a week or two of extensive listening. 
I can already add that these are very natural sounding. Just a very textured sound, with very good instrument seperation

 

[WayTooCrazy]

Well, I just tried comparing the PH against my EL8-O (2016) and I can say that the PH do not seem to go deeper in the bass region, but definitely multiply the amount x4 or 5. The entire range of sound up to the upper mids seems more recessed than the EL8. Though, the PH seem to have brighter highs. Overall, I do enjoy both. I will use them for different genres of music. PH for my Jazz and some slow songs. My EL8 for faster Rock and Metal type songs. Though, as I posted earlier... for stand-up bass and bass guitar. It takes a dump all over the EL8. As always, these are my impressions.

 

[crazychile]

I probably only have about 20 hours on these so far but I like them.
 
Finally I own a pair of headphones that makes a kick drum sound believable. Same with bass guitar arpeggio and slaps.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

So, anyone who has been offered a refund or exchange for their PH via Massdrop, what are you selecting? I was actually going to ask if it were more feasible for them to offer say, a $50 credit towards another Massdrop purchase and instructions for the customer to fix the issue. I don't really feel like waiting for yet another pair of headphones and breaking those in as well, nor do I feel like completely giving up my headphones. Thoughts?

 

[The Third]

Did anyone else also notice that these headphones extract a lot out of vocals; breathing nuances or background voices?

 

[WayTooCrazy]

  Did anyone else also notice that these headphones extract a lot out of vocals; breathing nuances or background voices?

They are a nice headphone. I swapped out my tube in the Vali 2 back to stock, which sounds better with these headphones. I wish I had an SS amp to try, maybe I'll use them on my AVR later today and see how they sound.

 

[Manrique Chan]

I opted for the replacement, but I did sent them another email asking if they could get a new batch of cups from Fostex and send them as replacements. Haven't heard from the Massdrop rep I've been dealing with.

 

[fjrabon]

well, this may be such a debacle that they're forgoing warranty issues.

 

[inertianinja]

  So, anyone who has been offered a refund or exchange for their PH via Massdrop, what are you selecting? I was actually going to ask if it were more feasible for them to offer say, a $50 credit towards another Massdrop purchase and instructions for the customer to fix the issue. I don't really feel like waiting for yet another pair of headphones and breaking those in as well, nor do I feel like completely giving up my headphones. Thoughts?

 
 
The advice I would give to you and everyone else: SLEEP ON IT.
 
Right now, in the flurry of forum posts about the bubble wrap thing might make it seem like a bigger deal than it really is.
You might decide to return them, you might end up not caring.
Point is: You don't have to make that decision today. 
 
Give it a few days, see what other people do, etc.