[MrScratch]

@montymastiff: as Change is Good pointed out, the headphones you mentioned are bound to be driven by a dedicated amp, the AKG Q701 being the most picky of the bunch. The Fidelio X1 pairs well even with phones as long as your devices have a low output impedance. According to this page your iPad meets the requirements (iPad Retina/4 isn't listed but it should be equal to the iPad 3).
 
Quote:

 
 
The DT770 PRO and M50 are both bass-heavy, so the X1 might be the most similar to their sound.  The HD598 doesn't have a whole lot of bass, so you might not like it.  Q701 is fairly neutral but is pretty well balanced.  The HD650 might have the most natural timbre of the bunch.
 
There is no "best" sound since that's influenced by personal preferences.

 
 
The DT770 and the M50 are known for their V-shaped sound while the X1 is pretty smooth with a nice hump in the bass region. I think that the Fidelio X1 shares more similarities with the HiFiMAN HE-400 and the Sennheiser HD 650.

 

[Padawan38]

Actually I don't have PS500 but very interested into that one.
One reason is because it seems different from the other Grados, with more flat curve, more bass, pretty neutral, smooth high, etc ...
Then I have imagined the X1 (maybe with other cable) might be not so different.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

So the Inakustik premium cable came in. Haven't had a chance to listen, but it does look very nice. My problem with it is that it's quite stiff, and retains cable memory so take that into account.

Having used the Vmoda cable on the Mad Dogs. I found it to be considerably easier to manage compared to the Inakustik one. The Mediabridge cable is about the same thickness but doesn't have a cloth sleeve and is much easier to manage as well.

 

[Kamakahah]

I forgot to ask; How does the bass of the X1 compare to the Mad Dogs? Quantity, quality, extension, etc?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Mad Dogs are linear in bass and all of it is well textured and layered. The X1's bass is prominentt and emphasized/colored noticeably and isn't as textured and refined, but immediately more fun and exciting. In terms of quality, the X1's bass isn't gonna topple planars like the MD, HE400, and LCD2. Not even close, but I still find it more preferable because it's more involved.

 

[Kamakahah]

Thanks. I might just Amazon them to demo since they have a sweet return policy.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

So the Inakustik premium cable came in. Haven't had a chance to listen, but it does look very nice. My problem with it is that it's quite stiff, and retains cable memory so take that into account.
 

 
 
That was fast.  Someone already mentioned that the premium version is too stiff....
 
 
Quote:

The premium version is a very stiff cable. It does have a very low resistance (see some messages back in this thread), but I would not recommend it to use it as a headphone cable.
The INAKUSTIK MP3 cable (cheaper than the premium version) is a thin flexible cable and also has a very low resistance (0.2 Ohms).
I would say just to try the INAKUSTIK MP3 cable because it is a cheap cable. It' no disaster that the cable isn't better than the stock cable.

 
 
...I ordered the cheaper "Star Series" version of the cable just for kicks.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I completely missed that. Ugh...

25 bucks... and I may have to return it... oh well.

I'll probably order the star cable soon, depending on what kind of improvement the premium has over the Mediabridge. . Did you order the 9.8 feet one? It has the wrong image displayed on the listing, lol.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I'll probably order the star cable soon, depending on what kind of improvement the premium has over the Mediabridge. . Did you order the 9.8 feet one? It has the wrong image displayed on the listing, lol.

 
 
I ordered the 4.9 foot one, as that is long enough for where I sit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E674VK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
The 9.8 foot has the wrong picture, but the amazon part number matches the part number for the 9.8 foot star MP3 cable off of In-Akustik's website, so it should be fine.

 

[Overwerk]

that honestly look inferior to the generic medialink

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Inakustik premium is basically the same thickness as the Mediabridge cable. I hope someone checks the impedance on the mediabridge cable.... I'll make a wild guess and say it's probably 1.0ohm.

The thinnest cable is the Vmoda cable, but its incredibly well built. Just don't wanna spend 17 bucks on a cable that may be 1.5ohms. Conflicting reports.

The safest bet is probably the Inakustik star cable.

 

[Poleepkwa]

Quote:

The Inakustik premium is basically the same thickness as the Mediabridge cable. I hope someone checks the impedance on the mediabridge cable.... I'll make a wild guess and say it's probably 1.0ohm.

The thinnest cable is the Vmoda cable, but its incredibly well built. Just don't wanna spend 17 bucks on a cable that may be 1.5ohms. Conflicting reports.

The safest bet is probably the Inakustik star cable.

I measured the V-Moda cable to be 1.3 ohms too. I got the same measurement as Point 7. (Dunno how Tyll got 0.5)

 

[Padawan38]

Hello
 
I just got my X1 after having hesitated with Grado PS500 (not listened).
I'm very happy with its sound - BTW I don't feel there's too much bass - and I have ordered both v-moda and inakustik premium for further testing.
I'll see whether there's any improvement with those cables and let you know my feelings.
 
To the ones who have tested plenty of cables for X1, is there a way to get kind of a ranking and the sound signature for each ?
 
Thx a lot

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

To the ones who have tested plenty of cables for X1, is there a way to get kind of a ranking and the sound signature for each ?

 
Sound signature of each cable??
 
The point of getting a different cable is to get one with lower resistance to improve the damping factor on the X1.

 

[Kamakahah]

Quote:

I measured the V-Moda cable to be 1.3 ohms too. I got the same measurement as Point 7. (Dunno how Tyll got 0.5)

 
When I measure mine, I get 0.5 ohms. Quality control issue maybe.