[CoiL]

I still recommend to measure impedance of those cheap cables before recommending to others. artheo, can You give us measurements of those two replacement cables? Especially interested about that kabeldirekt one.

 

[marko93101]

  The V-Moda cable is excellent for the price. I use the stock cable FWIW.

 
If I had inputs that allowed me to use the stock cable, then I would too. The stock cable is absolutely fantastic and the build quality is top notch. 

 

[people]

Quote:

  I still recommend to measure impedance of those cheap cables before recommending to others. artheo, can You give us measurements of those two replacement cables? Especially interested about that kabeldirekt one.

I'm not artheo, but happen to have been measuring a couple of cables out of curiosity to other day. One of them was a 2m KabelDirect Pro Series from amazon.de, it looks to be the same as the one mentioned above. Measurements are as follows, following your notation for easy comparison:
 
"KabelDirekt Pro Series Klinkenkabel 2m"
 
Ground to terminal 1 through left driver - 31.2
Ground to terminal 2 through right driver - 31.7
Ground to ground = 0.8
Terminal 1 to terminal 1 (right channel) = 1.1
Terminal 2 to terminal 2 (left channel) = 1.1
 
(Measurements were pretty much the same for the "deleyCON" cable that has been mentioned on page 165 of this thread)

 

[CoiL]

Then this kabeldirect pro seems to be a good cheap choice. Thanks for information and measurements! I added this info to X1 cable measurements post.
 
Quote:

 
The stock cable is absolutely fantastic and the build quality is top notch. 

If You mean looks, then yes but build quality otherwise? Cough cough... read those measurements: http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4320#post_10475263 

 

[marko93101]

   
If You mean looks, then yes but build quality otherwise? Cough cough... read those measurements: http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4320#post_10475263 

 
What can I say CoiL, other than convenience I haven't noticed any difference between the stock cable and the V-Moda one. Perhaps that's just my very untrained ear. 

 

[rodweb]

What can I say CoiL, other than convenience I haven't noticed any difference between the stock cable and the V-Moda one. Perhaps that's just my very untrained ear. 

Cables are just cables, you shouldn't bother.

 

[marko93101]

Cables are just cables, you shouldn't bother.

 
I don't I just didn't have any device to utilise the stock cable and didn't particularly feel comfortable with the 1/4-1/8 jack. So the V-Moda was my saving grace. 

 

[rodweb]

I don't I just didn't have any device to utilise the stock cable and didn't particularly feel comfortable with the 1/4-1/8 jack. So the V-Moda was my saving grace. 

Yeah, for me it's just about convenience too.

 

[marko93101]

Yeah, for me it's just about convenience too.

 
True that! So how are you finding the X1s? 

 

[rodweb]

True that! So how are you finding the X1s? 

I haven't had much time with them yet, but I'm liking so far. They're great with well recorded pop, R&B and hip-hop. Plus they don't do rock/metal bad at all (but I still prefer my others can for that by a margin).

Slam is very good, sub-bass too. I'm just missing some transparency/details.

It's an easy can to listen too, I could definitely recommend them to most people I know

 

[CoiL]

 
I'm just missing some transparency/details.

Get a better tube for Aune T1

 

[rodweb]

Get a better tube for Aune T1

I haven't done tube rolling yet and I'm pretty skeptical about this. I mean, even the fact of amping alone doesn't make a world of a difference.

And I don't see how changing tube can solve those problems (for me). As far as I know, tunes adds distortion to the signal, so if I want transparency and details, shouldn't I go solid state? xD the only reason (IMO) for one tube being considered more detailed than other would be if the reference one masked the details with its distortion (you follow me?), so the second tube would seem more detailed.

Of course, just my opinion, don't want to join in a discussion

 

[xDezor]

   
Thanks for the quick reply. I just needed confirmation that this wasn't something by design. If you haven't found flaws, I'm sure it's just my source/ears. I just didn't want to see everyone jump in and say "oh, yeah, come to think of it mine does that too!".
 
I must admit, my concerns may be a bit premature. I'm traveling at the moment and I only have a crappy HP netbook/laptop to test with (and a phone). After investigating the laptop a little further it appears that it treats the audio-out as both a speaker/headphone source - and I can't change it to just headphone - so it may be doing some audio processing, or at least be configured incorrectly for true positional sound. This doesn't really concern me as it will be replaced relatively soon.
 
I won't have access to my desktop until I get back in a week. That should be a much fairer test as it's supposed to have semi-decent onboard audio (motherboard is an Asus Maximus V Gene). Then I'll be able to load up Counter-Strike: Source and see what's really going on with the 3D sound.
 
In the interim I've loaded a couple of tracks onto my HTC One to listen to. It doesn't seem to suffer from the same negative depth issues as my netbook - or at least not to the same degree. 
 
 
And you are right, it honestly could just be my ears. I was using a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's almost exclusively for the last 9 years without any other headphone sources to compare it to. I've read that they don't have a particularly good soundstage, if at all. Maybe this will take some time. 

Quick update:
 
So... Moving back to my desktop seems to have alleviated all of my positional audio concerns. Audio is exactly where it should be - none of this music coming from behind you mumbo-jumbo. This is great! Playing games built with Rapture 3D has been a treat. I've been playing DiRT 2 mostly, picking out the different sounds as you drive from crowded town to open vista. Getting Counter-Strike: Source running with Creative Alchemy has been interesting as well - at least it works at an acceptable level.
 
Unfortunately, through all this testing I've also discovered what a pile of crap my onboard audio is - it might even be worse than my laptop. I'm pretty sure I'm picking up some electrical interference from the rest of the motherboard as well. As expected, it will need to be replaced one way or another. One thing I didn't anticipate is the effect my noisy desktop would have on open-back headphones. Because of all the whirling fans, the noise floor has been raised to unacceptable levels (to me). I think I've been spoiled by the noise isolation the 280's could provide. I could hear a virtual pin drop in game.. Now not so much. I'll have to invest some money into quieting the system - or replacing it - or buying some DT 770's for such low-volume tasks. 
 
Anyway... I'm in the market for a new DAC (or maybe a soundcard... haven't decided). I'll have to spend more time researching. I've been eyeing up the Aune T1 at the moment.. Not sure I want to stumble down the tube rabbit-hole though. Sure does look cool though. 
 
Check out my new banana-holder/headphone stand! (excuse the low quality pictures.. taken with a banana). $9 at Bed Bath and way Beyond.. 

 

 

[CoiL]

 

Get a better tube for Aune T1

I haven't done tube rolling yet and I'm pretty skeptical about this. I mean, even the fact of amping alone doesn't make a world of a difference.

And I don't see how changing tube can solve those problems (for me). As far as I know, tunes adds distortion to the signal, so if I want transparency and details, shouldn't I go solid state? xD the only reason (IMO) for one tube being considered more detailed than other would be if the reference one masked the details with its distortion (you follow me?), so the second tube would seem more detailed.

Of course, just my opinion, don't want to join in a discussion

Seems You are more into belief of theoretical audio not into ears-belief.But yeah, lets not go into this subject... it will be flames and blood  
 

 
Anyway... I'm in the market for a new DAC (or maybe a soundcard... haven't decided). I'll have to spend more time researching. I've been eyeing up the Aune T1 at the moment.. Not sure I want to stumble down the tube rabbit-hole though. Sure does look cool though. 

If You don`t want to mess with tube rolling, then X1 pro maybe? 

  Well for those that doesn't want tube amps and don't want to be spending over a kidney, a lung and some vital organs, I find the solid state Aune X1 Pro to be the best fit with the Fidelio X1, period (unless you like a wildly different signature, like more bass).
 
After over a week of owning them, I can confidently say the X1 Pro does the Fidelio X1 justice. I've already written my early impressions a few pages back, but the TLDR is; tighter bass, more forwrard, fluid mids, even more energy in the treble without sounding harsh.
Power is there to boot and it improves the dynamics of the Fidelio X1 over something like say the popular E17 pairing.
 
How much is it? I paid $195 for it. Yes, $195. That's cheaper than a Schiit M&M stack and it comes with even more inputs for convenience sake.
The bonus? It has support for DSD files too.
 
Aune has limited 100 units for its first launch, but I'm pretty sure wtih the feedback so far, they are eager to ramp up production on the X1 Pro along with the new T1 MK2.

 

[rodweb]

Seems You are more into belief of theoretical audio not into ears-belief.But yeah, lets not go into this subject... it will be flames and blood  

Yeah, but I wouldn't say theoretical (somethings are well known and comproved).
I like some objectivism/logical because our ears(+ brain) are much more deceiving than people think

Blood is not cool