[HarleyZH]

Sounds kinda defective to me, my X1 was quite bassy and very very easy to drive.

 

[sappl3s]

So the only pair of headphones I own right now is the Beyer DT770 80ohms version, Been eyeing these for a while though. Would these be a worthwhile upgrade over those? 

 

[red12355]

  Sounds kinda defective to me, my X1 was quite bassy and very very easy to drive.

The WS99 is definitely more bassy.

 

[HarleyZH]

  The WS99 is definitely more bassy.

 
Not saying it isn't, just interested that the X1 he had was clipping a lot. If he can't get the volume he wants without high distortion then of course it won't sound very good to him. The X1 should be easy to amp unless he's using it right out of a phone.
 
What was he amping with, didn't seem to say?

 

[dailysmoker]

Use a Denon amp and a dac so the source is not the problem,the thing is my old X1 seemed to go louder and had more bass...maybe i got a returned version,they do that a lot it seems....and now i got a real new one and needs to be played in or i got a broken piece again...who knows...but i am done so it does not matter,i enjoy my ws99 a lot more too

 

[Replicant187]

even my ZX1 can drive X1 comfortably.

 

[Rake]

Has anybody tried Fidelio X1 with either Schiit Asgard 2 or Audio-GD 15.32? I'm happy with how they sound connected to my laptop, but I'm always wondering if I could improve them somehow.
No magni/modi in my country, and I'm willing to buy used, but first I would like to know if adding an amp to such easy to drive headphones would accomplish anything at all.

 

[bassboysam]

Amplification isn't just for driving a headphone, any amp will also add it's own sound signature. so if you find an amp that sounds "better" than what you currently have then yes you will hear an improvement.

 

[artheo]

I am about to buy a headphone amp for my Fidelio X1 and I am at a dilemma between two amps:
1) Project Starlight 
2) Lovely Cube 
 
Which one do you think would be the best choice for X1?

 

[NinjaQuick]

Anything that won't add warmth to the signature is a good bet. The X1s do not need a tube amp or overly warm solid states. They are warm enough as is.

 

[CoiL]

NinjaQuick, imho You are wrong and about tube amp and warm SS. Of course depends which tube or SS chip is being used. But...

  To make them sound better, they need exactly what Mike said in his headfonia review about them:

The 1840 is still more refined, and the mids and highs are smoother, but I find that a good tube amp can help the X1 in those departments. 

This headphone has a good speed and attack by default, so I won’t be needing a solid state. What it needs, however is a little smoother treble and a little boost in the mids body. The ALO Pan Am is the best pairing I’ve heard with the X1 especially with the smooth Siemens tube upgrade.

And I agree with that... based on Aune T1 + Siemens E88CC and iBasso DX50. Both smoothen littlebit X1 treble and boost up mids section. Also bass is brought down tad, making them little more neutral. Result is very very enjoyable, at least for me

 

[wigglepuff]

has anyone tried or succesfully removed the ear pads? I read a post here on head fi where they just literally tore off the pads, will that work? if yes what pads would best fit for replacement. My pads are degrading really fast due to sweat (dunno why I just sweat a lot on the resting part of the pads even in cold temp rooms when using any headphone, so my earpads die really fast)

 

[Duncan]

Late to the party as always but picked up a pair of these today, mated with the Sony MDR-Z1000 cable, almost exactly what I've been looking for - a breath of fresh air compared to the LCD2

 

[Duncan]

I suppose the biggest early compliment I can offer to the Fidelio X1 is that I can happily swap between them and the Sennheiser IE800 without feeling there is too much coloration on one or the other...

Yes, comparing apples to oranges, but with the IE800 having been my go-to 'phone for the past nine months, I can say the IE800 have more extension at top and bottom, but I would say being brutal, that gives the nod to the X1, which sounds warmer, less analytical - more musical (rather than technical).

Well done Philips - especially considering that these are only 33% of the cost of the IE800 at online retailers / 50% at full MSRP (in the UK, albeit I got a BNIB pair for only £110 - a steal!!)...

[EDIT] - Further steal status awarded to the X1, more air around instruments than the IE800 can muster - all in all really glad I've picked these up, sounding better to my ears than the LCD2 by a fair margin, and also easily besting Sony's TOTL products at a fraction of the cost.

 

[CoiL]

Have You tired it yet with tube amp or tube buffered dac? If not then give it a try!