[Faceman]

   
Maybe a better soundstage, a little bit more clarity in the highs.. and a slighly less darker? I dont mean that I hate the current signature but generally wondering what an upgrade in a similar line would be.

The X2?  What are you using as a source for your X1s?

 

[Midgetguy]

   
Maybe a better soundstage, a little bit more clarity in the highs.. and a slighly less darker? I dont mean that I hate the current signature but generally wondering what an upgrade in a similar line would be.

When you said clarity and less dark, I thought of my set of HD600s, but then you wanted more soundstage and I feel like the X1 bests the HD600s in this department. If you find a way to try them out though, that would be a good idea.

 

[CoiL]

Or get into tubes and start rolling

 

[DagsJT]

I've got some X1's and an Astro Mixamp arriving next week to use on my PS4 and PC. Is it worth me picking up a cheap Fiio or will the mixamp give enough of a boost?

 

[Jozurr]

 
The X2?  What are you using as a source for your X1s?

 
From what I've read the X2 won't be a significant upgrade over the X1. Specially price wise.

 
When you said clarity and less dark, I thought of my set of HD600s, but then you wanted more soundstage and I feel like the X1 bests the HD600s in this department. If you find a way to try them out though, that would be a good idea.

 
I did listen to the HD600 but felt it was a little bass light. Also tried the HD650 but that felt like it had a veil and I hated the clarity on it.

  Or get into tubes and start rolling

 
Doesn't that usually make the sound warmer?

 

[CoiL]

 

  Or get into tubes and start rolling

 
Doesn't that usually make the sound warmer?

I would say no. It`s more like typical misconception imho. There are tubes that can make things bright and cold, warm and sweet or very well balanced and neutral sounding. Of course depends what tubes and where being used, amp or buffered dac.
With my Aune T1 dac/amp I`ve found Siemens E88CC goldpin to be perfect match making X1 more neutral and balanced, tighter bass and kick while slightly recessing bass quantity. Littlebit smoothed highs and tinybit better mids. And soundstage is huge with great frontal depth.

 

[oscarc]

I've got some X1's and an Astro Mixamp arriving next week to use on my PS4 and PC. Is it worth me picking up a cheap Fiio or will the mixamp give enough of a boost?

I have the same combo and find the MixAmp is powerful enough to drive the X1. 

 

[CoiL]

The "problem" with X1 is not need for enough power to drive it but finding good matching dac or amp. It does benefit from amping though but not much.

 

[Midgetguy]

I've got some X1's and an Astro Mixamp arriving next week to use on my PS4 and PC. Is it worth me picking up a cheap Fiio or will the mixamp give enough of a boost?

Nah, the mixamp will power it just fine and from my experience with the previous gen mixamp, the dac chip on it isn't half bad either. But the one I've got access to (it's a friend's) is old, probably like 4 years old or more and the amp half has pretty much broken down as far as performance. It can still deliver the power, but all through the range there's channel imbalance. You have to slowly find the pocket that doesn't have channel imbalance and sometimes it's a little too quiet or a little too loud, kind of annoying.
 

  I did listen to the HD600 but felt it was a little bass light. Also tried the HD650 but that felt like it had a veil and I hated the clarity on it.
 

Agreed on the HD650 veil. Wasn't a fan of it, glad I got the HD600s. To be fair, a lot of stuff sounds bass light going from the X1s. Before using those, I actually thought the HD600s had plenty of good quality bass punch. I'm sure I'll readjust later though, the rest of the spectrum just sounds fantastic on the HD600s.

 

[Jozurr]

  I would say no. It`s more like typical misconception imho. There are tubes that can make things bright and cold, warm and sweet or very well balanced and neutral sounding. Of course depends what tubes and where being used, amp or buffered dac.
With my Aune T1 dac/amp I`ve found Siemens E88CC goldpin to be perfect match making X1 more neutral and balanced, tighter bass and kick while slightly recessing bass quantity. Littlebit smoothed highs and tinybit better mids. And soundstage is huge with great frontal depth.

 
Doesn't the Aune T1 have the tubes in the DAC part and not the amp part? I thought it was amp with tube =  warmer sound, dac with tube = Distorted/changed sound (like in your case here)

 

[CoiL]

Yes, Aune T1 has tube buffered dac, didn`t claim it being tube amp. Point stays same.

There are tubes that can make things bright and cold, warm and sweet or very well balanced and neutral sounding. Of course depends what tubes and where being used, amp or buffered dac.

 

[Faceman]

I am loving my new X1s.  I got them for a song used, and they are fantastic.  They legitimately do everything well.  I can switch from genre to genre or movie to game seamlessly and they perform well. 
 
There are definitely some areas where these headphones excel, and are a revelation.  I find deep house music with strong male or female vocals to be a major strength.  As well as 90s/early 2000s R&B and Hip Hop.  Rock and Roll, oldies and alternative is also very good, but doesn't lend itself as well to the strength of this headphone.  This headphone is a real treat for someone who enjoys bass in their House music and rap.
 
Watching movies and shows is also a treat.  Burn Notice with these headphones... wow.  You notice every little thing going on in the scene.  You are immersed within the show.  If a scene is being shot in a concrete room, it sounds like a concrete room.  Same goes for any other setting.  I personally love this, and feel like it takes my shows to the next level.
 
Gaming is also great.  Massive sound stage and gaming sounds great.  The sound of sniper fire coming close to you in BF4 is really something to behold.  It sounds so good, and its like each shot has its own signature based on how close or far away it is.  Really impressed with this and has taken immersion in my games to the next level.
 
The only area where I find them to not do so well is with more pop-scentric music.  Songs and artists that take full advantage of auto-tune, it seems to throw the entire track "off" for me.  Its not bad, but going from a poppy song where I am noticing this irregularity, for lack of a better word, to a house song, its a massive perceived difference for me.  This is not a complaint, just an observation.  I am very pleased with these headphones and I would recommend anyone to pick up a pair used if they can get them in good condition and at a good price, say $120-$180. 
 
I opted for these over the X2s because the X2s were on back order, and have the mysterious dye leak issue going on.  Not to mention, paying twice as much for some small, but noticeable improvements.  Maybe the X2s make those auto-tuned songs sound better?

 

[bbieringer]

 
I opted for these over the X2s because the X2s were on back order, and have the mysterious dye leak issue going on.

 
Sorry Faceman, but the X1's ear pads leak dye too. It can stain wood and cloth so I recommend hanging your X1's on a stand

 

[Faceman]

   
Sorry Faceman, but the X1's ear pads leak dye too. It can stain wood and cloth so I recommend hanging your X1's on a stand

Mine are used, so I think if they were leaking, it would have happened to the first owner?

 

[CoiL]

 

 
I opted for these over the X2s because the X2s were on back order, and have the mysterious dye leak issue going on.

 
Sorry Faceman, but the X1's ear pads leak dye too. It can stain wood and cloth so I recommend hanging your X1's on a stand

Weird, I bought my X1 used (X1/28 - european) and they had been used only about ~50h. They never leaked any ink/dye and didn`t even after/while washing them.