Small update after listening to my X1's a bit more and having my friend come by with his DT 990 250 Ohm's for a direct comparison test since my initial review was based on what I remembered about the DT 990's.
First, let me start by saying that after listening to these for a few days the bass has tightened up a bit and the instruments appear to have even more air in the same songs than they did when they were straight out of the box. For me, this is good because you get that live concert feel and the fact that the bass has a bit more control is also welcome, although I was pretty happy with how they sounded straight out of the box anyway.
Comfort
I want to talk about comfort again after my friend brought over his DT 990 premiums. I have the DT 880 Pro's which clamp a bit more than the DT990 premiums. The X1's clamp the most of the three due to the headband design which does not have sliders like the Beyerdynamic headphones. This means that there is a ton of space for horizontally wide heads but less so for vertically long heads compared to the Beyerdynamics. If it helps to get a better idea of how well the X1's can accommodate your head, I wear my DT 880s on the 5th slider adjustment of 8 total adjustments. The X1's probably have enough vertical travel to allow for someone who would typically wear the DT 880's on the 6th and maybe 7th adjustment but not the 8th adjustment. Now, because the X1 does not have manual slider adjustments you cannot loosen the headphone once it is on. It is designed to fit the shape of your head and fit snug so that they can't slip off easily. Thankfully, the memory foam velour ear pads are very comfortable and do not put much pressure on your skull at all. The most pressure comes from the flexible headband and even that is pretty similar in feel to the DT 880 Pro.
Another thing I would like to point out is ear size and how far a person's ears stick out from their head. I have pretty averaged sized ears in relation to my head and they don't stick out too far, although my right ear sticks out further than my left upon self examination (weird). As a result, I do not have any issues wearing pretty much any headphone but I realize that some of you might so I thought I would talk about this a bit. The ear pad holes on the X1 are smaller than the both of the Beyerdynamic headphones, but not by a whole lot. The X1 ear pads have a vertical oval shape measuring (very roughly) 5.5cm horizontally by 6cm vertically (diameter). By contrast, the DT 880's measure 6cm x 6cm. Just a note, but I have heard that AKG K701/702 and Q701's have even larger ear cups than the Beyerdynamics.
The X1 ear pads are much deeper than both Beyerdynamics but it should be pretty obvious why when you compare the size of the ear pads themselves and the amount of padding offered by each. For me, this means that the outer tips of my ears don't touch anything when the X1 is on my head and all that I can feel are the earpads against my skull. On the other hand, with the Beyerdynamics my ears touch up against the foam insert which sits between you and the driver. The only thing that might be annoying to an X1 owner whom has ears which protrude quite a bit, would be that the outer tips of your ears could brush up against the foam which protects the driver while no other part of your ear would touch anything. I imagine that this could be a bit annoying if you ended up having this problem. A comparison of ear pad thickness (crappy mobile phone pic):
Comparing the overall comfort of the X1's to the DT 880 Pro and DT 990 Premium is sort of difficult since all of them are easy to wear for extended periods. I do like the extra thick ear pads on the X1's and the fact that they don't touch my ears at all, but I do like the DT 990 Premiums more relaxed fit on my head since it doesn't clamp hardly at all in comparison. If the X1 did not have such thick velour ear pads and had either pleather or DT770-style velour ones, I would probably not find them very comfortable due to the extra clamping force compared to the DT 880 and DT 990. So, just keep in mind that the X1 will clamp harder than a Beyerdynamic simply because you can't loosen the headphone once it is on.
Sound
The X1 has great depth and the stereo positioning is sort of like being front row at a concert when listening. The DT 880 feels like the sound is in your head by comparison and thus feels like you are listening to a studio recording but the stereo positioning definitely pushes to the front of you. The DT 990 has very good depth but not quite as much as the X1 and the stereo positioning is like the DT 880's in that it pushes sound in front of you. Whereas the X1 seems like you are sitting right in front of the band, the DT 990 is more like you are a few rows back.
I found another song which the DT 880 does a better job and that is Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run". For some reason the X1 behaves very similar to the Dave Matthews "Gravedigger" song which I talked about in my previous post. The Boss' voice just sounds odd on the X1 and is much more lively on the DT 880 despite the lack of depth and sound stage. But then, I listened to Stairway to Heaven via Led Zepplin's live DVD from their 1973 concert in Madison Square Garden and the X1 stole the show again. After listening to a lot of genre's I think the X1 is a better all-rounder but I could definitely see why the DT 880 could be preferred to some due to the brighter treble and closer sound and the way it handles specific genre's. Still, I wouldn't say that either headphone is a be-all-end-all solution to music. They just do different genre's better but if I had to choose I would use the X1 due to harder hitting bass and better sound stage and depth. Those qualities make up for 90% of shortcomings in certain songs.
As for comparing the DT 990 to the X1 for music I definitely prefer the X1. But I'm letting you know that I am heavily biased because I find the DT 990 to be way to bright and it hurts my ears in any classical music or rock song. As a result, the DT 990 didn't get a fair shake in a music comparison.
Gaming between the DT 990 and X1 is a close call but I have to give the nod to the DT 990 when you are playing something competitive. The DT 990 does have slightly better positioning compared to the X1. I believe this is because it projects sound in front of you better than the X1 does. As I stated above, the X1 feels like you are in the front row of a concert listening to a band and the DT 990 makes you feel like you are a few rows back. I think this is what helps it when using Dolby Headphone in terms of frontal positioning cues and sound distancing with things in front of you. If we are talking about 360 degree range they are damn close using my Xonar Essence ST and Dolby Headphone. I played Borderlands 2 and Battlefield 3 and with both headphones I could tell pretty well where a sound was coming from. The difference was simply judging how far away a sound was from the front of you. The X1 felt too close whereas the DT 990 added a bit of frontal depth. However, from the side and rear the X1 and DT 990 both do a very good job.
Another aspect where the DT 990 helps out in competitive gaming is the pronounced mids and highs. Footsteps and voices are easier to hear than with the X1 simply because the headphone purposely forces them forward so much. Still, the footsteps and voices and other high frequency sounds remain audible and don't get drowned out by the rest of the signature on the X1. They are simply less in your face compared to the rest of the sound.
Now, the game changes a bit if we are talking about cinematic gaming. I'm talking about when you are playing something like Mass Effect, Max Payne, Crysis 2, Skyrim, The Witcher 2, etc. and want to really be engrossed in the experience. I think both headphones do an overall great job immersing you into the experience but the X1 does it all just a bit better because it is less bright than the DT 990 and handles the sub bass very well. Watching the cinematics in Mass Effect was more rewarding because the ship lasers and the low bass signature of the reapers and the mass relays had a fuller sound on the X1, kind of like I was watching Star Wars in the theatre. Crysis 2 is another one where the X1's control of the sub bass helps out. When you switch suit modes the robotic voice that says "stealth engaged" or "maximum armor" and stuff like that sounds pretty sweet. Also, Crysis 2's main score, which was composed by Hans Zimmer, sounds sweet due to how well the X1's handle brass instruments and the slightly better depth perception compared to the DT 990. Still, the DT 990 was by no means a slouch and was miles better than the DT 880.
This leads me to the conclusion that if you prioritize competitive games then the DT 990 is the better headphone because of how bright the headphone is, and it is pretty good for cinematic experiences as well. But if you aren't an extremely competitive gamer and want even better immersion with a warmer signature with tighter bass control then I think the X1 is a very good choice.
On a final note, the X1's cable annoys me. It's like 6 feet long, which is way too long for me, and because it is a straight cable it likes to get tangled up like my DT 770 cable used to. I much prefer the DT 880 cable which is coiled and never gets tangled up but I suppose it is a minor grievance. I should be receiving my Creative Titanium HD and Schiit Magni early in the new year. I have read that the Magni brightens up the sound signature a bit and that should hopefully bring the mids forward a touch to where I think they need to be and make this headphone sound even better. I'm looking forward to it.
Just because it is awesome.
But reading the description I will.
But the shops where te stocks are up are way too expensive. I paid €195 now.