So, there have been a few impressions posts, and short reviews. I got my X1s yesterday, and have been using them pretty much every waking moment since they were delivered.
I'll start with first impressions:
The box is hefty. There are better boxes, but my experience is that the box these headphones came in is easily the heftiest cardboard box I have ever received headphones in. Plus, the box looks as good as the headphones, mainly because the headphones are pictured all over the box. This is a good thing.
Packaging is fine. Secure, so I'm confident shipping these is safe, online purchases are a fine way to get them.
At this point I stopped caring about much else, so instead I will jump right ahead to listening: These are all in comparison to CAL!, HTF600, HD598, Sibera V2. A mix of mid and lo-fi cans. Spoiler: They can't keep up.
Anime:
Yes. There are some of us who watch anime. This may seem strange, but my biggest complaint with most headphones and anime is that anime generally has female voices that are borderline painful. Couple that with the 'made for TV' mastering Anime receives and you have a recipe for headphone disaster.
First off: Kill la Kill: Action / Sci-Fi / Tarantino-Style series from the creators of Gurren Lagann. This series has a very diverse and interesting soundtrack, with only character melodies persisting across episodes. Fight scenes are boomy and highly energetic. This hot mess has never managed to sound good on any headphones, and my only other points of comparison are the CAL!, HD598, HTF 600s and Steelseries Siberia V2s. In all cases, the timbre of the relentless attack of boomy lows and crushing mids has, without fail, always resulted in a distorted mess, or the loss of all detail across the low range of sound. The X1s, however, managed to painlessly reproduce the full sound of every explosion, crumbling building and ripping school uniform.
Next up: Cowboy Bebop: Widely renowned as having one of the best Anime Soundtracks (or soundtracks in general), Cowboy Bebop presents a sci-fi jazz western unlike anything the West has ever managed to fully deliver. Stunning vocals mix in with typical anime frantic action and continuous dialogue, easily mucking up any listening experience. Siberia V2s and HD598s sounded thin throughout, while the CAL!s seemed overly boomy and mushy. The HTF 600s manage to clear things up but sound a bit hollow. Meanwhile, the X1s manage to trudge through the mess of gunfire, breaking things and jazzy snares and bass and trumpets, never skipping a beat, without being tiring or overbearing.
Lastly: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This is one of the best mastered animes I have ever seen. The stereo soundstage is carefully balanced so that all sounds are presented in a virtual 3D space. However, this effect is often lost going from stereo speakers to Headphones. Where my Siberia V2s and CAL! waivered was reproducing this effect. The HTF 600 and HD 598 did it splendidly, but the HD 598 dropped the ball on musicality. The X1 is as accurate as the 598s, but when the action picks up, or when the violin plucking soundtrack starts up, the X1s delivery is more engaging and, dare I say, more balanced. If only more fun, shows like this are supposed to be fun.
Overall, the X1s have brought a whole new degree of pleasure to Anime. Gone is the fatigue induced by the criminally insane pitch of female japanese voice overs, and the incompetent stereo mastering of the vast majority of anime is easily masked by the energy delivered by the X1s. For the first time in a long while, I prefer headphones to my Advent Loudspeakers for at least one listening category. A special note is that only the X1s have managed to reveal reverberations from the recordings in all listening cases. Small details added by studios to place the voices within an actual environment, rather than in a bland 2D space where no room dimensions or imperfections can be heard in the recording. This is especially notable in many projects done by Kyoto Animation.
Movies:
Movies are long. I am sure we can all agree on this. My experience with Anime has lead me to decide most dramatic, conversational elements of films will likely give the X1 a win. Instead, I decided to focus on wild hollywood blockbuster action and orchestration. The fight sequences in films like The Avengers, Man of Steel and Pacific Rim come alive through the X1s. Every sound is masterfully rendered, without any fatigue. This is a feat no other headphone I own has managed. The leaky sound makes them less than ideal for silent listening by sleeping partners, or viewing questionable content in secret.
Music:
This is straight forward: Want analytical? These aren't for you.
Already own AKG702(Annie) or HD598/600? Buy these. They will add to your collection. They are fabulous. They take music, render it nearly perfectly and then add life. Yes, life is not perfect, but it is still fun, exciting, engaging and overwhelming. I do not listen to Rap or Hip Hop or otherwise trashy. Nor do I listen to proper Metal. That said, with the exception of Adele / Norah Jones - style vocal heavy listening, the X1s over-deliver. Even with Adele, the sound is great, although veiled. Norah Jones (Vinyl rip, 192/24) simply does not come alive on the X1s the way she does on the Sennheisers. If you happen to like Norah Jones, in particular, then these aren't for you.
Otherwise, be it 30 Seconds from Mars, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cosmic Gate, Coldplay, The Killers, Muse, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Blindside, Avril Lavinge, or whatever else I have in my music drive, bassy or not, these headphones simply shine. They wipe the floor with everything I have ever used to listen with. Instruments come alive, and playback in a virtual yet real world around you, projected in three dimensions. Never tiring, always comfortable. Music really is better when listening through the X1s.
Systems:
Movies: Yamaha RX-371 / SPDIF (DTS-HD when possible).
Anime and Music: Xonar ST with LM49720NA op-amps.
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