[LEGendARY]

Hi, 
 
I got my X1's about two weeks ago. I come from an HD 598's, and I find the X1's to have a smoother sound, a bit darker, so less soundstage, less comfortable due to headband pressure and heavier weight. However, it has a much better low end which is really enjoyable. 
 
I used two pieces of cloth from an old t-shirt to tie up the headband and reduce the down force on my head (if this makes any sense).
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
The comfort has really improved a lot. 

 

[benbenkr]

  I'm not hearing the soundstage on the X1s at all. I happened to receive mine the day before I learned about the Philips Golden Ears site, and after listening to a bit of music I started going through the program. On the soundstage section, I struggled to hear a difference between the reference and all the tracks but the one with the narrowest soundstage - they all sounded compressed. I then tried with DT880 Pros, and it was immediately obvious what the difference was.

 
Well, the X1 was never a soundstage monster to begin with and I don't know who actually started the phenomenon that the X1 has huge ochestra like soundstage in the first place. It's never going to compare to an K712/K702/Q701 or even a modest HD598.

 

[Gregory_WE]

  I still can't decide if I should go with Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm or Philips X1. I know I will need an amp for Beyers, and not for Philips. Philips headphones do look a lot nicer in my opinion.

 
I A/B'd the DT 880, DT 990, and X1s several weeks ago. The X1s were far more comfortable for me; I found the 880 the least comfortable and the 990 kind of in-between. The Beyer pads don't have much cushion to keep the tips of your ears from touching the inside of the cups (they're shallow, my ears are pretty average, but perhaps more sensitive to this kind of thing?), which I found very uncomfortable, but the 990 were a bit better in this regard. The X1 has this luxurious memory foam that keeps its shape and makes it the most comfortable headphone I've ever worn. Sound-wise, the 880 and 990 aren't that different from each other if you keep them in perspective of other brand headphones. I tend to apply a V-shaped EQ anyways so both the 880 with EQ and a 990 without sounded really good to me. The X1s are quite different. There's definitely a lot more bass presence -- by comparison both the 880 and 990 seem bright and lean. I can't decide which sound signature I prefer, because the Beyers have this crisp articulate sound that I really enjoy, while the X1s have an impressive low end that you just aren't going to get with the Beyers. In the end though, I couldn't stand to wear the Beyers which precludes them from being an option for me. I found that adding some treble boost and taking a little back from the bass gave the X1s a great overall signature for my tastes.

 

[Neo-ST]

That's good to hear. I was wondering if mine might be defective, since it seemed strange that Philips' own web site would so dramatically reveal this weakness in the X1.

 
 

  Those who hear the X1's sound-stage as being very closed in are probably in the minority.  
 
The majority of people hear the X1's sound-stage as being closer to the larger side, especially considering its warmth and bass.  HD650 for example is also warm and open but sounds a lot more intimate to my ears.

 
Wasn't there a discussion about X1's high-impedance stock cable as being the culprit? I think I read somewhere that sound dramatically improves with low-impedance cable, just can't remember if sound-stage was amongst improvements.

 

[benbenkr]

   
 
 
Wasn't there a discussion about X1's high-impedance stock cable as being the culprit? I think I read somewhere that sound dramatically improves with low-impedance cable, just can't remember if sound-stage was amongst improvements.

 
No, no, no, and no for the last time.
 
That is a very common misconception. There is an improvement, but it is not dramatic and it sure as heck doesn't alter the X1's characteristic by even more than... 5%? Yeah, I have to use numbers to explain this now.
 
The low end does tighten up a bit, where by the stock cable can be a little bit boomy (which is NOT a bad thing, seriously), mids become a little bit more forward sounding with a 3rd party cable and in some cases, yes the soundstage does open up a bit due to the mid-bass being more controlled. But really, the difference isn't as huge and dramatic as some has made it out to be, it is not night and day.
 
So no, switching to the lowest impedance cable on eart will not help the X1's soundstage being on equal grounds to its direct competitors.

 

[Thujone]

   
Well, the X1 was never a soundstage monster to begin with and I don't know who actually started the phenomenon that the X1 has huge ochestra like soundstage in the first place. It's never going to compare to an K712/K702/Q701 or even a modest HD598.

I tend to agree with this, though I haven't heard anything that can compare to the AKG's air. From my experience with open cans, this is how I would list them in order of soundstage/air:
 
1. K702/65
2. HE-4
3. MS1000 (MS1i mod)
4. DT880
5. X1
6. HE-400
7. HE-500
8. HD600/580
 
The gap between 4 and 5 is pretty big, IMO. 5-8 are all very close, in different ways. At times the X1 sounds spacious but 90% of the time I find that it has a very intimate signature. Not as intimate as the HD600 or HE-500 though. Still, saying that the X1 is more spacious than the HD650/600/580 doesn't say much. Those cans are so intimate and closed in sounding that you can cover the grills without affecting the sound very much.

 

[Funambulistic]

   
No, no, no, and no for the last time.
 
That is a very common misconception. There is an improvement, but it is not dramatic and it sure as heck doesn't alter the X1's characteristic by even more than... 5%? Yeah, I have to use numbers to explain this now.
 
The low end does tighten up a bit, where by the stock cable can be a little bit boomy (which is NOT a bad thing, seriously), mids become a little bit more forward sounding with a 3rd party cable and in some cases, yes the soundstage does open up a bit due to the mid-bass being more controlled. But really, the difference isn't as huge and dramatic as some has made it out to be, it is not night and day.
 
So no, switching to the lowest impedance cable on eart will not help the X1's soundstage being on equal grounds to its direct competitors.

^This x(insert ridiculously high number here) and thank you!

 

[rudyae86]

Lol I don't hate anyone just having a little fun out of a loss

Hate me, i got them for that price on that golg box deal .

And they soynd sooo good, even on BD3/BF4

 

[turbo911]

Do you guys use amplifier with your X1?

 

[Tony6225]

I compared the V-Moda M100's cable against the stock cable from my X1. I A/B'd them back and forth very quickly by using a headphone amp I got from Guitar Center that has 4 headphone outputs. The difference is so incredibly slight. I highly doubt it would ever have been an issue had Tyll not mentioned it in his review. That being said, I'm sticking with the stock cable because its high quality and looks awesome plugged into my Vali.

 

[garath]

Is it crazy that I'm considering the X1s at the $230 price as my first real set of headphones? I'm really saddened that I missed the $150 deal. I had only started looking for headphones a few weeks ago. Knowing what I know now, I would have purchased them immediately. 
 
I know owners of the X1s might be a bit biased but are they worth the ~$100 over something like the Sennheiser 558s? I enjoy electronica/rock primarily for music but will also be using them quite extensively for gaming.
 
No amp currently in my computer but looking at Asus Xonar DG. The added cost of X1s will set that back though.

 

[SNSDluv]

  Is it crazy that I'm considering the X1s at the $230 price as my first real set of headphones? I'm really saddened that I missed the $150 deal. I had only started looking for headphones a few weeks ago. Knowing what I know now, I would have purchased them immediately. 
 
I know owners of the X1s might be a bit biased but are they worth the ~$100 over something like the Sennheiser 558s? I enjoy electronica/rock primarily for music but will also be using them quite extensively for gaming.
 
No amp currently in my computer but looking at Asus Xonar DG. The added cost of X1s will set that back though.

How is your onboard soundcard? What motherboard are you using?

 

[garath]

  How is your onboard soundcard? What motherboard are you using?

 
My mobo is a MSI p67a-gd65. It uses a realtek ALC892 codec and is THX certified? Either way, my friend's 558s sounded great out of it. I'm considering an Asus Xonar DG for some light amplification and Dolby Headphone support though.

 

[SNSDluv]

   
My mobo is a MSI p67a-gd65. It uses a realtek ALC892 codec and is THX certified? Either way, my friend's 558s sounded great out of it. I'm considering an Asus Xonar DG for some light amplification and Dolby Headphone support though.

 
I think your motherboard will be fine for most of the headphones under $300 as long as the headphones are below the recommended ohms on your motherboard. The soundcard will not get the best out of the headphones, but neither will a Xonar DG.... So if I were you, I would just buy the headphones at the price that I can accept now and take my time to look for some good DAC/AMP that pairs well with the headphone.
 
I have had Asus Z77 Pro and Asus Xonar Essence STX and paired them with HD598. I found no apparent difference when I game(e.g. in BF3, AC3, Minecraft). The only difference is when I listen to music, but I must say the onboard soundcard did about 70% of what my Essence STX did, and the soundcard ran me about $200.
 
I think soundcard is not a necessity anymore at this day-and-age, and especially with your relatively new motherboard. You can also check out MSI website to see if they have any software for their onboard soundcard to optimize the performance in gaming. 
 
Note: the consensus is that Philips X1 sounds really good without an amplifier, and I agree. But I don't have HD558 and never really researched it (I got the HD598 and it was amazing!!!), so I cannot comment on that. I hope this helped and I hope other Head-fiers can help you out!~ Good luck with your search

 

[benbenkr]

  I tend to agree with this, though I haven't heard anything that can compare to the AKG's air. From my experience with open cans, this is how I would list them in order of soundstage/air:
 
1. K702/65
2. HE-4
3. MS1000 (MS1i mod)
4. DT880
5. X1
6. HE-400
7. HE-500
8. HD600/580
 
The gap between 4 and 5 is pretty big, IMO. 5-8 are all very close, in different ways. At times the X1 sounds spacious but 90% of the time I find that it has a very intimate signature. Not as intimate as the HD600 or HE-500 though. Still, saying that the X1 is more spacious than the HD650/600/580 doesn't say much. Those cans are so intimate and closed in sounding that you can cover the grills without affecting the sound very much.

 
Agreed.
 

  Do you guys use amplifier with your X1?

 
I believe most do. I just run a cheap E17 to the X1, as I don't hear a huge amount of difference to say a more expensive source like... an Audio GD 11.32.
 

  Is it crazy that I'm considering the X1s at the $230 price as my first real set of headphones? I'm really saddened that I missed the $150 deal. I had only started looking for headphones a few weeks ago. Knowing what I know now, I would have purchased them immediately. 
 
I know owners of the X1s might be a bit biased but are they worth the ~$100 over something like the Sennheiser 558s? I enjoy electronica/rock primarily for music but will also be using them quite extensively for gaming.
 
No amp currently in my computer but looking at Asus Xonar DG. The added cost of X1s will set that back though.

 
No it's not crazy. Yeah, sucks that you missed the $150 deal but if it makes you feel better, I bought my 2nd X1 at $300 just 3 weeks before the $150 deal. And no I wasn't able to get a refund.
 
As for being worth $100 over the HD558 or not, that certainly depends on what you want. The X1 is definitely, heads and shoulders, tip and toe better than the HD558 for gaming, this I can assure you as I do use to have a HD558 mostly as my main headphones for games. As for electronica and pretty much mostly every other genre, the X1 does very well in them. The HD558 is a rather decent all-rounder too, but it certainly wouldn't excel in electronica and rock IMO. The HD558s focus is on the forward mids with a very slight bump in the mid-bass, it is also a brighter and less warmer than the X1.
 
I'd say go for the X1 and it would be a headphone that should last you a very long time before you'd feel the need to upgrade again. If $230 is a tough pill to swallow, then perhaps wait for another sale?