[Dragonzeanse]

Has anyone tried a tube amp with these headphones? I know they don't need an amp nor really benefit from one, but I want to know what kind of results people might have gotten from tube rolling. I might do that with these headphones in the future.

 

[jodgey4]

The Schiit Vali, a hybrid, has been described by one user as 'rich and dynamic'. Many other users found tube amps to be too warm for this already warm headphone, YMMV. Some of the more transparent tube amps would probably be killer.

 

[xDezor]

  Going to use it with the X1 headphones?
 
Anyone think I should get an external amp and dac with these headphones?
I have a macbook pro.

Yeah, I read Ben's review a few pages back and thought it sounded like a good candidate. Plus Fidelio X1 & Aune X1 sounded like to cool of a combo to pass up.. Unfortunately I've got too much of a headcold to do any sort of decent analysis. Will have to wait a couple of days.

 

[themunce]

  Yeah, I read Ben's review a few pages back and thought it sounded like a good candidate. Plus Fidelio X1 & Aune X1 sounded like to cool of a combo to pass up.. Unfortunately I've got too much of a headcold to do any sort of decent analysis. Will have to wait a couple of days.

Well be sure to let us know what you think. I'm thinking my onboard DAC just doesn't do these headphones justice the way I want. I had a Titanium HD sound card awhile back that was a lot nicer than anything I have now, so I don't see why an external dedicated DAC and AMP wouldn't be better than it.

 

[jodgey4]

My brother is the owner of X1's... and he's planning (AKA I planned for him) Asus Xonar DGX -> Schiit Modi Optical -> Schiit Vali. I'll post here when he finally orders it with my impressions. It'll probably be a while.

 

[Dragonzeanse]

  My brother is the owner of X1's... and he's planning (AKA I planned for him) Asus Xonar DGX -> Schiit Modi Optical -> Schiit Vali. I'll post here when he finally orders it with my impressions. It'll probably be a while.

Sounds good. Keep me updated.

 

[CoiL]

  Has anyone tried a tube amp with these headphones? I know they don't need an amp nor really benefit from one, but I want to know what kind of results people might have gotten from tube rolling. I might do that with these headphones in the future.

Though Aune T1 isn`t tube amp but tube buffered DAC with SS amp, I find tube rolling having great effect and those cans do benefit from amping. Not much but just enough what`s needed to make them sound tighter and more accurate. After longer burn-in, for me personally, Fidelio X1 + Aune T1 + Siemens E88CC grey shield goldpin is The End Game as desktop rig.
 
Some older posts about tube rolling in this thread: 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4305#post_10469208
http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4200#post_10420469
 
Atm I have removed pads on my X1 because they are too high for my small ears and going to make custom angled pads shaped to my head which will take elements closer to ears (improvement in clarity and separation/imaging) and maybe even going to make wood grills  

 

[Dragonzeanse]

  Though Aune T1 isn`t tube amp but tube buffered DAC with SS amp, I find tube rolling having great effect and those cans do benefit from amping. Not much but just enough what`s needed to make them sound tighter and more accurate. After longer burn-in, for me personally, Fidelio X1 + Aune T1 + Siemens E88CC grey shield goldpin is The End Game as desktop rig.
 
Some older posts about tube rolling in this thread: 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4305#post_10469208
http://www.head-fi.org/t/623013/new-philips-fidelio-x1/4200#post_10420469
 
Atm I have removed pads on my X1 because they are too high for my small ears and going to make custom angled pads shaped to my head which will take elements closer to ears (improvement in clarity and separation/imaging) and maybe even going to make wood grills  

I am envious of your devotion to the Fidelio X1s. #notworthy

 

[yumyum0902]

My brother is the owner of X1's... and he's planning (AKA I planned for him) Asus Xonar DGX -> Schiit Modi Optical -> Schiit Vali. I'll post here when he finally orders it with my impressions. It'll probably be a while.

I'm gonna keep an eye on your impressions of the Vali..I've had it in my Amazon cart since I got my X1 a few months back

 

[themunce]

I know an amp is pretty much over kill for the headphones, but what about a DAC? I think that's mainly what I'm trying to get at. How much would a DAC help a headphone out? Say, if I went from my onboard Macbook audio to a Bifrost, which of course would then require me to have an amp, but you get what I'm getting at.

 

[Dragonzeanse]

I'm gonna keep an eye on your impressions of the Vali..I've had it in my Amazon cart since I got my X1 a few months back

I'm a little bit skeptical of the Vali (although to be fair, since that NwAvGuy drama, I'm quite skeptical of all Schiit products), because its design begs the question of how you'd replace the tubes if they ever went bad. They don't look user-replaceable.

 

[themunce]

 
I'm a little bit skeptical of the Vali (although to be fair, since that NwAvGuy drama, I'm quite skeptical of all Schiit products), because its design begs the question of how you'd replace the tubes if they ever went bad. They don't look user-replaceable.

Is there a thread or can you elaborate on the NwAvGuy drama? What's he got to do with Schiit?

 

[jodgey4]

Schiit's original Asgard sent out a burst of DC voltage on power down at around 2.2V that NwAvGuy pointed it out/conveyed on these forums (AKG reports even 0.25 V DC can damage headphones)... the response from them seems to have been rather, err, Schiity. You can find the story on your own time. Tl;dr, NwAvGuy got banned and the Asgard got updated to correct the issue, and older models could be retrofitted to block DC like the Lyr. I'm not a fan of how the situation was handled... There's more than this story that tips me off, but YMMV. I'm skeptical of them as well, and probably do not plan on purchasing their products at any point. For entry level gear, it's probably very hard to beat them. Schiit is certainly a very well loved brand here... so who really knows. I'm now an Audio-GD and Bottlehead consumer, and find all I need with their line of products, regardless.
 
Also, tested out the X1 with the Asus Xonar DGX and my A-GD NFB-28 tonight. The A-GD has great layering and power, but the Xonar bumps up the treble a bit which I think is needed, as well as having somewhat tamer sub bass. They're probably equal sounding, from the ten minutes I got with each. I couldn't find any songs where the vocals sounded alright on the A-GD, the low mids are bloated out by the slow, excessive bass. Amos Lee, Al Green, The Black Keys... all were awkwardly balanced and placed in the mix. The Xonar seems to handle them a bit better, though not being the last word on hi-fi. I think its lack of power might actually help thin out the sound, even though the gain is high. IDK, it's late, lol. The NFB-28 I trust is a much more accurate representation of them. I do love that amp! It's crazy how a $40 sound card can compete with a super beast DAC/amp.

 

[conquerator2]

Yeah X1 can certainly benefit from gear that adds some coloration.
A-GD is mostly neutral so probably not a good match

 

[benbenkr]

I find that amps and DACs which are a little bit aggressive in nature fits the X1 the most, at least to me. The X1 on its own is known as quite laid back (but never dull of course, as many of you here can testify), I've always been searching for something that would tighten that brilliant immersive bass a little bit and give it more speed and attack.
 
This is why I never agreed wtih Headfonia's opinion on coupling the X1 with the FiiO E09k, it just gets too warm. The E17 and E12 is fine (the former since you can EQ, so it isn't a big deal) for the most part.