[Faceman]

I have the FiiO E10K paired with the X1.  It definitely sounds better than the on-board sound when you switch on the gain and bass boost.  Without gain or bass boost, it sounds very similar to the onboard of my Asus Z97-AR.
 
My only complaint about the E10K with the X1 is that some songs that use an overabundance of auto-tune can sound "off"  not bad, just, "off".
 
I can be listening to one song with heavy auto tune elements, and I'm like what is this?  Then I switch to a song that doesn't use auto tune, or at least not as much as most pop songs, and the experience is nirvana.  When I use onboard sound, these auto-tune heavy songs are not "off" but those songs that sound like nirvana, aren't quite what they used to be.  The FiiO E10K is a decent match for the X1, but I do think it would be in your best interest to get something a little bit better, or something that potentially pairs better with the X1.  I am very happy with my E10K and X1 combo, but I am confident that for around $120-$150, you could find something that provides better synergy.

 

[Midgetguy]

  Hi thanks for the reply! I was thinking though what about the positional audio and audio effects? Im gonna be using these mostly for gaming and i think positional audio is pretty crucial right? 
Hi thanks for the reply! Oh i already got the earphones. Now im just tyring to get a good soundcard or whatnot to go with it.

I don't consider those to be selling points for sound cards. At most, a sound card has multiple connections for if you're setting up a multi-speaker config, but a headphone is still just one cable. Sound cards are the same thing as the external DAC/amps, just smaller in form factor and different business strategies so some things have priority over others (like heat/size/power problems to compromise on). Audio signals are gonna be audio signals; the digital data is sent to your soundcard the same way it's sent to an external setup, it's up to whatever combo decodes and amplifies that signal which determines the presentation. If position cues and stuff are part of that data, it will be reproduced and sent to your headphones (at which point it's up to the driver tuning to give you what you're looking for). If it isn't in the data, then a soundcard won't do anything different than an external setup regardless of what the guys in the marketing department say. So yeah, for gaming position audio is very important, especially in shooters, but if it's meant to be there, then it won't matter if you're using a soundcard or an external DAC/amp. The headphones, on the other hand, definitely matter.
I wish I had more experience so I'd be able to give you recommendations, but my experience extends to the Firestone Audio FUBAR IV Plus (an all-in-one DAC/amp) and my recent Topping TP30/D20 combo. As far as I can tell, the amp circuits on the FUBAR and TP30 are good enough, but the Topping D20 is definitely the superior DAC. Audio sound much cleaner and better controlled. I have no problems suggesting the Topping stack as a starting point if you can find them for cheap; I got lucky cuz I got them both for a total of like $90. which is cheaper than either of those retail alone.

 

[sabaw]

Well i was reading through the tp30 dac amp combo and it seems withing budget.
 
Question is would it be better than a sound blaster z?
 
Cheers

 

[bbieringer]

I've been using my X1's with an ADL Cruise dac/amp, and it is a very enjoyable combo. Nice & warm, quite rich sounding.

 

[Midgetguy]

  Well i was reading through the tp30 dac amp combo and it seems withing budget.
 
Question is would it be better than a sound blaster z?
 
Cheers

I would guess similar or better. My thoughts have always been that much of the money for the cost of soundcards is the shrinking of form. External setups don't really deal so much with that so that's the downside of them. Also, it's easier to adjust volume since there's a physical knob to turn. I like the TP30, but I think it lacks a little refinement in the bass department; it's not bad but extension and resolution isn't quite as good as the rest of the spectrum. That's when I paired it with the Topping D20 and that DAC turned out much nicer.

 

[agooh]

I spend enough time with Philips X1 : more bass and clear sound and the most comfortable headphones in my collection  with this mode . no issue at all with X1.
also I found Hugo is the best amp/dac for my X1 always using them for gaming and watching youtube , having fun  with music Philips X1 is really special to me. I won't to sold them even I had 009 , Lcd 3, T1,th900,hd800 . I found them the best headphone in midfi range also good for everything.

 

[oscarc]

  I spend enough time with Philips X1 : more bass and clear sound and the most comfortable headphones in my collection  with this mode . no issue at all with X1.
also I found Hugo is the best amp/dac for my X1 always using them for gaming and watching youtube , having fun  with music Philips X1 is really special to me. I won't to sold them even I had 009 , Lcd 3, T1,th900,hd800 . I found them the best headphone in midfi range also good for everything.
 

Nice pads!

 

[CoiL]

agooh, which pads did You use?

 

[eac3]

 

 
This is a followup to one of my last posts in here inquiring about the Mr. Speakers Alpha pads. I bought them and installed them on the Philips X1. The fit is fine on the headphones except the headphone jack port, which was expected.
 
I find the clamp force to be a little too much to me now after owning them for little over a year. Furthermore, since the X1's don't have an adjustable yoke attached the the head band, I am unable to bring the pads further down to enclose my entire ear. Instead, part of of these (great) alpha pads rest on my ear lobe and as a result, increases pressure to that area.
 
I believe these would be a suitable replacement if you don't find the hammock-like band anywhere near the top of the head-band (in other words, you are not at the edge of a skull size the X1s support). I don't believe I have a very large head.
 
Naturally, this problem is exacerbated further if you wear glasses. I will be switching back to my oily velour pads (that do leave a purple residue when placed on surfaces) until I can upgrade to something else in the future.
 
(sigh)

 

[CoiL]

eac3, then get X2, it has larger headband. It seems You have larger than average head. 

 

[agooh]

I bought those pads from T50RP Replacement Pads V3
in https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/headphones/mayflower-electronics-t50rp-repleacement-pads/

 

[sabaw]

I was thinking of stretching the budget a little,
would a sound blaster zxr be worth it? I mean, would they be overkill with these headphones?

 

[Midgetguy]

  I was thinking of stretching the budget a little,
would a sound blaster zxr be worth it? I mean, would they be overkill with these headphones?

There's no such thing as overkill haha. It just leaves room for improvement on the headphone end. Seems like people are quite happy with it though and it would easily power these headphones. They're not very hard to run.

 

[CoiL]

  I was thinking of stretching the budget a little,
would a sound blaster zxr be worth it? I mean, would they be overkill with these headphones?

Let me ask - what is the reason You want internal PC soundcard? Effects in gaming?

 

[sabaw]

Let me ask - what is the reason You want internal PC soundcard? Effects in gaming?

Yup! Eax (if supported) and 3d positioning.
I mean honestly the O2 combo seems interesting given all I've heard about it (I could even probably buy the amp first to use with the xtremegamer and then the dac later)but I'll be using this mostly for gaming.