[Mad Lust Envy]

Are you sure you that's about the impact, not the quantity?

Not this again...

 

[anodyne]

I'm probably going to be less broke from next month on. Then I'm going to make myself deliberately broke by getting a pair of decent closed cans and a pair of comfy open ones for when I'm alone. For the latter, these look like a good candidate.
 
I obviously want good sound, but I also listen to a lot of indie productions so I need something that is somewhat forgiving to lower budget recordings.
 
I also have a tendency to add a slight V-shape to most everything, so phones with not so overwhelming mids or ones that work well with some equalization are good.
 
So, do you think I could get these directly by mail and be happy, or should I play it safer and see if I can get a local store to get a pair to try first?

 

[aidenn]

Mine just arrived. They're beautiful! And sooo comfy... not exactly lightweight, but still they sit very comfortably on my head and don't press too hard or anything.
 
They're slightly warm, but mostly natural, not exactly for bassheads - a bit like Fischer Audio FA-004 in that regard. They also remind me a bit of V-Jays, but they're not V-shaped. Mids and highs are rather neutral, lows are a bit exaggerated and can pack a punch, but they're still natural, tight and non-invasive. I like this sound signature very much and I believe I've found my ideal headphones.
 
Sound stage is nice, nothing to write home about, just good. The SQ is, of course, excellent, I can't write nicely about sound intricacies, so I won't.
 
@anodyne,
They're very EQ-susceptible, you can V-shape them however you want and they do that V-shaped feel-good thing . Also, I can listen to badly engineered albums on these (something which can't be said about eg. Grados or my DBA-02)

 

[rixlbg]

@aidenn: Glad you found your ideal headphones. I just think the thing I would most "write home about" is the soundstage. It is comparable to the soundstage on the Sennheiser HD 598, which is also pretty good. After that, the big bass. Have lots of fun!

 

[Impulse]

Comparable sound stage to the 598 huh, even more intriguing...

 

[anodyne]

Quote:

Mine just arrived. They're beautiful! And sooo comfy... not exactly lightweight, but still they sit very comfortably on my head and don't press too hard or anything.
---
@anodyne,
They're very EQ-susceptible, you can V-shape them however you want and they do that V-shaped feel-good thing . Also, I can listen to badly engineered albums on these (something which can't be said about eg. Grados or my DBA-02)

 
Sounds like I'm on the right path, then. Still feels a bit strange to want something made by Philips...

 

[Hailin]

Quote:

Comparable sound stage to the 598 huh, even more intriguing...

+1 on this. I have to hear them now. The HD598 was the only headphone to give me that out of head speaker feeling. The DT990 came close, and the AKG 702 Anniversary doesn't even come close. Just the low end in the HD598 was highly disappoint for my own needs. Time to start saving.

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

+1 on this. I have to hear them now. The HD598 was the only headphone to give me that out of head speaker feeling. The DT990 came close, and the AKG 702 Anniversary doesn't even come close. Just the low end in the HD598 was highly disappoint for my own needs. Time to start saving.

I'm kinda shocked there. AKG, especially the whole K70x range has some serious soundstage. You sure you were amping them properly? because my K242hd definitely suck if I don't amp them.

 

[Hailin]

Oh they have a soundstage and it has a width to it, but it doesn't feel special it just feels like a headphone not two balanced monitors strapped to your head or a movie theatre in the case of the DT990. I know I am explaining it so awful. I really do suck at these kind of posts. It's possible that my E9 just drives them loudly and doesn't drive them properly. Could be my ear shape can't find the depth in the soundstage with the anniversary K702. Who knows.

 

[aidenn]

Quote:

@aidenn: Glad you found your ideal headphones. I just think the thing I would most "write home about" is the soundstage. It is comparable to the soundstage on the Sennheiser HD 598, which is also pretty good. After that, the big bass. Have lots of fun!

They're still not burned-in and my amp isn't ideal (10 ohms output impedance), so I guess that will change. However even brand new and not ideally amped they're still extremely satisfying to listen to. What I like the best is that no matter what I throw at them they do it more than justice, from jazz, fusion, blues, classical music to industrial, hip-hop, black metal and pop. Previously I auditioned Grados (SR80i and SR125i) and while great for acoustic and vocal music, they didn't work well with more aggresive or "primitive" albums.
 
So far though the X1 awed me the most with film scores (28 Weeks Later and The Fountain) and Miles Davis.

 

[cib24]

Philips is selling off its hifi business to focus on its growing healthcare business:
 
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/uk-philips-idUKBRE90S0C820130129
 
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-01-29/philips-profit-beats-analyst-estimates-on-health-care-revenue
 
What does this mean for our beloved Fidelio X1's?

 

[smellyfungus]

Quote:

Philips is selling off its hifi business to focus on its growing healthcare business:
 
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/uk-philips-idUKBRE90S0C820130129
 
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-01-29/philips-profit-beats-analyst-estimates-on-health-care-revenue
 
What does this mean for our beloved Fidelio X1's?

they just better get these in the states before they get rid of their hifi business. ive been wanting one just for the looks.

 

[cib24]

Quote:

they just better get these in the states before they get rid of their hifi business. ive been wanting one just for the looks.

I read a few more articles into the Philips situation and it seems that the sale won't be official until at least September, and then this doesn't mean that Funai (the purchaser) will sell the products under a different name for a while. Also, the articles seemed to focus more on the Television and Home Theatre business. Of course, headphones could or could not be included in that business. We will have to see, but the fact that more stock is showing up in Europe for the X1's is a good sign that they are still producing them at least.

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

Oh they have a soundstage and it has a width to it, but it doesn't feel special it just feels like a headphone not two balanced monitors strapped to your head or a movie theatre in the case of the DT990. I know I am explaining it so awful. I really do suck at these kind of posts. It's possible that my E9 just drives them loudly and doesn't drive them properly. Could be my ear shape can't find the depth in the soundstage with the anniversary K702. Who knows.

The E9 is not a match for the AKG's sonically. There is the odd person who likes it, but they are... odd.
Quote:

They're still not burned-in and my amp isn't ideal (10 ohms output impendance), so I guess that will change. However even brand new and not ideally amped they're still extremely satisfying to listen to. What I like the best is that no matter what I throw at them they do it more than justice, from jazz, fusion, blues, classical music to industrial, hip-hop, black metal and pop. Previously I auditioned Grados (SR80i and SR125i) and while great for acoustic and vocal music, they didn't work well with more aggresive or "primitive" albums.
 
So far though the X1 awed me the most with film scores (28 Weeks Later and The Fountain) and Miles Davis.

Output impedance isn't a factor to weigh on too heavily with all headphones, with Denons and Fostex's it is very important, but with AKG and Grado it is not. 
The only importance it has then is indicating the capability of the amp to deliver current. 
 
Now AKG's do have long burn in, and they are Analytical - so they are made to bring out details and flaws, and what that also end up resulting in is that they reflect the components up the chain like the DAC and the AMP very well, and show those characteristics. 
 
So to add magic to the AKG's it becomes all about the amp and DAC. I would suggest tubes, but you would need an Output transformer coupled tube amp (which is EXPENSIVE) that can drive low impedance loads. But there has been success with solid state aswell.
 
The Aune T1 seems a new kid on the block thats cheap $200 for an amp + DAC + tube, that has lots of current and voltage. But I don't own it YET, so do your own homework. 

 

[anodyne]

Quote:

What does this mean for our beloved Fidelio X1's?

 
Here's a press release from Funai: http://www.funaiworld.com/pressroom/2013/pdf/130129_2.pdf
 
Not my area, but it seems like it will be business as usual for the concerned departments. If the "New Company" is meant to remain active as a new brand operated by Funai in the audio/video market they will probably have to keep any attention-worthy products that come with the transaction.
 
Maybe the next announcement will be of a transfer of the Magnavox brand to the new company? It's half obscure but still established, so with a little overhaul it would probably work better than Funai.