[Salvatore]

There seems to be lots of positive reviews out there:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-bottom-and-lively-top-philips-fidelio-x1
 
http://www.whathifi.com/review/philips-fidelio-x1
 
http://www.trustedreviews.com/philips-fidelio-x1_Headphones_review
 
http://www.headfonia.com/the-fidelio-x1-by-philips/
 
http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/72975-philips-fidelio-x1-open-back-headphones-review
 
http://www.hometheater.com/content/philips-fidelio-x1-headphones
 
http://leetpanda.com/2013/06/14/2487/philips-fidelio-x1-review/
 
Practically they all are saying the same. These are not true audiophile headphones but rather more fun warm sounding cans. Good build quality and removable cable. The non-changeable pads are of course big minus but I personally don't care so much. These will make perfect headphones for me to watch movies in living room and/or to listen some R&B. I hope these are also louder than my K702 annies so it'll be easier to drive them through 8200CDQ. Probably great cans for gaming too.

 

[frustin]

Quote:

 
If you like any rock, rap/hip hop, techno/trance/EDM, that kind of thing, these babies will put a smile on your face.

Seconded!  I love my house/techno, these 'phones rock. <-see what i did there

 

[Kamakahah]

If the reviews for SQ and Comfort match what you're wanting and the only thing holding you back is the pads, buy them and blame me later
.
When you're 80, you can look back with regret and curse me - "Damn that Kamakahah ******, if only I would have gotten the Annies instead, cuuuuuuurse you!"

Or you can just return it if you don't like them...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

There seems to be lots of positive reviews out there:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-bottom-and-lively-top-philips-fidelio-x1

http://www.whathifi.com/review/philips-fidelio-x1

http://www.trustedreviews.com/philips-fidelio-x1_Headphones_review

http://www.headfonia.com/the-fidelio-x1-by-philips/

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/72975-philips-fidelio-x1-open-back-headphones-review

http://www.hometheater.com/content/philips-fidelio-x1-headphones

http://leetpanda.com/2013/06/14/2487/philips-fidelio-x1-review/

Practically they all are saying the same. These are not true audiophile headphones but rather more fun warm sounding cans. Good build quality and removable cable. The non-changeable pads are of course big minus but I personally don't care so much. These will make perfect headphones for me to watch movies in living room and/or to listen some R&B. I hope these are also louder than my K702 annies so it'll be easier to drive them through 8200CDQ. Probably great cans for gaming too.

The X1 is not only easy to drive, but it gets loud VERY quickly. I would still have SOME form of amping, like at least a Fiio E07K.

 

[Overwerk]

Quote:

It's like, I wish someone made some plastic ring that connects to the X1's protruding screw thingies. We could then just stick the pads to the plastic ring.

What sucks is that we don't know how washable the pads are because of the memory foam. If it were like Beyer velours, a simple soap or mild detergent, and warm water would keep the pads fresh for much longer.

As it stands, beyer velours are much more open than the X1's pads, and liable to ruin the sound quality by reducing the bass, emphasizing treble, and being an all out nightmare.

Maybe the more isolating Beyer DT770 velours (they even sell black ones) would be a better fit, but I think they may ADD bass, and muddy up the X1's sound.

Sigh... worst case scenario, would have to resort to some pleather/leather pad as replacements.

Pads are absolutely essential to a headphone's sound, and no aftermarket pad will keep the same exact sound as the stock pads, which is what I don't want to happen. There is a fine balance in the X1's curve, and anything hampering it will ruin the sound for me. reducing the bass in particular will kill what makes the X1 stand out from other headphones.

have you ever kept a pair of cans for more than a year? I see your profile and I see your mega guides and there seem to be no way you keep your cans more than a month since you only keep a few like you said

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I've kept my KSC35 and KSC75. Those I will never get rid of. Though I had to swap my KSC35 for the Sportapro drivers, as my KSC35 went bad. Same headphone, different headband/clips.

Also, the original ones I owned: AD700, ES7, M50, HD201, SLYR are all still around, just with friends/family.

I'm very impulsive, but I'm definitely (DEFINITELY) settling with the X1. They are the first headphones to have everything I wanted. EVERYTHING.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

The X1 is not only easy to drive, but it gets loud VERY quickly. I would still have SOME form of amping, like at least a Fiio E07K.

 
Ok thanks for the info. 8200CDQ has class A headphone amp built in, but with anniversaries the loudness is ridiculously low. If the X1 are noticeably louder that would be just fine.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, like on my Mixamp, I'm used to the volume being near 70% of max. With the X1, it's like at 35-40%. With my Compass 2, I barely pass 9 o clock on high gain, and about 11 on low gain. I typically have it set to around 11 on high gain for everything else. The X1 is really sensitive.

 

[HolyCheese]

Quote:

Judging how the 650 is more akin to the Annie bass-wise (and tonality too), I would think the HD600 is more akin to the Q701/standard K702.

You make me want the Annies! Everything you say about them makes me go hmmm, they might be good for my taste.
 
If only they didn't cost a freaking 730 dollars here -.-

 

[nicholars]

Quote:

You make me want the Annies! Everything you say about them makes me go hmmm, they might be good for my taste.
 
If only they didn't cost a freaking 730 dollars here -.-

 
The 702 65th probably are better than the X1 but also they cost twice the amount, in the UK they are £350+ whereas the X1 cost me £180. Not sure how much bass the 65th anniv have either compared to the X1? I am tempted to try the 702 65th aniv because they look nice and also have replaceable pads!!! Not sure if they will have enough bass for me though, it is supposed to be a 3db increase from the standard 702?

 

[HolyCheese]

And you are right that these are easy to drive. I was seriously shocked when I plugged them straight into my laptop, I never expected them to sound that good. Most other cans, even a dark 'low tier' sennheiser hd518 sound crap out of a standard soundcard. This is really something to keep in mind if you want a good setup for a low price. 
 
If you'd already have a very good amp or an OTL tube amp other headphones become more attractive. Tough I must say I nearly cried when I heard the x1 trough a high end speaker tube amp and a NOS dac. That was so *******ed sweet! I don't know what the output impedance of that amp was. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Sigh.

Anyways, the Annie's bass is full and well balanced, but definitely not as potent as the X1. The X1 is basshead level in comparison, though I wouldn't call the X1 a basshead can. Well, for an open can, absolutely.

If I were to put some highly theoretical numbers on bass quantity/presence for open cans (if I were also adding closed cans, the numbers would be different, like the DT990 Pro being maybe a 7.75 when compared to a monster like the Pro 900):

In this list, I'd consider linear/neutral to be a 7.

DT990 Pro: 8.75
X1: 8.5
DT990 Premium 600ohm: 8
HD650: 7.5
DT880: 7.25 (a smidge more than the Annies, but less balanced)
Annies: 7.25 (the Annie goes deeper than the 880, but the mid bass is just a hair stronger on the 880, FWIR)
Q701: 6.75
OLD K701: 6.25
AD700: 2 (you can hear it, at least)

Bear in mind, this is mostly presence in the mid bass, which tends to sound more immediately bassy than something like the HE400 and LCD2 which have very full sub bass and mid bass linearity but won't make itself as noticeable as bassy dynamic cans). I won't add those two because their bass is different from the dynamics.

 

[Hardan]

I think I have blown out my drivers... The bass sounds horrible...
 
My feelings.........
 
I am sad.
 
Is there anything I can do?
 
I love my X1

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Contact Philips, you should be under warranty...

 

[nicholars]

I am just interested because I like the sound quality of open headphones but they always seem to be lacking bass..... A basshead open headphone sounds interesting... I just wish UPS would hurry up and deliver them, they are already 2 days late and I paid for express delivery!
 
Seems like the sub bass on them is quiet compared to the mid bass but 25hz is still the same volume as the midrange so they should have decent sub bass down to about 25hz anyway which is better than the HD650.