[peter123]

I'm actually curious to hear the X2 with a tube amp.  That's my next amp direction, as I know it will be good with my HD600 anyways.  

My favorite set up for the X2's is with a tube DAC and a hybrid amp. I've read a lot of comments about people liking the X2's with tubes in one way or another........

 

[fluidz]

  Buy a Chord Mojo instead a new pair of headphones and enjoy your X2. It will be a much bigger jump in sound quality. All the headphones you mention are side grades. Different taste, different preference. You might gonna like some, you might not. But if you already enjoy your X2, than Mojo will lift it to another level. This is what I did, and no regrets so far.

 
+1
 
You know that wow factor you hear when you upgrade your headphones to a much higher class can, that's what the Mojo has done with my X2's.
 
How can you justify spending £400 on a piece of equipment when the headphones are half that price? To be frank, the only way is to take a listen and you'll realise why.  I took a gamble based on hype (which doesn't usually end well) and I'm damn happy I did.  
 
Its not the high resolution support that the mojo offers which sets it apart,  ie DSD 1,000,000khz, to me that's irrelevant as I'm only listening via Spotify 320kbps.  It makes every sound in the stereo field on par with each other, layered very well in a 3d way, front to back has depth I never heard before in the X'2 and not just left to right clarity as offered by inferior dacs/amps.  
 
Yes there's people out there who claim cables offer such upgrades, as we all know most the time is purely snake oil and placebo.  I thought my Oppo Ha-2 was a great companion to the X2's already, it made everything clearer and sparkle and i thought "man this is what the X2 need, but now I look at it, the clarity upgrade was very "digital sounding".  
 
This Analogue, "natural to the ear sound" that every Mojo owner keeps speaking about is very very real and if every X2 owner had a chance to combine their cans with a Mojo the X2's would get 5 stars across the board, especially for their current £200 price tag. 
 
I'm not advertising the Mojo, just saying that a high class piece of equipment can make the X2's shine

 

[Hammy]

Mojo sounds like it's awesome but, as I'm not a headphone collector, I can't justify such expense in comparison to the cost of the headphones.  No love for O2+ODAC with X2?  I was toying with the idea of upgrading from my E10K the next time it's on Massdrop.

 

[Mr Trev]

My favorite set up for the X2's is with a tube DAC and a hybrid amp. I've read a lot of comments about people liking the X2's with tubes in one way or another........

Which hybrid are you running again? I'm hoping my Little Bear should be in next week, so I will try to post some impressions when I can (pun intended

)

 

[arcwindz]

  Mojo sounds like it's awesome but, as I'm not a headphone collector, I can't justify such expense in comparison to the cost of the headphones.  No love for O2+ODAC with X2?  I was toying with the idea of upgrading from my E10K the next time it's on Massdrop.

 
I know right lol, i was tempted to buy Mojo, I used e10k before and was actually blown away when i heard X2 paired with Ifi Micro. Was looking at Mojo since i heard it's one of the best on budget but then it's $700... while X2 is like $250 when i bought it and i still need to add some cost to that since i need Virtual surround for gaming.
 
If you use e10k definitely upgrade, $200 ifi micro is pretty good paired with X2.
O2+Odac has good reputation paired with most headphones, never own it though

 

[Darien]

  Mojo sounds like it's awesome but, as I'm not a headphone collector, I can't justify such expense in comparison to the cost of the headphones.  No love for O2+ODAC with X2?  I was toying with the idea of upgrading from my E10K the next time it's on Massdrop.

the o2odac is one of the best dac/amps you can get on the planet, especially for the price. I definitely noticed a good increase in sound quality with my 650HD and my powered monitors from e10k to o2odac, sounds much richer and clearer.
 
As Z said, if you buy a dac/amp above a certain price range and it sounds different than the o2odac, it's either doing something different for the sake of being different - or it's doing something wrong. People can talk about numbers all day, but the human ear can only detect so much.

 

[lhayati]

  Mojo sounds like it's awesome but, as I'm not a headphone collector, I can't justify such expense in comparison to the cost of the headphones.  No love for O2+ODAC with X2?  I was toying with the idea of upgrading from my E10K the next time it's on Massdrop.

Was looking to maybe do the same

 

[Hammy]

  the o2odac is one of the best dac/amps you can get on the planet, especially for the price. I definitely noticed a good increase in sound quality with my 650HD and my powered monitors from e10k to o2odac, sounds much richer and clearer.
 
As Z said, if you buy a dac/amp above a certain price range and it sounds different than the o2odac, it's either doing something different for the sake of being different - or it's doing something wrong. People can talk about numbers all day, but the human ear can only detect so much.

 
Thanks for your impressions! @arcwindz too.
 
I have some reservations about investing in something more expensive than the E10K as I appear to have some hearing limitations - not being able to hear above 15khz~ being one of them.  I also have trouble noticing much difference between my onboard ALC892, iPad Air, OPO phone, and E10K.  I wonder if it's because they're all relatively low end components or if my ears are broken/untrained

.  About 90% of my headphone usage is for TV/movies too, which further makes me think an O2+ODAC might be overkill.
 
I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a precipice wanting to turn back towards camp.

 

[betula]

   
+1
 
You know that wow factor you hear when you upgrade your headphones to a much higher class can, that's what the Mojo has done with my X2's.
 
How can you justify spending £400 on a piece of equipment when the headphones are half that price? To be frank, the only way is to take a listen and you'll realise why.  I took a gamble based on hype (which doesn't usually end well) and I'm damn happy I did.  
 
Its not the high resolution support that the mojo offers which sets it apart,  ie DSD 1,000,000khz, to me that's irrelevant as I'm only listening via Spotify 320kbps.  It makes every sound in the stereo field on par with each other, layered very well in a 3d way, front to back has depth I never heard before in the X'2 and not just left to right clarity as offered by inferior dacs/amps.  
 
Yes there's people out there who claim cables offer such upgrades, as we all know most the time is purely snake oil and placebo.  I thought my Oppo Ha-2 was a great companion to the X2's already, it made everything clearer and sparkle and i thought "man this is what the X2 need, but now I look at it, the clarity upgrade was very "digital sounding".  
 
This Analogue, "natural to the ear sound" that every Mojo owner keeps speaking about is very very real and if every X2 owner had a chance to combine their cans with a Mojo the X2's would get 5 stars across the board, especially for their current £200 price tag. 
 
I'm not advertising the Mojo, just saying that a high class piece of equipment can make the X2's shine

Absolutely, 100% agreed. But people won't believe, unless they try themselves. I didn't believe, until I tried.
 

   
I know right lol, i was tempted to buy Mojo, I used e10k before and was actually blown away when i heard X2 paired with Ifi Micro. Was looking at Mojo since i heard it's one of the best on budget but then it's $700... while X2 is like $250 when i bought it and i still need to add some cost to that since i need Virtual surround for gaming.
 
If you use e10k definitely upgrade, $200 ifi micro is pretty good paired with X2.
O2+Odac has good reputation paired with most headphones, never own it though

iFi Micro is good. I enjoyed it for quite a while. But it is nowhere near to Mojo's sound quality. IFi sounds colored and artificial compared to Mojo. Still good bang for the bucks though.

 

[oldnemes1s]

I had the e10k paired with the X2 but returned it.
I found it emphasized the highs too much for my taste. Or maybe I'm just overly sensitive to overly bright highs.
Still looking for an amp/dac to pair it with but kinda in no hurry as it seems fine without one. If the Mojo was $500 maybe I could justify it but with the Canadian dollar taking a crap it might as well be $1000.

 

[fluidz]

  I had the e10k paired with the X2 but returned it.
I found it emphasized the highs too much for my taste. Or maybe I'm just overly sensitive to overly bright highs.
Still looking for an amp/dac to pair it with but kinda in no hurry as it seems fine without one. If the Mojo was $500 maybe I could justify it but with the Canadian dollar taking a crap it might as well be $1000.

 
I had bright highs with both Ha-2 and Fiio E12 (not monc blanc edition) which impaired treble quality at higher volumes whilst connected to Phonak Audeo pfe232 - already known to have superb treble extension so adding any more treble only emphasized it to a uncomfortable level.  E12 was considerably worst than Ha-2 at handling highs as it made my shoulders shudder at times - dependant on mastering quality.   On the other hand, for the Philips X2 the brightness boost was welcomed at times.
 
The Mojo is much more soothing with pfe 232's, no where near as bright as the Ha-2 and Fiio E12, it actually brings out detail where it's needed in the highs - same goes for the X2'S.  I can raise the volume of the Mojo to an enjoyable listening volume (quite loud) without hearing a really harsh knife scratching treble sound I heard at times from the Ha-2 and Fiio E12 which made me resort to lowering the volume.
 
Of course this is most likely bad synergy as some headphones could do with that extra brightness to shine a little better.  Fiio E12 and Ha-2 may compliment these headphones well. 

 

[peter123]

Which hybrid are you running again? I'm hoping my Little Bear should be in next week, so I will try to post some impressions when I can (pun intended )

Little Dot I+ with some Siemens 6AK5W tubes and a MUSES8820 op amp.

Please share your experience with the Little Bear.

 

[arcwindz]

iFi Micro is good. I enjoyed it for quite a while. But it is nowhere near to Mojo's sound quality. IFi sounds colored and artificial compared to Mojo. Still good bang for the bucks though.

I know it's not haha, and that's why i've been telling myself so hard "DO NOT audition Mojo" when it's right in front of me to audition.
I just can not justify the cost as of yet, and technology will always move forward one day we'll get something better or cheaper

 

[chry5alis]

I just can not justify the cost as of yet, and technology will always move forward one day we'll get something better or cheaper

Tut tut, far too much common sense for these parts

 

[betula]

I know it's not haha, and that's why i've been telling myself so hard "DO NOT audition Mojo" when it's right in front of me to audition.
I just can not justify the cost as of yet, and technology will always move forward one day we'll get something better or cheaper

Yes, it is a good advise not to audition Mojo, unless you are ready to pay the price. You won't be able to go back to your previous gear. Mojo currently brings us the sound of £1000 equipment for £400. Which is quite remarkable. Maybe in a couple of years it will be even 'cheaper'. I got mine for £345 from someone who used it for a couple of days, but had too many, much higher-end audio gear already, so didn't want to keep Mojo. With a little luck it is possible to find similar deals. It is still not cheap, but worth every penny.
Great with X2. (And now I have finished Mojo praise, I promise.)