[maricius]

  Well, most times you pay a premium for the brand name. If Sennheiser released HD 750 as a successor for HD 650 with exactly the same sound as X2, this page would now be well over 1000 pages with a lot of type. And yes, you'd pay three times the price of X2. I've just ordered my X2 before hearing it yesterday, it's very good indeed. Much better than you'd think. I can't stand the lean and bright sound of many new brands (such as Hifiman) and I prefer a European sound tuning. X2 just gives me that. Besides, it sounds amazing out of a computer or an iPad! You don't need a thousand dollar amp.

I believe you're of the first here that should be able to give a detailed comparison and analysis of the X2 and L2. I'm eagerly waiting for your final or full impressions/review.

 

[obsidyen]

 
I believe you're of the first here that should be able to give a detailed comparison and analysis of the X2 and L2. I'm eagerly waiting for your final or full impressions/review.

I'll do that when it arrives which should be in a few days (I bought from Amazon Italy as it's really cheap there). I'll be doing a listening test between the two and post my results. I don't believe in burn-in so no need to wait for it.

 

[depleted]

By the way guys I returned the X2s along with the E10K. I already said before that the combo was fatiguing to me, but another reason is that I think I am not an audiophile after all. I really enjoy some more body in the bass and mids and rolled off highs, even to the point of not hearing some finer details. I guess I'll stick to other non balanced cans, but the X2 were great none the less.

 

[mandrake50]

Yes, the law of diminishing returns applies everywhere, especially in hi-fi audio.  However, say you traded the Z7 for a pair of headphones in the same tier.  I'll use the ATH-W1000x as an example.  Would the ATH-W1000x be a better overall pair of headphones than the ATH-A900x (Audio-Technica's "pseudo summit-fi" headphones vs their mid-fi pair)?  Yes, it would.  Keep in mind that this is just an example, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.  I'm not bashing on the Fidelio X2's or anything, they're an amazing pair of headphones, especially for the price.

Where does the term "Pseudo summit-fi" come from? Do you know the definition of pseudo, or is it just something that you read around here?
pseu·do
/ˈso͞odō/
adjective
adjective: pseudo
not genuine; sham.
"we are talking about real journalists and not the pseudo kind"
synonyms: bogus, sham, phony, artificial, mock, ersatz, quasi-, fake, false, spurious, deceptive, misleading, assumed, contrived, affected, insincere.

There is a very negative connotation associated with the word pseudo. Are the phones that you mention, ATH-W1000x, phony, misleading, fake, or bogus?

In any case, it sounds like one of those terms that people at Headfi love to throw around because someone used it once and it stuck. It is an artificial delineation that seems to be based on not much more than price. And price is an arbitrary number that a manufacturer puts on something based on how many of an item they think they can sell... and at least in some cases to make their product appeal to a specific market segment. I doubt if any of them would think that their model was simply an insincere or phony attempt at reaching the top level of quality.

I sincerely would rather listen to my X1 rather than the Senn Hd800 that I had for a week or so. I preferred the phony bogus fake HE 560 to the LCD-X .
Maybe that makes me a lover of things "bogus, phony, artificial, fake, false,deceptive, misleading,contrived, and insincere". Of course by your list in a previous post, the X2 doesn't make it to the fake and phony summit level.

I don't see where you have any TOTL or fake, phony summit level phones. Where did this opinion on the high end and near high end phones come from? Really, just curious.

You ask whether the W1000X is overall "better" than the A900X. My answer would be that it depends on many things that are very personal. Head size and shape, comfort, taste in music and sound reproductions, and affordability. I would rather have the 900X on my head and enjoying music than just be dreaming about the 1000x.

In any case, once the X2 is readily available, I will get a pair. You know, I will never think twice about the fact that they don't even make it to the fake summit level as defined.... where?

 

[Stochastic]

Yes, the law of diminishing returns applies everywhere, especially in hi-fi audio.  However, say you traded the Z7 for a pair of headphones in the same tier.  I'll use the ATH-W1000x as an example.  Would the ATH-W1000x be a better overall pair of headphones than the ATH-A900x (Audio-Technica's "pseudo summit-fi" headphones vs their mid-fi pair)?  Yes, it would.  Keep in mind that this is just an example, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.  I'm not bashing on the Fidelio X2's or anything, they're an amazing pair of headphones, especially for the price.

I basically agree with you, I'm just playing Devil's advocate. I haven't heard either the Z7 or the X2 so I can't say anything about these headphones specifically. If you offered me one or the other headphone for free on the condition that I couldn't resell them, I wouldn't necessarily go for the Z7. I would prefer to audition them first.

 

[maricius]

Where does the term "Pseudo summit-fi" come from? Do you know the definition of pseudo, or is it just something that you read around here?
pseu·do
/ˈso͞odō/
adjective
adjective: pseudo
not genuine; sham.
"we are talking about real journalists and not the pseudo kind"
synonyms: bogus, sham, phony, artificial, mock, ersatz, quasi-, fake, false, spurious, deceptive, misleading, assumed, contrived, affected, insincere.

There is a very negative connotation associated with the word pseudo. Are the phones that you mention, ATH-W1000x, phony, misleading, fake, or bogus?

In any case, it sounds like one of those terms that people at Headfi love to throw around because someone used it once and it stuck. It is an artificial delineation that seems to be based on not much more than price.

I sincerely would rather listen to my X1 rather than the Senn Hd800 that I had for a week or so. I preferred the HE 560 to the LCD-X .
Maybe that makes me a lover of things "bogus, phony, artificial, fake, false,deceptive, misleading,contrived, and insincere". Of course by your list in a previous post, the X2 doesn't make it to the fake and phony level.

I don't

While I disagree with Uberclocked on some points, I believe you're misinterpreting this. For example, psychology is called a pseudoscience. Is that a negative thing? Not at all.
 
There is that level though, the close to summit-fi performing but not flagship, or something of that sort. What I do agree on though is about the level of technicalities and preference. A headphone as a cohesive whole represents its own value to every individual but in segregation, I believe there's merit in separating headphones through the technicalities and scalability. "Better" shouldn't be loosely attached though. The HD800 is a better TECHNICAL performer and overall "with greater quality" than the X1 but a lot more people can enjoy the X1 due to sound signature and accessibility. In that sense, individuals may claim that the X1 is better at being musical and enjoyable. That being said, the lines between headphone categories are vague but admittedly, they're there. 
 
To Uberclocked, I see value in some of your points but assumptions are surely not the way to go. Please let this be put to rest and let's all wait for obsidyen's review. Yay.

 

[Stochastic]

Where does the term "Pseudo summit-fi" come from?

Another definition is "almost, approaching, or trying to be." I think he's using it synonymously with the term "semi."

On another note, Amazon now indicates that the X2s will be in stock November 20th.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Has anyone heard when the next estimated shipping date for the X-2 is from Amazon US?
 
Thanks

 
Bought these from Amazon about 10 days ago, and woke up to a nice email from Amazon this morning:
 
Your new estimated delivery date is: Tuesday, November 25, 2014
 

 

[ThurstonX]

While I disagree with Uberclocked on some points, I believe you're misinterpreting this. For example, psychology is called a pseudoscience. Is that a negative thing? Not at all.

 
Yeah, well, it's pretty much a pejorative.  I don't hear a lot of psychologists calling themselves pseudo-scientists.  Don't believe everything a psychologist tells you (i.e., that "pseudo-science" is not pejorative).  Language matters.  Mind the hucksters.
 
FTFY, btw 

 
As far as headphones go, I hope my X2s are the real deal.

 

[Uberclocked]

Another definition is "almost, approaching, or trying to be." I think he's using it synonymously with the term "semi."

On another note, Amazon now indicates that the X2s will be in stock November 20th.

 
 

In any case, it sounds like one of those terms that people at Headfi love to throw around because someone used it once and it stuck. It is an artificial delineation that seems to be based on not much more than price. And price is an arbitrary number that a manufacturer puts on something based on how many of an item they think they can sell... and at least in some cases to make their product appeal to a specific market segment. I doubt if any of them would think that their model was simply an insincere or phony attempt at reaching the top level of quality

Nah, I made it up as a moniker for the headphones stuck between the mid-fi tier and the summit-fi tier.

I sincerely would rather listen to my X1 rather than the Senn Hd800 that I had for a week or so. I preferred the phony bogus fake HE 560 to the LCD-X .
Maybe that makes me a lover of things "bogus, phony, artificial, fake, false,deceptive, misleading,contrived, and insincere". Of course by your list in a previous post, the X2 doesn't make it to the fake and phony summit level.

Yes, and that's probably because your taste in sound is different from the sound signatures that the LCD-X and HD800 provide.  It may also be due the fact that you weren't driving them properly.

I don't see where you have any TOTL or fake, phony summit level phones. Where did this opinion on the high end and near high end phones come from? Really, just curious.

See Stochastic's post above.

You ask whether the W1000X is overall "better" than the A900X. My answer would be that it depends on many things that are very personal. Head size and shape, comfort, taste in music and sound reproductions, and affordability. I would rather have the 900X on my head and enjoying music than just be dreaming about the 1000x.

Yes, those points definitely influence whether a pair of headphones is an upgrade or not.  The ATH-W1000x and the ATH-A900x both use Audio-Technica's 3-D wing support system so they should be similar in terms of comfort and fit.  However, let's say that price was no object. 

Quote from a post in another thread:

Honestly I owned the A900x and I still own my W1000x
 
if you like the A900x the W1000x is a NICE easy upgrade. The W5000 I've not heard , but grab your self a W1000x and enjoy :3
 
they don't need a lot of power so the E6 should be more than enough! 

In any case, once the X2 is readily available, I will get a pair. You know, I will never think twice about the fact that they don't even make it to the fake summit level as defined.... where?

Hope you get them soon!  They're an amazing pair of headphones and I'm guessing that you'll enjoy them very much. 

  The "pseudo summit-fi" tier is a moniker I made up to define headphones (as I stated before) that are sandwiched between the summit-fi and mid-fi tiers.  I never stated that the X2 was bad because they weren't in it, I merely pointed out that it's in the mid-fi tier.

Let's stop arguing and get back to discussing the X2.  This is the thread for discussing the X2, after all.

 

[vertical]

Let's stop arguing and get back to discussing the X2.  This is the thread for discussing the X2, after all.

Agreed. Thread had wandered OT...

 

[caracara08]

sorry I went OT! 

 

[Byrnie]

Bought these from Amazon about 10 days ago, and woke up to a nice email from Amazon this morning:

[COLOR=666666]Your new estimated delivery date is:[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]Tuesday, November 25, 2014[/COLOR]

me too! I'm stoked!

 

[mgh24]

   
Bought these from Amazon about 10 days ago, and woke up to a nice email from Amazon this morning:
 
Your new estimated delivery date is: Tuesday, November 25, 2014
 

Thanks for the info!

 

[AlexMurphy13]

I'll also be in a position to compare the X2 and the L2 in the next few days. I'll post my findings, as it seems there is a bit of demand for an understanding of the similarities/differences between the two.