[Twizzleshnizzle]

@MisterMudd I reeeeally wanna know how you have a pair of extra stock earpads for these, lol. We ALL wanna know. Heh.

It'll be from years ago when they used to sell them. Sadly they stopped selling them a very long time ago. Stock dried up and that was that.

 

[nraymond]

It'll be from years ago when they used to sell them. Sadly they stopped selling them a very long time ago. Stock dried up and that was that.

When the X2 came out WOOX was an R&D and manufacturing division of Philips. Then WOOX was sold to Gibson (the guitar maker). Gibson thought they could become a big electronics company by borrowing money and buying other companies. That didn’t work out and they filed for bankruptcy. With the liquidation of Gibson Innovations (the renamed Philips WOOX) Philips wanted to continue production of their headphones and has contracted with TPV Technology Limited of Hong Kong. Things are a little different for Philips headphones now that WOOX is gone.

 

[Blinding]

Regarding replacement pads has anyone tried the Dekoni Audio choice suede or leather? I contacted them and the pads have the 4 pin system so it would be easy to replace. I think the only major cons is that they're a bit expensive at 50$. I've ordered the suede ones and can give feedback when I receive them.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Regarding replacement pads has anyone tried the Dekoni Audio choice suede or leather? I contacted them and the pads have the 4 pin system so it would be easy to replace. I think the only major cons is that they're a bit expensive at 50$. I've ordered the suede ones and can give feedback when I receive them.

Avoid leather, it'll ruin the sound. Can you link to which ones you picked up please? I'm curious to see the 4 pin.

 

[goodyfresh]

Regarding replacement pads has anyone tried the Dekoni Audio choice suede or leather? I contacted them and the pads have the 4 pin system so it would be easy to replace. I think the only major cons is that they're a bit expensive at 50$. I've ordered the suede ones and can give feedback when I receive them.

Avoid leather, it'll ruin the sound. Can you link to which ones you picked up please? I'm curious to see the 4 pin.

I have unfortunate experience with suede earpds (in this place they were Brainwavz) ruining the sound; suede is a much "finer" material than the velour fabric, while it's far more comfortable it seals far better around the ears, and as a result the Brainwavz Suedes I got completely ruin the sound; they close in the soundstage and congest the imaging, while massively bloating up the bass. Maybe Dekoni's suede material is different, but regardless, there's just a huge difference in the texture of suede vs velour.

Please let us know if the suede earpads from Dekoni drastically change the X2's sound or not, once you get them. A good way to check is to put one of the new earpads on one side while leaving the stock earpad on the other, then playing a sweeping tone; frequencies where it's DRASTICALLY louder/off-center on one side or the other will indicate changes to the frequency-response from the new pads. As far as soundstage/imaging goes, I guess you just wanna try it with the old pads vs the new ones on tracks with good soundstage.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

I have unfortunate experience with suede earpds (in this place they were Brainwavz) ruining the sound; suede is a much "finer" material than the velour fabric, while it's far more comfortable it seals far better around the ears, and as a result the Brainwavz Suedes I got completely ruin the sound; they close in the soundstage and congest the imaging, while massively bloating up the bass. Maybe Dekoni's suede material is different, but regardless, there's just a huge difference in the texture of suede vs velour.

Please let us know if the suede earpads from Dekoni drastically change the X2's sound or not, once you get them. A good way to check is to put one of the new earpads on one side while leaving the stock earpad on the other, then playing a sweeping tone; frequencies where it's DRASTICALLY louder/off-center on one side or the other will indicate changes to the frequency-response from the new pads. As far as soundstage/imaging goes, I guess you just wanna try it with the old pads vs the new ones on tracks with good soundstage.

I switch between my stock velour and Brainwavz suede (cooling gel) every few days. They do bloat the bass slightly, not massively. They're a respectable alternative. I found no difference in soundstage myself, I use them primarily for gaming. I'm only adding these points because there will be people seeking replacements and I don't think it helps them if changes are over emphasised when they're being described.

 

[goodyfresh]

I switch between my stock velour and Brainwavz suede (cooling gel) every few days. They do bloat the bass slightly, not massively. They're a respectable alternative. I found no difference in soundstage myself, I use them primarily for gaming. I'm only adding these points because there will be people seeking replacements and I don't think it helps them if changes are over emphasised when they're being described.

Hmmm well the cooling gel ones no doubt sit on the face differently than the non-cooling-gel "normal" suede pads I got. Aside from that though, soundstage and imaging are things that can vary a LOT between different people due to differences in their pinnae and HRTF's. For ME at least, suede pads actually do *massively* change the sound of the X2HR's, but that may not be true for others like it is for me! I've noticed others on here say that the Brainwavz Suede pads sound just fine to them on the X2HR's... maybe I'm unlucky and have a head and ears that are just really sensitive to changes in soundstage or something, because in my case, the differences are very big and noticeable. Replacement earpads can be tricky business; there's no way to really know for sure how an earpad-change will sound until you try it for yourself.

In my case, switching to the suedes immediately resulted in a sound that seemed very dark and congested, one that I honestly couldn't really stand. But results of such things may certainly vary between users; I noticed that in my case the suede pads form a very tight seal on my head compared to the stock pads, so again, it may very well/likely just be an unlucky quirk of the shape of my head and ears.

 

[Blinding]

https://dekoniaudio.com/product-category/brands/philips/x2/ here is the link for both the pads. I think it will take a while before I receive them because I could only find them in the US website and I'm from Europe

 

[HipHopScribe]

https://dekoniaudio.com/product-category/brands/philips/x2/ here is the link for both the pads. I think it will take a while before I receive them because I could only find them in the US website and I'm from Europe

Wow based on Dekoni's graphs both of these pads pump up the already kinda boomy bass AND reduce the mids and treble. Impossible to say without listening, but there seems to be a risk that these will make the X2s sound dark and muddy.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

Does seem to make a rather drastic change for sure. Why the dekoni ones have 3m rings in there? Just in case? Or you supposed to stick them there?

Would be curious, I suppose. If I can quickly swap them around.

 

[goodyfresh]

I switch between my stock velour and Brainwavz suede (cooling gel) every few days. They do bloat the bass slightly, not massively. They're a respectable alternative. I found no difference in soundstage myself, I use them primarily for gaming. I'm only adding these points because there will be people seeking replacements and I don't think it helps them if changes are over emphasised when they're being described.

Okay see look, I dunno about the Brainwavz since they don't measure the effects like Dekoni does, but at least with the Dekoni suede pads, we have CONFIRMATION from the company making them that they MASSIVELY bloat up the bass and low mids while sucking out a lot of the mids and treble:

Again, while I can't be ABSOLUTEY SURE about the Brainwavz suede pads, that graph there showing between a 3 to 6dB boost throughout the bass and low-mids (especially the low-mids) and up to 10dB of attenuation/drop in the higher mids and treble, honestly looks like EXACTLY what I hear when I use the Brainwavz suedes: They make these headphones sound incredibly dark and bloated, at least to my ears. It seems to me like I'm not "over emphasizing" the changes at all: The material change between velour and suede obviously causes HUGE alterations to the sound signature. Thank you, Dekoni, for providing these graphs to prove this.

The real question is: Why doesn't Dekoni make VELOUR pads for these headphones, instead of only making leather and suede ones? Velour pads would preserve the original sound, so it'd be nice if they made some as proper replacements for the stock pads. Dekoni uses a very fine, high-quality velour that's easy on the skin, which is why Beyer owners tend to like the Dekoni velour pads for Beyers. They use a higher quality of velour than the stock X2 pads, so Dekoni velours for these headphones would be great. It's ironic how Dekoni says "Dekoni is happy to continue to support an excellent entry-point headphone for audiophiles," and yet only produce pads for the X2's that massively change the original sound due to not being the same material as the stock pads. And thus, while there's finally a company making after-market pads that fit the four-pin system for these, there's STILL no option for a viable replacement for the stock pads that doesn't change the sound. Ugh.

 

[Blinding]

Does seem to make a rather drastic change for sure. Why the dekoni ones have 3m rings in there? Just in case? Or you supposed to stick them there?

Would be curious, I suppose. If I can quickly swap them around.

Dekoni told me the 3m rings is an alternative to the 4 pin system. I presume they work fine without them, when I'll get them I will try just using the 4 pins.

 

[MisterMudd]

It will say on the headband.

Also, where did you get the genuine replacement pads that you mentioned?

It just says "Philips Fidelio" on the headband. I looked them all over and could find nothing else. Pretty sure they were the Woox seeing as I bought them October 2014. I dug around and found the extra pads. They are in the shipping box from China, so probably from eBay and someone's recommendation early in this thread. Still in the sealed plastic bag, but can confirm they are the velour with hard plastic 4-pin base. They are marked "Bass Plus" Special Edition XL. Paid $28. Can't confirm whether OEM of course, but look exactly like what is on my pair currently. Nothing on the shipping box denotes who I bought them from. Looked on eBay to no avail coz' they only report your last 3 years purchase history. I remember buying these as back up shortly after I got the X2's and knew they were NEVER leaving my care. Awesome to this day!. Still give me a HUGE grin every time I listen to them. No other headphone I have is this much fun. Especially for my 70's and 80's vinyl rock albums.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

It just says "Philips Fidelio" on the headband. I looked them all over and could find nothing else. Pretty sure they were the Woox seeing as I bought them October 2014.

It's right above the L symbol, on the plastic bit. Pull up on the cushion.

 

[Slater]

It's right above the L symbol, on the plastic bit. Pull up on the cushion.

Exactly. A little plastic plate.

You may need to use a flashlight to see the information, because it's just embossed plastic so it can be hard to see.