Philips Fidelio X2?!

[gargani]

What's the consensus on the OG vs the HR? I just listened to the HR and was underwhelmed overall

It could be the x2hr didn't sound the way you thought they would. Especially if they sounded quite different from what you were used to and expecting.

It could be you didn't listen to them,long enough to have them grow on you.

Or it could be they're just not to your taste (preference).

 

[cirodts]

maybe I'm wrong but I notice that the mids of the x2hr are a little dark, maybe I have to do some burn in or I have to change the cable?
For the rest the fidelio sounds magnificent, in comparison the sundara makes a noise while fidelio excites

 

[Sonic Defender]

What gargani said,
For me anyway, if I am trying to get a handle on a new sound signature I stop using all other headphones and I will generally give the new headphone a solid week because it can take time for your hearing brain to acclimate to a new sound signature.

 

[Sonic Defender]

maybe I'm wrong but I notice that the mids of the x2hr are a little dark, maybe I have to do some burn in or I have to change the cable?
For the rest the fidelio sounds magnificent, in comparison the sundara makes a noise while fidelio excites

Dear lord, not cables. Just give it a solid week and don't go back and forth comparing to headphones that your brain is already used to.

 

[gargani]

Man, been a while and sorry for the late reply. Yes - they are Woox, and coming up on their 7th anniversary of awesome goodness! Thinking of buying the X2HR now as they drop in price quite regularly on Amazon, and I am afraid they might not be available much longer.

I bought a used Woox in excellent condition with the original box. On the box it says Woox. Underneath the L on the left side it says Woox.

A couple of months later I bought a brand new pair ( not the hr) in an unopened sealed box. On the box it says Gibson. Underneath the L on the left side it says Woox. Huh, What?

Needless to say I'm confused.

 

[CTR640]

maybe I'm wrong but I notice that the mids of the x2hr are a little dark, maybe I have to do some burn in or I have to change the cable?
For the rest the fidelio sounds magnificent, in comparison the sundara makes a noise while fidelio excites

I use the cable included when I got the Amiron Wireless because the cable for X2HR is too long. But I can tell you, the sound between the those 2 cables are just the same. Your hearing needs some time to get used to the new sound.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Gibson Innovations used to have the contract to produce various headphones so that is likely the source of the Gibson name you are seeing.

 

[gargani]

That could it explain it. So if I'm understanding correctly, the pair that came with Woox on the box was from before Gibson took over?

I know this isn't important but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Do you or anyone else know, what, if anything, does it say above the L on the x2hr?

 

[cirodts]

I understood yes yes, I recognize my mistake, I made tests between sundara amiron and fidelio, so the fidelio seemed a bit closed because I was listening to sundara shortly before

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

maybe I'm wrong but I notice that the mids of the x2hr are a little dark, maybe I have to do some burn in or I have to change the cable?
For the rest the fidelio sounds magnificent, in comparison the sundara makes a noise while fidelio excites

That's just the tuning of them, they're far from a neutral headphone

 

[Pharmaboy]

I've had the Amiron and the Sundara too. I ended up selling both and I kept the X2HR. There are things both the Sundara and the Amiron do way better than the X2HR, but the X2HR just sounds right, even if it's not the most technically accomplished.

I have a number of headphones that are far better in just about every way than my 5 year old X2s (my 1st real headphone). Yet I still own and love the sound of the X2s.

I do admire the technicalities when done well--but my heart belongs to audio gear with an organic, musical sound, and that's the X2s. The best of my other headphones also have an organic, musical sound (+ technicalities).

For me it's not a zero sum game, where only one headphone works.

PS: Soon after buying my X2s (new), I replaced the stock cable with one I purchased from Ghent Audio. The new cable is less microphonic & a bit thicker than stock. I compared the two cables at the time and preferred the sound of the new cable by a small margin.

This is that cable: https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/d05.html

This D05 cable comes stock with 6.35mm jacks on both ends, but the X2s needed a 3.5mm jack into the headphone earcup. So I asked Ghent Xu to change one end to 3.5mm, which he did (GX is a very accommodating business person).

 

[HipHopScribe]

That could it explain it. So if I'm understanding correctly, the pair that came with Woox on the box was from before Gibson took over?

I know this isn't important but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Do you or anyone else know, what, if anything, does it say above the L on the x2hr?

The Philips headphone brand has passed through a few hands since the X2s came out. Woox was a division of Philips that was then sold off to Gibson. Gibson went bankrupt. Now I believe TP Vision is the company that owns the Philips headphone brand. It might have passed through one or two hands between Gibson and TP Vision.

 

[Mr Trev]

I have a number of headphones that are far better in just about every way than my 5 year old X2s (my 1st real headphone). Yet I still own and love the sound of the X2s.

I do admire the technicalities when done well--but my heart belongs to audio gear with an organic, musical sound, and that's the X2s. The best of my other headphones also have an organic, musical sound (+ technicalities).

For me it's not a zero sum game, where only one headphone works.

PS: Soon after buying my X2s (new), I replaced the stock cable with one I purchased from Ghent Audio. The new cable is less microphonic & a bit thicker than stock. I compared the two cables at the time and preferred the sound of the new cable by a small margin.

This is that cable: https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/d05.html

This D05 cable comes stock with 6.35mm jacks on both ends, but the X2s needed a 3.5mm jack into the headphone earcup. So I asked Ghent Xu to change one end to 3.5mm, which he did (GX is a very accommodating business person).

I've seen you mention the Ghent cables before, and I do agree the quality is good.
But I have to ask… why did you get a customized D05 when the D15 already has a 6.35mm? Other than the connectors, they're exactly the same as far as I can tell

 

[Pharmaboy]

I've seen you mention the Ghent cables before, and I do agree the quality is good.
But I have to ask… why did you get a customized D05 when the D15 already has a 6.35mm? Other than the connectors, they're exactly the same as far as I can tell

You have a good eye to spot that.

Hard for me to prove this for sure, but I believe the answer is when I first bought a D05 cable (5-6 yrs ago, for another HP), there was no D015, just D05.

Ghent Audio changed its website and product offerings somewhat over the years.

 

[cirodts]

i connected the x2hr directly to my ibasso dx220 player, the sound is spectacular i did not think such sound quality is possible with only 139 euros, my x2hr does not sound bass at all but it has a very neutral sound and i absolutely do not need the eq, if i knew before the fidelio i didn't throw a lot of money for all the headphones i had.