[guido]

How does the X2 compare to the L2?

 

[Rave77]

  I've read this entire thread, so hopefully I'm not repeating anything with the following questions:
 
- Anyone using these for movies? I'm curious how well the soundstage and bass works for that. I nixed the HD598 for weak bass, and the HD600 for weak soundstage, and now I'm tentatively settled on the DT990 Premium.
 
- Anyone compare the X2 (or even X1) with the DT990 in detail? Curious about soundstage, bass, and comfort. The DT990 is super comfy -- soft pads, low clamp, fairly light weight.
 
- The question/answer of an amp with the X2 seems unclear. Many comments suggest it requires no dedicated amp to get 99% of its potential, but others suggest an amp will provide a more significant improvement and might even be necessary.
 
Thanks to everyone who has already shared so much info about these headphones in this thread!

I use the X2 for movies and they sound amazing, dynamic, detailed, wide soundstage with amazing deep bass that has great impact. It is always composed no matter how much action is going on.
 
Can't comment on the DT900 but as far as X2 comfort goes I can happily wear them all day long.
 
Regarding amp, well they don't need one but they sound a lot louder and dynamic with an amp especially for movies, no amp and they sound flat and lifeless.

 

[bwr827]

Thanks for the reply, Rave77. Sounds like they could be a real competitor for the DT990 for movies!
 
It's always difficult to sort out the subjectivity and personal preferences in comments about sound quality. I'm trying to balance your "no amp and they sound flat and lifeless" (sounds awful!) with the raving reviews from users who have no amp. Is it explained by the fact that since you've now heard them with an amp, you actually know what you were missing?

 

[arcwindz]

I've read this entire thread, so hopefully I'm not repeating anything with the following questions:

- Anyone using these for movies? I'm curious how well the soundstage and bass works for that. I nixed the HD598 for weak bass, and the HD600 for weak soundstage, and now I'm tentatively settled on the DT990 Premium.

- Anyone compare the X2 (or even X1) with the DT990 in detail? Curious about soundstage, bass, and comfort. The DT990 is super comfy -- soft pads, low clamp, fairly light weight.

- The question/answer of an amp with the X2 seems unclear. Many comments suggest it requires no dedicated amp to get 99% of its potential, but others suggest an amp will provide a more significant improvement and might even be necessary.

Thanks to everyone who has already shared so much info about these headphones in this thread!

This thing is great for movies and games, i never really got tired listening to x2 for hours. We got good sound stage, bass, and the dialogue is conveyed clearly.

I won't say amp will improve x2 greatly, but i dare to say that a dac will, though it's pretty common to have both dac and amp in the same package, so why not

On a side note i believe many people are still waitig MLE review on this
I believe his opinion for gaming use on x2 will also reflect how it goes with movies.

 

[bwr827]

Thanks, arcwindz! My hope would be to run the X2s directly from my Yamaha home theatre receiver (V673), which would be serving as the DAC. Not sure of its amp capabilities for headphones, since I understand receivers typically have high-impendance outputs, but I'm assuming it is a good DAC.

 

[norsende]

No amp here (unless you count the SBZ hp amp) and definitely not dull and lifeless. Better bass than DT 990 (Pro, which supposedly has more bass than Premiums because of more clamping force). And more comfortable to me as the DT 990 phones didn't have enough depth so my ears started touching the headphone "walls".

 

[obsidyen]

  I've read this entire thread, so hopefully I'm not repeating anything with the following questions:
 
- Anyone using these for movies? I'm curious how well the soundstage and bass works for that. I nixed the HD598 for weak bass, and the HD600 for weak soundstage, and now I'm tentatively settled on the DT990 Premium.
 
- Anyone compare the X2 (or even X1) with the DT990 in detail? Curious about soundstage, bass, and comfort. The DT990 is super comfy -- soft pads, low clamp, fairly light weight.
 
- The question/answer of an amp with the X2 seems unclear. Many comments suggest it requires no dedicated amp to get 99% of its potential, but others suggest an amp will provide a more significant improvement and might even be necessary.
 
Thanks to everyone who has already shared so much info about these headphones in this thread!

 
I think X2 doesn't require an amp most of the time, but it surely benefits from an amp with low impedance output (such as Meridian Explorer2 dac/amp I use, perfect for X2). Laptop/tablet headphone jacks have some bottlenecks. For instance, I have SACD rip version of the album Depeche Mode Violator. It's very high quality and each song is 5645 Kpbs. However, as the album was recorded and mastered before Loudness Wars, the volume level is not high. That is good because everything sounds more natural, there's no dynamic range compression or anything. That said, even with full volume on my computer, X2s didn't reach very high volume levels and I felt SQ hit a wall when it could still be better, like bass could be louder and soundstage could be wider etc... You wouldn't face this problem with most albums, certainly not modern music as they're mastered horribly and very loud. Nevertheless, to get 100% from X2s, a moderately powerful amp is required. I recommend Meridian Explorer2 as it pairs very well.
 

  Thanks, arcwindz! My hope would be to run the X2s directly from my Yamaha home theatre receiver (V673), which would be serving as the DAC. Not sure of its amp capabilities for headphones, since I understand receivers typically have high-impendance outputs, but I'm assuming it is a good DAC.

 
I saw this after posting what I wrote above so editing the post. Yamaha receivers usually have very good headphone outputs, in fact I think they're better than most boutique brand amps out there. Thus it could be more than enough, you should try it first. Otherwise you might regret spending your money after discovering the receiver sounds better than your new amp.

 

[peter123]

Thanks, arcwindz! My hope would be to run the X2s directly from my Yamaha home theatre receiver (V673), which would be serving as the DAC. Not sure of its amp capabilities for headphones, since I understand receivers typically have high-impendance outputs, but I'm assuming it is a good DAC.

I've got a Yamaha receiver as well (RX-A810) but I haven't tested it properly with the X2's yet. I'll try to find some time to test it tonight.

 

[zoolzoo]

I do love everything about them. The sound is phenomenal. I just dunno whats wrong with the left cup and my left ear.
Anyone who has a similar problem?

 
 
 
I feel like I have this type of issue when I use the bowl pads on my Grado MS2i's. Never happens with flats. I PMed you.

 

[lofthanza]

  Dacmagic XS is a bit harsh sounding itself, in my opinion. Could you try an amp that's smoother sounding? Meridian Explorer/Explorer2, Woo Audio WA7 or something similar?..

That's true! I find the dacmagic xs to be harsh sounding with all the headphones i have, but to my surprise, it paired very well with the X2s, no harshness at all.

  Fidelio L2. They are brighter. Semi open though.
Hifiman HE400i. Easy to drive, brighter.
 

 

The L2's pads arent replaceable, which is a bummer.
The HE-400s have been on the radar for a while. What made me hesitate is Lieven from headfonia. He finds this combo ( the He-400i and the DX90) to be dry sounding and lack detail.
Have you heard this combo urself? if yes, what did you think?

  That's LOUD man. I stayed two clicks or below from the MAX volume on a Galaxy s3 which I use daily. Hell, I don't even go max using HD600's. Just one click down. 

 

 
+1
 
tinnitus is no joke, just sayin

 I will be careful. It seems i am listening to too loud music. Thank you!

  Try to find the T90 or HD700 on the FS forums here.

Yup, but dont u think those will need external amping?
If the T90 will be driven fine from the DX90, then that would be the one.
I have read on one of the reviews on amazon that the HD700&Dx90 combo is rather dull sounding.

 

[bwr827]

  I saw this after posting what I wrote above so editing the post. Yamaha receivers usually have very good headphone outputs, in fact I think they're better than most boutique brand amps out there. Thus it could be more than enough, you should try it first. Otherwise you might regret spending your money after discovering the receiver sounds better than your new amp.

Very interesting, obsidyen! I never considered that my Yamaha receiver might already have a good headphone amp, since general comments about receivers on head-fi is that they're ill-suited for high-end headphones. I'll have to dig further into the specs of the Yamaha's headphone output.
 
I've got a bunch of price-watches in place for the X2, and I'm going to pull the trigger as soon as it drops a bit. So far I haven't even found a Canadian source for it, which is frustrating!

 

[bwr827]

I've got a Yamaha receiver as well (RX-A810) but I haven't tested it properly with the X2's yet. I'll try to find some time to test it tonight.

 
(First time I've busted out that forum cliche!)
 
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the X2 with your Yamaha! While the A810 was one notch higher in Yamaha's lineup than my V673, I'm guessing they're not too far off from each other.

 

[obsidyen]

  Very interesting, obsidyen! I never considered that my Yamaha receiver might already have a good headphone amp, since general comments about receivers on head-fi is that they're ill-suited for high-end headphones. I'll have to dig further into the specs of the Yamaha's headphone output.
 
I've got a bunch of price-watches in place for the X2, and I'm going to pull the trigger as soon as it drops a bit. So far I haven't even found a Canadian source for it, which is frustrating!

 
I had a Yamaha stereo receiver which had a headphone out. They drove my HD650s and Momentums really well. I sold it to buy a higher end amp though (to drive speakers). Try it first, if you don't like it, you can always buy another amp.
 
 
 
 

  That's true! I find the dacmagic xs to be harsh sounding with all the headphones i have, but to my surprise, it paired very well with the X2s, no harshness at all.
The L2's pads arent replaceable, which is a bummer.
The HE-400s have been on the radar for a while. What made me hesitate is Lieven from headfonia. He finds this combo ( the He-400i and the DX90) to be dry sounding and lack detail.
Have you heard this combo urself? if yes, what did you think?
 
 I will be careful. It seems i am listening to too loud music. Thank you!
Yup, but dont u think those will need external amping?
If the T90 will be driven fine from the DX90, then that would be the one.
I have read on one of the reviews on amazon that the HD700&Dx90 combo is rather dull sounding.

HE-400i sounded fine from Explorer2. I borrowed it from a friend for a few days. I preferred X2 over them though. X2 is more fun. Not that HE400i isn't but the bass was lacking. Also I don't like bright headphones much, Hifiman house sound is not for me.
 
I don't know if DX90 can drive T90 but if I were you I'd steer away from T90. It simply sucks. Dry, analytical, shrill. Some people say they sound good with tube amps, I don't know. T90 is the total opposite of X2. I don't know how Beyer can sell that crap for such a high price. I guess it's because some "audiophiles" love "extended treble" and "airy sound".

 

[peter123]

(First time I've busted out that forum cliche!)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the X2 with your Yamaha! While the A810 was one notch higher in Yamaha's lineup than my V673, I'm guessing they're not too far off from each other.

I never watch movies with headphones just TV shows/series late at night and I've been using the DT880 (600ohm) for this and been very impressed by how the reciever handled them. So today I put on The Expandebles and plugged in the X2's, was just supposed to watch for a few minutes to check but damn this is cool. Been watching for an hour now and enjoying it a lot. Apparently the Yamaha's use something called silent cinema and it's a virtual surround thing for headphones, works very well. No more low volume late night movies for me on my home theatre system

Unfortunately I don't have the DT880 anymore so I can't compare them but from the TV series is watched with them in never got this impressed and didn't even think about the silent cinema thing.

Music through the reciever is pretty meh with sloppy bass as the most obvious after a short listening.

Hope this helps.

 

[gorbenzer]

Hi guys,
i want to buy a new pair of headphones because my HD598, that i've been using for 4 years, don't satisfy me to much on the bass side. I use them for both music trough iphone 6+ (rarely on mobility, else i use the koss porta pro) and Fiio X3 (connected to my PC or laptop), as well as for daily gaming on my PC.
 
I've been always a Sennheiser fanboy but this time i'm looking at the fidelio L2 or X2... But can't decide between these two. Anyone have experience with both and can give me some infos? how they compare? They both have good punchy basses?