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Philips Fidelio X2?!
Jan 29, 2015 at 3:12 AM Post #2,731 of 15,268
bavinck said:
X2 sounds ok direct out of sabre dac. It is a bit darker and less defined than the dragonfly 1.2, but when amped it sounds the same to me. I wouldn't hesitate to get the sabre dac for the x2.

As a side note, I did some comparing the x2 with my hd600. No contest, to my ears the x2 fills in the missing low end of the hd600 and does not appear to miss another information the hd600 has. The x2 is an incredible can got the price (as is the sabre dac) .
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Thank you for the comparison. I've ordered a Sabre doc now.
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 9:50 AM Post #2,732 of 15,268
oktyabr said:
   
 


That's why people put stock in the opinions of qualified reviewers who HAVE heard both.  Tyll of innerfidelity has reviewed both extensively, including measurements, and placed both on his Wall of Fame.  In his video of the review he says the X2 would have knocked the Senn off the wall completely if it were higher impedance:   http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/boss-philips-fidelio-x2
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It should also be said that he prefers the treble on the HD600. He did mention that as a reason (to me a better reason) for keeping it on the WoF.
 
I have heard the HD600 and it is very good, particularly with vocals. I would not discount them automatically. My advice to Spiral Out would be to order the X2 assuming there is a returns policy and keep the one you like.
 
Edit:
 
Also weigh up the practical issues. The X2 is quite a bit larger/heavier. OTOH you might need an amp for the HD600 to sound its best.
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 10:01 AM Post #2,733 of 15,268
head1 said:
  It should also be said that he prefers the treble on the HD600. He did mention that as a reason (to me a better reason) for keeping it on the WoF.
 
I have heard the HD600 and it is very good, particularly with vocals. I would not discount them automatically. My advice to Spiral Out would be to order the X2 assuming there is a returns policy and keep the one you like.
 
Edit:
 
Also weigh up the practical issues. The X2 is quite a bit larger/heavier. OTOH you might need an amp for the HD600 to sound its best.
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'Treble response is a little less grainy on the HD 600, but it doesn't seems as well balanced'
 
 
'The Philips Fidelio X2 is going to hit the Wall of Fame like a boss. The only thing keeping it from knocking the HD 600 off the wall is its low 35 Ohm impedance that makes it a poor match for high output impedance tube amplifiers—something that the HD 600 does very well.'
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 10:22 AM Post #2,734 of 15,268
Not really sure what he meant by the HD600 being less well balanced. It is regarded as somewhat neutral apart from being warm. Does that mean the X2 is less warm?
 
From Innerfidelity update Nov 14:
 
"If it weren't for a little bit of graininess they would have knocked the HD600 of the Wall of Fame."
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 10:44 AM Post #2,736 of 15,268
gorbenzer said:
  Guysm
just bought the X2 on amazon.it for 232 Euros, they'll arrive soon!
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Me too
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Jan 29, 2015 at 4:18 PM Post #2,740 of 15,268
head1 said:
  Easily done as it wasn't stated in the review.
 
But it might not be too bad. Some people don't seem to have the same issue with the treble.
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I've asked him to clarify which one he really means.  Or both?  Obviously the low impedance is a potential hang up for those with a tube fetish.  Hopefully he'll clarify it.
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 8:35 PM Post #2,741 of 15,268
I'll add some comments on the HD-600 vs. X2 and give you my opinion.  I've been listening to the HD-600, or HD-650 as my primary headphone for the past 4 years.  The first 2 years were with the 650, but once I heard the 600 at a meet, I switched, preferring it's more extended treble, and lack of hump in the bass.  I like both headphones a lot, they are both great in their own ways. 3 years back while still on the 650, I built a Bottlehead Crack with Speedball. Suffice to say, the Crack and the HD-6X0 is just a magical pairing.  Even with crap $10 tubes, it just sounds fantastic.
 
A few months back, I got an Oppo HA-1, and started running the 600 via balanced cable on the Oppo.  This just gives you choices.  The 600 on the Oppo, incredible detail and resolution, crystal clear sound, gobs of power on tap.  The Crack, more liquid, more bass boom (depends on tubes), super smooth.  Is one better than the other?  Nope. Just personal preference. I still listen to both.  However, I had always been looking for a headphone with a bit more sub bass extension, and a bit more bass in general (think Harman curve). Also, my time for warming up the Crack or HA-1 for a listen is limited, and I recently started using a Ibasso DX50 DAP.  With that in mind, I'm looking for a more plug and play headphone, but without losing the qualities of the 600.  Enter X2.  Sounds great on my Galaxy S4, Better on the DX50, even Better on the Oppo. It has that nice bass I was looking for, and the big surprise is that sound stage is so good, much more out of head experience.  In getting to the X2, I tried LCD-2 (sold), PM-1(short demo) and PM-2 (send back to Oppo), but I ended up not keeping those because to my tastes, the 600 was better at everything but the bass extension.  There was no value proposition there Spending so much money to get a little bass extension.
 
With all that said, is the X2 better than the 600 on Crack? Again, sound wise, that's a personal preference.  I agree with Tyll, they are quite close.  Once you move away from the Crack amp, the X2 is way more flexible, as the 600 really does need an amp, and to my ear does sound the best paired with the Crack OTL.  
 
All that said, I'm just using the X2 now, and listening more because I can use them with my phone, or the DAP, or for really concentrated listening on the Oppo.  The 600 just does not compete with it in the flexibility category.  Still the 600 on the Crack is a special combo, but honestly, it's not getting much use these days.  X2 is now my headphone.
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 9:38 PM Post #2,742 of 15,268
Awesome review/comparison.
 
Jan 29, 2015 at 10:13 PM Post #2,743 of 15,268
I'll add some comments on the HD-600 vs. X2 and give you my opinion.  I've been listening to the HD-600, or HD-650 as my primary headphone for the past 4 years.  The first 2 years were with the 650, but once I heard the 600 at a meet, I switched, preferring it's more extended treble, and lack of hump in the bass.  I like both headphones a lot, they are both great in their own ways. 3 years back while still on the 650, I built a Bottlehead Crack with Speedball. Suffice to say, the Crack and the HD-6X0 is just a magical pairing.  Even with crap $10 tubes, it just sounds fantastic.
 
A few months back, I got an Oppo HA-1, and started running the 600 via balanced cable on the Oppo.  This just gives you choices.  The 600 on the Oppo, incredible detail and resolution, crystal clear sound, gobs of power on tap.  The Crack, more liquid, more bass boom (depends on tubes), super smooth.  Is one better than the other?  Nope. Just personal preference. I still listen to both.  However, I had always been looking for a headphone with a bit more sub bass extension, and a bit more bass in general (think Harman curve). Also, my time for warming up the Crack or HA-1 for a listen is limited, and I recently started using a Ibasso DX50 DAP.  With that in mind, I'm looking for a more plug and play headphone, but without losing the qualities of the 600.  Enter X2.  Sounds great on my Galaxy S4, Better on the DX50, even Better on the Oppo. It has that nice bass I was looking for, and the big surprise is that sound stage is so good, much more out of head experience.  In getting to the X2, I tried LCD-2 (sold), PM-1(short demo) and PM-2 (send back to Oppo), but I ended up not keeping those because to my tastes, the 600 was better at everything but the bass extension.  There was no value proposition there Spending so much money to get a little bass extension.
 
With all that said, is the X2 better than the 600 on Crack? Again, sound wise, that's a personal preference.  I agree with Tyll, they are quite close.  Once you move away from the Crack amp, the X2 is way more flexible, as the 600 really does need an amp, and to my ear does sound the best paired with the Crack OTL.  
 
All that said, I'm just using the X2 now, and listening more because I can use them with my phone, or the DAP, or for really concentrated listening on the Oppo.  The 600 just does not compete with it in the flexibility category.  Still the 600 on the Crack is a special combo, but honestly, it's not getting much use these days.  X2 is now my headphone.
As an owner of the X2 and HD600, I agree in general with this review.  The HD600 will always be my measuring stick for other headphones regardless of price.  I've had them for a long time (18 yrs) and I think they're very well balanced with a neutral sound.  They are also very smooth.  They represent bass very well, but that bass is not emphasized like many other headphones.  They will seem bass light on some material, but are wonderful for vocals, acoustic instruments and most classical music.  I now prefer my X2 for rock.
 
I sometimes wonder which phone is really more accurate/neutral.  The HD600 was king of the hill when it came out.  Perhaps we have just changed our judgement of "neutral" in a world full of big bass speakers and subwoofers.  At any rate, I am very happy with both headphones, and think either choice is a great one.
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Jan 30, 2015 at 7:27 AM Post #2,745 of 15,268
Still digging the sonics of my X2's very much, but I may have to return them to Amazon for a replacement pair.
There seems to be a very slight frequency response imbalance, somewhere, between the left and right channels. It does not seem to be a volume imbalance issue between the channels at all.
Voices, especially female vocals, are just a tad off center, and very slightly more to the left. This issue also seems to cause a somewhat less than accurate image than could be achieved, if the headphone channels were more frequency balanced.
My other headphones do not exhibit this issue.
They were like this out of the box, and I was hoping it would improve with burn-in, but after more than 200 hours of burn-in, the problem remains.
Has anyone else out there had this issue?
 
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