[MinedSafe]

I had a x2 for around 12 days borrowed from my friend. I was able to compare them with my Shure 1840, HE400 ( not i ) and still have sound of Denon D7100 and HD650 in my head. 
 
I must say I was impressed with x2. Sound signature on the warmish side rather then bright, still well balanced.
 
In comparison to HE400, x2 is miles ahead. More balanced, obviously less Airy but thats about it. I does everything else better than HE400. There not much to say here
x2 beats crap out of HE400 in every department. I had them on lease as well and kept in box as I just couldn't stand them. My son €20 Senn's HD202 are better. Philips WINS.
 
x2 vs Shure 1840 - Philips is a bit better when it comes to playing  Pop or Progressive Rock no doubts, or maybe a bit easier and more pleasant to listen. But when it comes to Jazz, Acoustic or Vocals Shure is at a different league. 1840 are more refined, have more air and better soundstage. While x2 sounds good and there is nothing wrong with it, Shures outperform Philips.   
I wouldn't hesitate to say that midrange in Shures 1840 is one of the best u can get up to 1k and maybe even more. SUREs are Winner here. 
 
x2 vs D7100 - I would say they are at the same level. Problem with D7100 is that it sounds horrible if not paired properly. Philips plays well basically from anything
you connect it to. There is not much difference. Comfort wise D7100 wins here, while x2 are still miles ahead of these horrible HE400. I can easily say that x2 is very 
comfy but still that could be improved. I got tired and my ears sweaty a bit after 2-3 hours of listening. I did like bass better on D7100 but its a matter of preference I think, they 
do sound more like speakers while x2 still sounds like a headphones. DRAW 
 
I would consider getting x2 myself for heavier music, metal, prog rock, pop and leave 1840 for rest. If I had to chose I would go for x2 as more universal, while there are not 
spectacular in how they sound, they do hot have to many downsides either. For the price u can't go wrong here. 

 

[encoreAC]

  I had a x2 for around 12 days borrowed from my friend. I was able to compare them with my Shure 1840, HE400 ( not i ) and still have sound of Denon D7100 and HD650 in my head. 
 
I must say I was impressed with x2. Sound signature on the warmish side rather then bright, still well balanced.
 
In comparison to HE400, x2 is miles ahead. More balanced, obviously less Airy but thats about it. I does everything else better than HE400. There not much to say here
x2 beats crap out of HE400 in every department. I had them on lease as well and kept in box as I just couldn't stand them. My son €20 Senn's HD202 are better. Philips WINS.
 
x2 vs Shure 1840 - Philips is a bit better when it comes to playing  Pop or Progressive Rock no doubts, or maybe a bit easier and more pleasant to listen. But when it comes to Jazz, Acoustic or Vocals Shure is at a different league. 1840 are more refined, have more air and better soundstage. While x2 sounds good and there is nothing wrong with it, Shures outperform Philips.   
I wouldn't hesitate to say that midrange in Shures 1840 is one of the best u can get up to 1k and maybe even more. SUREs are Winner here. 
 
x2 vs D7100 - I would say they are at the same level. Problem with D7100 is that it sounds horrible if not paired properly. Philips plays well basically from anything
you connect it to. There is not much difference. Comfort wise D7100 wins here, while x2 are still miles ahead of these horrible HE400. I can easily say that x2 is very 
comfy but still that could be improved. I got tired and my ears sweaty a bit after 2-3 hours of listening. I did like bass better on D7100 but its a matter of preference I think, they 
do sound more like speakers while x2 still sounds like a headphones. DRAW 
 
I would consider getting x2 myself for heavier music, metal, prog rock, pop and leave 1840 for rest. If I had to chose I would go for x2 as more universal, while there are not 
spectacular in how they sound, they do hot have to many downsides either. For the price u can't go wrong here. 

Great comparison! The x2 seems to be the best allrounder out there right now (for the price). Maybe a little bit about the HD650? 

 

[Zulkr9]

I wouldn't call the x2 slow, I have compared them to my he-500, they are slower than the planars but faster than the other dynamics I have used, definitely faster than HD6xx. Also the soundstage is better on the x2 than the Hifiman HE-500. Hifiman has better extension on the bass and a tighter bass but the phillips is not that far behind and I feel the bass tuning is more towards my liking on the phillips and the impact is just perfect, Also the mids have a thicker tonality on the x2 without being muddy and being just as detailed as the HE-500. The hifiman is a little bit more refined in the treble and overall performance but the x2 is very enjoyable as well.

 

[Bizill]

Awwwwe, yeah!  Amazon updated delivery date from March 11th to Feb 9th. 
 
I cancelled my Adorama deal for the Sennheiser HD650 for $290 shipped last minute when I found ya'll talking about the X2.  I already have the Senn HD598's and see too many reviews actually stating they prefer the 598's.  I'm sure I would have fallen in love with the 650's but right now I only have a Fiio E18 and also have my order in on the Massdrop 7xx's so cancelling the 650's seemed logical for me. 
 
The reviews comparing these to the 650's are what really convinced me.  I have a feeling this was the right move.  I'll probably cancel my Massdrop AKG 7xx's as well, but perhaps I'll use those for xbox one on the front projector.
 
Eh, updated my Prime shipping 2 day to overnight.  They claim in-stock on Feb 9th so if anyone is one the fence, I'd venture to guess it prudent you order straight away.

 

[encoreAC]

  Awwwwe, yeah!  Amazon updated delivery date from March 11th to Feb 9th. 
 
I cancelled my Adorama deal for the Sennheiser HD650 for $290 shipped last minute when I found ya'll talking about the X2.  I already have the Senn HD598's and see too many reviews actually stating they prefer the 598's.  I'm sure I would have fallen in love with the 650's but right now I only have a Fiio E18 and also have my order in on the Massdrop 7xx's so cancelling the 650's seemed logical for me. 
 
The reviews comparing these to the 650's are what really convinced me.  I have a feeling this was the right move.  I'll probably cancel my Massdrop AKG 7xx's as well, but perhaps I'll use those for xbox one on the front projector.

Cool, welcome to the club ;D the best thing about the x2 is that you don't need a 300$ rig to make the sound good.

 

[Bizill]

But, does it as ya'll say, "scale" up with better amps/more power or should these not be driven by too much power?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Here is a simple answer: If a headphone is well liked, you'll have people ALWAYS, ALWAYS say that headphone X scales up with better gear, It doesn't matter if it does or doesn't. They're going to tell you it does.

So don't wait for an answer, and just go by the assumption that they're gonna say it does.

Personally, the X2 can change tonally, so I say better gear can alter it's sound enough to be noticeable. Whether it's due to more power or tonal qualities, is up to you to decide. I'd just personally get what you feel is a good performer. It sounds great off a measly E17, and sounds even better off a Vali (despite higher noise floor).

 

[liraop]

So, guys, what do you think about Dolby Headphone with your X2 ?
I have a lumia 920 that has this feature and ... I really don't know if it's better or not to my ears yet.
So far I tried, with DT's the imaging gets way better but the X2 seems to not match well with it. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The X2 works wonderfully with Dolby Headphone.
Of course, I dunno how a phone is even capable of accepting a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal to convert into Dolby headphone. I'd wager all you're hearing is dolby headphone processing a stereo signal which is never good.

Even if it's converting proper Dolby headphone, depending on what you're listening to, surround features won't even kick in, even on most movies which don't even bother using rear channels for nothing much more than ambience most of the time.

Dolby headphone makes a much better tool for proper games, where you can EXPECT surround channels to be used. Though again, not on phones.

 

[canthearyou]

Woo hoo! Got an email saying my X2's should be here next week. Going back to sleep. Goodnight.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

  But, does it as ya'll say, "scale" up with better amps/more power or should these not be driven by too much power?

I think they do, at least to a point. I saw improvement all the way up my line.
 
Schiit Magni 2 Uber > JDS Labs cMoy > Kenwood stereo receiver > Little Dot 1+.
 
Not saying that's the order of the component quality but that's the order of the sounds quality I got. Between the first three...it's real close. The Magni just pumps out so much power it's crazy and to my ears really opens to the X2 up. Takes everything that the X2 is and improves it. Again, not leaps and bounds but a noticeable amount. So I guess they do respond well to power because really overall I have a pretty low-fi system so I can't say how they scale with higher quality gear. 

 

[Bizill]

Thanks.  I was entertaining the notion of cancelling my 7xx's and apply that money to a magni/modi 2 uber.  Then something is telling me to keep the X2 and 7xx and get the magni/modi a little later down the line.
 
Who was I kidding when I told my gal I'd be happy with my $100 hd598's.  It seems now they are my gateway drug into a journey to higher end setups.  I KNEW this schiit would happen.
 
Seriously, though, I think I will be content with my $325 fidelio x2's and a schiity setup.

 

[MinedSafe]

My personal opinion. Get either x2 or 7xx and magni/modi. While both of them will probably play nicely from whatever u connect them to, improvement in sound is worth keeping only one pair of headphones with proper amp and dac. Me personally, rather have 100Euro headphones and 700e dac/amp than opposite. 

 

[Zulkr9]

X2 does improve a decent amount with amping I really hate the x2 sound without amping. 
It doesn't sound bad but its very sibilant to my ears !

 

[MinedSafe]

  Great comparison! The x2 seems to be the best allrounder out there right now (for the price). Maybe a little bit about the HD650? 

 
X2 is more fun headphone, better bass extension, a bit brighter sounding I suppose. HD650 is more relaxed, fluid, smooth. U can easily fall a sleep immediately in Senns while it might be a bit more difficult in x2. I would personally get x2 as having more fun more energy.
 
Quite honest I'm so impressed with x2. I didn't expect that at this price level it can sound that good. I'm usually quite skeptical when it comes to reviews and hypes over some headphones here and there I also have a good hearing and years of experience in speaker department and I'm still quite impressed.
 
Ad as I said in my previous post. Amplifier and Source is very important just to get the best of any headphones.At the same time I'm not a fan of any tube amps, proper Class A amp will outperform any tube amp on clarity and bass extension.