[BB 808]

the X2 has more extended treble and is brighter than the X1. It sounds more balanced to my ears, and is very linear despite sounding a little more V-shaped than the X1 if that makes sense. the X2 has less bass quantity but I find the quality to be better.
if you can find the X1's for under $200usd I think its a better deal than the X2's at $300usd. The X1's are very smooth and enjoyable to listen to, but I enjoy the enhanced detail of the X2's because they aren't necessarily sibilant. I listen to predominately EDM, for reference (trap, purple, vaporwave, chillwave)

I thought balanced/linear was a different sound signature from V-shaped.  The X1 and X2 appear to be pretty similar.  The X1 frequency response from 70Hz to about 6kHz is almost a straight line!  The X2 appears to have slightly more bass at 60-70Hz and a lower dip at 5-6kHz and a higher peak at 10kHz.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/PhilipsFidelioX1.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/PhilipsFidelioX2.pdf
 
Anyway, I LOVE my X1 and someday when the price is right, I may buy an X2.

 

[LINKUZZZ]

These are still not out in Canada What? Any place to get these right now at a decent price?

 

[liraop]

I was in a love-hate relation with X2. I think we are in peace, finally. It is a HP very linear with a little touch on bass. Not saying the there's too much but rather is more present. In terms of presentation, soundstage is a wider than mine DT770 but in terms of imaging, is almost the same.
 
I would say that this HP is perfect for who doesn't want to expend on amps or expensive gears. It can reach it maximum performance with so little.

DT770 is more revealing but in every other aspect, X2 is better. DT770 sounds lifeless, cold, thin. X2 is full of life, there's more air and body.
I like the sound of DT770 for listening through the day and X2 to do some relaxing listening. 

--- 

I have to say some tips from my experience so far...
if you read a guide or review, if you're not really that experienced, don't put high hopes on things. Be skeptical.

 

[misobol]

Hi guys,
 
What should I get if I wanted similar kind of sound of full range speakers that I get out of X2?
And how I feel about X2 is balance with a nice touch of bass.
I'd be using speakers when I'm tired of wearing headphones. I like all kind of music and play a lot of Bf4 and some other games.

My budget would be up to £150 max, and my sound source be Asus Xonar STX I.
I'm looking at http://www.richersounds.com/products/hi-fi-separates/speakers/bookshelf-speakers and
see some nice sell models at the bottom of the page, but have no idea of their sound.
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[Uninen]

I guess I could share my view on the X2's as I've had them for a few days now.
 
I've had the HD600's and I've been listening to them mostly just via Fiio E10 or simply the HP-out of my stereo amplifier. I was rather happy with it except that the bass was lacking a bit and sound was kind of boring with the exception of female vocals. And I listen quite a lot of music with female vocalists.
 
I found the X2's for pretty cheap (230$) so I thought I'll give them as I have low gear and simple amping possibilities.
 
First of all I was a bit disappointed as the vocals (female) just weren't quite as forward as with the HD600 and the bass was just really loud and sounded a bit "bloated". I feel like there was some certain frequency range in (possibly) mid-bass range which especially seems to overpower and give too much of thump. Also this could be because of the mixing of the songs. But the bass was loud anyways. Now that they have been burning in for maybe about 30 hours the bass has maybe eased up a bit but I feel the exaggerated thump is still there (in certain songs).
 
When listening to some live records the X2's were more fun to listen. I guess it is mostly the bass that makes these sound quite fun and exiting. So that was the main reason I thought I'll keep them and I also already found a buyer for my HD600's so I thought I don't want to cancel the deal anyways as I already promised to sell them. I guess I had too much trust for the X2's and all the reviews.
 
If you have some opinions about the Fiio E10 pairing with the X2's, I'll gladly hear them. I haven't AB'ed the X2's with the E10 and the stereo amp but I can't really notice a big difference. The weird thing with the stereo amp was that I had to turn the volume louder when listening to X2's than when listening to HD600's.
 
So now (that the HD600's are gone) the worst problem I still have with them is the bass. When I listen to music I tend to just slide volume loud enough so the vocals sound sweet and intimate enough. With the X2's this seems to result in my ear starting to hurt after like 15 minutes of listening even if I listen to rather bass light songs where the bass doesn't sound too loud (at least not by much) but sounds quite sweet and makes the song come alive pretty nicely. Anyone else having this kind of problem with headphone listening in general? I guess I'm just listening too loudly?
 
So for now I think I'll give them some more time to burn in and see how they'll sound. Then I guess I'll have to see if I have to buy back pair of HD600's or try HD650 instead

 

[obsidyen]

  Hi guys,
 
What should I get if I wanted similar kind of sound of full range speakers that I get out of X2?
And how I feel about X2 is balance with a nice touch of bass.
I'd be using speakers when I'm tired of wearing headphones. I like all kind of music and play a lot of Bf4 and some other games.

My budget would be up to £150 max, and my sound source be Asus Xonar STX I.
I'm looking at http://www.richersounds.com/products/hi-fi-separates/speakers/bookshelf-speakers and
see some nice sell models at the bottom of the page, but have no idea of their sound.
 
Thanks a lot!

 
I have Dali Kubik which have amazing sound quality but they're a bit pricey. At a cheaper price, I recommend Q Acoustics BT3. 
 
http://www.richersounds.com/product/wireless-docks,-speakers-and-portables/q-acoustics/bt3/qaco-qbt3
 
They're a bit above your budget but they've got great sound and are very versatile. There are lots of connection options and high quality dac.

 

[obsidyen]

  I guess I could share my view on the X2's as I've had them for a few days now.
 
I've had the HD600's and I've been listening to them mostly just via Fiio E10 or simply the HP-out of my stereo amplifier. I was rather happy with it except that the bass was lacking a bit and sound was kind of boring with the exception of female vocals. And I listen quite a lot of music with female vocalists.
 
I found the X2's for pretty cheap (230$) so I thought I'll give them as I have low gear and simple amping possibilities.
 
First of all I was a bit disappointed as the vocals (female) just weren't quite as forward as with the HD600 and the bass was just really loud and sounded a bit "bloated". I feel like there was some certain frequency range in (possibly) mid-bass range which especially seems to overpower and give too much of thump. Also this could be because of the mixing of the songs. But the bass was loud anyways. Now that they have been burning in for maybe about 30 hours the bass has maybe eased up a bit but I feel the exaggerated thump is still there (in certain songs).
 
When listening to some live records the X2's were more fun to listen. I guess it is mostly the bass that makes these sound quite fun and exiting. So that was the main reason I thought I'll keep them and I also already found a buyer for my HD600's so I thought I don't want to cancel the deal anyways as I already promised to sell them. I guess I had too much trust for the X2's and all the reviews.
 
If you have some opinions about the Fiio E10 pairing with the X2's, I'll gladly hear them. I haven't AB'ed the X2's with the E10 and the stereo amp but I can't really notice a big difference. The weird thing with the stereo amp was that I had to turn the volume louder when listening to X2's than when listening to HD600's.
 
So now (that the HD600's are gone) the worst problem I still have with them is the bass. When I listen to music I tend to just slide volume loud enough so the vocals sound sweet and intimate enough. With the X2's this seems to result in my ear starting to hurt after like 15 minutes of listening even if I listen to rather bass light songs where the bass doesn't sound too loud (at least not by much) but sounds quite sweet and makes the song come alive pretty nicely. Anyone else having this kind of problem with headphone listening in general? I guess I'm just listening too loudly?
 
So for now I think I'll give them some more time to burn in and see how they'll sound. Then I guess I'll have to see if I have to buy back pair of HD600's or try HD650 instead

I think you should let your brain adjust to X2's sound signature for a week or two. Your brain is used to HD600's sound and lack of bass so X2s sound too bassy for you when in fact they have the perfect amount of bass to get an experience like the ones you'd get at live music events or from decent speakers.

 

[lofthanza]

I guess I could share my view on the X2's as I've had them for a few days now.

I've had the HD600's and I've been listening to them mostly just via Fiio E10 or simply the HP-out of my stereo amplifier. I was rather happy with it except that the bass was lacking a bit and sound was kind of boring with the exception of female vocals. And I listen quite a lot of music with female vocalists.

I found the X2's for pretty cheap (230$) so I thought I'll give them as I have low gear and simple amping possibilities.

First of all I was a bit disappointed as the vocals (female) just weren't quite as forward as with the HD600 and the bass was just really loud and sounded a bit "bloated". I feel like there was some certain frequency range in (possibly) mid-bass range which especially seems to overpower and give too much of thump. Also this could be because of the mixing of the songs. But the bass was loud anyways. Now that they have been burning in for maybe about 30 hours the bass has maybe eased up a bit but I feel the exaggerated thump is still there (in certain songs).

When listening to some live records the X2's were more fun to listen. I guess it is mostly the bass that makes these sound quite fun and exiting. So that was the main reason I thought I'll keep them and I also already found a buyer for my HD600's so I thought I don't want to cancel the deal anyways as I already promised to sell them. I guess I had too much trust for the X2's and all the reviews.

If you have some opinions about the Fiio E10 pairing with the X2's, I'll gladly hear them. I haven't AB'ed the X2's with the E10 and the stereo amp but I can't really notice a big difference. The weird thing with the stereo amp was that I had to turn the volume louder when listening to X2's than when listening to HD600's.

So now (that the HD600's are gone) the worst problem I still have with them is the bass. When I listen to music I tend to just slide volume loud enough so the vocals sound sweet and intimate enough. With the X2's this seems to result in my ear starting to hurt after like 15 minutes of listening even if I listen to rather bass light songs where the bass doesn't sound too loud (at least not by much) but sounds quite sweet and makes the song come alive pretty nicely. Anyone else having this kind of problem with headphone listening in general? I guess I'm just listening too loudly?

So for now I think I'll give them some more time to burn in and see how they'll sound. Then I guess I'll have to see if I have to buy back pair of HD600's or try HD650 instead

First of all, there is no headphone burn in, at least with the X2. I bought another pair that out of the box sounded exactly the same like my 400+ hr used X2. I am telling you this especially that I had thought that my previous pair changed significantly to the better; it seems now it is all brain burn in. Anyway, even coming from the ath-m50, I felt the same way you do about the x2. I thought the bass was too much and that vocals were taking the back seat. (The m50 is far from having forward mids, they are recessed already) having had the hd600, ur time of adjusting to the vocals of the X2 will be longer. I, too, found myself cranking up the volume to get a better access to vocals, and that resulted in ear pain as well. I dunno, but the X2 gives me pain in the left ear and it occassionally leaves it a bit congested. My friend who has another pair, has the same problem. After a while, I got used to the vocals, and I believe they are not recessed, they are just in line with everything else.

 

[notfitforpublic]

These are still not out in Canada What? Any place to get these right now at a decent price?

Haven't been able to find them anywhere either. Amazon.com will ship them north of the boarder though. Tagged at $299 last I checked.

 

[s0ckpupp3t]

  I guess I could share my view on the X2's as I've had them for a few days now.
 
I've had the HD600's and I've been listening to them mostly just via Fiio E10 or simply the HP-out of my stereo amplifier. I was rather happy with it except that the bass was lacking a bit and sound was kind of boring with the exception of female vocals. And I listen quite a lot of music with female vocalists.
 
I found the X2's for pretty cheap (230$) so I thought I'll give them as I have low gear and simple amping possibilities.
 
First of all I was a bit disappointed as the vocals (female) just weren't quite as forward as with the HD600 and the bass was just really loud and sounded a bit "bloated". I feel like there was some certain frequency range in (possibly) mid-bass range which especially seems to overpower and give too much of thump. Also this could be because of the mixing of the songs. But the bass was loud anyways. Now that they have been burning in for maybe about 30 hours the bass has maybe eased up a bit but I feel the exaggerated thump is still there (in certain songs).
 
When listening to some live records the X2's were more fun to listen. I guess it is mostly the bass that makes these sound quite fun and exiting. So that was the main reason I thought I'll keep them and I also already found a buyer for my HD600's so I thought I don't want to cancel the deal anyways as I already promised to sell them. I guess I had too much trust for the X2's and all the reviews.
 
If you have some opinions about the Fiio E10 pairing with the X2's, I'll gladly hear them. I haven't AB'ed the X2's with the E10 and the stereo amp but I can't really notice a big difference. The weird thing with the stereo amp was that I had to turn the volume louder when listening to X2's than when listening to HD600's.
 
So now (that the HD600's are gone) the worst problem I still have with them is the bass. When I listen to music I tend to just slide volume loud enough so the vocals sound sweet and intimate enough. With the X2's this seems to result in my ear starting to hurt after like 15 minutes of listening even if I listen to rather bass light songs where the bass doesn't sound too loud (at least not by much) but sounds quite sweet and makes the song come alive pretty nicely. Anyone else having this kind of problem with headphone listening in general? I guess I'm just listening too loudly?
 
So for now I think I'll give them some more time to burn in and see how they'll sound. Then I guess I'll have to see if I have to buy back pair of HD600's or try HD650 instead

What's the impedance of your stereo amplifier?  I don't think the X2 doesn't do as well with high-impedance gear.  It was one of the points that Tyll at Inner Fidelity gave to the HD600 over the X2.  Higher impedence probably makes the bass on the X2 sound a bit more flabbier.

 

[misobol]

   
I have Dali Kubik which have amazing sound quality but they're a bit pricey. At a cheaper price, I recommend Q Acoustics BT3. 
 
http://www.richersounds.com/product/wireless-docks,-speakers-and-portables/q-acoustics/bt3/qaco-qbt3
 
They're a bit above your budget but they've got great sound and are very versatile. There are lots of connection options and high quality dac.

Thanks, both of those speakers are outside my budget range. I'd like to spend £150 max on two speakers.
If I'd go with the ones you propose, do I need any other device to drive them?
 
Perhaps going for full range ones isn't the best route? I'm thinking I could buy second hand computer speakers like Logitech
with THX and that would give me 5+1 which would be great for games. I'm unsure on the sound quality.

 

[obsidyen]

  Thanks, both of those speakers are outside my budget range. I'd like to spend £150 max on two speakers.
If I'd go with the ones you propose, do I need any other device to drive them?
 
Perhaps going for full range ones isn't the best route? I'm thinking I could buy second hand computer speakers like Logitech
with THX and that would give me 5+1 which would be great for games. I'm unsure on the sound quality.

 
No, this is why I recommended them, both have amplifiers in them and usb/optical inputs... You don't need an amp or a dac. They have amp and dac inside. You just connect your computer via usb or other equipment by optical or 3.5mm. I know there are cheaper passive speakers, but then you'd need to buy an amp, maybe a dac, and they may not even sound as good as these. Both of these speakers sound absolutely amazing. They also both have Aptx Bluetooth support.
 
I would not buy Logitech or similar stuff unless you need multichannel speakers. I'm a stereo guy and speakers can fill a room with sound so I'm not a fan of multichannel setups unless it's a dedicated cinema room and not a living room. Dali (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) and Q Acoustics make far far better speakers than the likes of Logitech. Also both of these speakers have the option to connect a subwoofer to make it a 2.1 setup.

 

[Uninen]

Thanks for the answers everyone!
 
Some more impressions and thoughts... Yesterday I listened to these for couple of more hours. At some point I plugged them to laptop (Lenovo/IBM T60) HP-out instead of Fiio E10 or the stereo amp and I think the it took off a tiny bit of the bass. The change was really small (if even existed) and it was the only change I noticed. So I guess I'll be listening to these more via the laptop HP-out from now no.
 
I've been reading some 100 pages of this thread and also searched over the internet and I've come across some people having Denon AH-D2000 and comparing them to X2's. Some of the people have been saying that the D2000 have too much bass (for some songs) compared to X2. Well, I also have D2000 and I find the bass in them to be pretty much just how I like it in terms of quality and especially in quantity when the X2's have just way too much quantity. Is it possible that there are big differences between the same model of headphones or are everyone's ears built so differently that we hear so differently?
 
I still couldn't listen as loudly as I'd like because the bass is so overpowering. But when sitting in the computer and just background-listening on low levels of volume these works nicely as they produce the bass audibly unlike some other HP's where you hear no bass at all when at listening at low levels. I guess I'll have to try to just keep the volume down for a while. Maybe I won't start looking new headphones just yet. These are so hyped I want to give them a change . I just don't want to to go back to HD600's as it would piss me off too much buying them new after selling a pair which was in really good condition

 

[ephrank]

Hi all,
 
Very intriged by the Philips X2. Thanks to all of you who've shared their comparison of the X2 with HD 600.
 
I'm looking for comparison with the Grado HF2, my other main cans. HF2 is quite unique in that it has bigger, pronouced bass than other Grados.
 
What are the good amps and source for X2? I'm using AMB M3. Should I go balanced? It seems to me the large 50mm drivers requires some proper amp'ing.
 
Is there anyone using Audio-gd ESS Sabre DAC / amp with the X2? How do they sound together?
 
Cheers!

 

[essasin]

I was torn between the between hd 600/650 and x1/x2. It took me weeks to finish reading these threads, reviews and comparison but I ultimately settled on the x2s. I can not wait to take them for a spin. In the meantime, do headphone stands cause the headband (hammock suspension one) to stretch?