[lofthanza]

Did u upgrade? Or did u grow bored of the X2's sound?

Usually imbalances in the treble are frequent in headphones and should be tolerable, but if the imbalance is that severe, I cant be sure. Something similar happened to me when I was doing the test, but when I re-positioned the cup slightly, the sound came back. So try different positions for the right cup and see. Plus, just for the sake of it, try to swap the right and the left cup and see if that problem persists. ( I knw this wont be a proof of anything since the driver is angled, but when I did with mine, the sound was there and it took only a re-positioning of the cup to sound normal)...

 

I'm suprised not more people notice this as it does a lot to the soundstage/soundimage imo.

I found that pulling the cups down helps in opening the soundstage further.

 

[Saibastian]

Is the channel imbalance issue really frequent for people? I checked mine and it seems to be fine, seems like a few people have needed to test for it.

 

[G Tone]

   
I would say that there is no meaningful difference between the X2 stock cable and my custom cables in the sound department.  The X1 stock cable and the custom cable is a different story and the reason why I got it in the first place.  The X1 stock cable had higher than normal impedance and caused the bass to bloat a bit.
 
For the X2, the custom cables are only worth it to me because (i) they're a much more manageable length for desktop use and (ii) they look nice.

Why do you think the engineers used the stock cable with the higher impedance?I have read a little about the damping factor,but if they were designed to be used with lower impedance sources they would have used an 1/8" plug instead of a 1/4" plug going to the amplifier

 

[marts30]

Only had these a day but really enjoying them so far. I also quite like the K7XX but these stand out from them for me, and considering I got them for not much more ($250US) they're are a great deal. Early impressions:
 
- Build quality is far above the K7xx, they just feel quality.
- I like the look of both but X2 is also nicer looking, better materials
- I find the X2 more comfortable (most comfortable headphone I've tried), more space in the cup so ear doesn't touch driver (thanks Philips, too many headphones overlook this), k7xx slightly does. Clamping pressure is perfect on the X2.
- Soundwise I'm also preferring the X2, bass is deeper and very present but doesn't take away from the rest of the range. Sounding good with any music I throw at it, even faster metal.
 
Both are great headphones and some of the best deals out there.

 

[Saibastian]

  Only had these a day but really enjoying them so far. I also quite like the K7XX but these stand out from them for me, and considering I got them for not much more ($250US) they're are a great deal. Early impressions:
 
- Build quality is far above the K7xx, they just feel quality.
- I like the look of both but X2 is also nicer looking, better materials
- I find the X2 more comfortable (most comfortable headphone I've tried), more space in the cup so ear doesn't touch driver (thanks Philips, too many headphones overlook this), k7xx slightly does. Clamping pressure is perfect on the X2.
- Soundwise I'm also preferring the X2, bass is deeper and very present but doesn't take away from the rest of the range. Sounding good with any music I throw at it, even faster metal.
 
Both are great headphones and some of the best deals out there.

I hear conflicting opinions on whether the K7xx's are hard to drive or not, what's your experience on it? From what I know about the X2, it pretty much sounds great where ever you plug it in.

 

[marts30]

 
I hear conflicting opinions on whether the K7xx's are hard to drive or not, what's your experience on it? From what I know about the X2, it pretty much sounds great where ever you plug it in.

 
It's honestly not that big of a difference between X2 and K7XX, If I plug both into my Aune T1 I probably have to raise the volume 10% on the K7xx to get it to the same level as the x2. (lowest gain setting)

 

[Saibastian]

   
It's honestly not that big of a difference between X2 and K7XX, If I plug both into my Aune T1 I probably have to raise the volume 10% on the K7xx to get it to the same level as the x2. (lowest gain setting)

So it's not significantly different then, alright. I'm pretty happy with my X2 though, I did consider the K7xx at one point but kind of lost interest once I looked into the X2, I'd probably pick up a HD600 before that just to see what all the fuss is about.

 

[marts30]

 
So it's not significantly different then, alright. I'm pretty happy with my X2 though, I did consider the K7xx at one point but kind of lost interest once I looked into the X2, I'd probably pick up a HD600 before that just to see what all the fuss is about.

 
I've only had the X2 for a day but I'd say you're not missing anything not picking up the K7xx, like I said it's a great headphone, but I'm just preferring the X2 in every way so far.
 
The X2 most reminds me of the Shure 1540, but open obviously.

 

[Saibastian]

   
I've only had the X2 for a day but I'd say you're not missing anything not picking up the K7xx, like I said it's a great headphone, but I'm just preferring the X2 in every way so far.
 
The X2 most reminds me of the Shure 1540, but open obviously.

Yeah, mostly what I hear about the K7xx is the amazing value of it. I feel like the X2 far exceeds its value in what it does, but thats me, I have a few other headphones but the X2 takes the cake for what I love in a headphone.

 

[MarcelE]

Is the channel imbalance issue really frequent for people? I checked mine and it seems to be fine, seems like a few people have needed to test for it.

 


Maybe it's just this particular pair I got or the way ears are shaped I don't know.
I also didn't notice it until much later, but the sound is there only if I have the phones on my head
in a specific way. One a little bit lower. Weird.
But when wairing the phones I don't want to think about those things, I just want to put them on and listen.
Thats why I'm afraid about buying the X2, it may have the same results (on my head anyway).

 

[Saibastian]

 

  Is the channel imbalance issue really frequent for people? I checked mine and it seems to be fine, seems like a few people have needed to test for it.

 


Maybe it's just this particular pair I got or the way ears are shaped I don't know.
I also didn't notice it until much later, but the sound is there only if I have the phones on my head
in a specific way. One a little bit lower. Weird.
But when wairing the phones I don't want to think about those things, I just want to put them on and listen.
Thats why I'm afraid about buying the X2, it may have the same results (on my head anyway).

Yeah I didn't know about this stuff until after I bought them, but I haven't had any of the issues seems like (earpad ink bleeding, and the channel imbalances) maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[buggy09]

I've just joined head-fi. I am currently running my new X2s through Asus STX II soundcard headphone output, and sound is amazing. But, I am wondering about relatively high output impedance of STX (basically TPA6120A2 chip) of about 10 ohm. According to lot of posts/articles I've read, this is suboptimal combination, at least in theory. Since my budget is very limited, I am considering building O2 amp, but before I order DIY kit, is there anyone of you, nice people, who has X2, STX(II) and O2, and who could compare sound from STX (lineout) -> O2 -> X2 vs STX (headphone out) -> X2. It seems that both STX and O2 are quite "neutral" amps, without its own "signatures", so I guess only thing which might be different is better impedance "match" in the case of O2.
 
Thanks in advance !!

 

[Spandy87]

  I've just joined head-fi. I am currently running my new X2s through Asus STX II soundcard headphone output, and sound is amazing. But, I am wondering about relatively high output impedance of STX (basically TPA6120A2 chip) of about 10 ohm. According to lot of posts/articles I've read, this is suboptimal combination, at least in theory. Since my budget is very limited, I am considering building O2 amp, but before I order DIY kit, is there anyone of you, nice people, who has X2, STX(II) and O2, and who could compare sound from STX (lineout) -> O2 -> X2 vs STX (headphone out) -> X2. It seems that both STX and O2 are quite "neutral" amps, without its own "signatures", so I guess only thing which might be different is better impedance "match" in the case of O2.
 
Thanks in advance !!

Doesn't your STX 2 have a 'medium' output option? I have the original STX, and I'll be getting my X2s next week, but I'll be running them off an EF5 tube amp. I'll try and remember to post my impressions.

 

[buggy09]

  Doesn't your STX 2 have a 'medium' output option? I have the original STX, and I'll be getting my X2s next week, but I'll be running them off an EF5 tube amp. I'll try and remember to post my impressions.

 
If you mean "medium" gain setting, yes, STX II has three gain settings (<64 ohm, 64-300 ohm, 300-600 ohm), but STX gives plenty of power for X2.
 
My question was actually related to the "rule 1/8", meaning that amp should have at least 8 times lower output impedance then nominal impedance of HPs.
 
STX II headphone output has about 10 ohm impedance, and X2's nominal impedance is 35 ohms. As it is claimed at lot of posts/articles, this situation can (sometimes drastically) change frequency "response" of the headphone. That's why I am considering amp O2 with only 0.5 ohm output impedance, but I am not sure if this changed "frequency response" is audible at all in the case of STX and X2.

 

[bjamn]

  Is the channel imbalance issue really frequent for people? I checked mine and it seems to be fine, seems like a few people have needed to test for it.

 
I decided a long time ago to stop *testing* for channel imbalance - it was driving me crazy. I could always seem to find imbalance. 

 
The X-2's I received were eerily well-centered, and have turned out to be the open headphone I've been looking for all along. For now.