[Sundown]

I noticed the headband right out of the box was a bit odd. As if water damaged it. I didn't care too much but after looking back. One of the sticker seals was removed and put back on, however the other side was fine and intact so don't think anyone changed them out and returned them and sold as new... like the last pair I bought with both seals broken. I'll take a picture, definitely NOT neglect.
 

 

[s0ckpupp3t]

  I noticed the headband right out of the box was a bit odd. As if water damaged it. I didn't care too much but after looking back. One of the sticker seals was removed and put back on, however the other side was fine and intact so don't think anyone changed them out and returned them and sold as new... like the last pair I bought with both seals broken. I'll take a picture, definitely NOT neglect.
 

 
Sundown, you have the worst luck with the X2s.  
 
I have some wrinkles in the leather of my headband as well but no where near as bad as you and it's not coming apart like yours.

 

[Sundown]

   
Sundown, you have the worst luck with the X2s.  
 
I have some wrinkles in the leather of my headband as well but no where near as bad as you and it's not coming apart like yours.

Looks like a manufacture defect in the leather. Right where is supposed to lay flush, there seems to be a little extra bit of leather on the inside. Last picture, looks like beef jerky with a wart on it. Don't know how in the hell it tore along the seem so long. The hell with these headphones and companies that make a plethora of items. I'll just stick to a company that specializes in a hand full of things. Sennheiser. Headphones and Microphones.

 

[VictorGG]

Hi there! Im Looking for some comparison to fostex TH900s and/or LCD X, any of you guys got X2 and one of these?

Right now Im considering an upgrade to my X2.
Thx!

 

[rpaul]

Hi there! Im Looking for some comparison to fostex TH900s and/or LCD X, any of you guys got X2 and one of these?

Right now Im considering an upgrade to my X2.
Thx!

 
Just got the LCD-X, while I was also trying out the X2. Unamped, the X2 sound good, and amped, sound great. Fantastic bang for the buck. Nice upgrade over the X1 in almost every way (though I kind of felt the X1 was more comfortable).
 
But the LCD-X, when paired with a "synergistic" system that can make it shine (Theorem 720 in my case), are appreciably better with much better tonality and it feels like you're listening to floorstanding speakers rather than headphones.
 
But you do pay significantly for the difference between the 2, both in terms of cost as well as comfort. The LCD-X is HEAVY, can't wear glasses with them on, though I'm glad I got the vegan/microsuede pads and headband. I heard the leather option can be even more uncomfortable.
 
 
I'd vote for the X2 to be one of (if not the the) best values in open phones.

 

[rpaul]

 
... Unamped, the X2 sound good, and amped, sound great.

 
Should clarify here - I think more than the amplification power, it was the use of a higher-quality DAC that the X2 responded well to. Had I kept them, I would have been happy to use straight out of iPad/Phone when necessary but they sounded richer/sweeter with the Theorem's DAC. Really just a matter of extracting that last bit of performance potential.

 

[VictorGG]

   
Should clarify here - I think more than the amplification power, it was the use of a higher-quality DAC that the X2 responded well to. Had I kept them, I would have been happy to use straight out of iPad/Phone when necessary but they sounded richer/sweeter with the Theorem's DAC. Really just a matter of extracting that last bit of performance potential.

Thanks! I will PM you for some more info.

 

[Townyj]

   
Just got the LCD-X, while I was also trying out the X2. Unamped, the X2 sound good, and amped, sound great. Fantastic bang for the buck. Nice upgrade over the X1 in almost every way (though I kind of felt the X1 was more comfortable).
 
But the LCD-X, when paired with a "synergistic" system that can make it shine (Theorem 720 in my case), are appreciably better with much better tonality and it feels like you're listening to floorstanding speakers rather than headphones.
 
But you do pay significantly for the difference between the 2, both in terms of cost as well as comfort. The LCD-X is HEAVY, can't wear glasses with them on, though I'm glad I got the vegan/microsuede pads and headband. I heard the leather option can be even more uncomfortable.
 
 
I'd vote for the X2 to be one of (if not the the) best values in open phones.

 
So the LCD-X is $1900 more then the X2 here in Aus... Would you say that little so called extra is worth the cost..?

 

[arcwindz]

So the LCD-X is $1900 more then the X2 here in Aus... Would you say that little so called extra is worth the cost..?

I differs from person to person, it's all about how much you appreciate your sound.

For that much money, it'll sound really good, but personally i'd choose a dolby atmos system over a headphone for that much money

 

[Townyj]

I differs from person to person, it's all about how much you appreciate your sound.

For that much money, it'll sound really good, but personally i'd choose a dolby atmos system over a headphone for that much money

 
So far with my journey i have bought and sold countless pairs of headphones, right now i am moving back to the X2 because i actually miss the sound. I suppose i am in the area of value/performance. Seeing as i owned pairs up around the 1k mark i felt they were not worth the price, but in the end each to their own. I would love to listen to a pair LCD-X... Having blind bought plenty of headphones in the past i kick myself each time, but not with the X2. So engaging and fun which is what music should be.

 

[illitirit]

I would like to update my adventure with this headphone after about 4-5 days now.
 
I am going to return them, but not because of sound quality.
 
Initially my impression of this headphone was an extreme lack of bass vs planars.  However now I just realize that its really the speed and impact of planars that really make it difference vs a dynamic driver headphone like the fidelio X2.
 
The fidelio X2 really does have some nice bass, but if your looking for impact / rumble / speed / depth from the bass of the X2, I would look elsewhere.  Granted, for a 250$ pair of headphones I would actually rate the bass as A+.
 
The nicest bass I have ever heard was from an LCD-2, and the sticker price on that is 1000$ vs 250$ of the X2.  But it really is a night and day difference in bass between the two sets.
 
 
I love the mids and treble of the set, which is why its hard for me to return them.  But my X2 has a severe channel imbalance that no amount of EQ or software adjustment can fix.
 
My right driver's bass hits harder and impacts harder than the left side.  It just makes the entire headphone seem super unbalanced because both sides are behaving differently.  I usually dont care much for mid and treble imbalances, but bass imbalances are just a huge pet peeve to my ears.  The tonality of the right side seems to be super different as well as the left driver.  
 
I even purchased a new modi 2 uber to make sure its not the headphone.  My last set had a extremely slight channel imbalance as well, really nowhere as near bad as the X2.  So to make sure I am upgrading the source to a modi 2 uber.  Hopefully it will take care of it, but I feel skeptical that it will fix it.  It will be here in 2 days so I will update back with my findings.
 
Overall if my set did not have channel imbalance, I would rate the headphone a solid 9/10.   The only thing I wish for is better bass, which is why I will most likely go back to a planar set of headphones.

 

[BaTou069]

Hello community
 
I just lend my Hifiman He400 + GeekOut 720 to a friend. He wants to switch from speakers to headphones in the office. He really liked it and wants to pull the trigger, but I told him to wait since there is the Fidelio X2 on the market
So my question to everybody:
 
Does the Fidelio needs amplification, or is the internal DAC of the Audioengine A2 Speakers good enough for them? Do they improve with better gear?
 
My quesstion to people who heard both, the He400 and the X2:
 
How different are they? Also sound wise and also comfort wise.
 
Thanks

 

[illitirit]

  Hello community
 
I just lend my Hifiman He400 + GeekOut 720 to a friend. He wants to switch from speakers to headphones in the office. He really liked it and wants to pull the trigger, but I told him to wait since there is the Fidelio X2 on the market
So my question to everybody:
 
Does the Fidelio needs amplification, or is the internal DAC of the Audioengine A2 Speakers good enough for them? Do they improve with better gear?
 
My quesstion to people who heard both, the He400 and the X2:
 
How different are they? Also sound wise and also comfort wise.
 
Thanks

 
If you want better bass, get the HE400.
 
If you want comfort, get the X2.  The X2 are much more comfortable.
 
Both improve with amplification but the X2 are much easier to drive.

 

[Music Path]

Lol funny to see people comparing x2 to planars. Which mostly cost double or more then the X2... For me the bass isnt A+, but the X2 itself is A+ for the price. For a real comparision, the X2 is senn 650 with more bass, a bit less controled, but good for open back, and more soundstage. X2 is remarkably close to to the classics hd650/hd600, and i think this is a fair comparision.  cheers

 

[Sladeophile]

  Hello community
 
I just lend my Hifiman He400 + GeekOut 720 to a friend. He wants to switch from speakers to headphones in the office. He really liked it and wants to pull the trigger, but I told him to wait since there is the Fidelio X2 on the market
So my question to everybody:
 
Does the Fidelio needs amplification, or is the internal DAC of the Audioengine A2 Speakers good enough for them? Do they improve with better gear?
 
My quesstion to people who heard both, the He400 and the X2:
 
How different are they? Also sound wise and also comfort wise.
 
Thanks

I just traded my HE400s for X2s. Here are my thoughts.
 
I loved the HE400 for a while. The bass was just so amazing from the moment I first heard it. I could not get enough of it. It just has some sort of ethereal feel to it. I showed them off to all my work buddies and felt cool when explaining planar tech to them, and they were all captivated for 10 minutes. I had some badass looking communist headphones that were an interesting talking point and bassy as hell for open back cans.
 
The problem is, after my honeymoon period wore off, I found myself leaving them home and taking more portable cans to work, and only using my HD600 at home. There are a couple reasons for this. Though initially pretty comfy with the velour pads on, the HE400s get HEAVY. You feel like some sort of pack horse or donkey after a while carrying water buckets over each ear. I'm not exaggerating here. The headband does very little to help this situation.
 
The other problem was the treble spike from hell. Fatigue was a big issue for me with them. I could listen for an hour max unless my music had very little treble. I know there are ways to mod them, and I am a light modder and made the pads angled. But, I don't want to spend hours and hours trying various mods to get my headphones to sound the way I feel like they should to begin with, especially on a $300 pair. These do require good amping to really sound good. Also, the cable design was made by freaking monkeys that love screwing things into other things. They are the absolute worst. 
 
On the other hand, I have only had the X2s for about a month now, but I love these cans. I plan to use them as my main gaming/movie watching cans, but will still use them for music much of the time. They are %95 as fun as the HE400s with slightly lower quality bass but pretty much the same quantity. They have better overall mids and so much better treble. They are much more comfy. They drive a hell of a lot better out of cell phones or console controllers. They sound much better our of my X3ii, and with even just a low end DAC they sound fantastic, and they should sound fine with his situation. They look much classier. Philips nor Hifiman are particularly great when it comes to customer service, but I have heard worse stories about Hifiman, and will probably not be buying anymore of their products until I hear about some vast improvements in their customer service, so I prefer Philips there. I've had 2 Hifiman products, one of them wore out within a year and is dead in my drawer, and the other is now owned by someone else. I have 2 Philips headphones that I don't plan on giving up any time soon. 
 
So, overall, I would resoundingly recommend the X2s not only over the HE400s, but over everything else in general for an office setting that is OK for an open back can pretty much over anything else, unless he has room and budget for a full setup. If he can have a good amp, then try out the HD600/650. If he does want planars badly, I would suggest looking at Oppo before Hifiman or the Mad Dogs before they are gone.