[kyomang]

@turbo911 Thanks for the comparison. I must have gotten lucky because I got a Woox set inside a Gibson box.

 

[Hammy]

  @turbo911 Thanks for the comparison. I must have gotten lucky because I got a Woox set inside a Gibson box.

 
If you mean the name on the headband then I'm pretty sure, as of now, they all say WOOX.  My Gibson pair had pads which looked identical to my WOOX pair, but sounded completely different.
 
The QC issues aren't only build quality anymore, but either poor driver manufacturing or deliberate driver 'tweaking'.  I'm hoping the 6th pair for @madwolfa will be Gibson so he can give his impressions.

 

[wwmhf]

  I am one of the people that bought these on sale at amazon. The first pair I got sounded great to me, the pads were very soft, but I noticed it didn't have a lot of high's and low's like people described. The sound was neutral and muffled. So I went on forum and started reading reviews and stumbled across couple posts where people had problems with glued pads. I decided to see if that was the case with my pair and it was. Contacted Amazon and got a replacement. 
The replacement pair was Woox. The first thing I noticed different material on pads. They are shiny, firmer, and thicker. Once you put them on, they actually feel better than the Gibson pair. The Woox pair sounded better as well to my ears. It had more high and low tones, that sometimes I thought it had too much highs. Woox pair had glued pads as well, but they weren't as bad and I was able to remove them and put them back on. In my opinion Woox pair is made better compare to Gibson pair.
I thought I would share some pictures of Gibson and Woox headsets. 
 
Gibson on left and Woox on the right.
 

 

 

 


 
The rest on the pictures are Gibson pair
 

 

 
This is exactly the information I was trying to find! It confirms that I have the Woox X2, not the Gibson X2. I also bought mine during Amazon's $200 sale.

 

[yearsofwisdom]

^^ I wouldn't go that far. I have two pairs of Gibsons. One has the shiny velour pads and the other does not. The shiny velour pad ones sound much better.

 

[turbo911]

 
Quote:

  just out of curiosity, would it be safe to assume the manufacturer would correct these errors within the next build? I could be wrong but it seems odd (based solely on my findings through the forum) that it got better in some areas with its quality but worse in others? 

I am not sure, but from what I read online, Woox was bought by Gibson. So I am assuming the left over Woox headphones are being packed into Gibson box along with Gibson headphones into Gibson boxes. 
 

  @turbo911 Nice post and welcome to the "Gibson-and-WOOX-pairs-actually-sound-quite-different-club"

That's the second thing I've noticed, the sound was different. Woox pair has much cleaner highs and deeper bass. 
 

Can't believe the level of difference between these. It really doesn't say much for Philips QC - the ear pads look like totally different dimensions and the outer headband looks like a different material.

The ear pads are totally different, they aren't as round. The leather on the headband is different as well, the color on the rings that hold the headphones is different as well. Gibson set also had quality issues, like the last picture shows, the outer metal ring wasn't glued properly around the headphone. 
 

  @turbo911 Thanks for the comparison. I must have gotten lucky because I got a Woox set inside a Gibson box.

No problem.
 

   
If you mean the name on the headband then I'm pretty sure, as of now, they all say WOOX.  My Gibson pair had pads which looked identical to my WOOX pair, but sounded completely different.
 
The QC issues aren't only build quality anymore, but either poor driver manufacturing or deliberate driver 'tweaking'.  I'm hoping the 6th pair for @madwolfa will be Gibson so he can give his impressions.

I wish I would of checked and taken a picture of the Gibson logo/name before I sent them back. 
 

   
This is exactly the information I was trying to find! It confirms that I have the Woox X2, not the Gibson X2. I also bought mine during Amazon's $200 sale.

 
 

  ^^ I wouldn't go that far. I have two pairs of Gibsons. One has the shiny velour pads and the other does not. The shiny velour pad ones sound much better.

Too bad I didn't check and take a picture of the Gibson and Woox logo/wording on the headphones themselves, before I sent the Gibson pair back, that way I could of included in my post. 

 

[Hammy]

  I am not sure, but from what I read online, Woox was bought by Gibson. So I am assuming the left over Woox headphones are being packed into Gibson box along with Gibson headphones into Gibson boxes.

 
This would actually make a lot of sense and explain why there are conflicting reports of how a Gibson pair sound.
 

  I wish I would of taken a picture of the Gibson logo/name before I sent them back.

 
You're saying you had Gibson printed on the headband near the left cup?  This would also lend credence to your earlier theory of 'good' and 'bad' Gibson pairs.

 

[turbo911]

I am sorry, let me rephrase it. I wish I would of looked on so called Gibson pair and taken a picture to see if it really is a Gibson made pair before I sent it back. I believe it was, judging by serial number, it was much higher than my Woox pair. 

   
This would actually make a lot of sense and explain why there are conflicting reports of how a Gibson pair sound.
 
 
You're saying you had Gibson printed on the headband near the left cup?  This would also lend credence to your earlier theory of 'good' and 'bad' Gibson pairs.

 

[kyomang]

@Hammy I didn't mean mine were a Woox set because they say Woox on the headband, I just meant mine came in a box that said Gibson but had the look and feel of the the Woox set.

 

[Eurobeat]

So the new Gibson pairs don't sound as good?

Someone here mentioned "Muffled" and I thought the same thing...  Someone said I was crazy and have permanently damaged hearing...

 

[shredder47]

I was pretty excited to get these, and while they sounded good, I was not impressed by the variety of QC issues that have been presented in this thread. IMO, even if you aren't necessarily facing any of these problems, it says a lot about the type of support you can expect from Phillips/WOOX/Gibson/whoever going forward. If I'm going to spend $200 on headphones, I'd feel better knowing that I could replace parts, or receive good service on them. So back to Amazon they went. Now I have to debate selling some IEMs and moving to HD6x0

 

[Supa Mint]

I’ve spent 2 weeks auditioning a number of highly rated mid-fi headphones, including the X2, 400S, SR80e, HP50, m100, and Mad Dog Pro.
 
It’s been a fun experience (I’m relatively new to head-fi), and for my musical tastes (generally, most forms of rock music), I’ve narrowed it down to 2 headphones – the 400S and the X2.  But I’m struggling mightily with the final verdict.
 
While the differences between these headphones are discernable, I’ve got to say that I generally find them to both have a similar sound.  The most obvious (to me) difference is in the bass presentation.  The X2 has more prominent bass, which extends lower and with more authority – it’s very impressive.  But this bass sometimes feels exaggerated, and at times feels slightly flabby.  The 400S doesn’t extend as low, or feel as powerful; however, the mid-bass sometimes sounds more controlled, tighter, defined – and maybe more musical at times.  I often notice the high tom drums sound better and more pronounced with the 400S, while they can disappear with X2 – especially during bass-heavy music.
 
To be clear, I think that both headphones sound great.  As I process the differences, I think that it comes down to the fact that I’m smitten with the bass on the X2.  Outside of that, I’d probably say that the 400S does a better job with mids and highs - although the differences are relatively small in my opinion.
 
Other variables, such as comfort and cost (or manufacturing quality, QC, or glue), are similar enough for me that my decision is truly about sound only (thankfully).
 
I’m resorting to exposing my observations and thought-processes here, in hopes that I may get some additional perspective from your experiences.  Anything that you can offer to help me with this surprisingly difficult decision would be appreciated.  I fully expect some bias from an X2 thread, which is fine (I’m asking the same on a 400S thread).
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Capt369]

  I’ve spent 2 weeks auditioning a number of highly rated mid-fi headphones, including the X2, 400S, SR80e, HP50, m100, and Mad Dog Pro.
 
It’s been a fun experience (I’m relatively new to head-fi), and for my musical tastes (generally, most forms of rock music), I’ve narrowed it down to 2 headphones – the 400S and the X2.  But I’m struggling mightily with the final verdict.
 
While the differences between these headphones are discernable, I’ve got to say that I generally find them to both have a similar sound.  The most obvious (to me) difference is in the bass presentation.  The X2 has more prominent bass, which extends lower and with more authority – it’s very impressive.  But this bass sometimes feels exaggerated, and at times feels slightly flabby.  The 400S doesn’t extend as low, or feel as powerful; however, the mid-bass sometimes sounds more controlled, tighter, defined – and maybe more musical at times.  I often notice the high tom drums sound better and more pronounced with the 400S, while they can disappear with X2 – especially during bass-heavy music.
 
To be clear, I think that both headphones sound great.  As I process the differences, I think that it comes down to the fact that I’m smitten with the bass on the X2.  Outside of that, I’d probably say that the 400S does a better job with mids and highs - although the differences are relatively small in my opinion.
 
Other variables, such as comfort and cost (or manufacturing quality, QC, or glue), are similar enough for me that my decision is truly about sound only (thankfully).
 
I’m resorting to exposing my observations and thought-processes here, in hopes that I may get some additional perspective from your experiences.  Anything that you can offer to help me with this surprisingly difficult decision would be appreciated.  I fully expect some bias from an X2 thread, which is fine (I’m asking the same on a 400S thread).
 
Thanks in advance!

I have and like both. I prefer the X2 for small jazz groups and the 400S for classical and vocals. That said, I like the Foster TH-XOO better than both of them. Just a perfectly subjective evaluation.

 

[Pickaxe]

@turbo911  Damn, nice job. This was the exact pad discrepancy that I've been complaining about. I got the thicker pads (the ones you describe as Woox) and I dislike them quite a bit, comfort-wise. I was watching a lot of reviews and I could instantly see the pads I got don't look like the pads that the X2's earlier revisions came with.

After several of sessions of applying pressure on them they seem to have gotten softer, and now I'd say they're sort of comfortable. Still they apply pressure on my jaw and that sucks.

 

[Hammy]

Just picked up my third pair (second Gibson).. can't listen to them until tonight, but I think Philips are trolling me now.
 

 
The right ear cup space is also about 1cm smaller than the left.  So I have a pair of Fid elio X2s which are half on-ear.. cool beans.

 

[kyomang]

  Just picked up my third pair (second Gibson).. can't listen to them until tonight, but I think Philips are trolling me now.
 

 
The right ear cup space is also about 1cm smaller than the left.  So I have a pair of Fid elio X2s which are half on-ear.. cool beans.

 
Oh man, who looks at these things before they leave the factory? Also, wonder if the Fid Elio is going to start appearing en masse?