[simonwellander]

Speaking of inbalance, I just noticed something, it's interesting that you posted about imbalance at the same moment I noticed this. But can anyone listen to the song Avicii - Trouble with their X2's and tell me.
 
Are the vocals on this song slightly mixed to the left? Not dead center but a little bit to the left? Or is it only my pair? It's slight so it's not a big deal, but anyway.
 
ETA: Forget about it!! It was my soundcard (Presonus Firestudio Mobile). When I opened the control panel, and manually changed the left/right slider, and then changed it back to 50/50 L/R again, then it "fixed" it and now the vocals in that track sound dead center.

 

[Hammy]

  If i want to check for inbalance in my Fidelio X2's which is the best way to do that, is there any specific track i can listen to? And, i am not really an audiophile btw. I am just getting into this game and have not much experience But it seems like a very nice hobby. 
 
And another question, if i were to return my X2's and get the Sennheiser HD598 how would those compare to the X2's seeing as those are also open and i have had nothing but good experiences when it comes to Sennheiser headphones. I only really bought the X2's because they seemed to hit every checkbox i wanted in my headphones (Never used Philips Headphones before).
 
And what is the differences between the HD598's and the HD598 Special Edition? (other than the colours)
 
I am new to this forum but am already loving the community. Just wished i would have researched the X2's a bit more before buying and not just reading about all the praise :/

 
If the imbalance is bad enough, you'll notice it with most music.  You can check also with SineGen.
 
The X2 and 598 are the only two decent headphones I've owned.  The 598 are more open, better soundstage and imaging, more airy.  X2 beat them hands down on bass.  After a few weeks of not using my 598, then listening to them, I realized they sound very thin compared to the X2.  There's just more to hear with the X2, even if 598 wins on comfort.
 
598 and 598SE are identical, according to Sennheiser.
 

  Speaking of inbalance, I just noticed something, it's interesting that you posted about imbalance at the same moment I noticed this. But can anyone listen to the song Avicii - Trouble with their X2's and tell me.
 
Are the vocals on this song slightly mixed to the left? Not dead center but a little bit to the left? Or is it only my pair? It's slight so it's not a big deal, but anyway.

 
I have iron ears, but if anything it sounds mixed slightly right to me (Spotify Premium).  Most vocals do sound mixed slightly right on my pair though.. my hearing is probably going

 

[meringo]

   
If the imbalance is bad enough, you'll notice it with most music.  You can check also with SineGen.
 
The X2 and 598 are the only two decent headphones I've owned.  The 598 are more open, better soundstage and imaging, more airy.  X2 beat them hands down on bass.  After a few weeks of not using my 598, then listening to them, I realized they sound very thin compared to the X2.  There's just more to hear with the X2, even if 598 wins on comfort.
 
598 and 598SE are identical, according to Sennheiser.
 
 
I have iron ears, but if anything it sounds mixed slightly right to me (Spotify Premium).  Most vocals do sound mixed slightly right on my pair though.. my hearing is probably going

 
I just DLd SIneGen. I'm gonna try to learn this thing and do some testing. All of my headphones sound like they mix slightly to the right. I bet it's more of an internal ear thing rather than the headphones. 

 

[Vizuka]

   
If the imbalance is bad enough, you'll notice it with most music.  You can check also with SineGen.
 
The X2 and 598 are the only two decent headphones I've owned.  The 598 are more open, better soundstage and imaging, more airy.  X2 beat them hands down on bass.  After a few weeks of not using my 598, then listening to them, I realized they sound very thin compared to the X2.  There's just more to hear with the X2, even if 598 wins on comfort.
 
598 and 598SE are identical, according to Sennheiser.
 
 
I have iron ears, but if anything it sounds mixed slightly right to me (Spotify Premium).  Most vocals do sound mixed slightly right on my pair though.. my hearing is probably going
 
Wait, what does SineGen do and how do i use it? But daaamn.. I cannot decide what i should do, should i return the X2's and get something completely different? Should i return them and get a new pair that might have other issues? Or should i keep the ones i have and get some new pads for them? So difficult. They seem to sound fine, they are just uncomfortable :/

 

[Vizuka]

Also noticed now that as others already have stated, the material used on the pads started itching like crazy now, damn x)

 

[Vizuka]

Dont know what i should do, should i return them for a new pair that could have worse issues? Should i return the X2's and get something completely different, and if so, what? Or should i keep these and get some new pads? (i cannot afford new pads before the end of this month)

 

[simonwellander]

Now that I have fixed the L/R issue with my soundcard, I can confirm that I have zero sound balance problems with my pair.

The X2 and 598 are the only two decent headphones I've owned.  The 598 are more open, better soundstage and imaging, more airy.

I thought X2 had good soundstage and imaging for it's class, but it's not really that good then if it's getting beaten by hd598 which are cheaper?

 

[Hammy]

  Now that I have fixed the L/R issue with my soundcard, I can confirm that I have zero sound balance problems with my pair.
I thought X2 had good soundstage and imaging for it's class, but it's not really that good then if it's getting beaten by hd598 which are cheaper?

 
That's how my ears hear it.  Some say the 598 has an artificially wide soundstage - don't know about that, but it's definitely wider than the X2 using a little E10K.

 

[dtp1981]

   
You can check also with SineGen.

 
Is this only for Windows?

 

[Gonzi]

  If i want to check for inbalance in my Fidelio X2's which is the best way to do that, is there any specific track i can listen to?

http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php - "Driver Matching".

 

[Hammy]

   
Is this only for Windows?

 
Yes AFAIK.  Some test tone generators for Mac users:
 
https://code.google.com/p/audiotools/downloads/detail?name=SigGen-1.0.dmg
 
http://www.audionotch.com/app/tune/ (web based)
 
Can't test the first, but the web-based one at least plays the tones.

 

[dtp1981]

Thank you.

 

[wwmhf]

  http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php - "Driver Matching".

 
Thanks for sharing this useful resource. 

 

[tonyo123]

If i want to check for inbalance in my Fidelio X2's which is the best way to do that, is there any specific track i can listen to? And, i am not really an audiophile btw. I am just getting into this game and have not much experience But it seems like a very nice hobby. 

And another question, if i were to return my X2's and get the Sennheiser HD598 how would those compare to the X2's seeing as those are also open and i have had nothing but good experiences when it comes to Sennheiser headphones. I only really bought the X2's because they seemed to hit every checkbox i wanted in my headphones (Never used Philips Headphones before).

And what is the differences between the HD598's and the HD598 Special Edition? (other than the colours)

I am new to this forum but am already loving the community. Just wished i would have researched the X2's a bit more before buying and not just reading about all the praise :/

Easiest simplest thing to do is to listen to a mono recording or output mono rather than stereo to see if u can hear imbalance between left and right. Then swap around the headphone and see if you can hear a similar difference in the other war with right and left swapped. If it is not your ears and not your system and if there is an imbalance then you should be able to hear it. If you can't tell, especially in a blind test, then I would not worry about an imbalance.

A second approach is to get or download a sound meter (check amazon or download one available as an App in Google Play or Apple stores or download a windows utility). Then measure the decibels making sure you have no crossover when you do. That will give u a measured answer.

As for thr 598s, I bought and returned the Special Edition. Great package, phones are beautiful in black, extra set of cables (those are the only differences to the regular tan edition), and all around excellent pair. They are a very nice set, light, comfortable, thin, just can't compete with the X2s on bass. X2s have slam and fullness and 598s sound thin in comparison. Both exhibit a nice sound stage with maybe the 598s a tab wider. I like the 598s on midrange and treble and wished I could have kept them but it was one or the other and wanted to stay with a headphone that does not require a seperate amp.

 

[simonwellander]

That's how my ears hear it.  Some say the 598 has an artificially wide soundstage - don't know about that, but it's definitely wider than the X2 using a little E10K.

Thanks for your answer.

Yes AFAIK.

There's also http://onlinetonegenerator.com/

As for thr 598s, I bought and returned the Special Edition. Great package in black, extra set of cables (those are the only two differences to the regular tan edition), and all around excellent pair. They are a very nice set, light, comfortable, thin, just can't compete with the X2s on bass. X2s have slam and fullness and 598s sound thin in comparison. Still, I like the 598s in midrange and yrebek areas and wished I could have kept thrm.

Good. Now I don't need to regret that I bought X2's instead of hd598's, I would probably not have liked a thin-sounding headphone.