Sorgiulio
New Head-Fier
Hi all,
First of all excuse my english as it's not my native language.
After reading head-fi forums for months It's now time for me to write my first post as I got to the point where I really need some help here.
Here's my problem:
I own a pair of Fidelio X2 which I chose because I was looking for a set of cans that could be a good compromise between clarity, soundstage and bass presence. I'm not an expert so I read countless reviews on many different headphones in this price range and I thought that the X2 could be the best choice for what I needed. And over all I'm quite happy with the sound quality they produce. Or, to put it better, I'd be quite happy with them if only I wasn't experiencing these problems with high frequencies. I knew that the X2s, despite being considered an overall warm set of cans, can be quite bright when it comes to high highs. But the highs form my X2s are really really harsh, to the point that drum cymbals are almost distorted, unbearably annoying. I played drums myself for quite some time in my life and I know how cymbals are supposed to sound. From my X2s though, they sound more like someone is smashing dishes on the floor, making listening to music anything but a pleasant experience.
Here's my set up:
I stream apple music through iTunes on a macbook air, connected to the HiFiMe U2 Sabre dac, connected with a 5 GBP rca cable to a little dot 1+ on which stock chinese tubes have been replaced with a matched pair of Mullard M8100. What is it that I am doing wrong? I mean, is there anything I can do to reduce harshness in the high highs without lowering the overall sound quality?
When my X2s are plugged straight into my laptop, cymbals are by far less annoying, but the sound in general lacks body and fullness. I was feeling like I wasn't getting the full potential out of my cans so I decided to invest in an amp. Is it perhaps the wrong amp? I read that, according to the little dot boss, the output impedance of the amp is around 30 ohms, which as far as I understand would not be a good match with my 30 ohm impedance X2s. When I plug them in my Luxman L-3 integrated amp I get the same annoying highs and a much more mudded sound, which I attribute to the very high output impedance of headphone socket in old integrated amp (which I understand were not designed for headphones). Could this be the problem? Maybe an amp with a much lower out impedance (less than 4 ohms) would get rid of the problem? If this is the case, any suggestions on a good amp in the same price range that pairs well with the X2s? I'm still in time to return my little dot so I wouldn't lose money.
Or maybe the Fidelio X2 are simply not the right cans for me?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
First of all excuse my english as it's not my native language.
After reading head-fi forums for months It's now time for me to write my first post as I got to the point where I really need some help here.
Here's my problem:
I own a pair of Fidelio X2 which I chose because I was looking for a set of cans that could be a good compromise between clarity, soundstage and bass presence. I'm not an expert so I read countless reviews on many different headphones in this price range and I thought that the X2 could be the best choice for what I needed. And over all I'm quite happy with the sound quality they produce. Or, to put it better, I'd be quite happy with them if only I wasn't experiencing these problems with high frequencies. I knew that the X2s, despite being considered an overall warm set of cans, can be quite bright when it comes to high highs. But the highs form my X2s are really really harsh, to the point that drum cymbals are almost distorted, unbearably annoying. I played drums myself for quite some time in my life and I know how cymbals are supposed to sound. From my X2s though, they sound more like someone is smashing dishes on the floor, making listening to music anything but a pleasant experience.
Here's my set up:
I stream apple music through iTunes on a macbook air, connected to the HiFiMe U2 Sabre dac, connected with a 5 GBP rca cable to a little dot 1+ on which stock chinese tubes have been replaced with a matched pair of Mullard M8100. What is it that I am doing wrong? I mean, is there anything I can do to reduce harshness in the high highs without lowering the overall sound quality?
When my X2s are plugged straight into my laptop, cymbals are by far less annoying, but the sound in general lacks body and fullness. I was feeling like I wasn't getting the full potential out of my cans so I decided to invest in an amp. Is it perhaps the wrong amp? I read that, according to the little dot boss, the output impedance of the amp is around 30 ohms, which as far as I understand would not be a good match with my 30 ohm impedance X2s. When I plug them in my Luxman L-3 integrated amp I get the same annoying highs and a much more mudded sound, which I attribute to the very high output impedance of headphone socket in old integrated amp (which I understand were not designed for headphones). Could this be the problem? Maybe an amp with a much lower out impedance (less than 4 ohms) would get rid of the problem? If this is the case, any suggestions on a good amp in the same price range that pairs well with the X2s? I'm still in time to return my little dot so I wouldn't lose money.
Or maybe the Fidelio X2 are simply not the right cans for me?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
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