Philips Fidelio X2?!
Oct 13, 2020 at 5:53 AM Post #14,266 of 15,268
Yeah but...I don't understand the hype when 4/4 completely different people shared the same opinion about them, yet I rarely if at all see the same issues mentioned here.

Weird, but worst of all, irritating...very irritating :/

The X2 got hyped up by people who were either trying to get affiliate money or people who never heard an actually good headphone before.
I can well see someone without experience with Hifi headphone, who just came off another consumer headphone, thinking its actually good.
Personally I tested a pair just to see what it was all about quite some time ago and found the things fairly lacking in terms of sound quality (specifically limp, but mid bleading bass and grain across the board, especially treble, not to mention the wide but not well defined sound stage).

Also I have the feeling that you might be expecting bass quantity from the X2 (compared to the cloud), which since they are open back they just can not match that in comaprison to a closed back headphone. Generally hifi headphones (open back) do not feature nearly as much bass as most people are used to, as the bass has a tendency to hide detail which is the exact opposite of what hifi means. Most headphones just can not do quality, but controlled bass.

Personal recommendation is to return the things. If you want to try something cheap but open back that sounds better just try some KSC75 (which to boot also cost only 13$, so you might as well see what Budget-fi sounds like). Alternative if you just want to see how good bass sounds there is ofc the CAL headphones. Best introductions to hifi on a budget if you ask me and if you like any of those it might be worth investing more into Audio later down the line.
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 6:26 AM Post #14,267 of 15,268
The X2 got hyped up by people who were either trying to get affiliate money or people who never heard an actually good headphone before.
I can well see someone without experience with Hifi headphone, who just came off another consumer headphone, thinking its actually good.
Personally I tested a pair just to see what it was all about quite some time ago and found the things fairly lacking in terms of sound quality (specifically limp, but mid bleading bass and grain across the board, especially treble, not to mention the wide but not well defined sound stage).

Also I have the feeling that you might be expecting bass quantity from the X2 (compared to the cloud), which since they are open back they just can not match that in comaprison to a closed back headphone. Generally hifi headphones (open back) do not feature nearly as much bass as most people are used to, as the bass has a tendency to hide detail which is the exact opposite of what hifi means. Most headphones just can not do quality, but controlled bass.

Personal recommendation is to return the things. If you want to try something cheap but open back that sounds better just try some KSC75 (which to boot also cost only 13$, so you might as well see what Budget-fi sounds like). Alternative if you just want to see how good bass sounds there is ofc the CAL headphones. Best introductions to hifi on a budget if you ask me and if you like any of those it might be worth investing more into Audio later down the line.
I see...

Which closed back headphones do you recommended for price range between 100-700$?

I want the sound to be more intimate (not unrealistically wide and distant soundstage), good bass (i can use bass boost on ifi Zen Dac), neutral mids, and a bit bright treble for clear dialogue in movies.

Anything you recommend?
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 7:03 AM Post #14,269 of 15,268
The X2 got hyped up by people who were either trying to get affiliate money or people who never heard an actually good headphone before.
I can well see someone without experience with Hifi headphone, who just came off another consumer headphone, thinking its actually good.
Personally I tested a pair just to see what it was all about quite some time ago and found the things fairly lacking in terms of sound quality (specifically limp, but mid bleading bass and grain across the board, especially treble, not to mention the wide but not well defined sound stage).

Also I have the feeling that you might be expecting bass quantity from the X2 (compared to the cloud), which since they are open back they just can not match that in comaprison to a closed back headphone. Generally hifi headphones (open back) do not feature nearly as much bass as most people are used to, as the bass has a tendency to hide detail which is the exact opposite of what hifi means. Most headphones just can not do quality, but controlled bass.

Personal recommendation is to return the things. If you want to try something cheap but open back that sounds better just try some KSC75 (which to boot also cost only 13$, so you might as well see what Budget-fi sounds like). Alternative if you just want to see how good bass sounds there is ofc the CAL headphones. Best introductions to hifi on a budget if you ask me and if you like any of those it might be worth investing more into Audio later down the line.

So the fact that they don't suit your personal preference makes everyone that enjoy the shills? What rubbish! There's a lot of people in this thread alone that has tons of experience with other (much more expensive) headphones that still put the X2s in high regard for what they deliver. I'm sorry that you didn't like them but don't put blame on others because of it.

Like I said a couple of posts above, nothing is for everyone. Surely that can't be a concept that's hard to understand?

Personally I'll take them over the HD650 nine times out of ten. Does that mean that they outperform my HD800S, HE560 or other more expensive headphones that I own? No, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a place in my stable. As always YMMV, that means that your milage may very and that's exactly what's going on here imo.

Edit: For the record I paid $250 for my pair and have had over 50 headphones since. Not once have I considered the X2s bad value for the price I paid, nor have I ever thought about selling them....
 
Last edited:
Oct 13, 2020 at 7:27 AM Post #14,270 of 15,268
So the fact that they don't suit your personal preference makes everyone that enjoy the shills? What rubbish! There's a lot of people in this thread alone that has tons of experience with other (much more expensive) headphones that still put the X2s in high regard for what they deliver. I'm sorry that you didn't like them but don't put blame on others because of it.

Like I said a couple of posts above, nothing is for everyone. Surely that can't be a concept that's hard to understand?

Personally I'll take them over the HD650 nine times out of ten. Does that mean that they outperform my HD800S, HE560 or other more expensive headphones that I own? No, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a place in my stable. As always YMMV, that means that your milage may very and that's exactly what's going on here imo.

Edit: For the record I paid $250 for my pair and have had over 50 headphones since. Not once have I considered the X2s bad value for the price I paid, nor have I ever thought about selling them....

Yeah...everybody has different hearing and sound signature preferences.

Combined, the X2 and my 6XX get the majority of my 'shuffle time'. I enjoy the ability to set and forget with either of them. While neither of them is in the top tier of my headphone collection, they both provide very enjoyable listens for me over a wide variety of music.
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 8:08 AM Post #14,271 of 15,268
I see...

Which closed back headphones do you recommended for price range between 100-700$?

I want the sound to be more intimate (not unrealistically wide and distant soundstage), good bass (i can use bass boost on ifi Zen Dac), neutral mids, and a bit bright treble for clear dialogue in movies.

Anything you recommend?
That sounds like you might want to try out the AKG K371, tho it really depends if you like the Harman target signature. Those ones are some of the better closed back headphones (mind you closed back is generally lacking) under 900$ and the stage is not going to be very wide. Alternatively in the higher price brackets there is always the Emu Teak, which is one of the bunch that use the fostex build and drivers (other example TX00 or Denon ones). Tho the main reason to get those is if you value bass over everything else (tho Teak have less of a V shaped sound sig than other Fostex design headphones).

Mind you I would very much also recommend trying out HD600, those being very intimate headphones. The only thing I could see you potentially not liking is the sub bass rolloff and maybe the clamp (which if you did not like the X2 this is going to be worse untill the thing lets lose).

As for comfort its going to be very much dependent on your head shape and ears. Personally the Fostex build is not as comfortable as the AKG one, but I do know a few people who can not deal with the AKG at all due to their head shape, where the Foster one I have yet to hear anyone being as hit or miss.
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 8:18 AM Post #14,272 of 15,268
I see...

Which closed back headphones do you recommended for price range between 100-700$?

I want the sound to be more intimate (not unrealistically wide and distant soundstage), good bass (i can use bass boost on ifi Zen Dac), neutral mids, and a bit bright treble for clear dialogue in movies.

Anything you recommend?

With the ymmv caveat...maybe the Sony 1am2 is a possibility?

Got mine from Amazon.fr for

Sous-total des articles :​
EUR 108,33​
Frais d'envoi :​
EUR 27,28​
Montant total pour cet envoi :
EUR 135,61

Here's the main thread - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-mdr-1am2-impressions-thread.869385/
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 9:43 AM Post #14,273 of 15,268
That sounds like you might want to try out the AKG K371, tho it really depends if you like the Harman target signature. Those ones are some of the better closed back headphones (mind you closed back is generally lacking) under 900$ and the stage is not going to be very wide. Alternatively in the higher price brackets there is always the Emu Teak, which is one of the bunch that use the fostex build and drivers (other example TX00 or Denon ones). Tho the main reason to get those is if you value bass over everything else (tho Teak have less of a V shaped sound sig than other Fostex design headphones).

Mind you I would very much also recommend trying out HD600, those being very intimate headphones. The only thing I could see you potentially not liking is the sub bass rolloff and maybe the clamp (which if you did not like the X2 this is going to be worse untill the thing lets lose).

As for comfort its going to be very much dependent on your head shape and ears. Personally the Fostex build is not as comfortable as the AKG one, but I do know a few people who can not deal with the AKG at all due to their head shape, where the Foster one I have yet to hear anyone being as hit or miss.
I like the harman target signature. With the fidelios, when i used a harman target eq preset, they sounded much better.

I'll keep the AKG's in mind. Thanks. Any other headphones you recommend for someone that likes the harman target signature? Also bass is important unfortunately. So the sennheiser HD600 is probably a no go. Although i can boost the bass, but i don't know it'll work. They look super comfy tho..nice oval-shaped and comfy looking pads.
 
Oct 13, 2020 at 11:19 AM Post #14,274 of 15,268
I like the harman target signature. With the fidelios, when i used a harman target eq preset, they sounded much better.

I'll keep the AKG's in mind. Thanks. Any other headphones you recommend for someone that likes the harman target signature? Also bass is important unfortunately. So the sennheiser HD600 is probably a no go. Although i can boost the bass, but i don't know it'll work. They look super comfy tho..nice oval-shaped and comfy looking pads.

HD600 upper range is really close to Harman, mind you the bass is actually very well controlled, but it is in the end rolled off, which some people will not like (tho always try first, high chance you wont be bothered, tho that very much depends on the music you listen to). There is also a period of time you need to use a certain headphone for your ears to get used to the sound (especailly when coming from a headphone with a noticeably different sound signature).

O and since you mentioned brighter headphones for better/more forward vocals, those are not what you want. For vocals you want mids meaning headphones like the HD600 are top class in that case (low to high mids is round 200Hz-5/6kHz).
 
Oct 14, 2020 at 9:16 AM Post #14,276 of 15,268
I like the harman target signature. With the fidelios, when i used a harman target eq preset, they sounded much better.

I'll keep the AKG's in mind. Thanks. Any other headphones you recommend for someone that likes the harman target signature? Also bass is important unfortunately. So the sennheiser HD600 is probably a no go. Although i can boost the bass, but i don't know it'll work. They look super comfy tho..nice oval-shaped and comfy looking pads.

So...sounds like EQ might do the trick for the Fidelios? If so, glad to hear :beerchug:

Saw this on another thread and thought I'd cut and paste here...compares 371s and 1am2s to the Harman Curve.

1602681383134.png
 
Oct 14, 2020 at 5:49 PM Post #14,279 of 15,268
Yep...even got a balanced connection if Nobank gets a set of cans that can benefit down the road. Really amazing what iFi has packed into that unit for the price!

Thanks. And yes, ZEN devices are internally balanced.

You're right about the iFi Zen--which I just realized is an all-in-one, DAC + HP amp.


With cans like X2 ZEN DAC won't have any problems as far as output power goes, that's for sure: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/
 
Last edited:
iFi audio Stay updated on iFi audio at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/iFiAudio/ https://twitter.com/ifiaudio https://www.instagram.com/ifiaudio/ https://ifi-audio.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@iFiaudiochannel comms@ifi-audio.com

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top