[Twizzleshnizzle]

You guys really think I should just return them and get something else if I'm having the issue with itchy pads? Is finding replacement pads that don't change the sound much and won't be itchy impossible? Has anybody TRIED the Dekoni Elite velour pads or Beyer pads and seen how those change the sound and whether they're less itchy?

I'll probably be getting a little bit of money from a couple people for the holidays, so if I return the X2HR's, I should be able to budget up to $200. Does anyone else have thoughts on the Tygr 300R and how they sound compared to the X2HR? Would their velour pads possibly itch? I'm wary of the attached cable... I HATE attached cables.

You won't find replacement pads that don't affect the sound in some way, shape or form. For anyone wanting to keep the signature, it's about finding pads that affect it the least. I've never tried Dekoni Velour, but I've owned various Beyer velour pads. They're a big upgrade from the Fidelio pads in terms of softness, I can't imagine anyone finding them itchy. But I don't think you'll be able to fit Beyer pads to the Fidelio easily. There are over 900 pages in this thread, and even up to now people discuss options for replacement pads, there is no perfect solution sadly. Some of the most recommended have been the Brainwavz XL as they fit quite well, but the velour are very itchy, leading to the preference towards the micro-suede. The Shure HPAEC1540 pads have also been posted, but they lead to a warmer tone (most likely similar to the micro-suede). You have to get to a point of asking yourself, how much money am I prepared to burn trying out pads? You can recoup some of the $50 you spent, but why keep wasting more?!

Amazon is your friend in this instance. Their return policy will let you easily buy headphones and return them within 30 days, even after use. So you can try your way through various pairs. Sennheiser pads aren't itchy to me, they're similar to the Beyer, but I think the Beyer are slightly better quality and softness. This is why I keep pointing you towards trying some Beyerdynamic headphones. If you want an open sound, non-itchy pads, and something dynamic for gaming, try a set of Beyerdynamics. Target the 32ohm variants and you shouldn't have a problem powering them.

The DT 880 is a fantastic headphone, I trialled the 600ohm and loved them. But I insist on detachable cables for myself, that's the only reason they were sent back. I actually preferred them to the far more expensive T1 (gen 2) which I was trialling side by side. I haven't tried the Tygr, but I haven't heard a bad word about it! It seems it's becoming a fast favourite for those who have tried it. If you don't have much money spare then just try one headphone at a time. I've tried a ridiculous amount of headphones this year due to being bored working at home. The DT 880 was right up there for price to performance, it is undoubtedly a better sounding headphone than the X2HR. But the detachable cable on the X2HR won it for me. Just try the 880 or anything else you can afford to from Amazon, if you don't like them you can send them back and try a different one.

Finally, detachable cables. My friend has just sent his DT 880 off for a detachable cable mod for £50 (Custom Cans here in the UK). They did a fantastic job with his DT 770. You can always put some money aside for a similar service near you in the future.

 

[nuxos]

Totally agree about detachable cables. Today, I would not buy anymore a headphone without this feature. If it breaks after warranty period, you are screwed and could spend a lot on the reparation depending the situation, instead of just buying a cable, and if you must send the product far away to repair, it's another thing to worry about in my opinion.

 

[HipHopScribe]

You guys really think I should just return them and get something else if I'm having the issue with itchy pads? Is finding replacement pads that don't change the sound much and won't be itchy impossible? Has anybody TRIED the Dekoni Elite velour pads or Beyer pads and seen how those change the sound and whether they're less itchy? What about Shure 1540 or 1840 pads, which are oval but I've read can work well with the X2HR?

I'll probably be getting a little bit of money from a couple people for the holidays, so if I return the X2HR's, I should be able to budget up to $200. Does anyone else have thoughts on the Tygr 300R and how they sound compared to the X2HR? Would their velour pads possibly itch? I'm wary of the attached cable... I HATE attached cables.

I've considered the Sennhesier HD560s, but I'm pretty sure that if I go for those, I won't be able to also afford a more powerful source, which I need for those since they're 120 ohm! Ugh. Not only that but I'd have to get a Bluetooth DAC/Amp because my laptop (which is SUPPOSED to be a "gaming/entertainment" laptop, an HP Omen) has USB Audio with pops and clicks, so USB DAC's are a no-go (yes, this is obviously unacceptable from a gaming laptop). And with Windows 10, there's no way for me to make sure that a Bluetooth amp would use low-latency; if I can't get it to do so then anything requiring a powerful source will be useless to me, as I'm looking for all-rounder cans with which I can not only listen to music, but watch movies, TV, and game as well. Everything I watch is always on my laptop, and I like to use headphones to watch things.

I also need to keep in mind that I wear glasses, and a lot of headphones, even open-backed ones, lose a very noticeable amount of their bass due to glasses; one of my reasons for looking at the X2HR's and HD560s is because there are measurements on DiyAudio and Rtings showing that their sound isn't affected by glasses. The Tygr 300R's seem nice and all but are very new to the market, so there is very little information about them, and with so little info I'm not sure if I'm comfortable gambling on them. As I mentioned, I'm reluctant to gamble on the 560s because of issues with getting more powerful audio from my laptop for their high impedance, and as I said now that I wasted $50 (ugh) I probably CAN'T afford a DAC anyway if I get $200 headphones. And of course, the HD560s have velour pads... are they itchy?

I refuse to just stick with IEM's; I know that would be the easiest thing for my situation, but I want a pair of open-back full-sized headphones that will give me a more expansive, spacious sound that doesn't sound at all congested, especially for movies and gaming.

I apologize for the length of my posts; I'm obviously kind of desperate here. I'm really upset that I found basically my endgame headphones on my current budget, only to find that they have these crap-quality velour pads that drive me insane. And now I wasted $50 on pads and mountings I can't return.

After following the X1 and X2 threads for years I'm pretty confident in saying that there just aren't aftermarket pads that won't change the sound signature. Maybe the change won't be bad depending on your preference, but it is gonna change.

I agree about the attached cable being annoying on Beyers headphone in this range, but if you're at all inclined to tinker there are multiple tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere on how to convert Beyerdynamic headphones to detachable cables. There are also services to do it for a fee. I personally got my set of tygr 300 Rs second hand at a small markup because someone had already gone through the trouble to convert it to 3.5mm detachable and that was worth it to me.

 

[nuxos]

Quite happy with the X2HR after two weeks. Comfortable (although a bit heavy), well builded, and a musical sound signature. Not the most detailed, but can be dynamic when needed. Ideal for long sessions and forgiving for lower quality recordings. Easily driven with my MacBook Pro 2017 but of course better with a Fiio K5 Pro.

I've listened to rock, jazz, classical, blues, reggae, electronic music... It does well in any case, even if would like more resolution and accuracy. Perhaps I found the sound a bit veiled? Being non fatiguing, it's perfect to listen late in the evening/night. For 95€ new, it was an amazing deal in my opinion!

 

[GearMe]

Great deal that will provide years of enjoyment. My X2s are still going strong and get more than their fair share of listening time!

 

[nuxos]

Yes for the price I can't complain at all! But the low impedance makes it sometimes harder for me to control volume with my Fiio K5 Pro using the volume knob. I wish I had more control with this knob but maybe is there a workaround that could improve this. At the moment I have a very limited angle of adjustment (between 9 and 11 o clock).

The sound is always fun and it's the sound signature I like. I've juste changed immediately the stock cable, which was a bit stiff and long to my tastes.

 

[Smoothstereo]

I recently bought a new X2HR too and for the price of about ~$100 to $120 USD when they go on sale, these are a steal. On my gear and my ears they seem to excel on slow songs, that open spacious soundstage lays out the different instruments in their own place. They also seem to play at a tad slower pace, notes come in but trail /linger (decay) a tad longer than my other headphones, which provides an ease of hearing the micro details so effortlessly.

 

[Mink]

On my gear and my ears they seem to excel on slow slongs,

LOL (Yep, fast isn't always preferable to women)

 

[Smoothstereo]

LOL (Yep, fast isn't always preferable to women)

Hahaha good catch, I should keep my meats and music separate. Fixed my spelling.

 

[kissmojo]

I had the X2 for long time but only recently spent time with it, IMO the X2 has a bumped up lower mid, recently I connected the X2 directly to my desktop PC, I found the bass has too much quantity.
While trying, I accidentally cover up the outer shell (making it a closed back), I found the sound is much better, with less muffled mid and the bass is much more rumbling, I have not review the whole X2 thread yet, but I wanted to know if anyone also noticed this sound change, or maybe even there's a mod for this? Many thanks.

 

[goodyfresh]

cover up the outer shell (making it a closed back), I found the sound is much better, with less muffled mid and the bass is much more rumbling, I have not review the whole X2 thread yet, but I wanted to know if anyone also noticed this sound change, or maybe even there's a mod for this? Many thanks.

Ummmm..... no comment on this from me lol, but I can't WAIT to see how other people are gonna respond

 

[nuxos]

I don't know if someone actually tried to convert the X2 into a closed back model... I know it was a mod on the Senn HD 650

The amount of bass is good to my ears. Only when they are in the mix. I've listened to classical musical two weeks ago (flutes quatuor) and no bass at all. On the other hand switching to modern electronic music or rap and there is an avalanche of bass, corresponding to the mix. You can simply try to find a EQ solution and attenuate the bass a little.

 

[silent-circuit]

If you want more bass

I had the X2 for long time but only recently spent time with it, IMO the X2 has a bumped up lower mid, recently I connected the X2 directly to my desktop PC, I found the bass has too much quantity.
While trying, I accidentally cover up the outer shell (making it a closed back), I found the sound is much better, with less muffled mid and the bass is much more rumbling, I have not review the whole X2 thread yet, but I wanted to know if anyone also noticed this sound change, or maybe even there's a mod for this? Many thanks.

If you want more bass out of an open back, go with a planar like the Hifiman Sundara... or just go closed back. The X2 has a little bit of a bass hump as is, to my hearing, but I guess that's what you're referring to as 'lower mids'.

 

[sebek]

I am an IEM user, looking for an open back headphone easy to drive, with something portable like the unbalanced output of the FiiO BTR5 and the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro.

More or less for the same price what to choose between Philips X2HR and Drop Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee?

Acoustic, Chamber pop, Post rock, Extreme Metal

 

[silent-circuit]

X2HR,

I am an IEM user, looking for an open back headphone easy to drive, with something portable like the unbalanced output of the FiiO BTR5 and the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro.

More or less for the same price what to choose between Philips X2HR and Drop Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee?

Acoustic, Chamber pop, Post rock, Extreme Metal

X2HR, based on what I know of the Senn. I have not heard it, but I think the X2 sound signature lends itself more to what you're listening to.