[goodyfresh]

The graph Dekoni shows of the sonic changes from the suede earpads compared to the stock velour pads looks like EXACTLY what I heard when I tried the Brainwavz suede pads vs the original stock pads... massively bloated bass and low-mids, with sucked-out upper-mids and a lot of the treble sucked out too, resulting in a very dark and muffled sound. This is likely due to the suede being a much more sheer material that seals tightly against the head... I've noticed much more isolation from outside noise with the Brainwavz suedes vs the stock pads.

Of course, results may vary depending on your ears and the shape of your head, especially when it comes to the seal aspect. But that is what the Brainwavz suede pads sounded like to ME, and I found the sound so dark and muffled that it was actually unbearable for my tastes. And as I said, the graph Dekoni now provides for their suede pads matches up perfectly with what I heard from the Brainwavz suede pads.

Dekoni needs to offer velour pads for these so that we finally have a true replacement for the stock earpads. I have no idea why they are offering these in any material BUT the material of the original stock pads. I think we should start a campaign for Dekoni to make velour pads for the X2's... obviously a LOT of us here and elsewhere would buy them, and it would be a very profitable venture for Dekoni to offer pads as close to the original stock pads as possible. The thing is, I have NO idea how to start such a campaign. But I would love to see this happen... if Dekoni makes these pads in velour, I will definitely buy them. I already tried (a couple days ago)( messaging a Dekoni sponsor who I chat with on here because he's also a Sennheiser sponsor, but he never replied to me about this.

 

[Mr Trev]

The graph Dekoni shows of the sonic changes from the suede earpads compared to the stock velour pads looks like EXACTLY what I heard when I tried the Brainwavz suede pads vs the original stock pads... massively bloated bass and low-mids, with sucked-out upper-mids and a lot of the treble sucked out too, resulting in a very dark and muffled sound. This is likely due to the suede being a much more sheer material that seals tightly against the head... I've noticed much more isolation from outside noise with the Brainwavz suedes vs the stock pads.

Of course, results may vary depending on your ears and the shape of your head, especially when it comes to the seal aspect. But that is what the Brainwavz suede pads sounded like to ME, and I found the sound so dark and muffled that it was actually unbearable for my tastes. And as I said, the graph Dekoni now provides for their suede pads matches up perfectly with what I heard from the Brainwavz suede pads.

Dekoni needs to offer velour pads for these so that we finally have a true replacement for the stock earpads. I have no idea why they are offering these in any material BUT the material of the original stock pads. I think we should start a campaign for Dekoni to make velour pads for the X2's... obviously a LOT of us here and elsewhere would buy them, and it would be a very profitable venture for Dekoni to offer pads as close to the original stock pads as possible. The thing is, I have NO idea how to start such a campaign. But I would love to see this happen... if Dekoni makes these pads in velour, I will definitely buy them. I already tried (a couple days ago)( messaging a Dekoni sponsor who I chat with on here because he's also a Sennheiser sponsor, but he never replied to me about this.

I'd think it'd take a little more than just velour to get the sound right. Size/shape/foam material all would have an effect of some type.
Honestly, if one were to start a campaign to get earpads for the X1/2/3 series, Philips should be the ones being harrassed - nothing beats OEM

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'd think it'd take a little more than just velour to get the sound right. Size/shape/foam material all would have an effect of some type.
Honestly, if one were to start a campaign to get earpads for the X1/2/3 series, Philips should be the ones being harrassed - nothing beats OEM

You know, I have to agree. None of this Drop/Dekoni stuff would matter if Philips did like practically every other headphone mfr and offered replacement pads. Even if they charged too much $$ (many do), that would be better than this silly wild west scenario lovers of the X2s/X2Hrs find themselves in.

I listen to my X2s infrequently and just for short durations. The velour never bothered my skin--and it looks exactly as it did when new, making me one of the lucky ones here. But if this was my everyday HP, and I actually listened everyday, things would surely be different...

 

[goodyfresh]

I'd think it'd take a little more than just velour to get the sound right. Size/shape/foam material all would have an effect of some type.
Honestly, if one were to start a campaign to get earpads for the X1/2/3 series, Philips should be the ones being harrassed - nothing beats OEM

You know, I have to agree. None of this Drop/Dekoni stuff would matter if Philips did like practically every other headphone mfr and offered replacement pads. Even if they charged too much $$ (many do), that would be better than this silly wild west scenario lovers of the X2s/X2Hrs find themselves in.

I listen to my X2s infrequently and just for short durations. The velour never bothered my skin--and it looks exactly as it did when new, making me one of the lucky ones here. But if this was my everyday HP, and I actually listened everyday, things would surely be different...

This is all very true. But unfortunately, people have been asking Philips to sell the earpads for these for YEARS now, and Philips refuses to listen. Therefore, we are reduced to having to ask aftermarket companies if they will do it instead.

Although I'm not sure if there was ever an actual campaign for it. Has there been? I mean, it's been several years that people have wanted this, I find it hard to believe that NOBODY ever launched such a campaign to try to get Philips to do the right thing.

 

[Mr Trev]

You know, I have to agree. None of this Drop/Dekoni stuff would matter if Philips did like practically every other headphone mfr and offered replacement pads. Even if they charged too much $$ (many do), that would be better than this silly wild west scenario lovers of the X2s/X2Hrs find themselves in.

I listen to my X2s infrequently and just for short durations. The velour never bothered my skin--and it looks exactly as it did when new, making me one of the lucky ones here. But if this was my everyday HP, and I actually listened everyday, things would surely be different...

The pads on mine have held up quite well too. But if I could I'd still grab a couple pairs - one set of spares, and another to experiment with my other headphones.

Maybe the new owners will be a little more accommodating than Gibson/Woox.

 

[Gee Simpson]

Do you need both a DAC and Amp, or just an Amp? If you need both or a combo Amp/DAC device, then that price-range is a tad bit tight. Personally, I've gotten WONDERFUL results driving the X2HR's from three DAC/Amp combos, all from Fiio: The Fiio BTR5, the K3, and the K5 Pro. I ended up sticking with the K5 Pro because it sounds at least as good as the others but is MUCH more powerful; the other two could bring out the full potential of the X2HR's, but weren't quite enough to bring out the full potential of my more power-hunger Sennheiser HD560s (120ohm impedance). Although I assume they could probably drive the HD560s to full potential from their balanced outputs if I had a balanced cable for the cans.

Anyway though, back to DAC/Amp combos for the X2HR: Any of the BTR5, K3, or K5 Pro sound amazing with them and bring out their full potential. However, all three of those devices cost more than £80 for customers in the UK. I'm pretty sure the cheapest is the BTR5 at £89.99. It's a shame, because the K3 is much cheaper (taking the conversion-rate into account) in the U.S. than in the UK (only $109.99 here, something like £100 there), and the BTR5 is actually the equivalent of exactly £80 ($109.99) here in the U.S.

Maybe you can find them available cheaper in the UK from somewhere other than Amazon, though.

I've decided if I do go for a DAC/AMP, it will be the BTR5 I go for at £89.99, thanks. How much of a difference should it make to the sound vs my S7 Edge (Exynos)? I would imagine quite an upgrade? I've just bought the Sony XBA-N3 which obviously are IEM's, and I would hope it would make a difference to those also, they are 16 ohms.

 

[Brava210]

I've decided if I do go for a DAC/AMP, it will be the BTR5 I go for at £89.99, thanks. How much of a difference should it make to the sound vs my S7 Edge (Exynos)? I would imagine quite an upgrade? I've just bought the Sony XBA-N3 which obviously are IEM's, and I would hope it would make a difference to those also, they are 16 ohms.

How will you be using the phone? Streaming from Tidal etc

 

[Gee Simpson]

How will you be using the phone? Streaming from Tidal etc

Spotify.

 

[HipHopScribe]

I've decided if I do go for a DAC/AMP, it will be the BTR5 I go for at £89.99, thanks. How much of a difference should it make to the sound vs my S7 Edge (Exynos)? I would imagine quite an upgrade? I've just bought the Sony XBA-N3 which obviously are IEM's, and I would hope it would make a difference to those also, they are 16 ohms.

I wouldn't expect a huge upgrade, most smartphones that still have headphone jacks are probably putting out pretty clean audio these days, but you'll get some additional power which can be useful if your phone struggles to drive full-size headphones.

Every phone is different and I haven't heard that one so it might be more or less of a difference. I know back in the day Samsung Exynos models were considered a step up from most phones with Qualcomm processors because they had a discrete DAC rather than one built into the SOC. Used to be Wolfson DACs, not sure what's in the S7 Edge. I suppose samsung probably builds their DACs for their Exynos phones in house these days

 

[Brava210]

Spotify.

With Spotify only being 320kbps I am not sure a DAC would be much of an improvement,
The Amp part of the BTR is probably more powerful, but you will still only get Lo Fi
Maybe better off with good quality BT in ears
I see the Sony's are fairly decent in ears.....but with Spotify I am not sure TBH

 

[peter123]

Spotify.

Fwiw I used to have the S7 as well and remember thinking that the ES100 was a step up from it. The Qudelix 5K is a step up from the ES100 and I'd imagine the BTR5 would be as well.

The 5K drives the X2s very well imo. I don't remember the exact power rating on the BTR5 but I believe it's in the same ballpark.

As for Spotify vs flac I can't pick the difference enough times in a blind test even with my best amps/dacs/headphones to say that it's a significant difference to my ears. This is probably an equally flaming topic as cables and burn in so I'll throw in a YMMV here

One thing wot BT amp/dacs is that they're extremely convince to use so I think that enough would be worth it but I'm pretty sure you'll notice a difference in sound quality as well.

 

[Gee Simpson]

Thanks guys. Yeah the Exynos version of the S7 Edge has a Wolfson DAC in it, but it does struggle to power the X2HR, it's at max volume and it's just about acceptable. I doubt I'll need something like the BTR5 for the IEM's, and tbh I haven't used my X2HR for a while now, so I suppose it comes down to if I'm going to listen to it enough to justify buying the BTR5 for it. Maybe the extra power would get me to listen to it more though.

 

[goodyfresh]

Fwiw I used to have the S7 as well and remember thinking that the ES100 was a step up from it. The Qudelix 5K is a step up from the ES100 and I'd imagine the BTR5 would be as well.

The 5K drives the X2s very well imo. I don't remember the exact power rating on the BTR5 but I believe it's in the same ballpark.

As for Spotify vs flac I can't pick the difference enough times in a blind test even with my best amps/dacs/headphones to say that it's a significant difference to my ears. This is probably an equally flaming topic as cables and burn in so I'll throw in a YMMV here

One thing wot BT amp/dacs is that they're extremely convince to use so I think that enough would be worth it but I'm pretty sure you'll notice a difference in sound quality as well.

Yeah, I cannot tell the difference between 320kbps MP3's, 256kbps AAC's, OR lossless FLAC files at all reliably (no better than chance) in blind testing with either the X2HR's driven from my Fiio K5 Pro, OR with my Senn HD560s (which have more detail-resolution) driven from the same DAC/Amp. I've also done such lossless-vs-lossy tests on MUCH higher-end (summit-fi) equipment at meets and audio stores before, and still couldn't tell the difference any better than chance.

But as you said, this is a YMMV thing. I'm also FAR from having "golden ears" by any means, so it's entirely possible that other people can tell the difference when I can't! But FOR ME, PERSONALLY I've found that the 320kbps quality from Premium Spotify (which actually uses OGG files, not MP3 or AAC) sounds as hi-fi as anything ever gets for me.

And at the same time, I wouldn't tell someone that just because they're using Spotify they won't hear an upgrade with a dedicated DAC/Amp. Personally, I've used the Fiio BTR5, the Fiio K3, and now the Fiio K5 Pro that I eventually decided on, and with all three I noticed a BIG upgrade (with both the X2HR's and the HD560s) over the onboard sound on my laptop (yes, while using Spotify) and SOME upgrade over my smartphone's sound.

 

[Brava210]

I can easily tell the difference between lossless and Spotify, quite surprising at my age

 

[Slade Wilson]

Hi everyone. Can you recommend a desktop DAC for X2HR under 150$? I choose between these models:

FiiO K5 Pro
iFi Zen Dac
XDuoo XD-05 Basic
Schiit Fulla 3
CEntrance DACPort HD
TempoTec Serenade iDSD

I like FiiO K5 Pro the most. Before that, I wanted to buy iF i Zen Dac, but a friend says that the sound together with the X2HR will be too "relaxing" and he suggested buying a DAC with a more neutral sound, like K5 Pro and XDuoo XD-05 Basic. I like XDuoo for its portability, it can be used with a smartphone and tablet, but I'm not sure about the sound quality (I used a portable FiiO Q1 Mark II for a while, and I did not like it, the sound was not much better than that of a laptop). The same applies to the CEntrance DACPort HD: I like its form factor, but I'm afraid that the sound will suffer due to the size. I don't know about Schiit Fulla 3 and TempoTec Serenade iDSD, but many people praise Schiit, and TempoTec is the cheapest of all, and maybe someone here listened to them. I would like to get some advice on what to buy I listen to rock, metal and electronic music, and also play games (not multiplayer).