[rasmushorn]

The X3 are still getting nowhere near the level of recognition they deserve. Most people compare them to the X2HR and the general concessus seems to be that almost everyone online prefer the X2HR, but as a X3 only owner words can't describe how much I enjoy these cans.

I agree! They sound great. I would keep them if I had the space for them but have to keep my inventory to a selected few. I had to let the X3 go, brand new in box, for 100 USD. (But with a defective cable that cannot be replaced easily.)

 

[nymz]

It's sad that I paid 300 usd for these and now, less than half an year later, I'll have to sell for something like 100.

Might keep them just because of that

 

[rasmushorn]

It's sad that I paid 300 usd for these and now, less than half an year later, I'll have to sell for something like 100.

Might keep them just because of that

Yeah it is a shame. Often the street-price is all about the hype. The X3 deserve a much higher price. The guy who got my pair got himself a very good bargain. I just can't keep such a big inventory and I would probably never use them much. I am happy to see them be used by someone who will also be using them balanced so he did not need the broken cable anyway.

 

[madmos]

Been a while since I checked in on this thread. I have owned the x3 for a while now. And I will be honest it fell out of favor for a little while. I still like it, I just was getting more emotion out of the music with other headphones.

Well, I recently purchased the schiit lokius and have been using it for a few weeks. I am able to tweak each of my headphones just enough to make them that much sweeter. On the he560 I add sub-bass and mid-bass and a slight cut around 6k, on hd650 I add sub-bass and a bit of sparkle at the top end. I could go on but I own way too many headphones. But I can not imagine listening to any of my headphones without the lokius now. It has improved all of them.

I had not tried it with the X3 yet. So I pulled them out today. They are pretty linear in the FR except for a slight roll-off in the sub-bass and the extreme high end with a bit of a peak at 10k. So I boosted the 20hz band, slightly reduced the 8k and slightly increased in the 16k on the lokius. And OMG, I already liked these headphones for their technicalities. But that emotion I said I was not feeling with them is there in spades. I can not stop listening to them. I have had them on all morning and it is incredible what just a little eq can do. These are right back at the top of the heap and will be in my regular rotation again. They may even be the top dog but I do not want to rush to that judgement as I need to burn the brain in a bit to the new tuning with the eq. But I am loving it so far.

Thought I would share. These things take nicely to some eq. I have attached a FR graph I found of them stock without eq. I used it as a starting point reference then went by ears for the fine-tuning.

 

[Stevko]

Awesome. Perfect combo

 

[headfones4me]

Been a while since I checked in on this thread. I have owned the x3 for a while now. And I will be honest it fell out of favor for a little while. I still like it, I just was getting more emotion out of the music with other headphones.

Well, I recently purchased the schiit lokius and have been using it for a few weeks. I am able to tweak each of my headphones just enough to make them that much sweeter. On the he560 I add sub-bass and mid-bass and a slight cut around 6k, on hd650 I add sub-bass and a bit of sparkle at the top end. I could go on but I own way too many headphones. But I can not imagine listening to any of my headphones without the lokius now. It has improved all of them.

I had not tried it with the X3 yet. So I pulled them out today. They are pretty linear in the FR except for a slight roll-off in the sub-bass and the extreme high end with a bit of a peak at 10k. So I boosted the 20hz band, slightly reduced the 8k and slightly increased in the 16k on the lokius. And OMG, I already liked these headphones for their technicalities. But that emotion I said I was not feeling with them is there in spades. I can not stop listening to them. I have had them on all morning and it is incredible what just a little eq can do. These are right back at the top of the heap and will be in my regular rotation again. They may even be the top dog but I do not want to rush to that judgement as I need to burn the brain in a bit to the new tuning with the eq. But I am loving it so far.

Thought I would share. These things take nicely to some eq. I have attached a FR graph I found of them stock without eq. I used it as a starting point reference then went by ears for the fine-tuning.

You wrote that you "boosted the 20hz band, slightly reduced the 8k and slightly increased in the 16k on the lokius.". However, Lokius does not have an 8k band. Schiit website specs bands as: " 20Hz, 120Hz, 400Hz, 2kHz, 6kHz, 16kHz". The Loki-mini does have an 8k band. So did you mean you reduced the 6kHz band on the Lokius, or do you have a Loki-mini and reduced the 8k band on it? Just wondering.

 

[madmos]

You wrote that you "boosted the 20hz band, slightly reduced the 8k and slightly increased in the 16k on the lokius.". However, Lokius does not have an 8k band. Schiit website specs bands as: " 20Hz, 120Hz, 400Hz, 2kHz, 6kHz, 16kHz". The Loki-mini does have an 8k band. So did you mean you reduced the 6kHz band on the Lokius, or do you have a Loki-mini and reduced the 8k band on it? Just wondering.

Yes you are correct. That was a typo. It was the 6khz band. But it was the 8khz peak I was looking to pull down. And with the lokius a small adjustment has a low Q so it stretches out far from the center frequency. As you boost or cut it more it becomes more narrow. It does what I need it to do. I have certain eq settings locked in for each of my desktop headphones

 

[madmos]

Had my headphone eq settings confused on that. It is the he560 that I am dealing with the treble peak. On the X3 it is just sub bass boost and a slight boost at 2k and 16k. Too many headphones I get them all confused. I need to document each one's setting

 

[TJ Max]

Has anyone tried the Dekoni Elite Velour pad?

 

[SchwizzelKick66]

These are currently $208 on amazon. I loved the X2HR for a time and was so excited for the X3, but ended up holding off. Debating whether I should try these now. Primary use would be gaming. Is anyone enjoying them?

 

[TJ Max]

These are currently $208 on amazon. I loved the X2HR for a time and was so excited for the X3, but ended up holding off. Debating whether I should try these now. Primary use would be gaming. Is anyone enjoying them?

Just be aware that the X3 are not a sequal to the X2/HR. They are more of a spin-off. People keep comparing the X3 and expecting a follow up to the X2, and wind up being disopointed and never give the X3 a proper chance.
Unlike the X2 the X3 suits less aggressive music. The rock, hip hop, edm, and other head bangin' stuff you enjoyed on your X2/HR won't sound as impactful on X3. The X3 suits more relaxd stuff like Jazz, classical, blues, ambient and other stuff not meant to rattle your head. I think they may be ok for gaming because they should be able to convey alot of 3 dimentional detail and atmosphere, but don't expect any deep rumbling bass from explosions and gunfire.
If you really want a successor to the X2/HR then I recommend the Sennheiser HD599. They sound very similar but has more controlled bass that doesn't bleed into the mid section as much. They are also lighter and more comfortable.
The other big controversy with the X3 was the price. They wanted 350 right out of the gate, but don't perform as well as some other headphones near that price range such as the Hifiman Sundura. So if you can find them at a decent price they might be worth it. Keep in mind that the X3 uses a proprietary cable and Philips has no replacement available nor are there and decent replacement ear pads.

 

[CTR640]

Just be aware that the X3 are not a sequal to the X2/HR. They are more of a spin-off. People keep comparing the X3 and expecting a follow up to the X2, and wind up being disopointed and never give the X3 a proper chance.
Unlike the X2 the X3 suits less aggressive music. The rock, hip hop, edm, and other head bangin' stuff you enjoyed on your X2/HR won't sound as impactful on X3. The X3 suits more relaxd stuff like Jazz, classical, blues, ambient and other stuff not meant to rattle your head. I think they may be ok for gaming because they should be able to convey alot of 3 dimentional detail and atmosphere, but don't expect any deep rumbling bass from explosions and gunfire.
If you really want a successor to the X2/HR then I recommend the Sennheiser HD599. They sound very similar but has more controlled bass that doesn't bleed into the mid section as much. They are also lighter and more comfortable.
The other big controversy with the X3 was the price. They wanted 350 right out of the gate, but don't perform as well as some other headphones near that price range such as the Hifiman Sundura. So if you can find them at a decent price they might be worth it. Keep in mind that the X3 uses a proprietary cable and Philips has no replacement available nor are there and decent replacement ear pads.

The cable is probably one of the reasons why I didn't went for the X3. And indeed....the price. It's what puts me off and after a while, I found a brand new X2HR for €147. And the plus side: I can use my shorter cable so no more 3m cable that keeps attacking me like a snake on my desk. However, the X2HR perfectly suits my needs and preferences. I really wanted the X3 but it has never come to that point because of €349. Even the Meze 99 Classics is cheaper!

 

[zazex]

Just be aware that the X3 are not a sequal to the X2/HR. They are more of a spin-off. People keep comparing the X3 and expecting a follow up to the X2, and wind up being disopointed and never give the X3 a proper chance.
Unlike the X2 the X3 suits less aggressive music. The rock, hip hop, edm, and other head bangin' stuff you enjoyed on your X2/HR won't sound as impactful on X3. The X3 suits more relaxd stuff like Jazz, classical, blues, ambient and other stuff not meant to rattle your head. I think they may be ok for gaming because they should be able to convey alot of 3 dimentional detail and atmosphere, but don't expect any deep rumbling bass from explosions and gunfire.
If you really want a successor to the X2/HR then I recommend the Sennheiser HD599. They sound very similar but has more controlled bass that doesn't bleed into the mid section as much. They are also lighter and more comfortable.
The other big controversy with the X3 was the price. They wanted 350 right out of the gate, but don't perform as well as some other headphones near that price range such as the Hifiman Sundura. So if you can find them at a decent price they might be worth it. Keep in mind that the X3 uses a proprietary cable and Philips has no replacement available nor are there and decent replacement ear pads.

Based on my experience, TJ Max is very accurate in this post.
And, at the current price, I'm thinking of getting another X2HR in case my current set
crashes for some reason. Seems to me that !48. is a fair price for them BNIB.

 

[oldkid]

The X3 suits more relaxd stuff like Jazz, classical, blues, ambient and other stuff not meant to rattle your head.

This, exactly. It was love at first listening for me because jazz and classical are the genres I listen to the most. With the proper DAC/amp setup and high quality recordings, the X3 really provides the concert-like experience I was after.

 

[Selbi]

If you really want a successor to the X2/HR then I recommend the Sennheiser HD599. They sound very similar but has more controlled bass that doesn't bleed into the mid section as much. They are also lighter and more comfortable.

Wait a minute, since when was the 5-Series an upgrade to the X2? I always thought both were pretty much sidegrades to each other, with very different goals in mind.