Been a while since these awesome cans have been this cheap, remember to use cashback.
CamelCamelCamel.
What music genre are they suited for?
Open back but supposed to have good bass. I rate the lower end model shp950s especially for the price. Also love the Philips comfort and removable 3.5mm single jack.
good bass
I have the Fidelio X2 - if you're looking for thumping bass you shouldn't get an open-ear.
Open back, as with most reference headphones are very neutral sounding.
I have these headphones amplified with the Nu-Audio sound card and I can assure you they have great bass and sub-bass response.
They just need a capable amp such as the Nu-Audio sound card to bring even greater clarity to these headphones and improve their performance.
I had been using them on an iPad pro, but when I plugged them into the sound card I almost fell off my chair in unexpected delight!
My listening preference is electronic music, and they are just brilliant for this purpose, and have a bass response that is very engaging.
Then there is the soundstage…
For the middle of the pack Mid-Fi cans, they have lots of accurate sounding bass and a fantastic soundstage.
+1
Personally I bought mine for gaming - great for FPS games that has lots of explosions.
Interested, to see how these would fair against the HD-650's (6XX) seeing they're both are open back style headphones.
HD58X serves me very well and performs much better against my SHP9500.
These will be much easier to drive than the Massdrop 6XX or HD-650 due to the difference in impedance level.
Pretty sure these are 30 ohms vs about 200-300 with the 6XX/HD-650. So you'll want a decent headphone amp for the latter, where as the Philips run off my LG G6 Quad dac just fine.
Oh yeah for sure definitely need an AMP to get the most out of the 650'S and 6XX's. I personally use the 6XX's with the JDS LABS Atom AMP and it sounds amazing, even on low gain.
Would highly recommend this AMP lots of power.
I just forked out for a Topping DX3 Pro. I'll probably get a pair of 6XX's at some point too.
I've read one review that said these would knock the HD-650 off its perch if they were high impedance. But there is the advantage of portability without. Both headphones review extremely well.
@Budju: Yeah it would be cool to see a high impedance version of the X2HR's, like how Beyerdynamic does with the DT770 PRO with different levels of impedance.
How's the Topping DX3 Pro? I read that's a really good AMP/DAC combo, what are you currently paring it with?
@MysticalWok: I only pulled trigger yesterday, so it could be a while (coming from Massdrop).
I'll drive the Fidelios, and at some point probably the HD-6XXs. Perhaps I'll report back when it arrives and I've had a listen.
Get yourself the STAX SR-L700 and be done with it. Or even SR-L300 LE's second-hand if your budget conscience. You cannot beat electrostatic and will save a mountain of money by not incrementally upgrading your cans every couple of years.
Fidelio and 6xx is all i need boi
@Budju: Fair enough. Most audiophiles do stop somewhere in the Mid-Fi tier and it is considered the more "adventurous" tier of discovery as an investment is not in the thousands of dollar range and there is a lot of cans in this bracket. If you stopped on these or the Sennheiser's you have made solid purchases as they are great headphones and you're already miles above the standard consumer's headphone purchase or the "gaming headsets" which are almost a joke for price/performance.
But if you do find yourself looking at something else or more expensive down the track Badju, I recommend you bite the bullet and spend on Hi-Fi tier cans and never have to spend money on headphones again!
I now look at all the headphone posts on OzBargain knowing they never come close to my current cans, not trying to be a snob (I still upvote and recommend certain cans over others and praise something for being a good deal for what you get), but I know I am all done now once I went to electrostatic amazingness.
I recommend going to a store that stocks them if possible and trying them out even if you're not in the market, or maybe don't do that as you will have tasted the sweet nectar of electrostatic end game audio and be ruined. STAX, bro.
Listen to this with your Sennie's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xduaRfSfTzk
(and that is youtube compression)
@hey aj: Ha, I'll keep it in mind maybe in a few years time. I have recently spent wayyy too much on speakers around my house, so I'm feel far too poor to be buying such a good pair of cans ^_^
@hey aj: Juts randomly came across this video, thought it was relevant to your comment & that it may interest you.
https://youtu.be/Euheodohxyg
@thebadmachine: Thanks for the link, I had not seen this review before and props to the guy for doing it in English and putting himself out there.
I really cannot express just how "magical" STAX electrostatic ear speakers(headphones) and the right energizer(amplifier) are as an audio experience. Completely agree on this guy's analytical review of the cans.
I was tempted to even share Zeos's reviews on STAX but this guy even mentions him at the end which was a nice touch.
STAX, bro!
@hey aj: Yeah it’s one of those ‘random’ less popular videos, but I thought what he had to say was valuable (comparing STAX to Hi-Fi tier dynamic / planar headphones).
According to Amazon: "No sellers are currently delivering this item to Nauru." :-(
I have a pair of these. Got them $250 second hand. They are good but i hate to say it i still prefer my $60 Takstar HD2050s.
Is that down to the Takstar's being crazy comfortable, or do your prefer the sound in general?
These things are insanely comfortable. The velour means they don't get hot and sweaty like leather/plastic.
I do also have an issue with the sound. I'm not a bass head, and prefer rich melodies and smooooth vocals. These I find are not nearly as sharp as my old Yamaha MT-220s. A nice crisp solo note sounds a tad flat and muffled with these x2s. Some fairly heavy bass and rock however, these cans have plenty of oomph.
Oh man I love my MT220 sound … but I can't find replacement pads anywhere. Do you have any similar suggestions?
@pinchies: Ahh that's why I had to get rid of them! The pads and the band just completely fell apart. Was a good week of mourning after that happened!
The closest I got back in the day was this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/yamaha-hph-mt220-earpad-repl…
They have a few recommendations, but mixed results and I went with the X2s as a replacement. Not the right choice in hindsight =(
For me, these are the most comfortable cans ever.
I picked these up during prime day but actually missed out the $260 deal. Fortunately, Newegg were selling for USD$149.99, I tried messaging amazon customer service for a price match but kept getting errors. I think it actually went through though as later that day I saw amazon had price matched or at least lowered (Amazon AU via US) $237.55 (delivered). Also used cashback so another $9+ off.
This is still a great price though.
I've been using these for now almost 3 years and I have 0 complaints in regards to sound and comfort.
My friends and family tells me I have too many headphones but if I had to choose one, this one is it hahaha
Looking at the Fidelio X2s + modmic/boompro + DAC/AMP (maybe GSX1000) to make a gaming headset and upgrade from my ATH-PG1's. Or going the budget route and getting some CoolerMaster MH751/752's (based on the Takstar Pro82s) for $100.
Thoughts? Any recommendations for amp/dac considering i'm getting buzz through my current onboard setup while GPU is under load?
I picked these up for around this price a year ago.
They’re great all-rounders. Great sound-stage, mostly balanced (very slightly v-shaped) sound, engaging, comfortable, easy to drive.
Many of my headphones outperform the X2s in one area or another, but none score as many points across-the-board.
That feeling when you own 8 headphones but still want to buy these…
Please indulge my question.Are these good for a long distance airline flight?
Thanks in advance.
No. Because they're open ears, which means engine noise will get in.
Get some QC35s or XM3s.
See my comment below - in addition to what lostn said, your music will also "get out" and will probably be loud enough to annoy the passenger next to you.
This will leak sound like a bucket with no bottom would leak water (quite literally has an open back design like some of the Grados). So there's that if you're considering this for your daily train commute or such. Would be great for home use though.
Thanks all for your replies…
P.S.The Emirates Dreamliners are pretty quiet.
Are these still discontinued or are they back in production?
Back in production, but has changed manufacturer again after Gibson was bought out by MMD Hong Kong Holdings.
These are my go to cans for PC usage. Some gaming, listen to music. I think I have the Gibson made version and they are very well built. Feel really solid and comfortable. I drive mine with a Creative X7 and swapped out the cable for a v-moda boom pro.
Damn, they were $260 on prime day and I pulled the trigger. This is an amazing price, can report they are awesome.