Gobsmacked about the Philips Fidelio X1
- Thread starter ThatAsianGuy
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The X1 are pretty bassy and loose. They would be fine for rap. Me personally, for rock and string instruments I would look into something that has a more balanced sound with good seperation. I found the X1 to sound quite messy and not refined.
I would look into the following headphones personally.
MrSpeakers Mad Dog
Q701
HE400
Denon D2000 or D600
ZMF V1
If you have the money I would pick up the Shure SRH1540. They are superior to the list and one of the best headphones I have heard in any price point.
The X1 are ok but there are so many flavors out there that do a better job IMO. It's quite an overated headphone I think.
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Sounds to me you just prefer that crystal clear metalic crisp treble and taught bass timbre sound ? the denon d2000 are considered to be very similar yet worse to x1.
The x1 are like grado to me but with better comfort better soundstage bass and less harsh highs a very warm sounding yet detailed smooth sound which I personally prefer.
I find the x1 to be very good across all genres but especially shining in eletronic and movies gaming yet equally at home with sabbath and floyd.
I'd say you'd be very hard pressed to find such a good all rounder at the price £150-£180 for example many people say the akg q701 £200 don't have enough bass and that is the great thing about the x1 it combines solid closed design quality bass with all the upsides of an open design.
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I'm thinking of grabbing a pair of these as I've always gone with the cheaper £50-£60 "gaming" headsets and I just keep breaking them 
Now I'm just curious about how much sound they leak as I live in a very quiet house and have to use headphones to not wake ppl up in the middle of the night. Also as I mainly game and listen to rock/metal I hear these will be fantastic for me. Will an Xonar DG be enough for these or should I think of upgrading?
Now I'm just curious about how much sound they leak as I live in a very quiet house and have to use headphones to not wake ppl up in the middle of the night. Also as I mainly game and listen to rock/metal I hear these will be fantastic for me. Will an Xonar DG be enough for these or should I think of upgrading?Nope. I actually dislike that type of sound. I prefer a darker sound with more pronounced mids. I also do like a sparkly sound with strong bass as a close second.
The X1 on paper is close to my ideal headphone but when I put them on they just do not do it for me. They try do bass but it is just loose and uncontrolled. I own the Q701 and while it is not bass heavy it does everything right and is really balanced.
I'd take the Denons any day for music, they rock. When people call the bass on the X1 good quality it makes me wonder what they are comparing it too! It was a mess too my ears it just comes across as silly, one note bass.
I don't think they are bad but they are really overated and it seems like they have become the new flavor of the month.
In that price range the Mad Dog just beats it hands down apart from soundstage. Mad Dogs do bass correctly!
I'm thinking of grabbing a pair of these as I've always gone with the cheaper £50-£60 "gaming" headsets and I just keep breaking them
They're open back so they'll leak quite badly, there are plenty of suitable options with closed back configurations you might want to look at first like the Beyer DT770's
They don't leak "badly".
Grado headphones, those leak badly and can be heard from a floor down. You cannot hear these even at moderate volume from the next room. In a room without walls or a non busy public space, people will be able to hear them though.
Like the Sennheisers they're directional in their output. Once on your head the leaked sound is even less. With the Grados what I found was then even on the head the sound leaked just as much through the open backs. One of the reasons why Grado headphones sound so good and natural with the compromise being comfort and noise leakage.
As said many times in various X1 discussions, these headphones probably amount the best combination of all the good things from all the competing headphones in a decent all round package including price.
Grado headphones, those leak badly and can be heard from a floor down. You cannot hear these even at moderate volume from the next room. In a room without walls or a non busy public space, people will be able to hear them though.
Like the Sennheisers they're directional in their output. Once on your head the leaked sound is even less. With the Grados what I found was then even on the head the sound leaked just as much through the open backs. One of the reasons why Grado headphones sound so good and natural with the compromise being comfort and noise leakage.
As said many times in various X1 discussions, these headphones probably amount the best combination of all the good things from all the competing headphones in a decent all round package including price.
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depends what volume you listen at but in general no they are not leaky cans really I'd say they are semi open noise leak levels more than open levels but then that's also going to depend on which mic you use and how close it will be to the earcups
Soldato
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I was pretty much set on getting a DT990 Pro, but now saw the X1 on the bay for £159.99 delivered....what to do, what to do...?
If I bought the X1 from shop on the bay, would I still get warranty with the seller or Philips?
Edited: Nevermind, have already pull the trigger and ordered it. Cannot wait for it to arrive
If I bought the X1 from shop on the bay, would I still get warranty with the seller or Philips?
Edited: Nevermind, have already pull the trigger and ordered it. Cannot wait for it to arrive
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Soldato
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I was pretty much set on getting a DT990 Pro, but now saw the X1 on the bay for £159.99 delivered....what to do, what to do...?
If I bought the X1 from shop on the bay, would I still get warranty with the seller or Philips?
Edited: Nevermind, have already pull the trigger and ordered it. Cannot wait for it to arrive
If they are new, then I can't see why Phillips would not honour it. Also the price for these on Phillips' official store is £270
Soldato
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rrp is always high for products when bought directly from manufacturersIf they are new, then I can't see why Phillips would not honour it. Also the price for these on Phillips' official store is £270
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X1 or K702? Both are similarly priced. The k702 has a mini xlr cable I believe so I wouldn't be able to use that headphone integrated with mic cable that was posted in this thread, but is there another cable which would work?
At the price try get a used Q701. More warmth with a stunning tone.
I enjoyed some aspects of the old 701/2 the mids and treble are excellent but it was a thin sounding headphone.
The X1 is like an excited puppy that tries to be like the neighbours Rottweiler. It has a good balance of bass, mid, treble but goes a bit wild at the low end. There was some grain to the sound that bothered me and I found the mids to not be excellent personally.
The X1 sounds more full but less open then the 702.
AKG has managed to make their headphones recreat the feel of an open space better then any headphone under the HD800.
The Q701 is a REALLY excellent headphone for thr money. I'd vote that if you can get it.
If not it depends on flavor.
X1 if you want a more versatile sound aslong as you wouldn't miss the 702 airy open sound with god like imaging that is kind of fun.
If you buy new hopefully AKG updated the materials to match the Q's sound I've heard people mentioning this but I can't confirm it myself. My 2012 702 sounded better then my old 701 but my 2014 Q sounds fuller then both.
Good luck,
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Was your experience with stock cable and for how long was your X1 in use? There are contrasting reviews depending on this criteria alone. My own personal experience is that I've not heard a better headphone for the money as far as the X1 is concerned.
Paired with an amplifier that takes a liking to it and you're going to be golden for a long time. I like NAD sound so always have had NAD amps. They have excellent headphone outputs which aren't picky about what goes into them
Paired with an amplifier that takes a liking to it and you're going to be golden for a long time. I like NAD sound so always have had NAD amps. They have excellent headphone outputs which aren't picky about what goes into them
No I used a kevlar cable with mine. I don't believe in burn in, out of the 50 or so headphones I've had I have only had one sound different out of the box.
The X1 on papar as I said in another thread was close to my ideal phone but just didn't perform. I think they do some things well but in the main areas for me, not so much.
At their current price close to £190 I prefer quite a few headphones over them! K612, K702 with 712 pads, DT990, Denon D600, Mrspeakers Mad Dog 3.2, Yamaha Pro500 to name a few,
They seem popular so their sound obviously appeals to a lot but they are meh to me.
I've also notice them becoming a bit of a flavor of the month. They get recommended blindly a lot without looking deeper in options which has made them a bit overated but that's just my opinion.
The X1 on papar as I said in another thread was close to my ideal phone but just didn't perform. I think they do some things well but in the main areas for me, not so much.
At their current price close to £190 I prefer quite a few headphones over them! K612, K702 with 712 pads, DT990, Denon D600, Mrspeakers Mad Dog 3.2, Yamaha Pro500 to name a few,
They seem popular so their sound obviously appeals to a lot but they are meh to me.
I've also notice them becoming a bit of a flavor of the month. They get recommended blindly a lot without looking deeper in options which has made them a bit overated but that's just my opinion.
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Love the look of these and they generally have great reviews. I was going to get them but ended up coming across a Sony MDRMA900 for bargain price at Amazon Warehouse. Don't look as good, but perform very well imo. I would consider the x1's again if I was after new headphones though.
Was about to order these @ £190 but got distracted for 10 minutes, came back to place the order and the price had dropped to £160, result!
I just got a pair for £135 and they instantly went from 1 in stock to more on the way. They are now back to £156
I hope i love them as this said new not used so i expect new Fidelio X1, Coming from HD595 i will hopefully get them tested soon.
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