Gobsmacked about the Philips Fidelio X1

[3t3P]

they're HERE. they got here daaays early.

In the end cost was £115

I have them on my head now playing undisclosed desires by Muse.

At first I thought i had 598's on my head.

BASS, thank goodness its quality in a very nice quantity.

Had to give them moar powah via amp than 598's (remember lower impedance will draw more current which is what amps are there for) higher sensitivity is what gives you more volume

yes so feeding them more power, very very nice!

clamp force more than 598's

heavier but not much. very comfortable

build is amazing they are amazing

resolution just as good as 598's

warm sound

a more immediate soundstage, sounds ever so slightly closer

mids sound great, I was worried about this 'recessed' talk

gonna leave em running while I eat dinner

Will get pics later

 

[Cleisthenes]

they're HERE. they got here daaays early.

In the end cost was £115

I have them on my head now playing undisclosed desires by Muse.

At first I thought i had 598's on my head.

BASS, thank goodness its quality in a very nice quantity.

Had to give them moar powah via amp than 598's (remember lower impedance will draw more current which is what amps are there for) lower sensitivity is what gives you more volume

yes so feeding them more power, very very nice!

clamp force more than 598's

heavier but not much. very comfortable

build is amazing they are amazing

resolution just as good as 598's

warm sound

a more immediate soundstage, sounds ever so slightly closer

mids sound great, I was worried about this 'recessed' talk

gonna leave em running while I eat dinner

Will get pics later

I'm so jealous! How long did they take to get from the US? (You're were the person who bought them from the US right?)

 

[mrk]

Give them about 2 weeks, keep in mind what you're hearing now and then compare to what you hear 2 weeks later after daily use. You'll be impressed even further.

Also, if you change the cable the stereo imaging should open up a bit giving nicer soundstage still.

 

[3t3P]

i'll scratch around for my reasonable 3.5mm-3.5mm cable I bought and test it's resistance with my multimeter and see if any difference.

pics gonna be delayed, room is a sty for one

two need to go bed now

but first, some Norah...

ok just did X1's then 598's

the 598's do sound veiled a bit in comparison, less 'direct'

otherwise surprisingly similar warmth /signatures

the quality bass means the X1 pulls ahead though.

they look nice together actually, might keep em both

 

[mrk]

I returned the 598s, it's gonna be tough "upgrading" the X1 in years to come that's for sure, anything plastic is just going to be feeling like a massive downgrade in material quality.

 

[3t3P]

Can't find the cable atm

Resistance wise, the first 'section' of the plug on the stock fidelio lead yields 1.4-1.5 ohms

The second and third sections (going toward the tip of the plug) are 1.9-2.2 ohms.

Ah yes these are at least over 15% (the point any one human can subjectively notice a difference) more resolving than the 598s

yeh these are game changers. Other brands keep your plastic to yourselves, or give us our moneys worth and use high-grade plastics (some feel like metal in the hand)

these are definately audiophile grade headphones, more so than most as they reproduce bass faithfully

wow listening to tracks I am having this emotional response is only way I can describe it, they seem to link to your brain better than anything i've heard before. It's quite...moving...

 

[mrk]

Yup your resistance results are inline with what others have found too. A good cable will be around 0.5ohms all over!

 

[3t3P]

i'll wait till they're broken in before trying the fisual cable then

It was six days from US using the cheapest shipping option

 

[mrk]

Doesn't have to be Fisual of course, there are loads to choose from all well under £10 on Amazon, take your pick and return if unsuitable

Good to have choice though.

Edit*
I've also ordered the V-Moda cable from the US, it came to £10 inc USPS shipping which is very fair. I ended up needing a shorter cable for when used at the desk since 3 metres does tend to scrape along the floor and get rolled over by the chair wheels often. Will be nice to see what all the fuss is about them too.

I think I made a mistake applying autosol to remove the gold colouring on the ends of my Fisual cable. I realised that the gold coat has a purpose, to stop oxidation of the jacks over time which can lead to interference and scratches requiring re-polishing of the ends. Poo.

 

[3t3P]

the fisual looks nice and it is meant to be highly flexible

as for the autosol comment, you muppet!

live and learn

598's look like fisher price compared to the X1's. Well guess who is pride of place on the stand...not the senns put it that way

 

[Cleisthenes]

Doesn't have to be Fisual of course, there are loads to choose from all well under £10 on Amazon, take your pick and return if unsuitable

Good to have choice though.

Edit*
I've also ordered the V-Moda cable from the US, it came to £10 inc USPS shipping which is very fair. I ended up needing a shorter cable for when used at the desk since 3 metres does tend to scrape along the floor and get rolled over by the chair wheels often. Will be nice to see what all the fuss is about them too.

I think I made a mistake applying autosol to remove the gold colouring on the ends of my Fisual cable. I realised that the gold coat has a purpose, to stop oxidation of the jacks over time which can lead to interference and scratches requiring re-polishing of the ends. Poo.

Do all of the v-moda cables which are just for audio have that weird kink by the actual jack? Not sure whether I like that. How are you finding the cable? Or has it not arrived yet?

 

[mrk]

Not arrived yet. They appear to have that angled exit yes, this would be fine on a headphone though as you can aim it whatever direction.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Not arrived yet. They appear to have that angled exit yes, this would be fine on a headphone though as you can aim it whatever direction.

Fair enough, might give them I try once I get my X1's, although got to wait for them to drop to £150 first!

 

[ultim]

Mines arrived but not home to test it yet.

Looking online for a spare cable but why dont any decent brands do 3.5mm to 6.35mm cables!

 

[mrk]

Because you can just slap on a 6.5mm adapter no problem

 

[3t3P]

i left them playing all of muses' work whilst I was at work today.

Bass seems better today

 

[Raymond Lin]

they're HERE. they got here daaays early.

In the end cost was £115

I have them on my head now playing undisclosed desires by Muse.

At first I thought i had 598's on my head.

BASS, thank goodness its quality in a very nice quantity.

Had to give them moar powah via amp than 598's (remember lower impedance will draw more current which is what amps are there for) higher sensitivity is what gives you more volume

yes so feeding them more power, very very nice!

clamp force more than 598's

heavier but not much. very comfortable

build is amazing they are amazing

resolution just as good as 598's

warm sound

a more immediate soundstage, sounds ever so slightly closer

mids sound great, I was worried about this 'recessed' talk

gonna leave em running while I eat dinner

Will get pics later

How did you get them so cheap? Even in the States site is like $220, after shipping and tax it works out about the same here?

 

[3t3P]

They were on sale

Chair wheels! Haha glad its not only me. I was automatically gonna order three metres but never use that so shorter will do me. Cheaper too.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Just received mine

I know what people mean about the bass being a bit too in your face at the start. Currently using the stock lead, but a Fisual Mini is arriving today. Will try and break them in over the next couple of days, which I'm sure will tighten up the bass The whole package seems fantastic, and the constuction incredible for the price. Very happy indeed so far!

 

[mrk]

Let's do a tally of how many here have one

Cool photo

My floorstanders deliver richer chest vibrating bass but then again you'd never expect headphones to compare although the bass is pretty incredible from the X1.