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Philips Fidelio X2HR Review (headphone)

Anmol

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Having a XXL head I actually find Sennheiser some of the least comfortable while Grado can be bent to shape. If I could get the sound of Senns with the fit of Grado I absolutely would . . .
i have owned many headphones however only one grado - prestige 325 series- i found grado 325 most uncomfortable headphone that I have worn in my 47 years of life. bit treble happy but lively sound though.
 

vkvedam

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Ohh no :(, I had decent expectations from this, was planning on getting the X3s but I now have to wait. Thanks again for the detailed review.
 

Coffee_fan

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These have been on my list of possible headphones to buy, reason being that I have the philips SHP9500 (~ $80) and I consider them some of the best sounding cans I have. I figured their signature would be similar but they would do better in the aspects where the SHP9500 lacks.

The SHP9500 are metallic a bit in sound which does cause fatigue after a while, but they are very revealing of all the nuances in sound, like I have not seen with other cans I have AKG, PSB or Sennheisers. Anyhow, I use them from time to time and make sure to not play them too loud to avoid fatigue and still enjoy their detail.
 

Robbo99999

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@Dreyfus , if you own this headphone (last post suggested you might) and you enjoy it, then you should definitely continue to do so and be happy about it regardless of what is shown in the measurements (unless there's different headphone pastures you've not discovered yet that you might be curious to try), but we covered everything else already.
 

Shike

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i have owned many headphones however only one grado - prestige 325 series- i found grado 325 most uncomfortable headphone that I have worn in my 47 years of life. bit treble happy but lively sound though.

They sound "okay" with plush comfort pads (no donuts), but as I said it's more a comfort thing. The AKG K6/7 series for example have gliders that break with use on my head.

To give you an idea on my head size, I had to bend ATH-A990Z wider from AT to fit my head (normally these are so big they don't fit small heads well).
 

Nango

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@Dreyfus , if you own this headphone (last post suggested you might) and you enjoy it, then you should definitely continue to do so and be happy about it regardless of what is shown in the measurements (unless there's different headphone pastures you've not discovered yet that you might be curious to try), but we covered everything else already.
No way you will still like whatever if someone tells you and proves you again and again it is crap as no human as a social being wants to stay outside or be the "Loner", at least only very few people.

 

bobbooo

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Not really. Their equipment follows both IEC and ITU-T recommendations:
HMS II.3-LN - Product Description

Not really:

unknown.png
 
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Piotr

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I am a bit disappointed by this review because I own this headphone and I like it. I bought it on amazon for 69 EUR on Black Friday 2018. They are definitely better than my Shennheiser HD 485 in terms of overall comfort and sound. Now I'd probably go for Sennheiser HD 650, nevertheless I recommend the X2HR without the EQ (probably don't listen to pure femal vocal songs that much).

Any recommendation for a good cable replacement?
 

raistlin65

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No way you will still like whatever if someone tells you and proves you again and again it is crap as no human as a social being wants to stay outside or be the "Loner", at least only very few people.


Sure. He can still like the X2HR. He just has to get off the Harman Target Response hype train. Headphone preference can be more individualistic than what HTR hype promotes.
 

Dreyfus

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What kind of "profound practical verification" are you looking for?
Profound is what makes sense to my ears. That is undoubtably the best instrument I have to evaluate distortion. With that I can verify whether or not the response you measured is valid for me or not.

I just listened to some series of white noise and tried to pin point any resonances in the higher spectrum. Without further ado, here is what I ended up with:
Peak 5 kHz, -3 dB, Q = 6
Peak 7 kHz , -6 dB, Q = 8.5
Peak 9 kHz, -2.5 dB, Q = 9
Peak 12,8 kHz, -3 dB, Q = 6
Shelf: 10,5 kHz, -2 dB, Q = 1

Some comments on this:
- The 7 kHz peak was by far the most prominent resonance. That is the exact opposite of your measurement which shows a trough at that frequency.
- The even order stepping of 5, 7 and 9 kHz does indeed imply a driver related resonance. In my case it peaks with roughly the same amplitude (compared to my hearing) but with the fundamental at 7 kHz instead of 5.3 kHz. Maybe that shift is caused by a smaller volume in my ear compared to that of the GRAS fixture (which simulates a rather long canal, including the resonator's cavity).
- Variations of the seating position (this one was subjectively centered) did a lot to the treble response. Pulling the can a little bit backwards makes the sound much brighter at the top end.

Continuing with a music test I found that the settings above make the response less harsh but also a bit dull. I would say it is a matter of taste and depends on the genre / mix of the album. The first album I listened to when I bought the X2HR is "Parcels - Vol. 1". Stell a perfect fit today. There is just the right amount of sparkle, neither too dull nor too sibilant. It also performs quite well on my Jazz playlist. However, for an everyday use case with a wider mix of albums the "tamed" response is obviously less critical. Also, I noticed that the response without EQ works better at lower volumes while the response with EQ works better at higher volumes.

I also listened to your presets provided in the first post. Again, only treble for this case.
Unfortunately, the noise test reveals a lot uncontrolled hiss versus my own preset. Then music listening. For tracks with a lot of HF content the compensated curve is obviously better than nothing. As for your versus my curve, it depends on the mix, once again. Overall I would say that my own preset sounds flatter, more balanced, but also less vivid. The 43AG preset has a little bit more attack and can make the treble shine a bit more in certain areas. On the other hand, it gets a bit sharp from time to time.

To sum up:
Does the high-frequency EQ deduced from your measurements fit my hearing? No.
Does the pattern of the resonances show general similarities? Yes.
Would the look at the measurements alone capture the whole story I would perceive in real life? No.
Does the listening test finally help to prove or disprove the resonances in your measurements as much as the EQ deduced from that? Yes.
 
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brachypelma44

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Wow, I had even higher expectations after this raving review:oops:

The X3 got more or less thrashed in the youtube reviews that I watched. I think Zeos gave it the most positive review, but the gist of it was "it barely sounds any better than the X2HR, which is less than half of the price."
 
OP
amirm

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Profound is what makes sense to my ears.
It is? And you suggested *we* provide that proof when it is totally up to you? I call that anecdotal data, not any kind of proof let alone a "profound verification."

I just listened to some series of white noise and tried to pin point any resonances in the higher spectrum. Without further ado, here is what I ended up with:
Peak 5 kHz, -3 dB, Q = 6
Peak 7 kHz , -6 dB, Q = 8.5
Peak 9 kHz, -2.5 dB, Q = 9
Peak 12,8 kHz, -3 dB, Q = 6
Shelf: 10,5 kHz, -2 dB, Q = 1
Let me guess: the "profound verification" of this being correct is that you told us so???

And you really listened to white noise to predict and come up with all of these equalizations? A Q of 9 was audible to you at such high frequencies?

Please, create your own review thread and get people to adopt said method and corrections. They have no foundation or relationship with the work I am doing in these reviews.
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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Having a XXL head I actually find Sennheiser some of the least comfortable while Grado can be bent to shape. If I could get the sound of Senns with the fit of Grado I absolutely would . . .
I find the 598 and 599 more comfortable than 650, I have narrow head. I can wear 598 and 599 for long periods of time over my glasses. Grado would cause discomfort in a few minutes. I liked Grado sound.
 

Dreyfus

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It is? And you suggested *we* provide that proof when it is totally up to you? I call that anecdotal data, not any kind of proof let alone a "profound verification."
Sorry, but your conclusion is completely absurd. It appears you have not followed the preliminar conversation. Otherwise you should have noticed that I emphasized the balance between measurement vs listening evaluation for the individual user.

I don't listen with a pair of silicon ears and a resonator behind it attached to my head. I am a human being. That is why I use my human senses to evaluate sound. And I encourge other human beings to use theirs, as well, instead of solely trying to interpret random numbers.

The distrust in human perception in parts of this forum is really oppressive.
 

frogmeat69

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Wow, I had even higher expectations after this raving review:oops:
No way of knowing unless you try them to be honest.
I like my X2, and want to try out the X3 some time, if I followed just what other people say, my Nighthawks would have been sold many moons ago.
I follow this forum for the many folks with way bigger brains than me to help guide me in my decisions, but if my ears like what they're hearing, sometimes that's good enough.
 
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OP
amirm

amirm

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Sorry, but your conclusion is completely absurd. It appears you have not followed the preliminar conversation. Otherwise you should have noticed that I emphasized the balance between measurement vs listening evaluation for the individual user.

I don't listen with a pair of silicon ears and a resonator behind it attached to my head. I am a human being. That is why I use my human senses to evaluate sound. And I encourge other human beings to use theirs, as well, instead of solely trying to interpret random numbers.

The distrust in human perception in parts of this forum is really oppressive.
Take such complaints to the complaint thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...adphone-measurements.18451/page-8#post-627138

I have issued a reply ban for you as your comments are derailing the thread per our new guidelines.
 

sarumbear

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The distrust in human perception in parts of this forum is really oppressive.

I would say the distrust in scientific analysis in parts of this forum is really tiring.

Just leave.
 
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