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Upgrade from Philips X2HR's?

josiah

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Hi everyone,

My main headphones are currently the X2HR and MH-751 (comfort king for closed gaming). I love everything about the X2's. It comfortable, sounds fun, good sound stage, and seems accurate.

I tried the Senheiser 58x, but preferred the X2 sound and comfort. The X2 also pairs well with my GSX1000 for gaming. Is there a direct upgrade path from here? I assume there won't be an X3HR?

I primary game and use Spotify with my headphones.

I was looking into the HiFiMan HE5se; however, the reviews lead me to think they are not going to be comfortable.
 
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josiah

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Still looking for an adequate headset upgrade based on my prefences. Right now, I have my eye on the Hifiman Sundaras.

I just bought a FIIO K5 Pro to get serious about audio and have room for upgrades.
 

Mr. Olinad

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Unfortunately there's no such thing as a "direct upgrade path".
I've started in this hobby with a Fidelio X2 because it was my first opened back HP. Really glad it happened.
Now I have some others to play with like a HE400i, HE500 and HD600.
All I can say is that each one has it's pros and cons and this is something very personal.
I had a DT990 Pro 300ohm and this was good to decide that I'll never touch a Beyerdynamics again. You'll find people saying they are amazing, so as I said before, it's a very personal thing.
Tried HD800 and they are not for me too. Opened as I never found another, but the sound... no.
Someday I'll have the money to buy a Focal Clear, probably an endgame for most of us, but even in this regard, an endgame may last for a couple years only until you experience something that "reaches your soul". It happened to me when I tried them.
If you're living in a country where you can return things you didn't like, just keep trying based on your wallet.
As I see you like gaming, you may not find a HP that shakes your ears like a X2, but there are a lot that sound better.
Are they made for you? You'll have to try.

Ps.: The HP is only part of the equation, a good source and amp can make the difference, but at this point, you will benefit more of a new pair of HP.
 
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josiah

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I just received my HD600 and Sundara. Instantly the HD600s are going back.

The Sundara's just feel good for all the music I listen to so far. Haven't tried gaming. I don't even want to go back to my Philips X2 now. I was missing some bass and the treble seemed to sharp... Now I feel like the Philips were trying to hard. The bass, while possibly more, was not the same quality. I really didn't think I would enjoy these as much as I do. They pair perfectly with the Fiio K5 Pro on low gain.

I am literally speechless by how good these sound before they burn-in. I hope they don't get worse.
 

Mr. Olinad

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I think that "burn-in" should be renamed to "get used to" because this is what it really is.

Sometimes all you need is to give the new HP some time, let's say one or two weeks of constant use, so then you come back to the one you were used to. This is how you really feel the difference.

I'm glad I didn't say to you that HD600 was a good option as it was kind of obvious based on what you felt when comparing HD58X with X2.
For me, HD600 is the reference. I may find HPs that are better or worse, but HD600 is the one that will always be my reference of that thing people call "neutrality".

Based on what I've read, Sundara's may be too sharp for me. As your dac is an AKM, you may not feel it as sharp as it would be with a Sabre one, also based on my readings.

I hope they don't get worse.
Relax, they will get worse as your X2 just got.
That's what this hobby is made of.
It's not that the HP sound changes, but you get used to it and after awhile you'll be looking another flavours.

Btw, Just changed my HE500 pads for a Dekoni Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin and my boy... this is a whole new HP.
 

solderdude

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Upgrading from the X2HR may be a costly affair.
It measures and sounds pretty good.

The downsides for me are the clamping force and the supplied cable (very microphonic and long). Fortunately the cable is easily replaced. I suspect the clamping force can be lowered as well.
For the going street prices (between 160 and 240 Euros) these will be hard to beat IMO.

Seriously considering buying one ... having way too many already though.
 

lasta

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Upgrading from the X2HR may be a costly affair.
It measures and sounds pretty good.

The downsides for me are the clamping force and the supplied cable (very microphonic and long). Fortunately the cable is easily replaced. I suspect the clamping force can be lowered as well.
For the going street prices (between 160 and 240 Euros) these will be hard to beat IMO.

Seriously considering buying one ... having way too many already though.

Hi Solderdude,

First of all, I'm a big fan of your blog!

I also have an X2 (old version), but its been around 3 years and kind of falling apart. Can you suggest somerthing in a similar vein but perhaps with the mid/vocal range a bit further forward? I love everything else about it, and actually much prefer it over my HD650, but feels like the bass overwhelms much of the singer's voice. I know its hard to change just one part of the frequency response without affecting others, but how about somerthing in the ballpark for inspiration?
 

solderdude

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The X2 is said to be bassier than the X2HR.
I tried 2 of those X2HR now and the 2nd one I bought for myself had a substantial (3dB below 1kHz) channel mismatch.
2e-x2hr-unbalance-1.png

The first one I measured is from a fellow ASR member who sent it in.
fr-x2hr.png


The elevated bass can be addressed by modifying the driver slightly but as I don't have one now I can't experiment.
Not going to try yet another one though.
Perhaps using some EQ (lower the bass) could help but can't check.

It looks like Philips doesn't have it's quality control in order or they don't match drivers despite the variations.

A DT1990 (with treble filter) is a more durable and well supported (in parts even after many years) headphone but 2x to 3x more expensive.
That's what I liked about the X2HR, the VFM but am disappointed about the quality control.
 
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solderdude

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I'm stupid... ordered one again on back Friday (E 119.-) ... hoping this one has better channel matching.
 

solderdude

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received the 3rd X2HR ... finally no imbalance !!
Impressive headphone for E 119-. I would not pay more than E 200.- for one though.

fr.png
 

solderdude

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Modified it slightly now measures (and sounds) like this:
(note: the 3kHz dip gets filled in by the Concha gain and angled driver)

x2hr-modified.png


The plot below shows the changes that were made a bit better.

mod-vs-stock-r.png
 

Azeia

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I was thinking of buying the X2HR as an "easy to drive" alternative to my DT990s, which are the current open-backs I use, but I can't plug those in to something weaker like a phone, etc, since they're hard to drive, so it'd be nice to have a pair of easy-to-drive over ear headphones, and X2HR seems like the best I can find in that category.
 

solderdude

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These don't sound like a DT990.
I would consider them to be complementary.
 

Azeia

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These don't sound like a DT990.
I would consider them to be complementary.
Ah, sorry, I should've been more clear. I meant "alternative" as in an alternative open-back headphone. I currently only have two headphones, AKG K550 closed, and DT990 open, so I was mostly saying it'd be nice to have an easier to drive open-back for certain situations where I'm powering them from a weaker device. I'm not necessarily looking for them to sound identical. The X2HR also isn't too expensive, which is nice; only 160 bucks or so (CAD) on amazon.ca
 

solderdude

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It's a good alternative to the DT990.
It should be noted that for Beyerdynamic parts will be available for a long time.
The Phillips has no spare parts. Longevity goes to the Beyer.
That said I like the sound of the X2HR and own(ed) the K550 and still own a DT990 as well as the DT1990.
 

Azeia

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They are absolutely ALL refurbished or open box or 2nd hand even if quoted as "brand new", QC doesn't apply here.
Do you have a source for this? Is this for a specific retailer or are you saying Philips is selling refurbs as brand new products themselves?
 
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