Headphone Bargain!

dcibel

For Canadians, just noticed a sweet deal on a pair of Philips Fidelio X2HR headphones:

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138361&Description=fidelio&cm_re=fidelio-_-26-138-361-_-Product

I've had my eye on the Fidelio X2 for some time now, so I jumped on this deal, and you should too

jr@mac

That is a great price, I already have too many pairs sitting around

dcibel

I'm pretty excited about these, can't wait to see how they stack up against my semi-open M&D MH40. The reviews of the Fidelio X2 are very positive, they're usually compared to Sennheiser HD600 and HD650. Should arrive next Tues.

Newegg Canada also has the same 48% off deal on the cheaper SHP9500 as well.

dcibel

Not that it matters much, just some interesting information as I read online about these. Apparently Gibson bought the Philips headphone division some time ago, so the X2HR models are the Gibson manufactured version of the X2, they made some minor change to the earpads is all, but the entire line is discontinued since Gibson filed for bankruptcy last year.

The X2HR model at Newegg is now sold out,  but there's still some SHP9500 available for anyone interested. I'm told they're very good as well.

Even though Gibson went bankrupt, they are living on with new ownership.

dcibel

X2 is here, just great headphones, a steal at CAD$140. Extraordinarily comfortable cans, my only complaint is the self-adjusting headband. It's elastic, and I have a small head so I feel the phones naturally sit a bit low, the tension on the headband elastic could be more for myself, and I'm sure it'll only get worse with time. Downside of the "one size fits all" design.

Compared to the M&D MH40, I think ultimately the MH40 is still my favourite. The "tone" of the MH40 is just right for my tastes, great balance end to end, nothing ever sounds unnatural. The X2 on the other hand, has a bit more of a smiley curve response. On the bass, it's like a big sealed woofer with a high Q tuning, good kick and a bit accentuated but misses the deep notes. On the very high end, there is a bit of excess snap. The midrange through to the lower treble is marvellous though, I think more detail is present here vs the MH40, but its a bit subdued behind the accentuated bass and treble snap. I'll have to play around with some EQ and see if I can dial these in a bit better, I don't think it'll take much to smooth out the top end, might just need some high volume break in too. The MH40 need no EQ to dial them in IMO, but loose points in comfort for being so heavy, they need a bit more padding in the headband. Neither the X2 or the MH40 have a flat presentation end to end, but I'm not really into flat so that's not a deal breaker for me.

dcibel

Well break-in didn't take long. Over just a few hours the snap in the high end smoothed out a lot, and the bass is sounding more extended as well. There is still a sizzle at some frequency that comes out in some songs, maybe 8-10kHz, most notable in Morcheeba vocals there is some obvious sibilance there. I'll have to try and nail down that with some EQ. Otherwise things are just great, and I now having a much harder time deciding if I like these or the MH40 better. The MH40 sounds more authoritative, heavier lower midrange which I like, and a bit more forward maybe, but the X2 has an uncanny clarity. It's hard to directly compare by swapping them, as the X2 is lower sensitivity, so I have to adjust the volume control every time. They're both great, but with quite different sound.

Oh well, I digress. Anyway, excellent headphones, just wanted to share some thoughts on them. I'm so glad I got them, they feel like clouds, I could wear these all day without even noticing.

I should note that the X2 is an open back headphone with no isolation at all, while the MH40 is "semi-open" with a great deal of isolation. Both have open mesh on the back, but the MH40 is heavily stuffed with felt so barely any sound gets out, while the X2 has just a thin layer of damping behind the driver.

dcibel

Fixed with EQ, these are now amazing. The peak at 9kHz was really getting to me, the rest is to lift the recessed midrange and tune to taste.

Freq, Q, Gain
30,1,2.5
250,0.8,2.5
1240,1.6,3
1550,1.8,-2
3400,2,4
6100,4,2
9000,5,-3

A visual, doesn't mean much without the actual response of the headphone, but whatever.