CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone Measurements => Topic started by: Solderdude on June 13, 2014, 06:13:18 PM
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The Fidelio X1 is Philips‘s flagship headphone. The build quality is excellent and the looks are really great.
The picture just doesn’t do it justice.
(https://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/x1.jpg)
The used materials are very nice and seem high quality materials.
The detachable cable (ordinary 3.5mm stereo jack) is a good thing. The headband is very soft and comfortable. TheX1 has velours pads.
It is clearly intended for home usage even though it has a relatively low impedance (around 30 Ohm). The give away is the fixed (nice looking) 6.3mm stereo jack and thick long cord. There is a 3.5mm converter but you really do not want to use such a heavy construction (big adapter, big 6.3mm plug and thick cord) plugged into your DAP.
It is an open headphone which means that
A: you can still hear what’s happening around you and
B: others around you can hear what you are playing very well.
So far only positive remarks. BUT there are also some negatives. The velours pad material isn’t as soft to the skin as other velours pads. Directly out of the box it smells considerably (a bit like those NASA foam pillows) but reckon this will go away after a few days. It won’t be with me long enough to know this for sure though. The reason being; my expectation which may have been a tad too high.
Another thing that annoys me is the cable which is a bit stiff and is microphonic. Fortunately the cable can be easily replaced.
The little hears on the velours pads aren’t as ‘comfy’ as Beyerdynamic ones.
Below the frequency plot of the ‘high definition’ Fidelio X1 (red = right, blue = left)
(http://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/fidelio-x1-lr.png?w=921&h=519)
Everything from 30Hz to 1kHz is well balanced and sounds good. Also the treble part isn’t raised which ensures it doesn’t sound shrill, sibilant or harsh.
The problem area is between 1kHz and 6kHz though. There is a dip there which takes away a bit of the sharpness of voices and instruments which can be a pleasant experience with some (harsher sounding) recordings.
On well recorded music it takes away too much and makes the X1 ‘darker’ sounding but without bloat or heavy bass.
The treble being present again masks this a bit as you do hear the treble in the proper amount.
Another downside is the treble extension. it drops of quickly above 17kHz (on the left) but on the right it drops off quickly above 13kHz.
In my opinion it doesn’t deserve the ‘high definition’ markings on the nice looking enclosure.
It isn’t high definition and aside from some ‘clarity’ that is missing it also looses out on the 'finesse' in strings and cymbals etc., it lacks ‘air’ and 'high definition'.
I would like to have said it is a reference grade headphone but it is NOT.
Even though the looks and quality appear top notch the sound is good to decent and a bit darkish (lack of clarity) but with the right amount of treble.
Definitely NOT flagship-type sound quality and would simply say to pirates ... skip this one :)p2.
The CSD below shows little to no ringing which actually is good thing… yet… it can’t convince me of it’s purported greatness.
(http://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/csd-fidelio-x1.png?w=921&h=476)
Verdict: a nice looking and well made headphone that screams ‘high quality’ but has some let-downs on the audio side of things (missing clarity and top-extension). It is NOT a bad sounding headphone but also isn’t a very good sounding headphone.
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I hear them pretty much the exact same way. They reminded me of the HD650 a little bit in terms of tonality. I thought they were super comfy too! This being a relative newcomer, I thought it was in the ballpark of the old ~$300 stalwarts: HD580/600, DT880, K/Q701, etc. It looks like their price has come down quite a bit in the last year- from $400 to $232. Yep- not bad at all.
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Do either of you hear euphony and bloom/slower decay on these? Surprised to see realtively clean/fast CSDs. I feel like these are an inexpensive way to get a "luxurious" or "very tubey" sound.
Cushy in comfort and sound. Not fast, but really forgiving is how I heard them. Attractive/easy at first listen but not that good for electronica or fast music. (IMO, YMMV, etc.)
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I had this headphone a few weeks ago. It's a surprisingly good mix of fun & clean sound. The cleanest fun can I've ever tried. Nevertheless I found it too far from neutrality for me. I fully agree with Tyll's review : http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-bottom-and-lively-top-philips-fidelio-x1-page-2 . The 10khz Treble peak is obvious during listenings. it could bothersome for treble-sensitive people. Overally it's an headphone I really can recommand for non-audiophile listeners. The X1 is comfy despite its stiff pads and looks nice on my desk. I thought I could keep it besides my HD800 when I want more "fun" for some genre but obviously I have all fun and pleasure I need with the Senn.
My 2 cts
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Yeah the X1 have a nice and euphonic sound, but ultimately doesn't work for some genres that require a bit more attack and impact. One complaint of mine is that the pads aren't removable, so eventually they'll wear down and alter the sound a bit.
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Definitely not reference but I really enjoy these from time to time. I'm a sucker for open cans that can produce some fun bass. I think they're a pretty good buy at $230.
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The stock cable is apparently high impedance. I never used it and used a v-moda cable instead.
QuestHate has my pair, but I remember mine being damn good for under $200 new that I paid.
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Do either of you hear euphony and bloom/slower decay on these?
Definitely warm… can’t confirm the euphony (not denying it). “Cushy in comfort and sound” would be a perfect way to sum these up. They probably wouldn’t be my ‘one headphone on an island’ like the HD600 or FSP. But they’re far from crap and I wouldn’t mind long sessions with them.
Note: I am not super-sensitive to (minor) treble issues as many are around here. So if you are sensitive I guess I could say as we do with IEM measurements, “Please ignore my impressions above 5k.”
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Definitely concur with all the lower-fi baby HD650 impressions. At $200-$250 they make a decent argument based on SQ. I do love the design and build quality. It is certainly not a ToTL phone or a PoS.
I thought they were a bit laid back and slowish sounding as well. But not super slow or laggy. It's actually a bit tough for me to see the time intervals on those CSDs but I'll take your word for it CT. :P
Nice stuff solder!
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Had a chance to hear these a few months back. I'm surprised to see how level the bass is; they seemed far more bass tilted to my ears.
I do agree with CeeTee that these felt kinda boomy to me. Just enough to make it rumbly fun without distracting too much, and I guess that's what made the bass seem elevated to me. I thought the suspension headband was really comfy, but would have liked some softer pads.
I also agree with the baby HD600/650 comments. At their current MSRP they seem like a solid buy, and don't need much in the way of amping which is nice on the wallet. I'd really like to hear the L2 one of these days.
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Oh, considering the graph, these look like a headphone brother to VSonic VC02, as measured by Rin. (and verified personally by myself)
That would put them near top tier, but still won't beat Senn HD600 at the price.
About the IEM: likely has much lower distortion and definitely a bit bass boost with lesser "sharpness" cut (3.5 dB, 2-3k) and a slight boost in shimmer (1.5 dB, 8-10k). Better extended upwards too. Still avoids most sibilance, much better than GR07, UERM (test pair) and UE900, while it's nowhere near as rolled as RE-600 and still easy to equalize to flat.
There is a maybe trace of 14k ringing in it, but too quiet to matter.
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Had a chance to hear these a few months back. I'm surprised to see how level the bass is; they seemed far more bass tilted to my ears.
I do agree with CeeTee that these felt kinda boomy to me. Just enough to make it rumbly fun without distracting too much, and I guess that's what made the bass seem elevated to me. I thought the suspension headband was really comfy, but would have liked some softer pads.
I fully agree with above statement. X1's bass sounds a bit boomy but not in a too bad way. somewhat boomy but under control ? Seems odd but it"s how I felt the sound. Anyone else noticed the treble spike ?
Im' a bit more doubtful about HD600/650 comparison though. I owned a HD580 during few month and nothing I heard in the X1 reminded me my old senn that sound far more neutral and full in the the mids/high mids without this bass and treble enhancement. I can't talk about HD650 I only tried during an hour a long time ago. The headphone that came in my mind when I had the X1 is my previous HFI2400 form Ultrasone. the X1 sounded for me as the mid fi fun headphone Ultrasone failed to achieve properly . I really Appreciate the HFI2400 and I gave it to my father but obviously the Ultrasone sound dirty (faster but boomier and with harshness in low treble ) besides the X1.
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Tyl's measurements (http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-bottom-and-lively-top-philips-fidelio-x1-page-2 (http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-bottom-and-lively-top-philips-fidelio-x1-page-2)) certainly show more of a bass hump and warm tilt.
Phillips has nailed build quality, that is for sure.
I had the L1, if the X1 sounds anything like it (Phillips house sound?) it's a great easy listener. I gave mine to my non-audiofool bother and he loves 'em!
Thanks for posting the measurements and impressions.
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Philips before these models had the HP1000 and the SHP9000. I still have the 9000 and it gives me a reason to really consider an additional Philips headphone for "fun" listening. Their premium line is on my list.
Too bad Philips has this "plastic build quality image". Next to AKG, Philips was famous for its house sound.
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Sonically I prefer the SHP9000 over the X1.
Mechanically traits and looks go to the X1.
X1 is double the price of the SHP9000
SP9000:
(http://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/dscn2467.jpg?w=600&h=593)
and plot:
(http://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/philips-shp-9000.png?w=921&h=564)
Both roll off above 13kHz and to me is their weak point.
this is how Golden Ears measured the X1 (and made me pull the trigger):
(http://en.goldenears.net/en/files/attach/images/254/992/017/b996c5fdd13bce00369bc8a46d123e72.png)
Strangely enough this one seems more reference (no dip).
I got mine to sound and measure like this:
(http://diyaudioheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/x1-kameleon.png?w=921&h=519)
It sounded more tonally balanced but not quite right in the upper mids.
Also the missing top-end became even more obvious.
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If you are looking for the portable alternatives to to X1 check out the SHP6000 and SHP8000. They are from the older series but Philips upped the build quality for those headphones. Both can be found between 20 and 50 Euros which makes them a very good deal.
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I hear these very similarly to the rest of you. Imprecise, but not bad. I though the clamp was a bit much with how stiff the pads were so I wasn't crazy about the comfort. Won't be on any of my recommend lists, but I couldn't fault someone for liking them.
The L1 sounds remarkably better, IMO, despite it's more U shaped signature. I can forgive the lack of clarity when the goal is clearly to appease the non-audiophile, as with the L1, but when a reasonably neutral headphone has the same fault, as with the X1, I would wish I had the L1 on my head instead. Comfort is better on the L1 as well.
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I was inclined to buy an X1, but apparently you can not buy replacement pads and I could not find any similar pads. By now, I'm kinda glad I didn't buy them. The one i listened to first was more mean and had less of a treble spike than the recent one I listened to. (They probably has some special equalizer setting when I listened to them first... That said, one could still equalize these phones)
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I tried EQ and while it has a similar depth 'dip' at 3.5kHz (but different shape) than T50RP I found that it didn't react well to EQ as the T50RP does.
Didn't try to add the missing top-extension but did measure is above 20kHz and results weren't encouraging.
The missing top extension together with the not well EQ-able dip, made me decide to return the X1.
I already have too much headphones that do not get any usage top keep it.
Didn't notice a 10k spike, in fact mine measured and sounded good in that aspect.