Philips Fidelio X2HR Over The Ear Open Back Wired Headphone 50mm Drivers- Black Professional Studio Monitor Headphones with Detachable Cable

I bought these after my DT770 Pro's broke, and after a fair amount of shopping around. I wanted an open-back style of headphone so I could hear the room while I was wearing them, and for the wider soundstage that you just don't get with closed-back headphones. I've had a fair selection of different headphones, including most of the popular ones; the Audio Technica M50x's, Sennheiser HD280's, my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's, Sennheiser HD598's, and Grado SR80's. All of those are decent headphones, and are good in their own ways, but they each have their issues, too. The M50x's wore out fast. The HD280's had ear cups that flaked apart and felt cheap, and were hot to wear. The DT770 Pro's sound good, but have cheap plastic clips holding the sliders together that don't hold up to long-term use, and you really have to always use a headphone amp with them. The Grado's are what I'd consider the best sound quality-wise, but they're kind of uncomfortable. These headphones (the X2HR's) do their best to alleviate the problems those other headsets have, and they manage to sound the best of the bunch while doing it. The ear cups have a plastic ring, but it's never under any stress so it's not going to be a breaking point over time. The cable is replaceable, so that isn't an issue like it can be with nearly all of the other headsets I listed. The headband on the X2HR's self-adjusts, so it isn't flexing a stress point that will become an issue after a lot of use; it's also really comfortable, and doesn't require any fiddling with it to make it fit right. The ear cups are a soft but firm foam that's also pretty comfortable; they'll likely wear over time about the same as the velour cups on the Beyerdynamic's, and they pick up cat hair pretty badly, but since they don't get hot to wear and the fit of the headphones is so easy you don't adjust them constantly, either. The good: Build quality is solid, and they're built to last. Extremely comfortable and don't require adjustments to get them to fit right. The sound quality is exactly what I would want from this kind of headphones, and is better than other notable headsets I own at a similar price point. Very good at 3D sound representation for gaming. Cons: The X2HR's are a bit heavy, but they don't feel like it when you're wearing them and I've found them to be comfortable for long periods of time. Build quality is solid, but without a hardshell carrying case I'd probably leave them home before putting them in a suitcase for a trip. Overall: Without getting into stuff like "scintillating mids" or "boomy bass" that's all pretty subjective anyway, for me these are the best sounding headphones I've owned. They give the comfort of Sennheiser sets with the sound quality of Grado's, somehow finding the best of both worlds. If you're not overly concerned with buzzwords and hitting that audiophile-perfect neutral that only appeals to music mixing, or the bone shaking bass that gaming headset makers think everyone wants, these are the way to go. Other notes: They do leak a bit of sound, which is expected of any open-ear headset. Not a con, but something to be aware of. I tested the spatial sound on a PC using a Soundblaster X4, with its 7.1 mixing and with Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and both ways were way more impressive than they sounded on my DT770's. I'd strongly recommend using your favorite EQ with them rather than running without, especially if you're using a sound source that doesn't provide one...I tried them on a Fiio E10k, and without an EQ it sounded a bit flat. I used Equalizer APO, and it made a pretty big difference. Bottom line, these are big winners in both sound quality and comfort. Very, very happy with them.

Okay, I need to preface this review by saying up front that I returned these headphones because they didn't fit me. I have a tall head, and the suspension mechanism kept pulling the headphones up enough that they got uncomfortable after a while. However, it's important to note my star rating: I'm returning these, but they still got five stars. That's how impressed I was with their sound and build quality. They sound really, really good, with clear highs that aren't overbearing, present mids, and solid bottom end that will not let you ignore it, but won't rattle your teeth, either. I'm not an audiophile, but I was quite pleased with how much better balanced their sound was than any other consumer headphone I've tried. The sound I got out of these was detailed, nuanced, and quite pleasing. I didn't listen to a lot of really complex music to see if they'd just turn into a wall of sound when there was too much thrown at them, however. When talking about their sound quality it's important to note that these are open-back headphones. They do *not* isolate or noise cancel. They're not supposed to. They're supposed to allow noise out to create a more open and broad sound stage, giving them more of a natural sense of presence. It's an experience much closer to listening to a good stereo system than using closed back headphones, which seal your ears in little chambers and blast them directly with sound. That has it's place, like if you're listening to music in public or in a loud environment, but it doesn't give a natural and open-air feel like open-back headphones do. If you're looking for more of a natural sound but don't want to piss off your neighbors, open back headphones are a solid option. If your partner is asleep in bed next to you and you want to watch a movie, you definitely want closed back headphones. One advantage to open-back headphones is that the larger sound stage gives you a better sense of position from audio when gaming. That's one of the main reason I gave these a try, and I was quite pleased with the results. It feels a lot more like you're there, or using a good 5.1 system, than when using closed headphones. Their build quality is impressive. These headphones feels very solid, but also refined and polished. I was really surprised by that. The only part I can tell is made of plastic is the cups of the headphones themselves. The band and frame that attaches to the cups are metal. Even the support band that rests across the top of your head is made up of metal bands inside a pad. That's not gonna wear out any time soon. For the sake of comparison, the Sennheiser PC38X headset I replaced these with is made up almost entirely of plastic. It feels incredibly cheap by comparison. However, it fits my head. The cable is also quite nice. It's braided and long. The braiding feels both flexible and strong, reinforcing the cable without making it overly stiff. The connectors are slim enough that I can't imagine anyone having trouble getting them past a cell phone case. The only real knock I have for these headphones is that the included pads pick up everything they touch. Dust, cat hair, anything. However, they're soft and plush, and quite comfortable for long wear. Just know that if you've got a pet you'll end up cleaning hair off them pretty regularly.

I really like these headphones. I used to use Audio Technica m40x's and these beat them by a long shot. That being said these come with the disadvantage of portability. They are huge, they don't fold, and are kinda heavy. They are comfortable, they fit very nicely with the suspension headband and they do kind of "disappear" if placed correctly. The headband has to go on the very back almost at the incline of the head. Now, for sound, I think that for this price range of $100-$800, you won't find a better bass response in headphones. While it can be a little much at very rare occasions, and I mean very rare, it is flawless 95% of the time. It is rich, impactful, and not muddy. It is very clear and you can hear the articulation and complexities in the lower register. I personally really enjoy all genres on these headphones but I would argue that its weakest genres are rock and metal, and that is because of the bass blended with the distortion, for the rock/metal sound you kinda want a recessed bass response. This is because it is hard to get a rich tone out of music that doesn't have it. This is more so for metal because of the use of extended range guitar and heavily distorted bass. The main response of the low range changes, therefore the music needs a different sort of headphones. Now with all that, these headphones will be enjoyable to listen to, but like I said metal is a small weakness, all be it a small one, they are not unlistenable, they just sound a little bit bloated. I would recommend eq if your primary listening is metal. Rock is only an issue for some minor tracks, not everyone will be affected. Classical is enjoyable, but it won't be as rich as peakier, the high end of the sound spectrum focused headphones. ex shp9500, 6xx. Also, these can be bought for cheaper elsewhere, tho, they are still worth it, even at this price.

J'ai reçu ce casque il y a quelques semaines et je suis bluffé par sa performance. Dès la première utilisation, le son m'a impressionné : les basses sont puissantes sans être envahissantes, les médiums sont chauds et naturels, et les aigus restent clairs sans fatiguer les oreilles. J'écoute beaucoup de musique variée, du rock au classique, et la spatialisation donne vraiment l'impression d'être en live – parfait pour se plonger dans un album entier. Le confort est au top avec les coussinets moelleux qui s'adaptent bien à la tête, même après des heures. Je l'utilise branché sur mon PC ou mon ampli, et il répond super bien sans besoin d'accessoires supplémentaires. Seul petit bémol, comme c'est un modèle ouvert, il laisse passer un peu les bruits extérieurs, donc idéal à la maison plutôt qu'en extérieur. Globalement, un achat que je recommande les yeux fermés pour quiconque cherche une qualité audiophile sans complications !

Been reading all these great reviews for the fidelio x2 for years now and finally, it went on sale and is in stock. Bass is one of the best among open backs. Soundstage is huge. The detail is crisp. And this is built like a tank. This might be the headphones for all the ragers out there. It's all metal, hardly any plastic if any. Comfort is not an issue either with those gigantic earpads. For under $100, these are a no brainer. Get these. Edit: Pads are removable. Local sg warranty for one year covered by R-Logic International Pte. Ltd

The pair sound great and have some the best soundstage at this price but it's plagued with the same issue as the SHP9500s, which if you're coming from then you might definitely be disappointed since the highs are just as piercing on this as the SHPs, very harsh and metallic sounding and almost hollow highs, but it does have stronger bass emphasis and a better build quality, but if you didn't like the harshness on the SHPs then I would say definitely don't get this.

So, today my X2's arrived from amazon. I got a "very good" used pair and I don't regret I did. They first of all are in great condition, they look new and most importantly feel new. I am gonna go through what I think about these and compare them to my older daily driver, my 990 pros. This review is my first really "review" ever of headphones so don't expect much. It is not as in depth as others. Let me start off this review with build quality and packaging. I was wowed to see these in person because I didn't think the build quality was this impressive as they really and clearly are. They are as sturdy as my computer case haha. Anyways. The unboxing was alright although having bought a used pair. Back to the build quality. The top headband piece is a kind of metal type pair of tubes. They rotate sideways on the head by bending the actual headband which is fine since they are sturdy. The earcups feel like metal as well but they are hard plastic. The earpads are really good, probably not something I'll need to replace in like 2 years. I've seen dekoni released a replacement ear pad for both the X2's and X3's which is great. Cable is good, makes some noise when touched but that wont matter when I actually listen to music or play games. It's not like I rub the cable all the time. Build and packaging, 9/10 The comfort: Putting these on at first, they are really comfortable, just not extremely since they are just opened and tested right out of the box not giving them time to adjust to my head shape yet. But the dense memory foam ear pads with the nice self-adjusting hammock there is nothing bad to say about these. The weight of these is barely noticeable with the comfort of the ear pads and the hammock. But it does put a little bit of strain on my neck muscels since my 990's weigh like 100 grams less which makes me rate the comfort at 8 instead of 9 or 10. But this will definitely change over time due to me getting used to the X2's. Comfort, 8/10 The sound: Reviewers such as Zeos, him saying these are worth the full price of 300 dollars as they were if I understood correctly, they definitely are. The sound of these compared to my 990's is very smooth. No more piercing treble. Although both shine in different categories. I found these to have more refined bass. Maybe these sound like that since they are almost brand new and not used over a year like my DT 990's were. The bass is tight and EQ friendly if I'd like more bassy explosions in for example battlefield. The treble is still pretty detailed and these give much more of the mid range compared to the 990's. The sound stage is hard to explain. But it feels very open. These also leak a lot and I can hear my own voice with a less muffle filter over it compared to the 990's. Maybe I am so used to my 990's since the sound signature and sound stage is so drastically different. I love the sound stage tho. Tested with CS:GO where I had to put these into competitive use. I got instantly better with the positional accuracy with its imaging. Peoples ears are different but I can locate footsteps as good or even better. The only disadvantage is the treble and footsteps not being as pronounced as they were on the 990's. But giving these a bit more boost in the treble and higher midrange and lowering the bass will definitely help hearing them. Seen some people described these to be a kind of "bass-head open back headphone", not at all as I'd describe them. These have less bass than my 990's but tighter. Kinda makes me feel like the 990's are sloppy in the 80hz bass region. These do have less extended sub-bass but still great. Paired with my AE-9 I can definitely tell a difference between onboard and my AE-9. Less difference than my 990's tho. Take my rating with a pinch of salt since I haven't tried higher end headphones over 300 dollars but when I do, I'll definitely see what I'll change my rating to. Sound, a solid 10