Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have owned over 30 and some odd amount of headphones ranging from $15 (the very much beloved Koss KSC75), to $1000 (the high end Audeze LCD2 planarmagnetic). The Fidelio X1 fits the mid-fi range of headphones, yet the sound signature is basically suited to my specific tastes like no other headphone I've owned has ever had. It offers a clean, energetic, yet bassy sound, that almost no other open backed headphone has ever touched. Open backed headphones tend to lose a lot of it's bass due to the lack of seal, but the magicians at Philips somehow managed to give the X1 a full and lively bass response that is more akin to closed back headphones. If you're in the market for a headphone with a large soundstage, added bass response, clean and linear mids up to the treble (with some sparkle), the X1 should be on the top of anyone's list. My only complaints are: 1. The pads aren't user replaceable, so you may have to contact Philips once the pads go bad. 2. The stock, removable cable, while stunningly beautiful, is a bad match with the X1. It has a high resistance (somewhere along 1.8ohms), which can muddy up the sound and bottleneck the performance. Find a cheap alternative (like the In-akustik Star Series MP3 Stereo Extension Audio Cable, which btw has the wrong image for the 9.8ft listing on Amazon) which has a lower ohm spec (AFAIK it's around 0.2ohm). I'm currently using a Mediabridge 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable which works quite well and doesn't choke the X1's signature. It also has a low resistance. Again, the Fidelio X1 is for those that want an all-purpose, fun, comfortable, generally easy to drive headphone. If you like a balanced sound but want just a a bit more bass than neutral without sacrificing quality elsewhere, the X1 is it. It's pretty efficient, but I'd advise on using at LEAST something like the Fiio E07K which will feed the X1 a clean, amped signal. I myself use a $500 Audio-Gd Compass 2 DAC/AMP, but it isn't necessary to spend that much, as the X1 isn't very demanding. My personal suggestion as a great budget setup for it would be something like the Schiit Modi and Schiit Magni dac and amp stack. A great alternative is the AKG K702 65th Anniversary Edition for those that want a more balanced but still decent bass, and richer mids/vocals, and smoother treble. These two headphones are like apples to oranges, but both are very amazing, and can be considered end game for an affordable price.