Beautiful, isn't she?

I've had a bit of a writer's block for this freelance job I've been doing, so I plugged this into my phone (Vivo V5S) to listen to some music and then realized while I was searching for a new headphone and came across these there is practically no extensive article for them. I'm bored, so here we are.

Why I bought it
I don't own a lot of headphones and I've quit head-fi a long time ago to focus my resources on speaker building. My recent head-fi gear are focused on functionality rather than sound quality. A Fiio F3 for portable use, casual music, and communication; then a Razer Kraken X for gaming and movies. The only "artefact" I have of my head-fi days is the Grado SR60i. No portable DAC, no headphone amp, for my head-fi it's just whatever thing that has a 3.5mm port and volume control.

The baby Grado has served me well for 10 years. It has survived multiple cable replacements and underwent the bass mod "surgery" within the first year of ownership. It was my first proper music headphone. For RM300 it was amazing...was. My range of genre grew over the years and the SR60i with its lack of stage width, aggressive treble, and minimal bass presentation began to show its limitations when faced with music genres other than rock. I'm streaming movies quite a lot recently as well. While you do miss out a lot with movies using ANY headphone, no part of the classic Grado sound offers any consolation.

Feeling nostalgic, and to be honest a little bored during the MCO, I decided to look into some budget "Chi-fi" IEM brands. TRN, KZ, QKZ. Economy is so ingrained into their nature that they're not even naming their brands with more than 3 letters. To my surprise there's a 6-driver BA/Dynamic hybrid for about RM160 on AliExpress, called the ZSX. It had removable cables, diecast zinc-alloy faceplates, aluminium nozzle, and a compound crossover. An electrical low-pass for the single 10mm dynamic, and acoustical/mechanical filtering for the BA mids and highs. It works. Incredible resolution with more than enough bass to make it really fun. Then I looked at my Grado and decided it too would need to be replaced.

But, I had a greater ambition for the headphone. I set aside about RM800 for my new "crown" but I didn't discriminate. I looked up the most recommended budget ranges too. It's a dense battlefield in the RM200-800 range, but long story short I decided on a Philips Fidelio X2HR.

Wait...what?
One of the best decisions I've ever made. The X1S was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off handsomely. My top 2 choices were the X2HR and Marshall Major III, and the X1S came out the winner.

...What?
Let me explain. For head-fi I wasn't looking for anything serious. Priority #1 they need to look good. Not that sound and comfort aren't important, but they are only criteria for which I would then use to shorten the list further. Bass is a major priority when I move on to select the sound, and the X2HR and Marhall - but especially the Marshall - have generous amounts for what they are (small-ish on-ear Marshall, open-back Philips). In the end the little KZ reminded me that "I'm great with the Grado, and I liked the ZSX resolution, so the Philips would be fun". So I waited for the upcoming sale the next month to buy the X2HR. While I waited I looked at the X1S again. Before, I came across a local reviewer on Youtube who made a first-impression video of the X1S. While it was under consideration it didn't take long for me to say "might as well go for its replacement (X2HR) since I have the budget for it anyway".

However, the thought came to mind days after that the X1S and the X2HR are not "night and day" headphones. If only for the fact that it also has removable earpads I wouldn't have given the X1S a second look.




How does it stack up?
Supposedly the X1 have comparable if not slightly louder and deeper bass than the X2HR. Due to a complete lack of independent frequency measurement of the X1S I just have to believe what I'm hearing and say it seems to agree with the frequency measurements of the X1. The X1S has a satisfying rumble, and is practical down to the high 20's (25-30Hz). Does the midbass leak into the mids? If the music or movie is mixed that way then yes. The X2HR supposedly has a slightly more controlled bass at higher volumes but the volume that that occurs in music for either headphone would be unhealthy and uncomfortable. With a 30 Hz tone the X1S sounds clean at the max volumes I dare listen to everyday. It doesn't take much more turn on the volume knob for things other than the tone to start being audible, but the distortion is not offensive. The drivers just chuff like an undersized bass port. With bass tones, the list of headphones that are clean at unbearably loud levels is very short. It's a great technical marvel, but with music and movies it's an advantage that is hardly ever put to use. Boz Scaggs - Thanks To You, Chris Jones - No Sanctuary Here, Rage Against the Machines - Take the Power Back, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo; these are my go to for bass tests and the X1S can play them all at enjoyable SPL levels cleanly. I talk about the bass a lot because it's a thing I like and an impressive feat for an open back headphone. I remember being just as impressed with a Grado PS500 but I can't objectively compare the bass loudness of something from several years ago.

For movies the X1S presents the vocals pretty much perfectly. It sounds like they applied an EQ that cuts and boosts all the right places. Philips supposedly tuned it by hand and you can see their effort. In the picture where the earpad is removed notice that there are only 6 openings that don't make up a full circle. Usually the idea would be to expose as much of the driver as possible to the ear, but here they chose to cover it up partially. Another example is with the open-back grille. Like Grado and many other open backs you can see the driver units rather easily through the grille, but not so with the X1S. There seems to be a sort of fabric covering up from the inside. Interestingly, this makes the sound leaking from the back quite pleasant to hear up close.

But, more impressive is the soundstage. It's probably because I've had the Grado for so long but the width of the X1S is legit. I knew the hype surrounding it and it lives up to that reputation. The Kraken X provided some relief to the narrowness of the Grado and the KZ ZSX, but the X1S is showing them how it's done. It doesn't happen all the time, that's not how it works. If the material was mixed to sound large it will sound large, and as you might suspect movies and concert hall recordings sound properly large. No inappropriate reflections and echoes to mess up spatial cues, and the slightly recessed mids, good treble, and angled drivers take care of the rest. It's not HD800 wide I think, but it makes me go "oooh" at times.

How does it resolve detail? Oh same old, same old. The "hidden" synths in Linkin Park songs can be heard quite effortlessly for example. Oh, and bass distortion in Muscle Museum can be hard to hear with anything less, and as with the Grado the X1S reveals it easily. I don't think I need to go any further. Treble is tuned to what I can describe as right on the edge. It's more comfortable than the Grado but it can be piercing. If you find cymbals to be irritating in real life then this won't be for you.

Looks was the primary reason why the X2HR, Major III, and X1S made the shortlist (the X1S sort of crashed into the party but it counts). The X1S is GORGEOUS. The brown calf skin leather is a nice departure from the more conventional black which adorns the X2HR. A lot of people prefer the X1's silver/brown colour scheme. Subjectively I think both look just as beautiful as I was more in love with the form and shape.
Oh, and speaking of which the headphone is BIG, and heavy. The Razer Kraken X cups has an economy class fit. My ears fill them up snuggly. The X1S is business class. My ears barely touch anything in there. The clamping force is just right for an average head, the hammock provides the right tension to support the weight and is adequately padded (but with a crackly airy type of foam which I don't mind but could be better). And the velour pads have slow rebound foam that are supple enough to accommodate my glasses comfortably. If I have to give a score for the comfort and fit this gets an 8/10.

The build quality alone qualifies this as a worthy upgrade. The earcups are neatly assembled on my unit and the steel grill looks just as good as they do in the pictures. The shell are made of plastic, while the mounting rings are cast zinc alloy I believe. Same material you may find on many safety razor handles. It's cheap to manufacture, cheap to fabricate, but fairly strong. You can tell where the metal has been ground, and there are some rusting on the lettering. I don't mind that little bit of rust. I half expected a bit of imperfections from these new old stock. Other buyers from different sellers reported receiving dusty units, but other than those specks of rust the unit I got was almost pristine.
The leather headband has exposed ends but they are cut cleanly. It would have looked more premium if stitched on but it's a fair compromise to reduce cost and sort of makes it look more sleek and modern. The headband design they went for wouldn't allow real stitching anyway. The leather is actually cladding a plastic band that binds the twin steel hoops together.



I scratched it a bit there with a paper clip to confirm it was plastic. The cups don't swivel but the headband has enough compliance to allow them to rotate so the pads can do their job of sealing. There is no play on the cups' hinges, and none as well for the earpads. So kudos to Philips for the tight tolerance. It seems that their tooling is carefully designed. On the mounting rings there are plastic inserts on the top and bottom which acts as stops. Those prevent the mounting rings from scratching the earcups as well as provide a softer engagement when the earcup hits the ring. That's a nice attention to detail. You can see it below marked in red.



The elastic hammock headband creaks when you stretch the headphone to put it on, but that is about the only creaky thing the headphone has. The port on the left earcup looks and feels sturdy enough but I wouldn't risk cable rolling with it. To be fair I don't do it with any removable cable headphones. I like the convenience but I am always wary of failures regardless of build quality. No matter how good it is it's still a weak point and can wear out.

This brings us on to its accessories, or lack thereof. The X1 came with a 3m woven cable with a beefy 6.3mm jack on one end (with Fidelio branding on it too), and a 1.6m cable for more portable use around the house. The X2HR has Fidelio branded cable organizer and an adaptor. None of that here for the X1S. All you get is a generic Philips branded woven 1.2m cable with straight plugs. I'd like a Fidelio branded cable, though it is a good strategy to minimize cost. Just use whatever you have in the parts bin that's the right colour. The stock cable is too stiff and microphonic so I have bought a replacement. It's nothing special. Again looks is priority. I decided on a braided brown/black cable from AliExpress, 2m long with one L-plug. I'm carrying over the KZ brown cable look to the X1S. Consistency!

What's next?
For headphones, this is probably it. Unless somehow I've become flooded with disposable income the X1S is - for now - my "end game". It has put me off upgrading to other headphones. I think this will serve me for at least as long as the Grado did. The Grado can now be stashed away. It has done well in 10 years but its usefulness has ended. I'm not saying Grados don't sound good, it's just that I have grown out of them. If you're wondering why I didn't just go for the X2HR when I could afford it, well 10 years ago I would have when I still have as strong of an interest in head-fi. But the X1S is all that I could have hoped for. The improvement the X2HR supposedly could give is too little to justify spending almost twice as much. Remember that despite its price now the X1 was a flagship costing $300 US. The only reasonable upgrade would be spending on headphones that usually require amps to run properly. But for that much money I would rather buy speaker components and build myself a nice pair for a truer-to-life sound reproduction. That's a proper upgrade.

OBSERVATION UPDATE: I've noticed something. The X1S has the prints on the silver mounting rings along the side that is directly facing you just like the X2. The X1 has the print along the top. Interesting. Also, the old X1 has a notably more round hoops compared to the X2's more egg-shaped contour. This is to accommodate taller heads (which was a complaint for the X1). I can't find promotional images from Philips of the actual X1S, they just used images of the X1. But my X1S clearly has more oval hoops. You can compare X1 and X2 pictures and read reviews about the change. Even the band around the X1S' earcups are different to the X1. On the X1 it looks like brushed steel/silver. On the X1S it's black, like the X2.
My speculation is that as ever they are doing this to cut cost. The X1 is discontinued but the drivers are still around (the X2 uses a completely new driver). So parts of the X2/X2HR is shared with the X1S to clear them out. Different powder coat for the rings, different leather, change "X2" on the printer to "X1", done. This is just speculation but this makes most sense.


This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Sep 23 2021, 11:28 PM

Wow ! Good detailed review.

I am interested in one also. I am looking to buy one for movies. How does it handle dynamic range, and transient attack from streaming like HBO GO, Netflix, etc. How're the details and soundstage feel like ?

Does it sound thick and bloated ( which I hate ) ?

The reason I am interested in X1S is that its cheap now, open back and the signature might suit movies from what I've read.

Edit: Are you using upgraded cables ?

This post has been edited by GreenWhite: Oct 13 2021, 12:14 PM

Some people expected it to be bloated because there's plenty (~8dB) of bass boost, but the boost progresses linearly from 1 kHz rather than a steep cliff starting somewhere in the midbass. Add to that the bass boost is broad so it melds nicely into most of the low-mids to avoid being bloated. Low bass can get a bit loose if you are pushing the volume, but that would be unhealthy for a whole movie session. That can't be helped since there isn't a cushion of air like in closed headphones to provide further suspension.

Poor transient could be marked by having the audio sound congested and that can be mostly down to the mix. But, seeing as how I can even dissect something like a very congested Linkin Park album there shouldn't be any problems with movies, especially with streaming services like Netflix that claim they don't compress their contents. I don't experience any oddities watching Netflix. Soundstage is above average compared to the things I've owned (Razer Kraken X, Grado SR60i, Superlux HD681 Evo, TDK WR700, Samson SR850). But don't expect a significant out of head experience. Headphones that do that literally have their drivers away from your head. But having sounds coming as if right outside the headphone is common. Ambient sounds would sound as if you are wearing a helmet full of tiny speakers. Not speaker like for obvious reasons, but not claustrophobic.

Yes I do use a different cable because the stock one is short, stiff, and microphonic. Nothing wrong with how they actually perform at conducting electricity. I bought one on AliExpress for RM30. 2m long, very supple, thicker braided 4-conductor, and no noise when the cable rubs against anything.

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Oct 14 2021, 01:46 AM

The loose low bass is a bit of a worry. But I can use Wavelet EQ app to tune and tighten the bass (using Bass Tuner with Sustained Compression mode).

From your description, there's no hint or even a mention of the X1S sounding dark, which is welcome.

If you don't mind, can you link the place you bought the headphones. Since yours came in good condition (old new stock). I saw one selling for RM295 (10.10 lazada)

Thanks for the help.

Yes, the X2HR had a tuned down bass for that reason. But, since the issue can be fixed with EQ I might as well buy the cheaper one. Better to tune down bass than having to add them and add distortion. At least when I feel like having fun I can just turn the EQ off. If you find them dark sounding (which you shouldn't given the treble it has) that too should be fixed with a little bass taming.

I bought it on Lazada and I know of 2 stores that I believe to be trustworthy. The one I got from is apparently a Japanese electronics store. I'm not sure of the other one but a Malaysian Youtuber bought from it and the store sells it slightly cheaper. He made an impression video so I guess the store is fine and does have 4 good reviews for the X1S.

Here's the place I bought it from: Fidelio X1S

Here's the other alternative that is cheaper: Philips x1s

For either store the box may came dented. I got mine slightly crushed at the bottom but there is a lot of air spacing in the box so the headphone was fine. It was also double-boxed. I guess that is how it is when they are stacking these in the thousands for a number of years. Both stores likely source them from the same Philips warehouse in Hong Kong or China.

Also don't expect any warranty support. The Japanese store I bought from had a 1 month warranty, the other only has the Lazada standard 7-day return policy.

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Oct 14 2021, 12:56 PM

Alright. Thanks.

I am familiar with those sellers.

So I assume you listen to the X1S directly plugged in to the device, right ? No Amp/DAC in between.

Yes. I mostly use them with my Vivo V5S and Asus Zenfone 3. Old but gold when it comes to sound quality. Both have very good headphone outputs with 32 Ohm loads according to independent measurements. The headphone sounds okay off my laptop too. The low-ish sensitivity (100dB/mW) makes it quite forgiving of noisy sources. Any decent on-board soundcard should do well enough. If you have an external DAC and/or amp for streaming movies or music then more power to you.

I bought a cheap China made DAC/amp board on impulse recently just for fun. It's a dual TDA1305. The DAC section is quite well done, but the amp section is anaemic. Past a certain volume the bass gets left behind. I still use it because I might as well since it's here now, but only at modest volumes.

Out of curiosity, what are you using now?

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Oct 14 2021, 08:34 PM

I am using the AKG-K612 Pro for movies, which I absolutely love. I just want something different to switch at times.

I see. The X1S would be a good alternative for an amp-less setup, and sound wise would definitely be a contrast to the AKG.

Update:

I've just got the X1S delivered to me. So far, the sound is well worth the money (RM258) I paid for it. I use it 90% for movies, the other 10% music.

For me, most headphones in the price range between RM600-1200 all sound quite close to each other, Just because we need to "write to describe" the difference between them, we thought they would sound utterly different.

The worst headphone I bought was the Edifier W830BT. I only use it for Youtube now.
That one was complete trash.

No regrets so far with the X1S.

haha edifier is hyped plus plus. so regretfull

I didn't think I'm imagining that my HifiMan and Sennheiser sounds different. Both are below 1.2k

Maybe you've got SIFU ears. Or, ...

If one of your headphones is a planar, the other normal drivers, then different story. That's complete different design.

I think depends on our experience with headphones. Different people heard different headphones, so will have different impressions.

Personally my own impression also change over time. Used to think my HD600 doesn't sound that much better than my HD518 and HD58X. But after listen to a long time and listen back to the other headphones, then can appreciate the differences better. Before this also never liked bassy headphones, but now I'm appreciating headphones with good bass response. Turns out in the past I might have just heard terrible bass.

Our brains OR ears, can adapt too. How many times I've bought some headphones or speakers that I initially didn't like, but after
a couple of sittings, they turned really good. Same for my other headphones as well. Burn-in, whatever ... most probably our brains did all the EQ-ing. Haha ...

Also one can also use the EQ, or some really good EQ apps to bring everthing closer.

do u change setup and tuning to match listening taste?
then how to call a good EQ app? a lot band means good or other way pls teach us

I'm new to this world..

For me, a good EQ app can subtly change the character of the headphones. I prefer not to EQ, but no choice I haven't come across a pair of headhones which is perfect. For instance, the X1S tends to rumble a bit ( slightly slow bass decay), so I use Wavelet to control the rumble or decay.