Philips Audio Fidelio X2HR Over-Ear Headphones

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.