EDIT: According to one user hifi forum (I registered and questioned) the pads make ALL the difference. If you find the sound muddy, consider buying the soft velour Pads from Brainwavz to see if anything improves. I'm ordering them now myself to see if it changes the sound signature.

Ok guys. I ordered this twice due to the price drop and received 2 clearly different models.

I had considered not typing this up because it would make you guys really paranoid, but I think you deserve to know.
As read in the hi fi forum, (link below) there is 2 or 3 different models in circulation at the moment.

They can be identified in the following ways (these are how I received them)

1st pair GIBSON- Clear writing on the leather padding. Glued on pads. Firmer, courser, thinner velour pads.
2nd pair WOOX-Less defined lettering.Not Glued on pads. Spongier (if you push down you can touch the edge of the cans), shinier, thicker velour pads.

The problem now is that there is no way of subjectively knowing which one you have unless you have the other one so you can compare relatively the other one in your hands.

Now there seems to be tons of differing account on audio quality, but I will say from my experience of receiving both different models:

I prefer the WOOX model.

The main reason is audio quality. Now some say that both models sound identical, but for me, the models I received were different in 1 major way.

BASS

The Gibson models Bass is at first incredible, but the more audio you sample, you realise it is overblown. The vocals get drowned out in it, and although for games it makes explosions sound incredible, your songs will sound distand and thumping regardless of genre.
My warning bells sounded when I listed to "Forth Eorlingas" and "End of Things" in the LOTR two towers soundtrack and return of the king respectively. The crescendo choir voice sounded incredibly far away and not triumphant.

When I received the WOOX model, the super bass was not present (but still pretty bassy, comparable to ATH m50X) and everything sounded like "it should"

looking through the forums some have attributed this purely to the padding quality, but the signature is so different I have my doubts.

Audio is subjective, and I might have received a defective model. I thought maybe ignorance is bliss and it would be better if you enjoyed your product without knowing that there is audio discrepancy between the same product.

[everything except the overexposed bass is identical. The soundstage is excellent, the detail and clarity is still top notch just slightly distant, and the pads are equally comfortable]

AGAIN this is purely my personal experience and I hope you enjoy whatever item you receive.


(TLDR. the easiest way to tell if you received GIBSON or WOOX is probably the glued pads, but not neccesarrily as gibson may have changed procedures. point is if you like the sound keep it, and test everything)

Comparison photos
http://www.head-fi.org/t/723025/philips-fidelio-x2/8535#post_12201762

Just a heads-up, they've just gone down to £117 so I cancelled my original order and bought another couple of pairs... hopefully at least one of them will be a keeper.

This should be hot.

Build quality is definitely an issue with these. I believe you need to look out for older stock before they changed factories that manufactured them.

Good find... have ordered thanks

great phones - comparable with sennheiser 600/650

How are these compared with Sennheiser Momentum 2.0s? Reviews sound very good tbh.

Think I'll grab a pair at this price. Thank you OP.

I just ordered... How do I know whether the ones I receive are the older / newer versions with the quality control issues?
What problems am I looking out for when I receive the headphones? Thanks very much in advance for the advice.

Thank you sir. I'm very much looking forward to trying them out.