^ lol. Well, I am in the same boat as you. I just see the need to spend the extra to get the brand name if they are the same. If I tell someone yeah its an HKS. They won't give me a pat on the back and say "good job way to go name brand!" They will probably say man that sounds sweet. Unless its a hardcore HKS supporter lol.

I actually prefer the sound of the X02 as well. I just want to find out if there really is a quality difference or just the name brand. I did have the HKS dual hi power on my S2000 so I know they are excellent quality. Just don't think I want to spend that much.

 

Quality wise, hks is way better.

Sound wise, x02 > hks IMO...

If you have access to a welder, burnzomatic, mechanical intelligence, and time, go with the x02.