HardX review

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Hard X is a site featuring hard-edged hardcore scenes with lots of anal with many of the hottest stars in the adult industry. The scenes are directed by the well-known, well-respected and prolific director, Mason.

HardX is one of five original sites that make up the XEmpire network. While we've posted a review of the full network, the sites themselves each have a distinct theme that merits a stand-alone review.

HardX started in 2014 by the renowned female director, Mason, a.k.a. Sam No. It's no exaggeration to say that Mason is one of the most talented and most prolific female directors in the adult business today and has been for many years. Mason got her start behind the camera in 2002 when she began working with the well-known studio, Elegant Angel. In her tenure with Elegant Angel, Mason shot approximately 140 movies for them that are easily considered classics now.

More recently, Mason went out on her own and created several stand-alone sites, such as HardX. HardX began in 2014 and, along with its sister-sites, was an immediate success. Perhaps the best news is that several years ago Mason rolled all her sites into one network, XEmpire, so that instead of having to take out multiple subscriptions to get access to all her different themes, one membership now gets you access to everything. And, to add icing to that cake, when you join through x3giude there is a significant discount.

While I suspect that most people who have a passing knowledge of gonzo porn likely know who Mason is and what her work is like, there must still be some who don't know her. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some readers may want to dismiss the possibility of joining HardX because the scenes are directed by a woman. Part of that stereotype is that women shoot romantic, light porn scenes. While Mason certainly brings a female sensitivity and perspective to shooting, the site is called HardX for a reason – this is not romantic porn. HardX features all the popular harder-edged themes popular in porn today – there are lots of scenes with multiple partners, there are gang bangs, blow bangs and lots of anal sex and double penetrations. However, what Mason is known for is creating these amazing hardcore scenes that never get creepy or degrading to the women involved. Mason clearly sees women as being powerful and able to participate in and enjoy some rough sex acts that may not be for everybody.

Another advantage that Mason brings to HardX likely follows from her reputation in the industry. Mason gets to film a lot of specific “firsts” from popular models. Many models will perform their first anal scene, first double penetration, first gang bang or first blow bang for Mason, and that's probably no coincidence because Mason is so well-known and so well respected in the industry.

The scenes at HardX are true gonzo, there is not even a semblance of a plot and there is usually some interaction between the models in front of the camera and Mason behind the camera. This interaction usually occurs early in the scene as an interview but when it's time for the action to start, Mason steps back and lets the scene unfold.

In most of the scenes, the models are dressed in skimpy clothes to start and then they pose and do a striptease as well. Many of the scenes have an outdoor component to them too.

The camera work, lighting, sound and editing all indicate a high level of proficiency and professionalism. This shouldn't be surprising, though, given that Mason has been a director to be reckoned with for 20 years now.

The models on the site are a Who's Who of the top models working in the business. If a porn star who does hardcore is popular and prolific, you are apt to find a scene or two with her at HardX.

HardX currently has 866 video scenes available. That's the grand total, 103 of them are BTS (behind-the-scenes) vids, and 12 are compilations. So the core library is about 750 scenes, all original, exclusive, and high quality. The site continues to grow with 3-4 new scenes being added each month. That's just HardX of course. There are additional updates you get from the other sites of the XEmpire network.

Because Mason also distributes DVDs, the scenes can be also browse by DVDs compiled around specific themes. This helps a subscriber focus and find things that interest them. There are currently 178 DVDs available, made up of the videos on the site.

Each scene is available to be downloaded or streamed, and each of those are available in multiple resolutions. I've listed the details on those resolutions in our Videos table for ease of reference. Even the oldest scenes on the network are available in 1080p and they look good. There is such a wide variety of resolutions that any subscriber will find a resolution best for his or her preferred device.

In late 2018, a 4K option became available for both file downloads and streaming. While there are a handful of scenes that don't offer 4K after that date, that is a small number. My speculation is that these scenes were shot earlier and only uploaded later. Otherwise, subscribers who prefer 4K will be happy.

I found downloads to be fast and stable and streaming to be stutter-free. Obviously, your own Internet connection will play a significant role here.

For subscribers familiar with the current design of Gamma Entertainment sites, you'll notice that HardX (and XEmpire) shares that design. While Mason's sites are separate and apart from Gamma Entertainment, there is an affiliation there. The biller, for example, is an in-house proprietary Gamma Entertainment biller. Also, some of Mason's scenes are also available at the Gamma Entertainment mega-site, Adult Time.
If you want everything in the HardX catalogue, and you likely will, the only way to get it is to subscribe to HardX, or XEmpire, or one of the other XEmpire sites.

That HardX is using the Gamma Entertainment site layout is a good thing. It is easy to use and logical, no matter if you're on mobile or desktop. For a site as large as HardX, and especially since HardX is part of a larger network, having multiple ways to sort scenes and an effective search function is essential. The Gamma design brings that here.

There are two other reasons why having HardX affiliated with Gamma Entertainment is a good thing for subscribers. I've subscribed to sites using the Gamma's proprietary billing services too many times to count and I have never had even a minor issue with them. You can subscribe in confidence. The second advantage is one that I wish more sites would do. Gamma sites and Gamma-affiliated sites such as HardX offer different levels of membership. For someone who has no interest in downloading, you can subscribe to a lower level that only includes streaming and save money. The advantage that Gamma brings here is that they are completely open and transparent about the different levels of membership. There are other major sites that hide this fact from subscribers. The Gamma model is honest and upfront, and I wish that other sites would adopt it.

While HardX is clearly intended as a video site, photos are available. The photo galleries are pretty good, with solo posing and hardcore pics, in good quality. Photos started to be added in 2015 and most scenes after that date have an associated photo set. Those sets are available as zip files or the photos can be downloaded as singles as well. One resolution is available, namely 1920x1280, which is not super high, but high enough for most people. There is a wide variation in the number of photos in each set with some being just under 100 while others have more than 500 photos in them. A rough estimate is that an average across the site is approximately 200 photos per set.

I'll admit to a bit of bias while writing this review because I first joined HardX back when it had just started and only had 30 scenes available. I've been a regular and frequent subscriber since then and there's a good reason why I am always happy to put my money where my mouth is and join HardX and XEmpire – Mason hires only the best models in the business, many of whom are favourites of mine as well, and has them perform some wild hardcore sex acts in well-shot scenes. Even if HardX only had a quarter of the scenes that they do, it would still be a great value.

This is the part of the review where I'd ordinarily list any negative aspects of the site but there really aren't any here. I say this as someone who has paid for frequent and regular memberships at the individual sites that now make up X Empire, and at XEmpire once that was created. If you like this style of porn – hard-edged, gonzo, well shot and well performed – then I'm confident you will agree with me that there are no real negatives to HardX. Of course you could always ask for more updates, but at least here you also get access to the other updates of XEmpire – from EroticaX, DarkX, AllBlackX, and LesbianX.

The bottom line, which certainly won't come as any surprise to a reader, is that I highly recommend a membership to HardX and the entire network, XEmpire. HardX offers some of the best hardcore scenes available today in great quality, without ever straying into degradation or misogyny that so often trips up other harder-edged sites. The models are all top-tier and if you are a fan of collecting “firsts” by some of your favourite models, then getting a membership here is essential. The site itself is huge and continues to grow. Further, Hard X is now part of a larger network and you will get access to all of that as well. When you join through using this link at x3guide you'll get a significant discount as well. All these things combine to make HardX one of the best gonzo porn deals around today.