Verdict
The Philips Fidelio L4 put in a strong performance in a number of country , but there are a few imperfections and the competition is even strong .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Fidelio L4 are the successor to the award - winningFidelio L3headphones , and Philips has give them a identification number of refining and improvements across the board .
And those improvements are needed as , since the L3 ’s launch back in 2021 , the contest has intensified with Apple , Beats , Bose , Sony , Sennheiser , andSonoslaunching flagshipheadphones .
With so many alternatives usable , what makes the Philips Fidelio L4 worthy of sit on top of your promontory ?
Availability
The Fidelio L4 went on sale via Amazon price at £ 299.99 / € 299.99 , which was less than what I was initially cite back at a preview event in September 2023 when it was ab initio £ 349.99 / € 349.99 .
Design
esthetically , the Fidelio L4 would be a mirror image of the L3 model but changes have been made ; some have lick , whereas others are less successful .
A irrefutable is that they ’re 10 % lighter ( 320 g vs 360 gibibyte ) , though still towards the grave end of the scale . Another change is that the headphones are slightly small , and accord to Philips , the L4 ’s big interior ear cup bulk ought to improve well-grounded quality but still make space for larger ears .
That ’s not the case for me though . Whereas with the previous mannequin my ears could suit well into the earcup , the L4 sit on top of my earlobe . mayhap this is substantiation that I have big ears .
The consumption of a softer celluloid leather on the earpads is intend to improve comforter and cut the clamp military force , a change that ’s worked as the Fidelio L4 does n’t press as tightly as the Fidelio L3 did . However , with the headphones sit more on my capitulum , it does induce some pinching over longer periods , as well as wee me want to itch my ears .
The slider is step - less so when the headband is adjusted there is n’t a ‘ click ’ interference accompanying a change .
Buttons are kept simple with force on the left earcup and mic / noise - cancellation button on the right ; the former calls up the phonation assistant on your mobile twist .
Playback is assure through a ghost control board on the right earcup ; twofold tap to hesitate , swipe up / down for book and swipe across for track hop . It ’s okay for the most part , though touch controller are n’t always the most responsive , and there are times where there ’s an odd change in pressure when swiping across the open .
The Fidelio L4 only comes in a black cultivation with the aluminium mounting ringing in a grey steely finish to provide contrast . I ’ve found the mounting annulus less helpful during windy conditions , which seem to latch around the structure and create a little noise .
Features
Philips has covered its basis on the feature front with everything that you ’d look from a premium headphone admit work up - inspatial audio .
fag detecting was strike and miss when the Fidelio L4 launched but an update has repair that issue . The headphones are now much more precise in terms of pausing and restart audio frequency than they were before .
The Fidelio L3 hadaptX and aptX HDsupport but they ’ve been usurped by Sony’sLDAC.Bluetooth 5.3includes support for LE Audio and the LC3 sound codec that claims to declare oneself “ real ” Hi - Res sound with 32 - bit/48kHz content . It ’s also possible to mind toHi - Ra Audiovia the supplied USB - coulomb transmission line .
The wireless performance is very good – there were only pocket-size sign breakups walk through officious power train station in London , and I carry off to get through a throng of people in Leicester Square with only a small recess - up .
I ’d place the call quality of these headphones as one of the best I ’ve used . Even when the earpiece were used in airy precondition , the mortal on the other goal could n’t hear that noise , and auto and general traffic were n’t an matter either . If anything people mosey cope to penetrate the noise - cancelling bubble .
The person on the other end did mention that my part sounded a picayune low – perhaps voice pickup truck could be slightly stronger – but otherwise these are an excellent pair for calls .
In term of disturbance - offset the Fidelio L4 boasts an adaptative four - mic hybrid ANC that ’s spliced with AI applied science . Philips claim this pairing can mensurate and cancel abject and mid - range sounds with the “ additional mensuration of wind noise ” .
It does cancel out noise delicately enough walk around London and on the Underground . It ’s able to chop up vehicle large and small down to size , though the earpiece ca n’t quite latch onto whichever frequency reach motorbikes exist in . multitude ’s vox do n’t go away but are permeate out enough that they ’re less of a distraction . And on the Underground , they were n’t often overwhelmed but they needed a volume boost to cancel out noise .
They ’re not as strong as theBose QuietComfort Ultra Headphonesbut at the bit none are , and the Philips are far less expensive at the time of review .
The Awareness mode works as advertised in providing more alertness of immediate surroundings , but it does touch on the sound , which sound thinner and loses some of the heaviness I ’d connect with the Fidelio series .
Philips puts battery life at 40 hours , a slight gain on the Fidelio L3 ’s 38 , although I imagine this is with AAC pursue . Streaming audio in LDAC , I find the battery carrying into action nigher to 30 hour with 11 % battery lose over three hr with volume at around 50 % .
Philips also says you get 50 minute without racket - cancelling . It refill its storage tank in two hours , and a quick 15 - moment tutelage provides another two hours .
The Philips Headphones app provides funding for the Fidelio L4 whether it ’s through firmware update or customisation . LDAC is toggled on here : you could supervise battery levels , conform haphazardness - control background , and play with the EQ among other thing . It ’s fine to use but does bug out every now and then , requiring the old “ power on / off trick ” with the earpiece .
Sound Quality
If you ’ve ever listened to Philips ’ Fidelio headphones before , you ’ll recognise what you ’re in for . The Fidelio L4 sound lovesome , at times bright , with a still quality that enfold the midrange . It ’s a warm hug of a performance that envelops your ears .
The Fidelio L4 gas a raw bespoke 40 millimetre number one wood with a graphene coating that tot up additional rigorousness for lower twisting , as well as producing a cleaner mid and high - absolute frequency carrying into action over the previous example , and in that esteem , the Philips are an improvement .
The midrange has more centering and clearness over the older mannequin , the high register brighter and clearer with GoGo Penguin ’s erase by Sunlight . In term of extract more uncloudedness and detail , they ’re a step up .
These are an easy - going , relaxing duo of headphones but it does also mean they ’re not the most detail - rich around .
Compare them to rival headphones such as theWH-1000XM5and the Sonys have the bound in terms of retrieving detail and defining vocals in Annette Askvik ’s Liberty . The Sony offer up that redundant ounce of clarity to shape and describe pawn better , while Askvik ’s sounds just a shade more naturalistic than it does on the Philips .
The Sony is more of a dab hand at little - scale dynamics whereas the Philips is less expressive . The WH-1000XM5 adorns a track like Queen ’s Do n’t Stop Me Now with more verve and energy , while the Fidelio L4 voice more contemplative at its nonremittal volume .
That ’s no uncollectible thing , but if it ’s excitement you favour , the Sony is the more exciting listen . That said , push the volume up and the L4 summons more zip , though I line up the soundstage does become somewhat less coherent and detailed .
And paired against theShure Aonic 50 Gen 2shows that Philips ’ treble performance is n’t as undimmed , taking a more finespun approach to how it deals with the top terminal while the Shure plays it needlelike and brighter .
And at the other oddment of the frequency range , the Philips ’ warmth makes for a good listen with Kingdom ’s Bank Head but the Shure hits harder . With Takuya Kuroda ’s Everybody enjoy the Sunshine , the Fidelio L4 does n’t present the same levels of lucidness , poke , or acuteness that the Shure brings to transactions .
Lastly , the Spatial Audio feels ho - hum in execution , a face of box - tick because as far as I can tell , there ’s no difference between it on or off .
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Should you buy it?
The quick Fidelio signature has been refine with this framework , extracting even more clarity and point than its forerunner .
It ’s a who ’s who of headphone brands that Philips is compete against inBose , Sony , Shure , and Sennheiser , and they ’re all a step up on the Fidelio L4 .
Final Thoughts
The Philips Fidelio L4 have chock up into a very competitive market . Wherever you look , there are earpiece of impressive character .
So while the Fidelio L4 ’s performance is strong , to make a scar , these headphones needed to be outstanding , and they come down short of that stage .
But they ’re not headphones to shrug off either . The warm , detailed sound is an betterment over the previous model , the ANC is up to , the wireless carrying out is near faultless , the electric battery life is lengthy , and the call tone is excellent . There are plenty of area where the Fidelio L4 are a friction match for the competition .
But overall they ’re not stronger than the rivalry . TheSony WH-1000XM5andSennheiser Momentum 4 Wirelessexist around the Fidelio L4 ’s price and eke out more carrying into action and value .
If you ’ve enjoyed former Fidelio headphones , the L4 are worth a closer flavour , but rivals have the upper hand .
Trusted Score
How we test
We screen every pair of headphones we brush up good over an extended catamenia of time . We use industry - standard examination to compare feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a ware .
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FAQs
Philips claims a 40 - hour battery liveliness for the Fidelio L4 , but in exam , we found it was closer to 30 hours .
