The Dutch hi-tech giant Philips has always been associated with household appliances, but in 2012 the company unexpectedly decided to flex its muscles and launched a line of flagship Fidelio headphones. Thanks to its sound handwriting, build quality and high price-quality ratio of the debut Fidelio X1 model, Philips has started to step on the heels of well-known audio brands. As a result, X1 immediately became a hit of sales, earned a bunch of fives in the reviews of the profile press, at the end of the year audiophile magazines gave them a pack of Oscars in the category "Debutant of the Year".

Since then, in the almost ten-year history of the brand, the second and third versions of Fidelio have been released, as well as several modifications with redesigned coils, wireless connectivity and ANS. However, the most popular are the classic Fidelio X2 and X3 models, which are connected to the sound source by wire and are created primarily for enjoying music.


Fidelio X2 has 50-millimetre speakers with neodymium magnets and beveled emitters, which are located at an angle of 15 degrees. The speakers have a sensitivity of 100 dB and can reproduce the frequency spectrum from 5 to 40,000 Hz. The two-layer design of the cups reduces the level of parasitic resonances and vibrations, and the multilayer polymer membranes of Layered Motion Control accurately remember the shape of the user's head and ears.

Considering the convenience of headphones, Phillips did not change anything and the Fidelio X3 model used the same design as its predecessor. But the design was redesigned to zero. Velour ear pads, fabric-coated cups and leatherette inserts look as modern as possible, somewhat reminiscent of Beyerdynamic studio headphones and Bowers & Wilkins wireless models. As a result, Philips Fidelio has already received a couple of prestigious awards for achievements in the field of design. As for the sound, it has become more detailed, but periodically there are complaints on the web that Fidelio X2 had more bass. At the same time, the bass in them sounded more clearly and sharply.