Dutch master

Philips has thrown everything at this wireless ANC headphone, but does it actually sound any good?

- David Vivian

DETAILS

PRODUCT

Philips Fidelio L3

ORIGIN

Netherlands

TYPE

Over-ear, wireless, ANC headphone

WEIGHT

360g

FEATURES

• 40mm drivers

• Bluetooth 5.0; aptX HD

• Quoted battery life: up to 38 hours

DISTRIBUTOR

Philips UK

WEBSITE

philips.co.uk

It’s doubtful if Philips’ Fidelio headphones have ever been bought to wear as a fashion accessory. The company’s latest, the Fidelio L3, is no exception. Colour options? Dark grey. Conspicuous branding? Zippo. Distinguishing features? Pass. All right, the ear cups appear to ‘float’ behind the open aluminium frame that supports them – something of a Fidelio signifier for the true head-fi aficionado. But if you asked an artist to draw a generic pair of over-ear headphones, the result would end up looking a lot like this.

Then again, for fans of products that hide a bright light under a nondescript bushel, there’s plenty to get excited about here. Following on from the recent launch of the wired, open-back Fidelio X3 (HFC 469), the L3 enters arguably an even tougher and more highly prized sector: that dedicated to premium (yet still reasonably priced) wireless, noise-cancelling headphones. It’s an area traditionally carved up by big hitters Sony, Sennheiser and Bose. Probably the best Philips can hope for, then, is high-achieving outlier and, on paper, the L3’s performance targets are more strategic than go-for-broke.