Fidelio X2HR Over-Ear High Resolution Wired Headphones | Open-Back Design | Double-Layered Ear Shells | 50 mm Neodymium Drivers | Deluxe Memory Foam Earpads

Simply put, the best headphones I've ever owned and well worth the 110 I paid, thanks Amazon! These are what I would call 'fun' in their response. You can get "truer" units with a flatter response curve, but these give rich plentiful sound that is more akin to being in a room with a decent speaker setup, than wearing headphones. Bass is well defined, and not overwhelming. Kids are clear and rich. Treble, which I am sensitive to, is not too much and if not absolutely Cristal (if I am being super critical), is bang on to my taste without having to play with the EQ. The clarity is simply incredible, even using my phone (but note the 3m cable is not ideal for this use case). Build quality is spot on, even the cable is great. They are heavy in the hand but very light on your head and very soft around your ears. As a glasses wearer, and having a larger head, I find it hard to find comfort in a pair of headphones, but again, these are the most comfortable units I've ever encountered!!! Being open can design, some sound is leaked, so public use, i.e. train, you want something else... However for home use you would be hard pressed to get better for the money, I would suggest these are worth 150 of anyone's money easy, even if the RRP is a bit of a stretch. The open can design however, means I can listen to whatever I want and still hear others, the OH and the kids etc, without needing to remove them, which can be useful. The 'stage' of these is again, simply incredible... Wearing these you can get a real sense of direction of sounds and find yourself fully immersed. Whether you're listening to say, the Doors and listening to Jim Morrison's whisper track, clear as day during riders on the storm, or using them for gaming, if the sound profile suits you I am sure you will be blown away, at least I was. If you are looking for a gaming headset, or do VR and want immersive sound, look no further. Forget all these poor quality gaming headset s and myths over 5.1 and 7.1 headphone units, this will have better quality and all you need is a Vmoda mic or modmic to make it into a super-decent gaming headset. Personally I can't see the point in multiple driver headphone units because you only have two microphones in your head (your ears). What gives sound 'direction' is actually how the sound waves are manipulated by the direction and your ear itself (hence why our ears are not just flat dishes, evolution of ear shape was not simply accidental, lol). I have worn a number of headphones that are more expensive even, yet have not performed like this. Now they seem to have fixed initial quality issues from a couple of years back these are simply great, highly recommended!!!

Open backed headphones always face a challenge of both adequately representing the bass sounds and not being too bright on the treble. The headphone manufacturers have traditionally dealt with this by having their cheaper sets generally closed back where it is easier to provide a bass heavy but closed in sound, or by complex engineering that results in open backed headphones retailing over £1,000 a piece. The challenge is to provide an open backed headphone (which is the high end audiophiles preferred format as evidenced by a review of the number of open verses closed back headphones over £1,000) at a lower price point. The reason why audiophiles prefer open back is because it provides the most realistic sound repesentation, similar to listening to speakers in a room. They don't block out sounds around you, so your environment is mixed with the sound you hear from the headphones. This makes it easier for headphone designers to create a realistic sound environment, which in turn can provide better dynamic seperation and sound stage. Sennheiser have probably come closest to producing a balanced, cost effective open backed headphone by most accounts, Beyerdynamic have tried and although they are the firm favourite for studio units, for the home market their products are generally regarded as too treble biased, you will see a similar consensus on these Amazon reviews too. Of course whether the sound is balanced or not to you is a matter for each person and although there are ways of measuring the sound output from headphones to quantify this, in the end you just have to try it yourself to be sure. Knowing this Harmon about ten years ago tried to quantify scientifically what a prefered sound might be like and came up with the Harmon target curve. This elevates the bass sounds, also the lower treble but drops off significantly for the higher treble to create a simulated enhanced version of reality but without the sharpness of high frequencies. So we now have a reference point to quantify headphone performance against. If you search on line you will find lists comparing headphones to this standard and although this is no guarentee that they will sound right to you it provides a common measuring point for analysis. So how do these Philips headphones measure up? Well they are one of the closest on the market in this price range to the Harmon curve, the hd560s being slightly closer still. They match well in the bass but do not fall off fast enough in the treble. This is why they are slightly treble focused, in other words the first impression that you get when you put these headphones on is in the treble, the treble is very clear, the midrange is very detailed, usually not the case in cheaper units, the bass is deep but not pronounced, so behind the other sounds. I find these are excellent for classical music, live bands, slightly less so for rock and not for movies. Having spent a lifetime enjoying home cinema systems which are bass heavy with subwoofers, these headphones for me do not have enough bass, however I am enjoying the sound realism that open backed headphones provide and recognise that my sort of bass is unlikely to come out of open back design, Which brings me to my final comment. The more you chase the sound dragon, the more you realise that one headphone like one car is not going to be able to do everthing for you without some compromises. I bought some headphones on here for my son, they are from Oneodio, lots of treble and lots of bass, not much detail in between, great for Skrillex, Scooter and AC/DC LIVE, make you want to turn them up, but now I can't hear my car's turn signals. In short buy these, excellent, superb build quality, cost effective, open backed headphones for natural sound, classical music, accoustic, jazz, but for movies or the club sound buy some different pairs as well.

Hailed as "Babbies first set of open-back cans" I can highly recommend the X2HR. Bought for use in PC Gaming and Multimedia connected to a retro PC with a top-end sound card to play an old media/music collection, RPG's and Space-Sims (and some shooters). Out the box they are very crisp and fit nicely on my oversized noggin though after a full day of use the pads pick up all kinds of fluff on them (honestly I don't know where it comes from) - consider having some tape or a lint roller to give them a brush off after use. For Bass heads; open backs aren't designed to give you powerful thumps or soul vibrating rumbles, and although the X2HR's do come boosted (and considered quite bassy for open backs) you'd be better off with some closed cups if what you want is core vibrating impact and thunder. Same goes for those who don't want to annoy other people around them when gaming or listening to music; these things bleed sound to no end in that annoying tinny-ear worm way so I wouldn't use these in a quiet office. However when working at home: the open back design is great because you can still hear everything in and around you (like the doorbell or phone ringing); and you won't naturally shout at people who ask questions. Anyway my main use-case is retro gaming using EAX compatible soundcards (X-FI Titaniums). Compared to previous sets I've used - Logitech, Hyper Fury, Corsair and Seinnhausers these are great. First because they don't require excessive software to run, drive easily and secondly can be used at length without too much fatigue. The real winner is the soundstage - it is very good compared to other headsets I've used in the past especially for creating that immersive sound experience; especially when playing around with sound software and environmental emulation on the soundcard. Games like Oblivion, KOTOR, Freelancer etc sound really good. For accuracy and spatial location, especially in vertical scenarios it is a bit of a hit and miss. When using something like EAX yes you do get the "that sounds like it's over there" effects and anything left or right to you is clearly distinguishable. But it's hard to explain; for me sounds outside this space are just not as accurate to pull out as something like a closed cup gaming headset like the Hyperfury or my Seinnhauser. This is especially true if someone or something is above you. You end up spending an extra half second to process or figure out where it came from, so although you know general location (fine for single player games and rpg's) it's not going to give you a competitive edge in things like shooters. Sound perception is very subjective though so err on the side of caution; if you intend to use these for competitive reasons I suggest you have a look elsewhere. For music and media consumption the treble is bright without being tiring and the mids are very very clear. The bass though as mentioned can feel somewhat washed out; so movie explosions sound less impactful than I remember on my more bassy-headsets. Music is where these things excel (as you'd expect them to); I'm relistening to a huge selection of MP3's on these and it's such a joyful experience (especially when using Winamp and its visualiser) and i'm even dusting off old CD's and drives filled with .flac's just to find new sounds in old tracks I never knew were there. These are certainly a gateway headset to better listening and I recommend that if you can pick them up on a sale you won't be disappointed; and like me you'll be starting your own audiophile journey.

I've been buying headphones for over 40 years. I've owned all kinds of them. One thing I've learned, is that headphones are just as personal as the music choose to play on them. That is, what are great headphones for one person, are awful for others. Just as NIN is a delicious hot cup of coffee for one person, whilst they are a rancid cup of tea for another. I'm not going to go into some boring long winded insecure list of what headphones are the best, simply I'm going to say that 'I' like these headphones, and give a brief reason why. * I got them on sale. * They are extremely well built * I enjoy the oversized comical nature of their size. I find it extremely whimsical. * I got them for gaming primarily, at which they excel at. * I discovered by chance they are great for certain genres of music that I like. I wasn't expecting that. * They have detachable audio cables (meaning they can be replaced easily when they break) * For my head size and shape, they are extremely comfortable, with no discernible pressure on my ears. * They do not make my ears sweat * They have good bass, despite being open backed. * They have great stereo separation and sound stage Things I would improve; * The inherent v shaped EQ curve is a tad too aggressive on the highs (I fixed this with a simple EQ curve on my PC) * The mids are somewhat muted. (Again, I fixed this with a simple EQ curve on my PC) * The bass seems loose compared to my closed back headphones (To be expected, because, physics) * They are poor with listening to certain genres of music (because of the above) You'll hear a lot of comments about how these headphones aren't 'flat' headphones. I know. As they should be I believe. I do a lot of music production, and I have headphones tailored specifically for that. It always makes me chuckle when I read comments about people turning their noses up because of this. As the vast majority of consumers don't have studio grade flat response headphones. Any music producer who doesn't comprehend the implications of this, and only produces music tailored for other studio grade headphone wearers simply isn't a very good music producer. These are ideal for the purpose I bought them (gaming), and I will be adding them to my collection of 'reference' headphones that I listen to my mixes on. In fact, I have a few mixes that I've listened to whilst wearing them that has highlighted some obvious issues that wasn't apparent on my studios. And given that most people don't have studios. This can only be a good thing. Ultimately, it's for you to decide if you like these headphones. It's no fault of this product if you don't. It's simply means they are not to your liking. I've been there. And if they're not, then I wish you nothing but good luck on your quest to find a set of headphones you do like. I have a wall full of ones I don't. Such is the nature of the beast. For me, I think they are great, fun, well built, reasonably priced headphones.

Having heard so much about the infamous Philips X2HR I decided to take the plunge on a warehouse return for the incredible sum of £80. Equipment: Aune X1/XDuoo link EQ: Preamp: -4.5 dB 31 Hz Gain 5.0 dB 62 Hz Gain -3.2 dB 125 Hz Gain -1.0 dB 250 Hz Gain -1.2 dB 500 Hz Gain -0.0 dB 1000 Hz Gain -0.5 dB 2000 Hz Gain 2.7 dB 4000 Hz Gain -2.1 dB 8000 Hz Gain 2.9 dB 16000 Hz Gain -0.7 dB Build: Intial impressions are very good, the build and design putting some far more expensive cans to shame, cough Hi-Fi man! But the X2HR also does things that it's main rivals cannot, a removable cable? Cough Beyer. Or how about the complete lack of plastic? Cough Sennheiser cough. For the record I own both Hi-fi man and Sennheiser brand headphones, but more on that later. Looks are always subjective but in my mind the X2HR does a fine job of juggling looks, quality materials and a heavy duty build tough enough for a tour in a 1940's U boat, probably. Fit: The X2HR for me, are a very comfortable headphone, they have a good seal and feel balanced upon my medium sized head. Sure it's a touch heavy but as Boris the blade would say, "Heavy is good, heavy is relaible" Sound The first impression that's noticable about the X2HR is the vast soundstage, some headphones give the impression of listening in a telephone box, the X2HR will sound like you're in St Pauls Catherdral. The overall sound signature is warm with a very expansive bass, like a eager puppy, the X2HR just wanna have fun. Even before EQing these cans are liberal with the bass which in turn creates a very fun, non fatiguing, and enjoyable sound. If you're the type of person who values detail, imaging and a neutral sound then start looking at other headphones such as Senheisher or AKG as the X2HR's are not for you. The mid range is slightly recessed compared to other headphones with vocals hanging a little back into the mix giving a feeling that the X2HR have a slight veil to them. The treble is there but rolled off and not as crisp as other headphones I own and while the imaging is ok, it lacks the space inbetween instruments that other rivals can deliver. While some of the above may seem a bit critical I can tell you for the price, even at retail, these are minor concerns at best. Other plus points to consider is the attack and easy to drive nature delivered by the X2HR making numerous, more expensive headphones sound almost languid and shy in nature. The final string to the X2HR's bow is the ability to play low bitrate files extremely well, so no need to get rid of those 128kbps tracks because just like your best friend, the X2HR has you covered. Competition: X2HR V Sennheiser HD599SE The main rival staring down the X2HR's are probably the HD599SE which have a similar RRP, and can often be found on sale at £99, just like the X2HR. Both have great comfort, build and fit, with the HD599SE being lighter although being 100% plastic certainly helps which may in turn put some people off. The 599SE offer a good soundstage but not quite as wide as the X2HR but still wider than some of it's far more expensive siblings. Both are open back and will leak sound although the HD599SE slightly less in this regard. The HD599SE is the slighly more laid back and cleaner of the two headphones although both are warm sounding. The HD599SE are perfect for listening to vocals and less bass heavy music., that's not to say it can't do bass but the X2HR does it better, and with far more slam, while the bass also digs deeper. The 599SE are more detailed without crossing into the realms of brightness and both will do a stellar job for single player gaming and films. In fact watching Das Boot through the X2HR was a fantastic, immersive and intense experience. Thoughts: Both are great headphones for the price and if you have a wide range of music you could easily justify buying both when on sale. The next step up on the headphone ladder in my view are the Hi-Fi man Sundaras. While the Sundaras are capable of magic, and are my pride and joy, they are not without a few issues and at more than double the cost. The extra cost will net you at the most, a mere 15-25% improvement. The law of diminishing returns can be a cruel mistress in the world of audio and both the X2HR and HD599SE will be end game for most normal people who aren't hellbent on chasing audio nirvana like audiofools such as myself. For retail price the X2HR are more than worth it and at £99? Then it's a deal, a steal, a sale of the flaming century! (Providing you dig the sound signature) When you factor in the X3 is the latest model and stock of the X2HR will be limited, I may buy another one as these are my first choice for films and gaming. If you made it this far then a socially distanced high five and congratulations to you!

I have had a few pairs of headphones from Beyerdynamic, Sony, Sennheiser and Audio-Technica over the years ranging at different price points from £100-£1000+. I now use these headphones replacing all the previous (same price range) headphones. In other words you will find it difficult to get any headphones that have the clarity and soundstage of the Phillips X2HRs at the same price point. These are really good headphones when you compare them to £500-1000+ headphones. I would completely recommend these headphones they have a wide soundstage and are very "warm/dark feeling" if you are a bass head you will like these headphones! However, if you prefer a wider mid-high range soundstage then I would suggest that you look at other options before purchasing these headphones. I saw a few reviews mentioning the clamping force of the headphones. It put me off quite a bit before purchasing however, I went ahead with the purchase. The clamping force doesn't seem too tight at all to me, so not sure what they're on about. Maybe a larger head size may effect the clamping pressure? I have a pretty average head size so come to your own conclusion about this lol. I personally don't think it's an issue - I could wear these for hours without a problem! Being very picky now, they are a bit on the heavy side. However, this is compensated by their build quality. They're clearly built to last, you'll have to look hard to find a piece of plastic on these headphones they're mostly constructed from metal! You will notice the shear quality as soon as you take them out of the box "perfection". * NOTE: * I know for a fact that you can run these headphones without a DAC or AMP: But I found that they were way too quiet without one, due to having a lower end motherboard in my PC. I would personally recommend buying a DAC-AMP for these headphones, if you have a lower end motherboard that doesn't support HiFi audio headsets. If anyone is looking for a decent DAC-AMP "on a budget", for these headphones I use the SoundBlaster X3 DAC-AMP which is a perfect fit and allows for future headphone upgrades it is around £100-ish. Conclusion: Don't look anywhere else unless you're willing to add another £200-400 to your budget or you want more clarity in the mid-high ranges.

The Unboxing Experience First impressions matter, and Philips nailed this. The presentation is professional and feels "premium" right out of the gate. The box is sturdy with high-resolution printing, not the flimsy cardboard you sometimes get in this price range. Inside, the headphones are seated securely, and the included 3-meter oxygen-free cable feels robust and thick, avoiding that cheap "spaghetti wire" feel. The included cable clip is a small but thoughtful addition for cable management. Build Quality & Comfort If I could use one word to describe the build, it would be substantial. Materials: There is a refreshing lack of cheap plastic here. The outer headband is genuine leather, and the ear cup rings are metal. They have a reassuring weight to them without feeling heavy on the head. The "Hammock" Fit: The self-adjusting suspended headband (the mesh "hammock" under the leather arch) is fantastic. I didn't have to fiddle with sliders; I just put them on, and they fit instantly. Ear Pads: The velour pads are breathable and very deep, meaning my ears don't touch the drivers inside. However, be aware that velour attracts lint easily, so you might need a lint roller handy. Sound Signature These are definitely not "flat" or sterile studio monitors—they are designed for enjoyment. Bass: For an open-back headphone, the bass is surprisingly punchy and full. It has a warm "V-shaped" sound (boosted bass and treble) that brings energy to action movies and genres like electronic or rock music. Soundstage: Because of the open-back design, the sound is wide and airy. In gaming, this is a massive advantage; I can easily pinpoint where footsteps or sounds are coming from around me. Leakage: It is important to note that because these are open-back, everyone around you will hear what you are listening to, and you will hear them. Do not buy these for a noisy office or commuting. Verdict The Fidelio X2HR strikes a rare balance between "audiophile" sound quality and consumer "fun." They are built like a tank but comfortable enough for all-day wear. If you have a quiet room and want an immersive experience for movies and gaming, these are hard to beat at this price point.

I rarely write reviews and just hope this will help someone falling down the headphone 'rabbit hole':) I wanted a to improve sound quality over my Bose QC SE. After reading the hype, I bought the Sennheiser Momentum 4s and, yeah, they had a great bass, but the mids/highs felt muffled/veiled to my ears. I returned them and bought these X2HRs for £87, not expecting much for this price, but boy I was wrong! Sound: The soundstage is massive, the bass is punchy and controlled, and the vocals are very clear and present. The level of immersion is miles ahead of the expensive wireless headphones I tried. Build: They are large and made of metal, but the self adjusting strap and soft velour pads make them really comfortable. The 3m cable is a bit overkill, but it feels high quality and braided. Being 'open back', they leak quite a bit of sound, so best for home listening. Too early to comment on durability, but they seem sturdy. Few tips: They sound great out of the box, but also responds really well to some 'tuning'. I use them on win 11 laptop with a 'Equalizer APO' and 'Peace GUI', both free. These apps allowed me to customise the sound to my music style, and really transformed them from 'great' to 'amazing' - huge difference! (I asked AI to help me setting this up and was fairly easy) I run these via Moondrop dawn pro dongle, but they have very low independence, so work well without any amp too.

Extreme under-rated headphone. Owned various high-end headphones like Beyerdynamic T5 & Amiron copper, AKG k701 & k550, Shure 1540. this Philips X2HR can easily measure / compete with the best of them. Build quality / materials used is solid and luxurious ea very highend. I just love the look and feel. They are very comfortable even after many houres when wearing them on your head. Balanced and enormous spacious sound as if you are in the center of it [ no v-shape etc]. No excessive oomph or high and mids…. It just sounds perfect…its pure audiophile sound. Had the hdphn on my whishlist for quite some time and this week Amazon offered it against a price i could not resist any longer…. Well hindsight…even if i had to pay euro 300 it is more than worth it. If you are in for a new or other headphone then blind buy these….. you will not regret. Its the best buy you did in a long time !! Your remaining saved cash when buying these which you normally spent on much more expensive competitor brand can be spent on a good bluetooth dac for instance..

Ich habe den Philips Fidelio X2HR ursprünglich eher aus Neugier gekauft. Der Preis lag als Warehouse Deal bei rund 65 €. Meine Erwartung war entsprechend überschaubar. Heute, mehrere Wochen später und nach zahlreichen Hörsessions sowie direkten Vergleichen mit deutlich teureren Kopfhörern – unter anderem einem Focal Clear (NP ca. 1.500 EUR, geliehen, nicht gekauft) – bin ich ehrlich beeindruckt. Der Fidelio versucht nicht, der analytischste oder technisch perfekteste Kopfhörer zu sein. Stattdessen macht er etwas, das aus meiner Sicht deutlich schwieriger ist: Er macht Musik. Die Bühne ist für diese Preisklasse außergewöhnlich breit. Stimmen stehen angenehm frei im Raum, Gitarren haben Körper und Schlagzeug besitzt genau den richtigen Punch. Rock, Blues, Singer-Songwriter oder Live-Aufnahmen machen schlicht Spaß. Man ertappt sich dabei, ein Album nach dem anderen zu hören, anstatt ständig den Kopfhörer zu analysieren. Natürlich gibt es Grenzen. Bei hervorragend produzierten Studioaufnahmen zeigt ein Kopfhörer wie der Focal Clear mehr Tiefenstaffelung, bessere Instrumententrennung und legt Details frei, die der Fidelio eher zu einem stimmigen Gesamtbild verschmelzen lässt. Wer gezielt jede Hallfahne oder jede Mikrofonposition analysieren möchte, findet in höheren Preisklassen tatsächlich noch eine weitere Ebene. Das Überraschende ist jedoch: Diese Erkenntnis schmälert den Fidelio kaum. Im Gegenteil. Gerade durchschnittlich produzierte oder stark komprimierte Aufnahmen profitieren von seiner musikalischen Abstimmung. Er urteilt nicht über die Aufnahme, sondern lädt dazu ein, Musik zu genießen. Auch die Verarbeitung verdient Lob. Metallbügel und eine insgesamt robuste Konstruktion vermitteln mehr Wertigkeit, als der Preis erwarten lässt. Das einzige was mich persönlich stört sind die Velours-Polster. Man schwitzt wie sau und die sehen einfach billig aus. Der Clear sah hinsichtlich der Verarbeitung im direkten Vergleich fast schon billiger aus. Nach mehreren Wochen komme ich zu folgendem Schluss: Der Fidelio X2HR ist kein "High-End-Killer". Er ersetzt keinen Focal Clear oder vergleichbare Spitzenmodelle. Aber er spielt mit einer Selbstverständlichkeit, Musikalität und Spielfreude, die in dieser Preisklasse nahezu absurd ist. Ich kenne derzeit keinen Kopfhörer, der für unter 100 € ein vergleichbares Gesamtpaket aus Klang, Erlebnis, Verarbeitung und Langzeittauglichkeit bietet. Kurz gesagt: Der Fidelio X2HR ist kein Kopfhörer, der beeindrucken möchte. Er ist ein Kopfhörer, mit dem man plötzlich wieder ganze Aufnahmen hört. Und genau das ist für mich die größte Auszeichnung, die man einem HiFi-Produkt machen kann.

I really like these headphones. I used to use Audio Technica m40x's and these beat them by a long shot. That being said these come with the disadvantage of portability. They are huge, they don't fold, and are kinda heavy. They are comfortable, they fit very nicely with the suspension headband and they do kind of "disappear" if placed correctly. The headband has to go on the very back almost at the incline of the head. Now, for sound, I think that for this price range of $100-$800, you won't find a better bass response in headphones. While it can be a little much at very rare occasions, and I mean very rare, it is flawless 95% of the time. It is rich, impactful, and not muddy. It is very clear and you can hear the articulation and complexities in the lower register. I personally really enjoy all genres on these headphones but I would argue that its weakest genres are rock and metal, and that is because of the bass blended with the distortion, for the rock/metal sound you kinda want a recessed bass response. This is because it is hard to get a rich tone out of music that doesn't have it. This is more so for metal because of the use of extended range guitar and heavily distorted bass. The main response of the low range changes, therefore the music needs a different sort of headphones. Now with all that, these headphones will be enjoyable to listen to, but like I said metal is a small weakness, all be it a small one, they are not unlistenable, they just sound a little bit bloated. I would recommend eq if your primary listening is metal. Rock is only an issue for some minor tracks, not everyone will be affected. Classical is enjoyable, but it won't be as rich as peakier, the high end of the sound spectrum focused headphones. ex shp9500, 6xx. Also, these can be bought for cheaper elsewhere, tho, they are still worth it, even at this price.

Honestamente, foi meu primeiro contato com um fone de alta definição. A qualidade sonora é, obviamente, MUITO boa, o conforto também é ótimo, mas vale ressaltar que é um fone aberto, ou seja, o som vai vazar. Pessoalmente, eu não me importo com isso, então foi perfeito para mim.

Been reading all these great reviews for the fidelio x2 for years now and finally, it went on sale and is in stock. Bass is one of the best among open backs. Soundstage is huge. The detail is crisp. And this is built like a tank. This might be the headphones for all the ragers out there. It's all metal, hardly any plastic if any. Comfort is not an issue either with those gigantic earpads. For under $100, these are a no brainer. Get these. Edit: Pads are removable. Local sg warranty for one year covered by R-Logic International Pte. Ltd