Philips Fidelio L5 review: Pricing Sony's 1000XM4C out of the spotlight?

In the past couple of years, the headphones market has gone stratospheric – there are loads more over-ear entries from top brands, particularly those trying to persuade you of their high-end kudos and, therefore, give greater reason for you to part with ever more significant sums of cash.

As the top-end of the market is now so saturated, however, it seems there's an almost anti-movement in contraflow. Case in point: Philips Fidelio's all-new L5 over-ear headphones, on review here, which fully depart from the previous model – but, crucially, also sink the price down far lower.

The timing is canny, as the Fidelio isn't the sole player in this price bracket. Other brands have spotted this circa-£/$200 sweet spot, with the Bose QuietComfort SC and even Sony's WH-1000XM4C vying for their place. So can the L5 hold its own? The price is a major factor – and a big part of the reason why the answer is a confident 'yes'.

Price & Availability

The Philips Fidelio L5 can be purchased right now, priced at £179 in the UK and €199.99 in much of Europe.

The headphones ought to be sold Stateside, too, but there's no current pricing or availability as yet – but assume in the $200-250 range if competitiveness is to remain.

That's a really strong price for this product's feature set – which I'll get to in a moment – especially in context of the older Fidelio L4, which was priced at £/$349!

Features & What's New?

I shan't mention the previous Fidelio L4 from here on out, though, as it's not intended to be comparable to the newer Fidelio L5. Design, positioning and price tell you that.

Straight out of the box and the L5 cuts a distinctive visual. There's a flourish of amber-bronze colour on the arms, for example, which also fold the earcups down – although not for storage in the included case, where the headphones tuck in at full size.

Headline features here include active noise-cancelling (ANC), which even when switched on can see the headphones last for up to 50 hours thanks to a large battery. That doesn't affect the weight too much, as the 239g mass is fairly typical.

The latest Bluetooth 6.0 allows multi-connection, but there's also Auracast should relevant sources be transmitting – that'll allow for, say, easy connection to a TV in your local gym.

Predominantly designed for wireless transmission, therefore, the Fidelio L5 will receive your favourite streaming service no troubles, but is also compatible with AAC, SBC and even LDAC – the last of which is Hi-Res Audio capable.

Continuing with Hi-Res Audio support, the USB-C port is also available for wired listening, at up to 24-bit/96kHz, should you have the file types to feed these over-ears. There's a cable in the case, too.

Sound & ANC

A key reason for buying a pair of headphones, of course, comes down to the sound quality. And the Philips Fidelio L5 are largely impressive over-ears – especially so in their price bracket.

The frequency range is wide, with 20Hz at the low end and 40kHz at the upper end of the spectrum. With ANC activated that's tangible, too, from my various listening sessions over a number of days.

That said, I will caveat that by saying it's not always the most coherent compared to some pricier headphones that I own. They're also not quite as loud – not that I've been maxing out, just needing an extra touch of volume.

There's no doubt the L5's soundstage is wide and well-spaced; just sometimes the highs can sound a little detached from the bassier rhythms – and the low-mid can lack cleanliness in some sections of music.

That's only as I've been A-B testing them with the far pricier Sonos Ace Ultra, mind, as is isolation you'd never think these are headphones at almost half the price. And that's precisely what the L5's mass appeal is going to be.

The active noise-cancellation (ANC) is also adept, offering On/Off/Aware settings in the Philips Headphones app, plus an 'Adaptive' toggle to further finesse the results based on fit.

With that toggled on, I didn't hear my Ring doorbell go (oops), then when out for a windy lunchtime walk the passing cars' engines were suitably diminished. Even the on-board mics did a good job of avoiding wind 'tear' from rushing air – impressively so.

Design & Battery

I've found wearing the Fidelio L5 to be comfortable, as the earcups and headband are soft, the weight is well-judged, and there's no bothersome clamping force at all – without the fit ever feeling loose.

However, the coating of those earcups and headband can get warm, as I noticed even when wearing them while sitting at my desk. The English summer is well and truly over, so to get a little surface sweat doesn't bode well for hotter months.

I did also find that the headband could slowly move position forwards on the head, changing the sound profile slightly. And you'll want to seat these cans as best as possible for the most direct listen.

Much as I've gone on about the sensible price tag, it's worth reiterating again. Last year's Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2, for example, I received in white – and they looked like budget, plasticky headphones. The Philips look far better.

The look is also a notable departure from brand's earlier round earcups, with the L5 sporting nicely curved vessels that, I must say, echo Sony's design to a degree. In a good way, though. The look and feel here is just far beyond what you'll be paying.

Around the right earcup you'll find a line of embossed dots, guiding you to the touch-control zone where a swipe can adjust the volume both up and down. Cycling through ANC is handled by a neighbouring button, though, while play/pause uses another separate button too.

Battery life, meanwhile, is certainly knocking on the door of what's claimed. Noted, I was listening at higher volumes, but the app's percentage overview will keep you abreast of how much power is left in the tank – not that you'll need to look often, as 50 hours might get you through a week or more.

The app design is generally clean and clear, should you not want to use the on-body controls, with a Sound Effect section even offering a nine-band EQ, separate four-axis Neural EQ option, plus some presets.

When not playing back using LDAC, there's a Spatial Audio setting, but its Lounge and Cafe options just sound like a guitar pedal has been applied – a mistake in my view that, funnily enough, Sony's latest headphones also offer.

Verdict

The Philips Fidelio L5 over-ear headphones act as a big reset for the brand – and a bold move into pricing territory that will bring huge appeal. On that basis alone, frugal buyers will bypass Sony's latest XM4C over-ears – and won't regret doing so, either.

The feature set at this price is solid to say the least, with active noise-cancelling (ANC) that does a good job, plus a wide-ranging sound profile that can hit the highs and lows – just not with quite as much coherence nor cleanliness as some pricier rivals.

However, with a sophisticated-looking design, included carry case, option for USB-C wired listening in addition to LDAC Hi-Res over Bluetooth 6.0, the Fidelio L5 has a bustling feature set that's impossible to deny – and a battery life that can last an age too.

Also Consider

Most new headphones cost a pretty penny these days, so the core competition for Philips' latest is really going to be Bose's "Soft Case" (SC) version of its QuietComfort headphones, or Sony's "relaunch" of its WH-1000XM4 classic, hence 'XM4C' name. The latter are objectively better, but the price jump isn't immediate justification.

Push the price envelope a little further, for the sake of far superior materials in the build, however, and you'll arrive at Bowers & Wilkins' PX7 S3, which are on offer at the time of writing – and therefore not outlandishly out of reach. The ANC is fairly mild, but the finish and sheer sound quality are unquestionable.