Philips 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!!!

I love these headphones. First, they are true over-ear headphones. Listening music on these feels more like private speakers than headphones, which is very pleasant. My ears are fully covered, but also completely free, and I've had zero problems with the glasses that I wear, which would hurt if I had the outer parts of my ears pressed to my head for a long time. Second, these feel quite robust. I'm unsure if the parts that you'd expect to break are metal or they just feel that way, but I'll be surprised if they break any time soon. A bit on the heavy side too, but the hammock works great, keeping them where I want them, with very little pressure. I usually get headaches from even small amounts of pressure on my head (for example, a headband that's too tight), and these gave me none. Third, the sound. Not the deepest bass ever, but I am very happy with what my music sounds like (various types of metal). The sound is clear, even, not breaking at all. I don't use them for gaming, so I cannot comment on that. Fourth, the cable is 3m long, braided, and feels like it should last for a long time. Since it plugs in, i.e., it is not built in, you can also replace it, should you require a shorter one or it somehow manages to get damaged. Lastly, I want to say what these are not. They do not cancel noise, they don't even keep the sound perfectly in, i.e., they "leak". But their description doesn't say they don't "leak". It actually boasts "breathable velour cushions". On the other hand, when I turn the music off I can talk to people as if these weren't on my head, which has its advantages. So, if someone near you would mind the "leak", these might not be good for you and you should likely look for nosie cancellation ones, but this is the only scenario in which I wouldn't recommend them. Otherwise, a great find and a valuable purchase. Edit: I have just bought my third one. Don't jump to conclusions: they are not at all shabby; quite the opposite. Over a year ago, I dropped the first ones on hard floor and one of the two bits holding the left headphone broke away, so it remained held by its thin cable and the second bit. Looked flimsy, so I quickly ordered a replacement. More then a year later, these headphones are perfectly ok, but my partner's other brand headphones broke down, so I gave her my spear ones. She is as happy with these as I am, and I quickly grabbed a third pair, so I'd have a spear one for when the first ones finally die... IF they die. For home use, they are really perfect. The first pair (the one I damaged, but it still works perfectly well) is almost 6 years old now. As you can imagine, over the time I ran my chair over the cable and tugged it many times. Not the slightest sign of tear and wear. Earpads are also in great shape. Obviously not new, but not at all scuffed or damaged. Overall, they look like they still have a long life ahead of them, but even if they die tomorrow, I definitely got my money's worth.

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.

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.

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.

So there's a lot of pro's to these headphones. They're well made, not too heavy, comfy to wear with nice cushioned pads, and feel durable. Fits my head fine with glasses, which is good as some headphones can dig your frames into your temple. As they're fully open back, they function well as you can still hear sounds outside the headphones just fine, which may be needed depending on your circumstances. Sound quality is really good overall. I use the Dolby Access app on Windows, and with that, extends the already big soundstage of the headphones even further. So for getting into movies, games, they're great. Certain sounds have a good distance, as opposed to everything sounding likes its going direct into your head. Anywhooo, the con. The pads on these things attract absolutely everything. Dust, fluff, hair. I don't even know where this comes from as my rooms always clean. You can take the pads off easily to wash them, but still. I would also recommend lint rolling them often as they need it.

+++ Good soundstage, good bass considering the price, build quality is more than solid compared to similar or even more expensive headphones, respond well with custom EQ, comfort is absolutely out of this world (deep cans) so there is a space between the drivers and ears, padding is nice and soft, extra long cable --- Lacks clarity and brightness, may sound a bit muffled at places, seems like volume is a bit low without using DAC or HP amplifier, vocals somehow always in the middle, cable could be better, including case would be ideal Overall fantastic stay at home headphone. Won't beat my favourite AKG K361 (comfort, weight, sound, price). Also, I should mention I've used some high-end Focals and Kennertons in the past, and X2HR, when paired with DAC/amp and good signal source, and custom EQ, stand their own ground for a small fraction of the price as a standalone music headphone.

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.

J'ai reçu ce casque il y a quelques semaines et je suis bluffé par sa performance. Dès la première utilisation, le son m'a impressionné : les basses sont puissantes sans être envahissantes, les médiums sont chauds et naturels, et les aigus restent clairs sans fatiguer les oreilles. J'écoute beaucoup de musique variée, du rock au classique, et la spatialisation donne vraiment l'impression d'être en live – parfait pour se plonger dans un album entier. Le confort est au top avec les coussinets moelleux qui s'adaptent bien à la tête, même après des heures. Je l'utilise branché sur mon PC ou mon ampli, et il répond super bien sans besoin d'accessoires supplémentaires. Seul petit bémol, comme c'est un modèle ouvert, il laisse passer un peu les bruits extérieurs, donc idéal à la maison plutôt qu'en extérieur. Globalement, un achat que je recommande les yeux fermés pour quiconque cherche une qualité audiophile sans complications !

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

The pair sound great and have some the best soundstage at this price but it's plagued with the same issue as the SHP9500s, which if you're coming from then you might definitely be disappointed since the highs are just as piercing on this as the SHPs, very harsh and metallic sounding and almost hollow highs, but it does have stronger bass emphasis and a better build quality, but if you didn't like the harshness on the SHPs then I would say definitely don't get this.

So, today my X2's arrived from amazon. I got a "very good" used pair and I don't regret I did. They first of all are in great condition, they look new and most importantly feel new. I am gonna go through what I think about these and compare them to my older daily driver, my 990 pros. This review is my first really "review" ever of headphones so don't expect much. It is not as in depth as others. Let me start off this review with build quality and packaging. I was wowed to see these in person because I didn't think the build quality was this impressive as they really and clearly are. They are as sturdy as my computer case haha. Anyways. The unboxing was alright although having bought a used pair. Back to the build quality. The top headband piece is a kind of metal type pair of tubes. They rotate sideways on the head by bending the actual headband which is fine since they are sturdy. The earcups feel like metal as well but they are hard plastic. The earpads are really good, probably not something I'll need to replace in like 2 years. I've seen dekoni released a replacement ear pad for both the X2's and X3's which is great. Cable is good, makes some noise when touched but that wont matter when I actually listen to music or play games. It's not like I rub the cable all the time. Build and packaging, 9/10 The comfort: Putting these on at first, they are really comfortable, just not extremely since they are just opened and tested right out of the box not giving them time to adjust to my head shape yet. But the dense memory foam ear pads with the nice self-adjusting hammock there is nothing bad to say about these. The weight of these is barely noticeable with the comfort of the ear pads and the hammock. But it does put a little bit of strain on my neck muscels since my 990's weigh like 100 grams less which makes me rate the comfort at 8 instead of 9 or 10. But this will definitely change over time due to me getting used to the X2's. Comfort, 8/10 The sound: Reviewers such as Zeos, him saying these are worth the full price of 300 dollars as they were if I understood correctly, they definitely are. The sound of these compared to my 990's is very smooth. No more piercing treble. Although both shine in different categories. I found these to have more refined bass. Maybe these sound like that since they are almost brand new and not used over a year like my DT 990's were. The bass is tight and EQ friendly if I'd like more bassy explosions in for example battlefield. The treble is still pretty detailed and these give much more of the mid range compared to the 990's. The sound stage is hard to explain. But it feels very open. These also leak a lot and I can hear my own voice with a less muffle filter over it compared to the 990's. Maybe I am so used to my 990's since the sound signature and sound stage is so drastically different. I love the sound stage tho. Tested with CS:GO where I had to put these into competitive use. I got instantly better with the positional accuracy with its imaging. Peoples ears are different but I can locate footsteps as good or even better. The only disadvantage is the treble and footsteps not being as pronounced as they were on the 990's. But giving these a bit more boost in the treble and higher midrange and lowering the bass will definitely help hearing them. Seen some people described these to be a kind of "bass-head open back headphone", not at all as I'd describe them. These have less bass than my 990's but tighter. Kinda makes me feel like the 990's are sloppy in the 80hz bass region. These do have less extended sub-bass but still great. Paired with my AE-9 I can definitely tell a difference between onboard and my AE-9. Less difference than my 990's tho. Take my rating with a pinch of salt since I haven't tried higher end headphones over 300 dollars but when I do, I'll definitely see what I'll change my rating to. Sound, a solid 10