Philips Fidelio L4 review: rich and crisp audio quality
Almost a class-leading option
The Philips Fidelio L4 are almost at the level of the Sony WH-1000XM5 and other popular cans. They sound great and fit well, but some weird bugs let them slightly down and leave you wondering if the next revision will be the perfect pair.
Pros
- +Rich and crisp audio
- +Reliable ANC
- +Comfy build
Cons
- –Disconnection issues
- –They don’t fold
- –Not exactly stylish
I absolutely want to love the Philips Fidelio L4. In many ways, they undercut the Sony WH-1000XM5 perfectly ensuring you get something for less while still benefiting from all the features you’d want from one of the best headphones.
The problem lies in the execution. The Philips Fidelio L4 suffers from a few too many disconnection issues. When playing, it sounds fantastic. Audio is rich, vibrant, and with just the right amount of bass to ensure you don’t miss out on crisp mids and trebles. The problem is that sometimes it simply drops out and I can’t figure out why. Instinctively, it seems like wear detection could be a problem but even when disabled, the Philips Fidelio L4 would sometimes just switch off, acting like it was doing you a favor.
It’s frustrating because the Philips Fidelio L4 are good enough that they still deserve a high rating. Besides the exceptional sound quality, there’s also up to 50 hours of battery life which easily beats the competition. A 15 minute charge gives back 14 hours which is ridiculously good going.
For $349 / £300, the Philips Fidelio L4 are well-priced among strong competition even if they’re not the most exciting looking. You’ll love how great it sounds until it cuts out and you’re left wondering just what you did while you restart the headphones. Still, weirdly, they sound so good, it’s a little easier to forgive than maybe it should be.
- Released in December 2023
- Officially priced at $349 / £300
The Philips Fidelio L4 was released in December 2023 for £300. Currently available in the UK, the Philips Fidelio L4 is also set for release in the US for $349 although, at the time of writing, isn’t currently available to buy.
The headphones are available solely in black – a fairly traditional color for headphones – so don’t go looking for fancy colorways.
At this price point, the Philips Fidelio L4’s biggest rivals are the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Bose QuietComfort 45, which offer very similar features but more brand recognition and as we’ll see later – more reliability too. There’s always the Apple AirPods Max if you want to spend more too.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Philips Fidelio L4 |
|---|---|
| Drivers | 40mm |
| Active Noise Cancellation | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 40 hours (ANC on), up to 50 hours (ANC off) |
| Weight | 330g |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm |
| Waterproofing | No |
The Philips Fidelio L4 packs all the key features you could need. At least when they’re working nicely. The Philips headphones app guides you through the essentials. There’s wear detection, auto on/off and an adjustable EQ. The latter comes with four presets but it’s always good to be able to adjust things for yourself too.
Other useful features include LDAC support, voice assistant functionality, spatial audio (although no head tracking), and touch controls too. Multipoint support means it’s easy to hook the cans up to multiple devices at once too – a feature that’s fast becoming an essential given how many devices I switch between on a daily basis. There’s also Bluetooth 5.3 support and a 3.5mm jack for listening to music more crisply.
Sounds perfect, right? Yes and no. While using the Philips Fidelio L4, I found it very prone to random disconnections. I could be idly listening to a song and then suddenly, the headphones would make a couple of shutting down style sounds and do exactly that. At first, it seemed like a battery issue but I found turning off wear detection and touch controls seemed to help matters. It’s a weird one to pin down as it doesn’t seem to be entirely down to wear detection but it’s an irritant on what we’ll soon see is an otherwise exceptional pair of cans and definitely a dealbreaker.
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