PHILIPS FIDELIO L4
With the noise-killing competition tougher than ever, will Philips’ straightforward approach be music to your ears?
£300 /go.stuff.tv/L4
The styling of these cans is wonderfully minimalist, but there’s plenty of padding on the headband and large swivelling earcups, and a reasonable amount of passive sound isolation. Clamping force is enough to keep them in place while walking but not so strong that they’re uncomfortable after a few hours riding on your bonce.
The wireless connectivity is forward-thinking, with LC3 and Bluetooth LE support as well as LDAC, plus multipoint meaning you can pair them with two devices at once. It’s a shame, then, that I experienced a few unexplained disconnections during my testing. Let’s hope that’s fixable with a firmware update.
They sound great across all genres, with plenty of warmth, dynamism and detail. The soundstage perhaps isn’t the widest, and you need to keep ANC on for the best presentation, but the bass never goes overboard.
The ANC does a decent enough job of negating the low-frequency rumbles of commuting. The sounds of the world seep through, though, and it can’t completely eliminate wind noise either. The noisefloor is louder than on rival cans too.
With ANC on I managed to squeeze about 40hrs out of the battery, which means they last about 10hrs longer than Sony’s WH-1000XM5s. Afull recharge takes 2hrs, but a 15min blast is good for an afternoon’s listening.
Tech specs
Drivers 40mm Connectivity Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm, USB-C Codecs SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 ANC Yes Battery life 40hrs (ANC on) Weight 330g
