The Philips Fidelio X2HR are comfortable, wired open-back headphones for audiophiles. Thanks to their large, well-padded ear cups and automatically adjusting headband, they're comfortable to wear, even for extended periods. As is to be expected with open-back headphones, they aren't the most versatile as they don't block out any background noise and don't have a microphone. Still, they'll interest those looking to pick up well-built audiophile over-ears on a budget.
Our Verdict
The Philips Fidelio X2HR are very good headphones for neutral sound, thanks to their excellent mid-range compliance. This helps render vocals and lead instruments with detail. Sadly, their treble range is inconsistent, as sibilants sound a bit dull with some frequencies and piercing with others. They also lack a bit of low bass, though this is common with open-back headphones. Their weighted harmonic distortion is very good; even critical listeners shouldn't notice much distortion. Thanks to their open-back design, their soundstage is quite open and natural, and they're very consistent between various users or reseats.
The Philips X2HR are bad for commuting or travel. These wired headphones have an open-back design that leaks a lot of audio and blocks out almost no background noise. They're designed for listening to music alone in a dedicated room.
The Philips X2HR aren't recommended for sports or fitness. These wired over-ear headphones have bulky ear cups, and their headband isn't the most stable. Even during light jogs, they'll likely move around a fair amount on the head. They also block almost no background noise and leak a lot of audio.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR aren't recommended for office use. Since they have an open-back design, they leak a lot of audio, and even in a loud office, your coworkers will likely hear your music. They also block almost no background noise, so it may be difficult to concentrate.
The Philips X2HR are wired-only headphones without a microphone.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR don't have a built-in microphone. That being said, if you have a dedicated mic, they may be a decent option for gaming thanks to their well-balanced sound profile and wide soundstage. Their open-back design is also comfortable to wear during long gaming sessions, though they aren't the best choice if you game with others in the same room.
The Philips X2HR don't have an integrated microphone.
Changelog
- Updated Jul 29, 2025:
We've updated the Sound Profile box with a link to a downloadable folder of EQ settings that will help you match these headphones' frequency response to different target curves available in our Graph Tool.
- Updated Dec 09, 2024:
The following test groups have been updated following Test Bench 1.6 and 1.7: Wired Connection, Noise Isolation - Full Range, Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios, and ANC Wind Handling. In addition, several Sound tests have been updated following Test Bench 1.8. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages and product comparisons to match these results.
- Updated Dec 02, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.8, which updates our target curve and Sound tests. You can read more about this in our changelog.
- Updated Nov 27, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.7, which updates our Noise Isolation test. We've also expanded the scope of this test to include Common Scenarios in addition to Voice Handling and Wind Handling.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
Update 01/10/2022: We originally reported that the Philips Fidelio X2HR are were comfortable than the Philips SHP9500. However, the SHP9500 are more comfortable. We have corrected this mistake and updated our review.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR are great open-back headphones for neutral listening. They have an automatically-adjusting headband to keep you comfortable during long listening sessions. They also look and feel more premium and sleek than the similarly-performing Philips SHP9500. That said, like all open-back headphones, they don't block any background noise and are best suited for a dedicated music listening room at home.
See our recommendations for the best audiophile headphones, the best open-back headphones, and the best wired headphones.
The Philips SHP9500 and the Philips Fidelio X2HR are both great open-back headphones for neutral sound listening. The Fidelio X2HR have a sleeker and more premium design, and they look and feel a bit more durable. Their bass range also provides more punch. While the X2HR have an auto-adjusting headband, the SHP9500 are a little bit more comfortable overall, as they don't clamp the head as tightly, and their treble range is a bit more even, but this can depend on your preferences. Both perform very similarly, but the SHP9500 likely represent better value overall.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR are slightly better open-back headphones for neutral sound than the Sennheiser HD 599. The X2HR look and feel better built and have a slightly better-balanced sound profile. On the other hand, the Sennheiser are more comfortable and feel somewhat more stable on the head.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR offer slightly better value than the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO if you're looking for open-back headphones for audiophile use. The Philips are more comfortable, with a wider and more open soundstage. Their treble range is also a bit more consistent between various users or reseats. On the other hand, the Beyerdynamic feel more durable and stable and have less distortion at lower listening volumes.
The HiFiMan Sundara 2020 are better for critical listening than the Philips Fidelio X2HR. The HiFiMan have a smoother frequency response that's less fatiguing for long sessions. However, while both headphones lack thump and rumble, the Philips can reproduce a bit more low bass, which some listeners may prefer, but their treble is more piercing. They also come with a long, 10-foot audio cable.
Test Results
These headphones have a premium and stylish design. Like most open-back headphones, they're quite bulky, but their mix of metal and good quality plastic gives them a sleek and high-end look.
These headphones are very comfortable. Their large ear cups are very well-padded, and they have an automatically-adjusting headband which is very comfortable. While they clamp a bit more than other Philips headphones, like the Philips SHP9500, they shouldn't cause discomfort.
These headphones don't have any buttons or controls on them.
These headphones aren't very portable. They're very large and don't fold up into a more compact size. They also don't come with any sort of carrying case.
The build quality is good. While they're mostly made of plastic, they feel dense and solid and have some added touches of metal for reinforcement. They look and feel slightly more durable than the Philips SHP9500 and should be able to withstand a fair amount of accidental drops and bumps without sustaining damage. Their audio cable is detachable, so you can easily replace it should it get damaged. On the downside, the adjustable headband is held in place with two thin pieces of plastic that could get damaged.
Not very stable. While they should stay in place while sitting at home and listening to music, they aren't designed to wear while running or working out. Even a small tilt or shake of the head causes them to move, and any larger movements will likely result in them falling off your head.
These headphones lack a bit of low bass, which is common with open-back headphones, so they're not a natural choice for lovers of bass-heavy genres like house and techno. However, their mid-range response complies very well with our target curve, resulting in detailed, natural-sounding vocal reproduction. Unfortunately, their treble range is fairly uneven, which may cause some higher-frequency sounds to come across as sharp, while others may be dull and lack brightness.
If you'd like to control some of that treble, or just bring the sound of these headphones into line with any of the target curves shown on our Graph Tool, you can do so using this downloadable folder of EQ presets.
The frequency response consistency of these headphones is very good. While you may need to adjust them slightly to achieve the same treble response, their bass is quite consistent, even if you wear glasses or have long hair.
These headphones do a very good job of complying with our bass-range target. While there's some roll-off in the bass range, meaning there's not much sub-bass boom, the rest of the range is in line with our target, so kicks and basslines sound present and punchy.
Their mid-range compliance is outstanding, ensuring present and accurate mids and vocals.
The treble compliance of these headphones is decent. They're a little underemphasized in the low-treble range compared to our target, which can dull the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments. The mid-treble is quite uneven, too, so sibilants alternate between sounding piercing and dull. Most of the high-treble range is recessed as well. Though we lose sensitivity to this range over time, you might notice that higher-pitched vocals lack an airy quality.
The peaks and dips performance of the Philips X2HR is alright. The bass and mid-range are mostly even and flat, and the biggest peaks and dips are throughout the treble range. Some slight dips in the low-treble rob vocals of their rich upper harmonics, while a series of sharper peaks and dips in the mid-treble cause sibilants to alternate between sounding sharp and dull. There are some drastic peaks and dips in the high-treble range, too, but we lose sensitivity to this range over time.
The imaging of these headphones is excellent. The GD graph shows that nearly the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were exceptionally matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects and instruments (like voices and footsteps) in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit and yours may perform differently.
The Philips X2HR have a very good passive soundstage. Thanks to their open-back design, their soundstage is very spacious and open and music is perceived as being in front of you as opposed to inside your head. Compared to the similarly budget-friendly and audiophile HiFiMan HE400se, their soundstage doesn't sound as natural though.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR don't have any virtual soundstage features.
The weighted harmonic distortion of the Philips X2HR is very good. Even at higher volumes, most people shouldn't notice any distortion or artifacts.
These are the settings used to test these headphones; therefore, our results are only valid when used at these settings.
As expected with open-back headphones, the Philips Fidelio X2HR have very poor full-range noise isolation performance. They offer practically no attenuation against bass and mid-range noise, with slightly more attenuation in the treble range.
The noise isolation performance is just as poor in common scenarios. Whether it's plane engine roar, the honking of cars on the street, or the sound of office water cooler talk, these headphones offer very little isolation.
The leakage of these headphones is poor, but this is expected of open-back headphones. Even at moderate listening volumes, people nearby will hear what you're listening to. If you're looking for headphones that leak less audio, try headphones with a closed-back design like the Wyze Noise-Cancelling Headphones Wireless.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR don't have a microphone.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR don't have a microphone.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR don't have a microphone.
These are wired-only headphones that don't require a battery.
No dedicated companion app.
These headphones have a detachable TRS cable that connects to any device with a 1/8" jack. The included cable is over 10 feet long, which is convenient, but unfortunately, Philips doesn't include a shorter option for use on the go. There's also an included 1/8" to 1/4" adapter. Latency is very low, as you'd expect from a wired connection, so you won't experience sync issues between your audio and video.
The Philips Fidelio X2HR are wired-only headphones that don't support Bluetooth.
These are wired-only headphones.
These headphones don't have a microphone, so they can only be used with an Xbox One to receive audio by plugging them into the controller.
