Fidelio L3 Flagship Over-Ear Wireless Headphones with Active Noise Cancellation Pro+ (ANC) and Bluetooth Multipoint Connection

These have the most solid and premium build quality of any headphone I've tested in this price range ($200-350). The leather is beautiful and supple, the metal arms seem bombproof, and the plastic used for the earcups is of the highest quality. I love that the leather is used for the earcups, which allows for a cool, very comfortable sensation against the head, as well as the headband. The Fidelio L3 logo is subtly embossed at the center of the headband. The earcups are perfect circles, giving the headphones an elegant and timeless design. In short, I love these headphones. Of course, in this category of high-end ANC headphones, the benchmark is the Sony XM4. I have been testing these Fidelios against my new (Dec 2021) Sony XM4s. In terms of build quality, these L3s *blow the Sony's out of the water.* By comparison, the Sony's feel cheap and like they'll crack at any moment - and, in fact, there are a number of reviewers who have ran into exactly that problem. (Take a look at the numerous images of cracked and useless XM4s on their Amazon page.) The Sony's seem to have a structural weakness at the pivot where the earcup connects to the headband, and too many people for me to feel comfortable with have reported the headphones snapping at that point. Sony customer service refuses to repair or replace these, even if it's within warranty, because they consider it "damage." This has practical consequences; if I want to take a nap with my headphones on, I always choose the Fidelios because the Sony's make me afraid that if I turn on my side and put pressure against the earcup, they will snap. At this price point, Sony should be doing much, much better. My opinion is that Sony has become accustomed to the fact that everyone seems to consider the XM4s the best-in-class, and, as a result, the company has become lazy, seeking to maximize their margins by using cheap plastics, fake leather, and generally neglecting the build quality. Can you imagine dropping $350 on your headphones, only to have them snap on you within a year? That's insane. So, in short, the Fidelios seem to me to offer the best build quality of any headphones in this price range. I think I'll be able to throw them into my bag when I'm rushing off to work or traveling for years to come and not worry about any damage. They are that solid. They are a pleasure to hold and look at. With all of that said, the Fidelios are not as excellent when it comes to the sound and ANC. I can tell that the XM4s have better noise cancelling than the Fidelios. Even worse, I have noticed a very subtle high pitched tone coming from the Fidelios at times, mostly when the volume is up high. I'm still testing to see whether it's a problem with my Bluetooth connection or audio player, but I think it may simply be a defect. The other issue I've noticed is that the mic on the Fidelios hasn't been super clear on my Zoom calls. (I'm on a 2018 Surface 6 Tablet, so that may have something to do with it.) That's a major drawback for me, but it's not an issue when they are plugged in. I also have about 5 or 6 Bluetooth connections going on at the same time and that's caused connectivity issues with the Sony's too, so I need to continue testing once I've reduced the number of Bluetooth connections. When I remove the other Bluetooth connections, I haven't had issues. (In case you run into the same issue, there is a reliable workaround: Get yourself a BT receiver, such as the TP-Link USB Bluetooth Receiver. The issue seems to stem from the BT connections interfering with each other.) This is the first year that the Fidelios have been out and I am confident that with the next iteration, Philips will get better at the ANC. I expect these headphones to quickly overtake the XM4s in the years to come. They just need to develop the audio quality. Philips has phenomenal sound quality on some of its other headphones, such as the open-backed Fidelio X2HRs, which I also love. (The soundstage and overall sound quality on these is noticeably better than the XM4s and Fidelio L3s.) The question is whether the headphone review industry will move on from its fixation on the XM4s, as far as public recognition goes. I highly recommend these headphones, but you will need to test them with your actual use-cases to figure out whether they match what matters most to you.

I wanted something that wasn't the standard airpods max/XM4/bose trio, they all felt rather muddy and mediocre sounding to me, despite their excellent ANC. I was hoping these would trade a bit of the ANC for that much more grown-up Philips sound and premium build quality. In a way, it absolutely delivers. But it has a few small issues that are serious potential deal-breakers and really do inhibit them. If you can find them for $200 or under, I can easily recommend them. But over that, they're just not competitive anymore. Firstly, the ANC is pretty good. My commute is a literal torture test for ANC, including two ferries, wind, and a train. A little hissy/pressure inducing in a quiet room, not quiet the same reduction overall as the big boys. They can struggle with smooth ANC delivery on some fluctuating noises that I've found problematic for some other ANC devices, particularly the slow, large vibrations caused by boat engines. It's not bad compared to some other I've used, but it's not super smooth like some I've used as well. It didn't struggle with the light rail, something that has stumped other ANC products I've used. Transparency is adequate, it does have the thing the XM4 does where if you place a hand (gotta touch the cup) over the right earcup it will pause music and enable, but i don't find it does the job fast enough to really be useful, it's easier to just move the cup off your ear, which also does a great job of reliably pausing the music. Ear detection is a little hit or miss, it can be a bit too sensitive when you're just readjusting them on your head. Build quality is very excellent. everything you touch feels and looks premium, from the metal rings that hold the earcups to the suede and leather headband and unbelievably nice smelling muirhead leather pads. Clamp force is a little higher than I like, but I can still wear it for several hours comfortably. The cups swivel to lay flat, but I do wish they folded. It really is a huge downside to a lot of us being unable to just ball our headphones up, laying flat takes up a lot of backpack space. They're fine with glasses and as well. Sound is also pretty good. I was honestly hoping for a little more technical performance and soundstage, but their tuning is decidedly more grownup and articulate than the XM4, bose QC35 or airpods max. Bass is clean and articulate, not boomy or overpowering. Technicals are very good compared to the mainstream boys and there is far less claustrophobia as well, though they really still aren't up to "audiophile" quality. Not a lot of "in front/behind/above/below" soundstage, but the separation and layering between instruments and vocals is quite good. They can be EQ'd for more bass (which I did, I like a little more sub-bass shelf), but I found the stock tuning surprisingly great. Relatively neutral while still engaging. I know they're not LDAC, but as far as wireless cans go, they're doing a lot with the bitrate they're getting. They don't become sibilant or fatiguing, but I'm someone who loves the bright sound of Grados, so maybe I'm not the best judge there, but I do know that "Snail's House" glitch hop can get EXHAUSTING very quickly, and I didn't notice it with these. They did REALLY wake up when I plugged them into my desktop tube amp via the 2.5-3.5 (same kinda cord bose uses, so if you want a longer cord, look for a replacement for the bose) and I was pleased to find that the ANC still works when they're wired and doesn't cause a ton of weird EMF (looking at you, skull candy crusher evo's) they suddenly felt "bigger" when I played "arrival of the birds" by the london philharmonic - a really challenging piece for many headphones. So sound wise, they're nearly there, ANC wise, they're good enough, they're built very nicely and smell downright sinfully nice with all that leather. Why don't I love them? For starters, their wireless device functionality is just... mediocre. Really mediocre. Mediocre enough that I find it more frustrating to use than just find an alternative - the "cover the ear to pause/transparency" thing is an example, but basically every interaction you have with them has this little "delay" that's just a bit obnoxious. I also hate the robot voice. I've heard worse, but seriously, why do so many headphones still do that? I even prefer the passive-aggressive woman that skullcandy uses. Just use little chimes and sounds. Drop Pandas had that down. God I wish those were built properly and had ANC, they were so close to perfection. They really do need to fold. That's also a failing of many other ANC cans, basically only the older XM4's and QC35's do that, the new bose and sony offerings are stuck with that idiotic swivel-only as well. All portable headphones should fold up like Sony MDR7506's. The multi-point advertised sucks. Don't use it. These things are NOT agile enough to switch between a phone and laptop, they'll stutter and freak out. Even that would all be excusable if the app wasn't just a hair's breadth away from being completely unusable. It has like 1.5 stars on the Play Store, and many people say it flat out doesn't work at all for them, only crashing. It works for me, but I can tell that Philips farmed the app out to someone that is not up to their own in-house standards, and that's just unacceptable. The app may work for me, but it can take 10-30 seconds to load. Once you're in, it's very barebones. The EQ adjustment is nice (a little more granularity would be nice, 6 sliders is not enough) and stores the EQ on the headphones, the firmware update works fine, but I would like it to 1.) work properly and load quickly, possibly with a widget like samsung does with their galaxy buds, 2.) give us more granular control over the ANC and transparency. It's either "on" or "off." Most products these days have at least low/high modes. Overall, these are good headphones with outstanding build quality (seriously, these will trade punches with anyone under a grand here) very good sound that I'd put as better than anything Apple, Sony and Bose produce, held back by a wildly sub-par experience on the convenience side of things, which when we're talking about bluetooth headphones, matters. To be honest, these are being resolved to travel only. My daily commute consists of the superb sounding, solid ANC and wireless functionality 1more Evo's (with an added bonus of a wind-specific mode that demolishes every other brand on the market) for commuting due to the convenience, and when I get to school, I switch to wired headphones with a fiio BTR5 bluetooth dac/amp. I will say that if you can find them for under $200 like I paid, I do recommend them. You can live with the lame convenience featureset for this quality of sound, comfort, and build at that. But for any more than that, a refurbished pair of XM4's is probably where I'd point you. It's a shame. I'd really like to see a revision of these that folds, has LDAC, better ANC, and an app that Philips put some real quality control into. There is a big gap in the market for some sub-$400 ANC headphones that don't just try to be plastic bass cannons.

the sound quality of these headphones with ANC turned off is awesome, after you change the sound settings in the app which brings me to the con. The app is junk, absolutely horrible. It usually takes a a few minutes to load and the sound on the headphones at first is muffled and you don't hear any details in the music. But once you change to a custom profile it opens everything up and you get a very dynamic sound with excellent detail. I don't use ANC as I only wear them at home and the sound isolation is pretty good on it own. The headphones are pretty comfortable the leather is a nice touch but just a little more padding would have been nice but it's not bad the way they are. They feel very sturdy putting them on and taking them off and feel like they are going to last. The battery life is almost unreal it last forever! I can listen to these daily for hours and hours and only have to charge them once a week which is the best of any set of headphones I have owned and at 58 I have owned many. The bluetooth connection range is another feature that the Fidelio L3 just crushes the competition. I can leave my phone in the bedroom and walk just about any where in my house and not lose conection. at about 40 feet to the other end of the house and through a number of walls and doors and the music still sounds awesome, I am impressed. I purchased the Fidelio L3 Pro+ to replace a pair of Sony XM2's which had the battery die and I consider the purchase a major upgrade at a much better price than the competition. I know there are newer models of the Sony but I didn't think they were a big upgrade after listening to them at a BB store and since I don't use ANC the best feature is lost on me. I really enjoy the Fidelio L3 Pro+'s and I just wanted to let anyone thinking about purchasing them that they are a quality set of headphones with a small tweak in the app to get the best music out of them. I purchased them at just under two hundred, if you can them at that price go for it. I feel it's a good deal at that price. I hope this helps

First of all, let me just say that I got hooked onto the Fidelio line from Philips from the X2s and they were amazing for the money I paid. Then X3 came out and I got a pair too, to compare against my Sennheiser H599. ended up selling the Sennheiser and kept the X3 due to its easy to drive nature, meaning I can listen with the X3 anywhere in the house with my phone. Still not contempt having wires and missing a mic for phone calls, I started looking up L3 when Philips announced it in 2020 but it didn't arrive until September 2021 (time of this review) Well... now being a Fidelio convert, I got the L3 too, pre-ordered and it was delayed getting to me (so sick and tired of covid impacts). So let's get into it! MUSICAL QUALITY (5/5): L3 is a big surprise, in a good way. The audio quality and signature is nothing like that of X3. L3 being closed back 40mm, self-driven. While X3 is open-back 50mm wired. X3 has great soundstage and neutral, transparent in sound quality, quite musical and not overly analytical but everything you want to hear is there without being overblown L3 is different, for the fun of it. It has more bass, while still a bit restrained compared to most wireless headphones. Nothing is overblown, no M shapes here, yet everything is more distinct than the X3. I would say these remind me a bit of the X2 and what made the X2 fun to listen to. DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY (4.5/5): Amazing design, everything is just subtle and understated. No flashy branding or colors. If you are 35+ years old and want something that looks mature and sophisticated, these fit the requirements perfectly. The design is smart, there is just enough padding and plush there without adding unnecessary bulk and weight. It does weigh more than other wireless headphones I have but then this has a TON more battery life (30+ hours w/ ANC on) than anything I've owned. The earcup ring area is made from a metallic alloy too. It adjusts well and fits my head fine. I have a large flat head that is more circular than oval in shape. I even wore this on a 13-hour flight and slept on my side with it on, didn't feel that much pressure on my ears and it stayed on for most of the flight without feeling fatigued. It is too bad that this doesn't fold inwards though, for a more compact carrying configuration. However, with it folded flat, it is fairly thin in profile that I could put the case into my backpack without adding much bulk. ANC (Active Noise Canceling) PERFORMANCE (4.5/5): I would say it blocked out more than 90% of the noise while I was on the 13-hour trans-pacific flight. It was in an Airbus A350 which is quiet already but the headphones really blocked out most of the engine noise. It has to be turned on in order to drive the drivers properly even when plugged in via a wire source (cable and adapter included). I think it is amazing how far we've come in ANC technology, I could easily watch a movie on a flight without boosting the volume up really high. In fact, I was only 1/3 of the way on volume, it felt something like 70db, enough to enjoy the movie effects. PLUSES: + Amazing sound quality for wireless headphones, has APTX HD, AAC...etc + 90 percentile noise canceling performance (rivaling Sony's and beats Bose's QC35ii) + Sophisticated look, understated design + Top-notch materials without weighing too much + Extremely comfortable + Works well with app controls + Insane amount of battery life NEGATIVES: - Weighs a bit more than plastic headphones - Placement of external mics on the earcups (especially right earcup) is prone to loud jarring sound if I accidentally touch the mic area while trying to use the gesture controls - Overall package a bit bigger and not as compact as Sony's headphones

This headset is amazing when it works, BUT, my unit came extremely bad: Wear sensor doesn't actually works, it pauses the reproduction when you lower or unwear the headset, but it doesn't turn it on when you wear again, need to restart the device everytime, so decided to just disable that feature every time I switch the headset on Multi link works 50% of the time, the other 50% it can't get paired with laptop and smartphone at the same time, no matter how many times I try to pair, or how many combinations of "laptop first - smartphone first" I do Now it suddenly started to auto shutoff while playing media, for no reason, again need to restart the device and sometimes, to re-pair. So to make a resume: Pros: amazing sound, really well build quality and transport bag+case, really confortable, ANC works great on all modes, lots of playtime per charge and it charges pretty quickly Cons: mobile app its really slugish (even on a top-of-the-line smartphone), audio cable is REALLY thin (really, like half the diameter of a classic audio cable); and at least on my unit, multilink not working, same as wear sensor, and that random shutoffs (Yes I tried to contact to Philips, but NEVER got a reponse)

I waited a little over a year to make a review for this pair of headphones and feel comfortable to say that I do not recommend making a purchase of these headphones. The sound quality hasn't disappointed me but the sensors seem to start having a mind of their own overtime. I have to manually turn off the auto pause/play option in the phillips headphones app along with the touch control to listen to something without siri interrupting and the audio to stop randomly playing, and even then I still cannot get a consistent use of them without interruption. I have tried to be mindful of not having hair, clothing or any kind of tactile object touch the headphones while in use and I still get the same problems albeit a little less often. I do feel happy with the durability and build of the headphones. Having to wear them for hours, it feels comfortable for daily use. The only other thing is the need for replacing the cushion for the top of the head as you usually would need to with other headphones so i'm not particularly miffed about it. The dual connection I honestly stopped bothering after the first week of use because it just pauses or plays over the audio from one device to the second. So the novelty of dual connection isn't as exciting as I had thought of using. Especially if you have two people talking over each other it's pretty inefficient making it even harder to understand what they are communicating. I do not think the cost for them is worth it to be honest with you. Again I wear these daily and for hours. Using them for a variety of purposes and feel that a pair of standard monster candy headphones would have been less of a pain.

Like some other reviewers I own the legendary Philips X2HR headphones, which still sound amazing but are a bit awkward to wear at the gym or on an airplane. The L3s, on the other hand, are perfect. They are attractive, "sophisticated," and incredibly comfortable - rather than looking like a huge wearable antenna. I could wear these on a flight to Tokyo and forget I'm wearing them. I love the feel of the "fine Scottish Miurhead leather" and the smooth metal earphone protectors. Everything about the L3s says "quality," and I admit they give me that little thrill when I put them on, like I would slipping on a premium quality watch or shoes. I have stuck with wired headphones for years because I care about the quality of the sound. if I can't hear clean details, separation of instruments and a little bit of visceral base then I'm just not interested. I was therefore very pleased, and more than a little surprised, to hear what my Tidal Hi-Fi/ lossless tracks sounded like via Bluetooth on the L3. I immediately locked into the the refined details that i need. You can feel the bow drag across the violin strings, and guitar strings "pluck." It's also very easy to locate instruments in different spaces in the sound stage. Drum and synthesizer bass feels big but does not crowd out other elements of the song. All in all, everything comes together quite well. You can fine tune via the app if you want more or less bass. I'm getting to know the L3s other features. I can say that the Bluetooth pairing was automatic. The aux cord was thinner (and much shorter) thank the one on the X2HR. Touching the side of the ear protector will allow you to control volume, pause music, and answer phone calls. Still getting used to this. One last thing i would like to comment on is the mind-bending battery life. I charged the unit when I received it several days ago, and I have listened every day since without needing to recharge. I checked the website, and Philips says that battery life is THIRTY EIGHT HOURS (or 32 with noise canceling on), which is amazing to a person constantly charging phones and other devices. A wire on headphones can get pretty annoying when you are lying in bed, so I'm very glad I can go wire-free without sacrificing musical quality, and I can do so without a wire disrupting my bliss when I change positions. Highly recommended.

So this is an update to the review earlier. The price finally dropped again so I purchased it before it went back up, and this time the Bluetooth connection worked. Simple manufacturers defect no biggie... Continuing where I left off from, OMG, they sound absolutely amazing. Phillips has always made beautiful audio products. They have a sound presence that I like, free from unnecessary artificial enhancements. Usually, Headphones in this price bracket typically have some type of artificially generated sound to enhance listening experience. I'm not going to say those are necessarily bad, because obviously people enjoy them which is why other brands have far higher sales figures. However, there are people like me who actually enjoy the music as written and produced by the artists, and these Philips l3 do just that. The mids the highs and the base are all nicely balanced to deliver rich quality sound and it does that in spades. Where battery life is concerned, I've been playing these things since they were delivered and I'm about halfway battery life after about 8hrs. However, it must be noted that I took these straight out the box, paired em to my phone, and started listening to music right away without charging. So, maybe after a full charge those numbers should go up and get closer to what's listed by the factory. When I read some of the reviews and see people complaining about the type of bass, and complains about the mids or the highs etc. I quickly realize they are comparing the Philips l3 to a brand they are accustomed, and not appreciating the uniqueness and the originality of the sound that the Phillips is presenting them with. If you love Bose headphones and how they sound, then stick with Bose headphones. Same goes for Sony, Beats, Sennheiser and whatever brand you're into. Stop expecting other brands to match the sound that your favorite brand makes, it's just not going to happen. 1st Review: Unfortunately, I only had these for about two days before returning. So why 4 stars you ask? Everything you've read about the build quality is true. OMG, they feel sooooo nice. AND, I'm going to buy them again when the price goes back down. I didn't keep my pair because there was an issue with the Bluetooth, and it wouldn't pair with anything in my house. Tried the phones, iPads, my computer, nothing would pair with them. Anyway. Everything you've read about the build quality and robust feel of these headphone is 100% true. They feel indestructible in your hands. The padding material is super comfortable, the head band is perfectly snug and feel so comfortable that I could potentially wear them all day. The packing quality and even the free storage container was top shelf quality. I obviously have nothing to add in the sound quality or playtime as yet, but when I purchase it again, I will update this incomplete review.