Page 4 - Conclusion
When it comes to open back headphones, did the Philips Fidelio X3's outcome match the stereotype of big audiophile over-ears with a super wide soundstage? Well, for one thing, they do have a super wide soundstage. If that is what you are after, you will certainly not be disappointed. Combined with its generally awesome sound quality, the Philips Fidelio X3 is everything you would expect for true audiophile-grade open back headphones. The assembly quality is also remarkable. The metal frame, plush Velour padding, Kvadrat acoustically transparent fabric, and genuine Muirhead leather makes the Fidelio X3 no doubt a quality product built with no squeaky or loose parts. When in use, I found these headphones to be comfortable thanks to its suspended headband and reasonable clamp pressure. Of course, the Philips Fidelio X3 may not appeal to everybody, and that mainly boils down to two main areas. Firstly, its sound signature may not appeal to everyone. They certainly are better in reproducing some types of music than others; those who are looking for a more saturated and warmer midrange along with treble that is more solid will need to look elsewhere. They are also slightly sibilant, so it will bother you if you are sensitive. Secondly, and this may be a bit controversial, is the headphone's design is down-to-earth at best -- I do not understand why people keep raving about its looks, because there simply is not anything spectacular about them in my personal opinion. One more thing to add, and this has little to do with the end product, but Philips should redesign their packaging if they want these headphones to be taken seriously as a high-end product. For about $250 at press time, the Philips Fidelio X3 costs quite a bit more than the legendary Fidelio X2HR. But as I have said repeatedly, if you are looking for big audiophile over-ear open back headphones with a super wide soundstage, the Philips Fidelio X3 fits the bill for a reasonable price.
Philips provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.5/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Philips Fidelio X3 are big audiophile over-ear open back headphones with a super wide soundstage and great overall sound quality.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
