Philips Fidelio X2HR: open-back over-ear headphones with 50 mm drivers for home

The Philips Fidelio X2HR is a wired over-ear headphone for anyone who wants to focus on music, films or PC gaming at home. It has an open-back design: no air pressure builds up behind the drivers, which according to Philips makes for transparent, natural playback. The flip side: it barely shuts out your surroundings and leaks sound itself.

At its heart are 50 mm drivers with neodymium magnets, which Philips selects and matches in pairs. The frequency response extends to 40 kHz, and the headphones are designed for high-resolution audio. With an impedance of 30 ohms, they don't need a separate headphone amp and can be plugged straight into a laptop, console or smartphone with a headphone jack.

For long sessions, the memory foam ear pads are covered in breathable velour, and the hammock-style headband with 3D mesh adjusts to your head by itself. The roughly 3-metre cable is detachable and ends in a 3.5 mm plug; a 6.3 mm adapter is included so you can also connect to hi-fi amplifiers or audio interfaces.

Worth knowing: because of its open-back design, the X2HR isn't suited to trains, open-plan offices or noisy surroundings, and it has neither a microphone nor Bluetooth. At around 380 grams, it's also no lightweight and doesn't fold up, so it's clearly a pair of headphones for a fixed listening spot.