9 reviews for Philips Fidelio X2HR: Unmatched Open-Back Sound Quality!

1. 

   T. A. Clark – November 22, 2025

   Some of the best I’ve ever used.
   I bought these after my DT770 Pro’s broke, and after a fair amount of shopping around. I wanted an open-back style of headphone so I could hear the room while I was wearing them, and for the wider soundstage that you just don’t get with closed-back headphones.I’ve had a fair selection of different headphones, including most of the popular ones; the Audio Technica M50x’s, Sennheiser HD280’s, my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro’s, Sennheiser HD598’s, and Grado SR80’s. All of those are decent headphones, and are good in their own ways, but they each have their issues, too. The M50x’s wore out fast. The HD280’s had ear cups that flaked apart and felt cheap, and were hot to wear. The DT770 Pro’s sound good, but have cheap plastic clips holding the sliders together that don’t hold up to long-term use, and you really have to always use a headphone amp with them. The Grado’s are what I’d consider the best sound quality-wise, but they’re kind of uncomfortable.These headphones (the X2HR’s) do their best to alleviate the problems those other headsets have, and they manage to sound the best of the bunch while doing it. The ear cups have a plastic ring, but it’s never under any stress so it’s not going to be a breaking point over time. The cable is replaceable, so that isn’t an issue like it can be with nearly all of the other headsets I listed. The headband on the X2HR’s self-adjusts, so it isn’t flexing a stress point that will become an issue after a lot of use; it’s also really comfortable, and doesn’t require any fiddling with it to make it fit right. The ear cups are a soft but firm foam that’s also pretty comfortable; they’ll likely wear over time about the same as the velour cups on the Beyerdynamic’s, and they pick up cat hair pretty badly, but since they don’t get hot to wear and the fit of the headphones is so easy you don’t adjust them constantly, either.The good:Build quality is solid, and they’re built to last.Extremely comfortable and don’t require adjustments to get them to fit right.The sound quality is exactly what I would want from this kind of headphones, and is better than other notable headsets I own at a similar price point.Very good at 3D sound representation for gaming.Cons:The X2HR’s are a bit heavy, but they don’t feel like it when you’re wearing them and I’ve found them to be comfortable for long periods of time.Build quality is solid, but without a hardshell carrying case I’d probably leave them home before putting them in a suitcase for a trip.Overall:Without getting into stuff like “scintillating mids” or “boomy bass” that’s all pretty subjective anyway, for me these are the best sounding headphones I’ve owned. They give the comfort of Sennheiser sets with the sound quality of Grado’s, somehow finding the best of both worlds. If you’re not overly concerned with buzzwords and hitting that audiophile-perfect neutral that only appeals to music mixing, or the bone shaking bass that gaming headset makers think everyone wants, these are the way to go.Other notes:They do leak a bit of sound, which is expected of any open-ear headset. Not a con, but something to be aware of. I tested the spatial sound on a PC using a Soundblaster X4, with its 7.1 mixing and with Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and both ways were way more impressive than they sounded on my DT770’s. I’d strongly recommend using your favorite EQ with them rather than running without, especially if you’re using a sound source that doesn’t provide one…I tried them on a Fiio E10k, and without an EQ it sounded a bit flat. I used Equalizer APO, and it made a pretty big difference.Bottom line, these are big winners in both sound quality and comfort. Very, very happy with them.

2. 

   Warren – November 22, 2025

   These sound amazing.
   Okay, I need to preface this review by saying up front that I returned these headphones because they didn’t fit me. I have a tall head, and the suspension mechanism kept pulling the headphones up enough that they got uncomfortable after a while. However, it’s important to note my star rating: I’m returning these, but they still got five stars. That’s how impressed I was with their sound and build quality.They sound really, really good, with clear highs that aren’t overbearing, present mids, and solid bottom end that will not let you ignore it, but won’t rattle your teeth, either. I’m not an audiophile, but I was quite pleased with how much better balanced their sound was than any other consumer headphone I’ve tried. The sound I got out of these was detailed, nuanced, and quite pleasing. I didn’t listen to a lot of really complex music to see if they’d just turn into a wall of sound when there was too much thrown at them, however.When talking about their sound quality it’s important to note that these are open-back headphones. They do *not* isolate or noise cancel. They’re not supposed to. They’re supposed to allow noise out to create a more open and broad sound stage, giving them more of a natural sense of presence. It’s an experience much closer to listening to a good stereo system than using closed back headphones, which seal your ears in little chambers and blast them directly with sound. That has it’s place, like if you’re listening to music in public or in a loud environment, but it doesn’t give a natural and open-air feel like open-back headphones do. If you’re looking for more of a natural sound but don’t want to piss off your neighbors, open back headphones are a solid option. If your partner is asleep in bed next to you and you want to watch a movie, you definitely want closed back headphones.One advantage to open-back headphones is that the larger sound stage gives you a better sense of position from audio when gaming. That’s one of the main reason I gave these a try, and I was quite pleased with the results. It feels a lot more like you’re there, or using a good 5.1 system, than when using closed headphones.Their build quality is impressive. These headphones feels very solid, but also refined and polished. I was really surprised by that. The only part I can tell is made of plastic is the cups of the headphones themselves. The band and frame that attaches to the cups are metal. Even the support band that rests across the top of your head is made up of metal bands inside a pad. That’s not gonna wear out any time soon. For the sake of comparison, the Sennheiser PC38X headset I replaced these with is made up almost entirely of plastic. It feels incredibly cheap by comparison. However, it fits my head.The cable is also quite nice. It’s braided and long. The braiding feels both flexible and strong, reinforcing the cable without making it overly stiff. The connectors are slim enough that I can’t imagine anyone having trouble getting them past a cell phone case.The only real knock I have for these headphones is that the included pads pick up everything they touch. Dust, cat hair, anything. However, they’re soft and plush, and quite comfortable for long wear. Just know that if you’ve got a pet you’ll end up cleaning hair off them pretty regularly.

3. 

   Dan – November 22, 2025

   One of those purchases where the value of the item exceeds the asking price.
   I purchased my Fidelio X2HRs over two years ago at this point and they are still my daily driver for almost all my listening activity.They’ve got a great soundstage but still deliver ample bass in that familiar V shaped EQ. I will say it was an adjustment not hearing all my music compressed into just bass as I came from cheapo closed-back gaming headsets prior to purchasing these.Initially I remember perceiving it as sounding worse, but very quickly I realized just how much more I was able to discern about the music I was listening to and what decent soundstage in headphones does to improve the quality of the sound. (Seriously soundstage is so much more important than I ever realized, that open feeling to listening is 100% worth the decrease in external noise blocking)Overall they are built well and out of nice materials, they are incredibly comfortable and have never caused me any sort of “headphone strain” that you get with less comfortable headsets, they sound great, and are just generally worth the money.

4. 

   Pugtat0 – November 22, 2025

   Great sound, but a bit uncomfortable
   Super solid unit, they have a super heavy but sturdy feel. It does make the headphones feel a bit cumbersome and hard to wear for long periods. The sound is not super flag being a bit bass heavy but very clear and quality, I actually prefer the extra bass over a flat sound for everyday use such as gaming or watching videos.

5. 

   Fábio Alves – November 22, 2025

   Headphone incrível, vale bastante a pena pela valor cobrado, e se levar em conta o valor promocional, é uma barganha. Graves bem presentes e extensos, médios arejados e bem colocados, no ponto certo, agudos com a medida certa de brilho, que trazem muito detalhamento e cor ao tuning. O palco sonoro é gigante, e também impressiona nas camadas e detalhamento. É muito fácil de amplificar. Só recomendo um upgrade de cabo.

6. 

   James – November 22, 2025

   I purchased these in May 2020, and during a move at the end of 2022 they were damaged and never quite worked the same there after. I had to replace the ear cushions in early 2023 as the originals were worn out (I am at the PC 10-12 hours a day) and just recently one of the cups has been cutting in and out constantly and the headband “leather” has just started bubbling/failing.I take’m off my head and toss them on my desk, sometimes they fall off on the ground. I do not treat my gear with extreme care, and other than being crunched in a move, they have been rock solid!I decided to finally buy replacements and went for the Corsair HS80 (originals not the newer worse ones) and… wow. Open-back headphones are the ONLY option for me, and the clamping force of these corsairs made my eyes water.So….. back to the Philips I go! I decided to goto their site and see if I had any warranty options, clicked “chat now” and 20 minutes later someone came on, “I cannot help you here, call us at this number instead bye.” So called and the man on the phone kept saying, “sorry, can’t hear.. sorry, no hear you” then eventually played with his headset and heard my question, “anything I can do to save money replacing these, warranty options or otherwise?” and was told, “please wait 1 minute while I check” and eventually just hung up on me. Suffice to say, pretty terrible experience so far with Philips haha.Regardless, the HEADPHONES are fantastic, extremely comfortable, amazing bass – especially considering they are open-back headphones – and I could wear these all day, every day, for years! Can’t ask for much more than that. I’ve had much more expensive headsets in the past and have no desire to go back to them, and just now hit “buy now” on another set of these, even after the lousy Philips care and fact that they eventually failed (again I don’t treat them like fragile crystals) so hopefully that says something!Shame they don’t have a mic at all, so for PC use, meetings, games, etc, you still need a mic.

7. 

   Julliet Romeo – November 22, 2025

   Extreme under-rated headphone.Owned various high-end headphones like Beyerdynamic T5 & Amiron copper, AKG k701 & k550, Shure 1540.this Philips X2HR can easily measure / compete with the best of them. Build quality / materials used is solid and luxurious ea very highend. I just love the look and feel. They are very comfortable even after many houres when wearing them on your head.Balanced and enormous spacious sound as if you are in the center of it [ no v-shape etc]. No excessive oomph or high and mids…. It just sounds perfect…its pure audiophile sound.Had the hdphn on my whishlist for quite some time and this week Amazon offered it against a price i could not resist any longer…. Well hindsight…even if i had to pay euro 300 it is more than worth it.If you are in for a new or other headphone then blind buy these….. you will not regret. Its the best buy you did in a long time !!Your remaining saved cash when buying these which you normally spent on much more expensive competitor brand can be spent on a good bluetooth dac for instance..

8. 

   Cliente de Kindle – November 22, 2025

   Los compre principalmente para jugar videojuegos y ver películas, y vaya que buena elección, los bajos hacen que los sonidos de balas, las pisadas, las explosiones, incluso sonidos generales graves, luzcan mucho, maso menos como en el cine, pero más preciso, un bajo mas agradable aún. El resto del sonido en general también es muy bueno, no había escuchado mis juegos tan bien como con estos audífonos, para películas es lo mismo, son super cómodos, luego de un rato ya ni me acuerdo que los traigo puestos. Eso sí, si por algo me los quiero quitar, tengo que dejarlos por ahí en la mesa porque no hay forma cómoda de recargarlos sobre los hombros, también por ser abiertos si alguien por ahí anda haciendo ruido se escucha por completo, los he usado un poco con música también y hacen lucir mucho a algunos géneros, una muy buena experiencia ahí también, tengo un fiio btr5 que es un dac amp, pero aún sin él, no siento que los audífonos necesiten amplificarse, si suena algo mejor con el fiio, pero no es necesario. Su uso es más bien sentado en algún lugar silencioso, porque al caminar como que brincan en la cabeza, la banda que los sostiene en su lugar se estira un poco como elástico y al subir y bajar con cada paso se siente como suben y bajan en la cabeza, además de que hacen un pequeño ruido, no es un problema porque los uso frente a la computadora y ahí son una delicia, pero es claro que no puedo hacer limpieza con ellos, quizá lavar trastes de pie sin moverme mucho y escuchando el agua, los trastes y todo al rededor jaja. Muy contento con mi compra los recomiendo mucho si tienes un perfil similar, poco movimiento y silencio al rededor.

9. 

   Yameen – November 22, 2025

   They’re great. I’ve had them for about 6 months, and the headphones are wonderful. The ear cups are made of cloth, so they don’t stick to the side of your head, even if you’ve been wearing them for a while. Audio is quite crisp, and it’s very easy to even pick out when characters are breathing in tv shows. However, they are open-eared, so the sound can be garbled if you’re in a very noisy area. (The design also means that others can hear what you’re listening to if you’re in very close proximity) Personally, I don’t mind, as I usually use them in my room, but if noise cancellation is for you then these headphones are not. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, these headphones are very comfortable and very light. I can wear them for 3 hours and they won’t weigh my head down, and the adjustable head strap automatically fits to your head to ensure a snug fit. These headphones are really quite nice, especially for at-home use.