By now it should be obvious: the Philips Fidelio X3 are a very specific product waiting for a very specific buyer. Someone who wants to listen in private and indoors, someone who’s already invested in high-quality, high-resolution audio and wants to hear it sound its best without spending completely silly money. O Oh, and someone who’s OK with looking a bit daft while doing so.

Wide-open, detailed and confident high-resolution audio sound; Nice materials, properly used; Not madly expensive by prevailing standards;

Bass response could be more assertive; As big as a very big thing; Unwilling to tart up inferior recordings;

As an alternative to more expensive open-back headphones out there, the Philips Fidelio X3 combine impeccable sound quality with a comfortable and durable design. The treble and sub-bass might be two minor soft points, the overall clarity and large soundstage on offer here will knock you off your feet.

Modern cloth design; Both comfortable and durable; Robust mid-range and low-end; Crystal clarity and large soundstage;

Fidelio X2 are much cheaper; Weak sub-bass response; Can experience sibilance; Wired with sound leakage

These open-backed, on-ear headphones represent a triumphant return for a much-respected audio brand. They are neutrally tuned to allow your own music to sound its best without obstruction and capable throughout the frequencies too. Just make sure you have a decent source and you'll be in musical heaven.

Comfortable fit with premium materials used; Superb musicality; Neutral sound signature; Reasonably priced for this category;

Need decent volume to get the best from them; An additional shorter cable would have been nice;

It’s always nice to see a new pair of audiophile-friendly headphones in our current era of true wireless earbuds that focus more on convenience than audio fidelity. Consider the $349 Philips Fidelio X3 as something of an antidote to all the bass-boosted, sports-focused wireless models we typically review. These are over-ear headphones designed for listening at home, with an open-back design that provides a lovely spatial feel and drivers that dole out rich, accurate bass depth and excellent clarity. So many headphones and earphones these days are as much about staying connected to our mobile devices as they are about audio. The exceedingly comfortable Fidelio X3 headphones are about escaping, whether you choose to listen to music or other media through their capable drivers.Design When you open the (massive) box for the black-and-gray Fidelio X3 headphones, you're first confronted with a collection of accessories in the form of two nylon-lined cables (one with a 3.5mm termination...

The Philips Fidelio X3 headphones deliver clean and balanced audio performance that will appeal to anyone seeking accuracy over boosted bass and sculpted highs.

Excellent audio performance with accurate bass depth and detailed highs; High-quality materials and cabling; Comfortable, self-adjusting fit

Expensive; No adapter for devices with Lightning ports

Wide-open, detailed and confident high-resolution audio sound; Nice materials, properly used; Not madly expensive by prevailing standards;

Bass response could be more assertive; As big as a very big thing; Unwilling to tart up inferior recordings;

Lovely expansive sound with hi-res audio; Tactile, comfortable and good-looking (in a massive sort of way); Excellent value for money;

Quite sniffy about lower-quality audio; Leak sound unapologetically; Quite big;

They’re not for everyone but the Fidelio X3 are shaping up to be a solid choice for home listening