Philips Fidelio L3 headphone test: the Fidelio range is nomadic in 2021

The Fidelio L3 faces the difficult task of succession to the elderly by trying to exchange the excellent acoustic signature of the old models for a more modern and above all completely closed architecture. Power round partially successful.

As when listening on the frequency response curve, there is a strong unevenness in the treble. The signature in the W drawn as such is the reason for the stereo scene being so narrow, both in terms of width and depth. The placement of different sources in space also necessarily suffers, and it is not uncommon for different devices operating in the same frequency region to find themselves interwoven with each other without it being possible to distinguish them properly. In general, the spikes lack neutrality and have very distinct colours. This is the most harmful because the elevations are very precise: we should not deplore any trace of distortion or whistling.

Brokers and high-end brokers are also particularly accurate. The Fidelio L3 still has a slight weight gain in the upper center (about 1.5 kHz), which gives the vocals a slight nasal aspect. It can also sometimes lack presence and body, again mistaken for an irregular triad.

The sound signature that the Fidelio L3 delivers also focuses well on the bass. Extension in the extreme bass is satisfactory and provides a good helmet seat. The effects are very present, but the lack of dress definition gives the general appearance of salivating, and even snoring. The 40mm diaphragms aren’t actually reactive enough to properly transcribe bass drum rolls and struggle on big percussion groups.

Finally, note that Fidelio L3 does not have pharaonic power. On the contrary, it is a very prudent earphone, and it does not present any trace of distortion, even at a very large volume.