Philips Fidelio T1, analysis: there is a new rival to beat in the first division of the headphones, and it has come intimidating

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philips fidelio t1, analysis there is a new rival to beat in the first division of the headphones, and it has come intimidating
philips fidelio t1, analysis there is a new rival to beat in the first division of the headphones, and it has come intimidating

The headphone market has iron health. According to Grand View Research, in 2020 it had a total value of $ 34.8 billion, a bulky figure that, according to the consultancy’s forecasts, will increase to close to $ 127 billion in 2027 . An annual growth forecast of 20.3% is not available to all markets, and it is certainly too sweet a treat to pass up.

Philips is one of many consumer electronics companies scrambling to develop their presence in this market, and this year they are putting all the meat on the grill. A little over two months ago we thoroughly analyzed their Fidelio L3 over- ear headphones , and we really liked them . More than we had liked most of the latest proposals from this brand that we have had the opportunity to analyze.

The Fidelio T1 are completely wireless electrodynamic in-ear headphones equipped with the latest revision of Philips active noise cancellation technology.

This has caused that we have received the Fidelio T1 that you can see in the cover image of this review with a mixture of curiosity and expectation. This is their cover letter: they are completely wireless ( True Wireless ) electrodynamic in-ear headphones equipped with the latest revision of active noise cancellation technology developed by Philips engineers.

They are a high-end proposal, and this vocation leaves its mark both in its price (they cost 300 euros) and in its finish and its sound performance. Here’s a little spoiler: they are one of the most luxurious headphones we’ve tested, and their overall sound quality is going to allow them to put up a lot of war on the high-end. However, with this description we are only scratching the surface because its acoustic design and noise cancellation technology have several juicy surprises in store for us.

Philips Fidelio T1: technical specifications
PHILIPS FIDELIO T1 CHARACTERISTICS
TYPE OF HEADPHONES Fully wireless electrodynamic in-ear headphones (True Wireless) with noise cancellation
ARCHITECTURE Two way
IMPEDANCE 16 ohms
SPEAKER DIAMETER 10 mm
SENSITIVITY 103 dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 7 Hz a 40 kHz
MAXIMUM POWER INPUT 5 mW
NOISE CANCELLATION ACTIVE Yes
ANC TECHNOLOGY Hybrid (ANC Pro +)
MICROPHONES FOR ANC 4
CALLING MICROPHONES 3
BLUETOOTH 5.2
SUPPORTED CODECS LDAC, AAC y SBC
MAXIMUM RANGE 10 m
BLUETOOTH PROFILES A2DP, AVRCP and HFP
WATERPROOF IPX4
BATTERY Lithium polymer
60 mAh (headphones) and 650 mAh (charging case)
CHARGING CONNECTOR USB-C
CHARGING CASE DIMENSIONS 8,49 x 5,15 x 3,24 cm
CHARGING CASE WEIGHT 109 g
PRICE 299,99 euros
Philips Fidelio T1.  True Wireless Headphones

Philips Fidelio T1. True Wireless Headphones

This well-executed finish enters through the eyes and convinces to the touch

Before going any further, it seems important to attribute to these headphones a peculiarity: they are much more beautiful when you have them in front of you, live, than in the photographs. Even the images that Philips itself publishes on its website do not do them justice. They are honestly the prettiest earbuds I have reviewed so far. And also some of the best finished.

However, Philips has not gone to great lengths with headphones alone; the charging case is gorgeous too. It is made entirely of aluminum, and its machining is impeccable (I have not found the slightest defect no matter how hard I have tried to find one).

The upper part of the lid that allows us to extract the headphones is covered with a Muirhead leather sheet that gives it an elegant and sophisticated look.

In addition, as you can see in the following photograph, the upper part of the lid that allows us to remove the headphones is covered with a sheet of Muirhead leather that gives it an elegant and sophisticated look. Of course, this material is somewhat fragile because it degrades if we expose it to prolonged sunlight, heat or humidity (the manufacturer himself recognizes this openly).

Philipsfideliot1acabado1

The charging case incorporates a 650 mAh lithium polymer battery , and each earbud has, not surprisingly, its own battery with the same chemical composition as the battery in the charging case, but with a capacity of 60 mAh. In the next section of the analysis we will investigate the autonomy figures that these Fidelio T1 offer us both without using the charging case and using it.

Aluminum is heavier than polycarbonate, but not enough to negatively affect the ergonomics of these Fidelio T1s.

As you can see in the photographs that illustrate this analysis, the headphone enclosure is also entirely machined from a really nice brushed aluminum that is very pleasant to the touch. Aluminum is heavier than the polycarbonate used by most headphones, but not enough to negatively affect the ergonomics of these Fidelio T1s.

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In addition, the interchangeable foam pads that they include are very soft and adapt well to the contour of our ear canal, so we can use them during long listening sessions in a comfortable way. In my tests I used them during marathon sessions and I barely noticed the fatigue derived from mechanical stress imposed by ergonomics when it is not well resolved. But is not the case. In terms of ergonomics and construction, these Philips headphones have done very well.

Philipsfideliot1acabado2

In combat they like them, but what places them in the first division is their autonomy

The apps that wireless headphone manufacturers propose to us often have a profound impact on our experience . At the end of the day, we must use them to act on active noise cancellation, control of ambient sound, or, simply, to check the status of the headphones battery, and even the battery charge level integrated into the case, among other options.

The ‘Philips Headphones’ app is available, as usual, for both Android and iOS devices , and it rises to the occasion . It is intuitive, it is easy to find the function we want to modify and it has everything that users usually ask for from a tool that should help us get the most out of our headphones. It doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out, but I don’t miss anything relevant either.

Philipsfidelioapp

These Fidelio T1 have a touch interface, so we can carry out many operations without having to resort to our smartphone. By touching the surface of the headphones we can act on the reproduction; receive and end calls; turn ambient sound pickup on and off, etc. The sensitivity of the touch pad is not perfect because on occasion I have been forced to repeat the touch to get the effect I was looking for, but it is something so rare that it hardly has an impact on our experience.

These Fidelio T1 implement Bluetooth multipoint technology, so we can link them simultaneously with two devices

Each of the headphones incorporates a matrix of three microphones strategically distributed in the room with the purpose of picking up our voice with the maximum possible precision during calls. And yes, they do. I have tested them on the street, in the wind and heavy traffic noise, and even in these aggressive conditions it is possible to have a reasonably comfortable phone conversation. Headphones not only manage to pick up our voice by discriminating it from ambient noise; they also clearly deliver the voice of the person we are talking to.

A note that is worth not forgetting: these Fidelio T1 implement Bluetooth multipoint technology , so we can link them simultaneously with two devices, such as, for example, a mobile phone with Android or iOS and a laptop. To switch between one and the other, we just have to start the content playback on the device that is not sending the sound to the headphones at that moment, and immediately the connection will give priority to it. It is not necessary for us to manipulate the earphones.

Philipsfideliot1experiencia1

We now go with what is undoubtedly the true Achilles heel of many headphones with active noise cancellation: autonomy . The duration of the battery is conditioned by the use we make of noise cancellation or the treatment of ambient sound, by the sound pressure level at which we like to listen to our music, and also by the type of content we reproduce. This explains why it is impossible to obtain a firm figure.

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With noise cancellation enabled with maximum attenuation and a moderate sound pressure level, the autonomy of these headphones ranges from 8 to 8.5 hours

In any case, with noise cancellation enabled with maximum attenuation and a moderate sound pressure level to protect the health of our ears, the autonomy ranges between 8 and 8.5 hours . And these figures are really good. In fact, they are slightly higher than those found in our analysis by the Sony WF-1000XM4 , which is one of our current benchmarks, which in this area places the Fidelio T1 in the first division. In addition, the case allows us to fully charge the headphones up to three times.

They are respected as ordered: brandishing their sound quality

To test its sound quality, I turned to Poweramp , a free music player for Android that offers us the flexibility, versatility and level of control that we need for our tests. Here you have the complete list of the musical cuts that we have used in our test bench. We have chosen these themes above all for the high quality of the recording and sound recording , although we have also tried to ensure that the widest range of musical genres possible are represented:

  • ‘Stir it up’, de Bob Marley (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘You make me feel like a natural woman’, de Susan Wong (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘Redbud tree’, de Mark Knopfler (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘Autumn in Seattle’, de Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘Spanish Harlem’, de Rebecca Pidgeon (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘You’ve got a friend’, de Susan Wong (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘Wasted time’, de Eagles (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘Vivaldi – Flute concerto in D’, Chesky Records (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘Stimela’, de Hugh Masekela (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘Lush life’, de Billy Strayhorn (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘Afro blue’, de Mongo Santamaria (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘April in Paris’, de Duke/Harburg (FLAC 24 bits y 96 kHz)
  • ‘No sanctuary here’, de Chris Jones (FLAC 24 bits y 44,1 kHz)
  • ‘Under the boardwalk’, de Mighty Echoes (PCM 16 bits y 44,1 kHz)

Everything we’ve seen so far has prepared us for what is, in my opinion, the most important quality of these headphones: their overall sound quality . I don’t want to be overly enthusiastic, but honestly, I’ve been testing them thoroughly for three weeks, and not in a rush, and they sound fabulous. In fact, their audiophile pedigree requires that the recordings have a certain quality if we want them to deliver their full potential.

These Fidelio T1 give us a consistent sound and not at all shrill in most of the musical genres

At the top they go very well because they resolve the treble with detail and without aggressiveness. In fact, one of the most interesting characteristics of these Fidelio T1s is that they give us a consistent sound and not at all shrill in most of the musical genres. They go well with progressive rock and pop, but also with classical music and jazz, among other genres. In addition, they reproduce the mid-range, the voices, naturally, and, above all, with a lot of credibility. The cut ‘Stimela’, by Hugh Masekela, is especially complex for its dynamics, and also for the peculiar voice of this interpreter, and these headphones have performed it with a good note.

Philipsfideliot1calidadsonido

However, I have expressly saved the best for last: its bass. And it is that, in my opinion, the characteristic that allows these headphones to emphatically beat all the wireless models in their price segment that I have tried so far is the way they reproduce low frequencies thanks to a certain extent to their architecture of two way . Its bass is voluptuous and detailed. It is authoritative, but at no point does it mask the rest of the audible frequency spectrum. Ultimately, it is addictive.

In any case, we still have an important section that we have not yet investigated: the performance of its active noise cancellation . I have verified how they deal with the inhibition of the noise emitted by the engine of a car, by the traffic when we walk through a city, by the friction that occurs between the wheels of a train and the rails, and I also verified how they attenuate the voice human, among other test scenarios.

The best result is obtained when the cancellation algorithm is forced to suppress constant and persistent ambient sounds , such as, for example, the noise of a car engine. In this scenario these Fidelio T1s play in the same league as Sony’s WF-1000XM4 and Technics EAH-AZ70W , something that is not at all within reach of many earphones. When the noise is heterogeneous and has a variable intensity, the effectiveness of the cancellation is reduced, but, even so, it manages to attenuate it enough so that we can enjoy our music or any other content that we are listening to quite placidly.

Philips Fidelio T1: the opinion and note of Engadget

These headphones aren’t cheap, but they’re worth what they cost. As we have seen throughout the analysis, they are very well finished, they have a careful design and Philips has solved their ergonomics very well. In addition, their autonomy places them among the best in- ear headphones with active noise cancellation, and they offer us codec support at the height of what high-end wireless headphones should offer us.

They have the best low end I have ever heard in headphones of this type

On the other hand, their noise cancellation allows them to fight unapologetically in the premier league, and their overall sound quality, as we’ve just seen, is fabulous. In fact, they have the best low end I’ve ever heard in headphones of this type. Still, they have room for improvement. Small, but they have it.

The skin of the case is beautiful, but it is also delicate, so it can degrade if we do not treat it with care. In addition, touch control is not infallible, and sometimes it forces us to repeat the touch to achieve the effect we are looking for. In any case, these two handicaps do not cloud the experience that these Fidelio T1 offer us. I recommend them to any enthusiast who, yes, their price fits.

Philipsfideliot1opinion

9

Design9,25
Sound quality9,25
Noise cancellation9
Ergonomics9
Use experience8,5
Autonomy9,5

In favor

  • Its finish, its design and its ergonomics are outstanding
  • They have fabulous overall sound quality
  • Its active noise cancellation rivals the best
  • For their autonomy they fight without complexes in the first division

Against

  • The skin of the case is delicate, so over time it can degrade and become ugly
  • The touch interface will sometimes force us to repeat the touch to trigger the effect we are looking for