Philips Fidelio L4

Philips adds another good pair of headphones to its Fidelio line

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Standing out in the busy noise-cancelling headphones market is no mean feat, particularly when it is dominated by a couple of big brands and a number of go-to recommendations.

That hasn't fazed Philips. The brand's Fidelio range has been releasing good headphones for years, quietly confident that people are looking for alternatives away from the path most travelled-and the Philips Fidelio L4 are its latest over-ears to do just that.

The Fidelio L4's launch price of £299 puts them squarely up against the Sony WH-1000XM5, which launched at £380 but are now widely available for £299 in the UK.

The Fidelio L4's all-black design isn't eye-catching, but they do set themselves apart from a lot of their competitors by opting for a circular earcup, instead of oval.

The earcups themselves sit within circular brushed aluminium yokes and are hinged to give the earcup freedom of movement up and down for comfort. They also swivel flat to make them easier to travel with.

Vegan leather covers the earpads, which feel suitably squishy to the touch, while the slimmer, redesigned headband gets sturdy Muirhead leather. The curved metal arms that attach to the earcups extend out smoothly from underneath the covered headband to give you a larger fit if you need it, though even at their smallest, the fit is on the loose side and this is only added to by a reduced clamping force when compared with their predecessors, the L3.

While this makes for a comfortable fit for long listening periods, they don't always feel the most stable when you are moving around. The cans won't make a leap for freedom if you make a sudden dive forwards to pick something up from the floor, but they will shift. As a result, and since they also don't have an official IP rating, these may not be the best for running and exercising.