Philips Fidelio L1 Headphone Review by Dale

quadpatch

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Nice review Dale! So these are the fisrt decent Dutch headphone in a long while that I heard about? I was curious about these, now even more so.
 

dalethorn

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Someone asked me just today about my biases and preferences, and I said that while I usually gravitate toward the lighter bass and the less-bright high end, I think the L1 is so good that with a little bass reduction, I can enjoy it for hours at a time. I've had several good finds below the $300 USD mark, so here's my brief summary of those:

Philips L1 - heavy bass becomes perfect after a bit of EQ, mids and highs excellent, I think these can provide very long term enjoyment to people who like heavy bass, or, if they are willing to EQ, a still-strong bass with great mids and highs. Well worth the money, highly recommended.

Shure 940 - lighter than average bass but still very good, excellent mids, and slightly bright below 10 khz. This will fit a much narrower range of users than the L1, but for anyone who prefers the so-called "neutral" signature, these are a tremendous bargain at $300. Not good with the average low-cost solid state amp.

Beyer DT-1350 - with the new more comfy headband, a large emphasis and hollow sound around 440 to 500 hz. Really needs EQ to bring that down some. Even then, the earpad seal is critical, and walking outdoors in cool weather it takes quite a while for the earpads to adjust and seal their best.

B&W P5 - a good smooth almost-neutral sound, but soft in the bass and highs. Not the highest fidelity in my opinion.

German Maestro 8.35D - before the L1 arrived, the best sound below $300 that I've heard. Good strong bass that's not bumped up or boomy - near perfect. Decent mids and highs.

VModa M-80 - probably the best sound below $250, only complaint is rolled off highs, which fixes up pretty well with some EQ. Both this and the DT-1350 suffer some from small-earcup congestion.

Phiaton MS-400 - very bassy, does not correct as well as the L1, but still not bad. Overall a very pleasant, almost liquid-like sound that's very nice for portable use. Not the highest fidelity. Of the MS-400, M-80, P5, and DT-1350, the DT-1350 is probably the most hifi if you can get the balance EQ'd or a better earpad seal.
 

quadpatch

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Oh wow, you are either going to need to copy paste that around or refer back to that quite a bit, I can imagine quite a few people using that list to help them get what they want.

How many DACs/amps do you have to play with btw? I ask becasue I noticed a big boost in the V-Moda with the Yulong driving them. I was wondering if you have tried many combos with them? The DACport was not great with them and I had sold the Fiio E7 by the time I got them so can't say what they were like together.

Do you own the Philips btw? Was wondering if you could provide a few photos.

I am going to do a photoshoot with the AKGs, V-Modas & Yulong DAC this weekend for my next reviews. I really quite like the aesthetics of the AKGs - damn they are huge though!!!
 

dalethorn

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quadpatch said:
How many DACs/amps do you have to play with btw? I ask becasue I noticed a big boost in the V-Moda with the Yulong driving them. I was wondering if you have tried many combos with them? The DACport was not great with them and I had sold the Fiio E7 by the time I got them so can't say what they were like together. Do you own the Philips btw? Was wondering if you could provide a few photos. I am going to do a photoshoot with the AKGs, V-Modas & Yulong DAC this weekend for my next reviews. I really quite like the aesthetics of the AKGs - damn they are huge though!!!

I still do not have a dedicated DAC. That's something I do need because it will make a big difference in amplification. So far I have used i-devices directly or with the O2 or Cute Beyond amps, and I've used Mac and PC desktops and laptops, all in house here. The only item I ever got for a review (free) was the German Maestro 8.35D from hifiheadphones UK. Everything else paid for out of pocket, which isn't that much money over a period of more than a year. I will get photos of the Philips by this weekend, and hope to have a Youtube review by tomorrow. I'm also going to do another mass video review, this time with the current 8 headphones.

BTW, I had a AKG several years ago - a $300 model although I can't recall the model number. A very good headphone - if I get rich I want to get some of those AKG's also.
 

dalethorn

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http://dalethorn.com/Headphone_Nine_Compare.txt

And here is where I did a more detailed review of each headphone's sound.

Tonight I did a more detailed listen, after midnight when the background noise level is nil, comparing the mids and highs of the L1 to the Shure SRH-1840, the Grado PS-500, and the Beyerdynamic DT-48A (the all-time king of midrange). The default bass of the L1 is so overpowering that other reviewers are missing what the L1 is capable of, since none that I'm aware of have admitted a willingness to test the sound with bass reduction. I used several tracks that have acoustic instrumental sounds as well as voices, particularly the acoustic version of Al Stewart's Year Of The Cat. I found the DT-48A to be too bright, and that brightness was obvious in all of the instrumental tones in Year of the Cat especially. The PS-500 had less of the high-end brightness that the DT-48A exhibited, but its emphasis around 1.5 to 2.5 khz made it less palatable than the L1. The SRH-1840 sounded somewhat dull compared to the L1. In all cases, the L1 equalled or exceeded the other headphones in musical detail.
 

quadpatch

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Wow that's quite a glowing report for the L1! I haven't seen an official UK price for this phone yet but I thing I saw a rumour of £250. How much was yours Dale? Do you think the amount of sound isolation rules this headphone out for office use?
 

dalethorn

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It's a very close call. Turning the sound down to the least acceptable yet enjoyable level, the sound could be heard by the person in adjoining cubicles. Whether that would be annoying or not - probably it would be in some cases.

Edit: Price in the U.S. is $300 USD, so probably will be about £240 in the U.K.
 

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