Philips Fidelio T1, does size matter? | Test and Review

Philips Fidelio T1

I am not particularly clear about Philips' goal with the Fidelio T1, the first pair of True Wireless earphones in the Fidelio family. He certainly wanted to focus on a pair of True Wireless that offered good, if not excellent, audio quality, also considering the family they belong to. However, the result is a pair of headphones that probably should have been released a few years ago, and not in 2022. We anticipate that the audio quality is good, like the best on the market, that the T1s offer features and functions in step with the times. , but everything seems to be nullified by design choices, which affect ergonomics and also on sound quality.

How they are made

If aesthetics are today often only a subjective question, in the case of the Fidelio T1 it is also an ergonomic question. They are large, uncomfortable to wear, and do not remain firmly in the ear. The design seems inspired by the Sony WF-1000XM3, a pair of TWS earphones from 2019, with an in-ear design where the earphone is connected to the large body of the earphone. Unfortunately it is not just a matter of taste, in fact to insert them in the ear you simply have to put them together and push them in, without that ergonomic design of most TWS ANC earphones of the moment, which pushes you to make a small twist of the headset itself, a movement that not only places it better in your ear, but ensures it doesn't fall out. With the T1 this does not happen, and one would want an earband. In the package there are many pairs of headphones, including three in shape memory material, which in this case are essential, not only to completely close the ear canal but also to exercise a secure grip.| ); }



The pairing button is under the lid and, behind, a USB port Type-C allows you to recharge the battery. They are IPX4, but we can hardly recommend them during a workout. There is also a proximity sensor, very reactive, which allows the earphones to understand when you will remove them from your ears to pause or resume playback.

ANC performance

The cancellation performance active noise are decent, that is, on a par with many other models in circulation. However, once again, ergonomics plays a fundamental role: if you insert them well into the ear, to the point of becoming annoying after a few minutes, then the ANC works well, in all other cases it is like not having it. You can also set different levels of intervention, a dynamic mode that changes the level of noise reduction while playing sports or a transparency mode.

Audio quality

In addition to the SBC and AAC codecs, they are also compatible with LDAC, so for high definition tracks.

During telephone calls the microphones are somewhat 'too sensitive and if you are in a noisy environment some background noise will return, while in a silent environment they will work well and without problems.

Autonomy

Philips talks about an autonomy with ANC of 9 hours on a single charge, which becomes 25 considering that the case can fully recharge them almost twice. The reality is a bit distant, but they manage to reach about seven hours, which is always a good result. Without ANC and always in reality it is possible to reach about 10 hours on a single charge.

There is fast charging, however it will take 15 minutes for an hour of listening, and also wireless charging.

Verdict

Philips needs to take everything that's good about these Fidelio T1s and put it into a more ergonomic and up-to-date pair of headphones. The audio quality is good, and for this reason the T1s end up among the best True Wireless headphones of the moment for sound quality. The declared autonomy is too high, but 7 hours with ANC active is an excellent result. They have bluetooth 5.2 and the ability to connect to two devices at the same time, something very useful nowadays.

However the good news ends there. The design is wrong for a pair of 2022 TWS earbuds, you struggle to place them in your ears as the design doesn't involve any movement to lock them firmly in the ear canal, other than pushing it all the way with the correct earphone. They're big, protrude a lot from the ears, and the case is huge by today's standards. The application is useful, and it's nice to see that there are so many options to enable or disable the sensors, but then the touch-sensitive surface is too insensitive and some functions are missing.

The price is 170 euros , lower than competitors able to offer an audio quality of the same level. Precisely because of the price, we have to re-evaluate our conclusions, which would have been very severe if they had cost more. Consequently, here are our recommendations: if you don't care about size and if you don't want to use them too much on the go, and then look for a pair of True Wireless that can offer you good audio quality and the ability to play music in high definition (LDAC) , and you want to spend as little as possible, then the Fidelio T1 is your first choice. If, on the other hand, you can spend a little more, you should opt for the Sony or the Sennheisers.