Philips Fidelio S2

| 13.5 mm Dynamic Driver | Neodymium Magnets |

? Philips Fidelio S2

The Philips Fidelio S2 features huge 13.5mm drivers with powerful neodymium magnets and multi-layered polymer diaphragm that Philips calls Layered Motion Control (LMC).

The Philips Fidelio S2 has the aesthetics and rear grill coherent with all the Fidelio open-back headphones family such as the:

• Philips Fidelio L2
• Philips Fidelio L1
• Philips Fidelio X2
• Philips Fidelio X1

The Philips Fidelio S2 construction is very solid and robust with metal housings, outer copper alloy and a lacquer finish – back grill and inner housings are made of a golden colored metal material.

The back metal grid could suggest an open back design as the X2, X1 or semi-open like the L2, L1 but could also be just an aesthetic detail… will find it out later on.

The Fidelio S2 has bi-colored flat cables that are very thick and rubberized, granting great anti-tangling capabilities. Inline there is a 1-button remote with the exact same design and aesthetics of the Fidelio Line including also the Fidelio M1, Fidelio M1MII, Fidelio L2, Fidelio X2 – the 3.5mm connector is L shaped and build with the same material as the housings.

The Philips Fidelio S2 is compatible with Android and Apple devices.

You can buy the Philips Fidelio S2 in:

• Philips Fidelio S2 black
• Philips Fidelio S2 white
• Philips Fidelio S2 light blue

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Philips Fidelio S2 Review

Tests & Scores

Weight

Philips Fidelio S2 weight in Ounces and Philips Fidelio S2 weight in grams.

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Accessories & Packaging

The Philips Fidelio S2 unboxing results in a semi-hard carrying case, 2 pair of Comply Foam tips and 5 pair of silicone eartips.

The packaging holding the unit is a fairly large, dark-colored rectangular box.

^10_/10

Bass & Sub Bass

The Philips Fidelio S2 has not a very deep sub-bass but will provide sufficient mid-bass punch – enough to add body and warmth to the sound signature.

Do not expect a bassy earphone nor a bass tuned for fun/party styled music. Their bass is somewhat conservative and tight but not thin nor anemic.

The lower end of the Philips Fidelio S2 can be rated as well-balanced and with a personality typical from an open-back headphone that grants a clean response, non-invasive tuning and no boosted nor boomy sound.

For an open-back headphone their bass is quite energetic  – sub-bass will always roll-off on open-back headphones because of their acoustic design nature.

This is not an earphone for the average consumer that prefers sound signatures of earphones such as Sennheiser Momentum or beats urBeats.

With an EQ some additional depth can be squeezed out from the Fidelio S2 but not much extra punch will be revealed.

^_9.25/10

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Mids & Vocals

The Philips Fidelio S2 have clear lower mids and crisp higher mids. Lower vocals are relaxed and show a, somewhat, laid back tuning (typical from a flat mids response and overall sound signature).

Moreover, there is zero mid-bass bleed and a balanced (not recessed nor forward) higher mids response that does not get harsh.

Technically, their midrange is very well-tuned for a flat response, yet is fair to highlight that the Philips Fidelio S2 will probably not be well-adapted for consumer listeners. Instead, audiophiles that appreciate this baseline sound quality and/or who know how to fine tune it could find a good match with the Fidelio S2.

Overall, lower mids and lower vocals can have a distant feel or lacking some energy for normal listeners but will be greatly appreciated by experienced listeners that are in search of a cleaner and refined midrange.

Yet, it is fair to highlight their remarkably flat response that extends from lower frequencies up to all the midrange.

With an EQ, mids can be slightly fine tuned to bring lower vocals a bit more forward and crisp up their higher mids but do not expect drastic changes.

^_9.25/10

Highs & Treble

The Philips Fidelio S2 highs have nice enough brightness but are not super detailed.

Fatiguing highs like piercing peaks are not present, yet some sibilance can arise on sibilant-prone songs.

Overall, their highs and treble do not sound dark nor overly rolled-off, they just do not resolve enough detail as to classify their performance up-to the quality of their midrange and bass – the treble upper end frequencies exhibit a general roll-off.

An EQ provides strong general improvement, with an airy and more open sound, additional brightness and much more efficient detail retrieval – if overdone, piercing and sibilant highs will be empowered (mostly sibilance)

^7.75_/10

Sound Leak

By design the Philips Fidelio S2 are clearly listenable by nearby people, you can even place them backwards with the metal grids on the ears and you will perfectly hear the music/sound.

Philips rates the Fidelio S2 as a semi-closed back design headphone (or semi-open). As so and as we always do for open and semi-open headphones, the score of this section will not be weighted for the average score.

^6_/10

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Sound Isolation

The Philips Fidelio S2 is clearly an open-back or semi-open back headphone. This makes them an earphone not very efficient regarding isolation from surrounding noises.

As part of our standardized scoring system, the sound isolation score will not be averaged because this is an open-back headphone.

^7.25_/10

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Comfort

The Philips Fidelio S2 have premium construction materials and a piano lacquer finish that combined with the angled nozzles and flat cables result in a wonderfully comfortable experience.

Long lasting listening sessions will never be an issue with the S2.

^10_/10

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Response to Equalization

The response to EQ of the Philips Fidelio S2 showed important improvement over their highs and treble but bass and their midrange were not as responsive.

^6.75_/10

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Philips Fidelio S2 Frequency Response Curve

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Philips Fidelio S2 Technical Specifications

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Scores

Philips Fidelio S2 Scores

• Accessories - 10/10
  10/10
• Design - 10/10
  10/10
• Bass - 9.25/10
  9.3/10
• Mids - 9.25/10
  9.3/10
• Highs - 7.75/10
  7.8/10
• Comfort - 10/10
  10/10
• Response to EQ - 6.75/10
  6.8/10
• Value for Money - 10/10
  10/10

Summary

NOTE: Being a semi-open headphone, Sound Leak and Sound Isolation scores are not weighted for the averaged score.

AWARDS

Pros

✅ Clean and tight bass

✅ Zero mid-bass bleed

✅ Flat midrange

✅ High quality materials

✅ Nice aesthetics

✅ Good flat cable

✅ Open-back

✅ Very comfortable

✅ Durable housings

✅ Strong neodymium magnets

✅ Very large dynamic driver

✅ Reasonably affordable price

Cons

❌Highs might require an EQ to be up to their mids and bass SQ  level

❌ Not too responsive to EQ on bass and mids

❌ Difficult to find in stock

Conclusion

The Philips Fidelio S2 is a delightfully sounding earphone with remarkably flat midrange and clean, fast bass.

With their refined mids, vocals and bass, the Philips Fidelio S2 offer much more than main competitors at this price point, which makes them safely recommended to listeners looking for cleaner bass and mids.

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9.1/10

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Photos

Philips Fidelio S2 Photos

Philips Fidelio S2

9.1

SCORE

9.1/10

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