A comfortable and compact on-ear Bluetooth headphone

Philips next-gen on-ear Bluetooth headphone M2BT is due to hit stores this spring for $279.99.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews

Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.

Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials

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David Carnoy

Jan. 5, 2015 9:21 a.m. PT

2 min read

LAS VEGAS -- Philips has a new entry in the Bluetooth headphone market: The on-ear Fidelio M2BT, which is due out this spring for $279.99 (we're still waiting on official UK and Australian pricing, directly converted that's £184 or AU$346).

This is the follow up to the Fidelio M1BT, which was the wireless version of the popular Fidelio M1 ($80), which I reviewed and liked.

I got a chance to play around with the M2BT a bit and it's definitely a very good on-ear Bluetooth headphone that stacks up well against the likes of the Beats Solo 2 Wireless. The only problem is that its list price is almost as expensive as that of the Solo 2 Wireless (which are $300, US-only). Hopefully, the M2BT's street price will come in under $250, which is what the Bose SoundLink On-Ear Bluetooth costs.

The Philips Fidelio M2BT ships this spring for $279.99 David Carnoy/CNET

The M2BT features Bluetooth 4.0, 40mm neodymium drivers and NFC tap-to-pair technology for devices that support it. It's also offers AAC (Apple), aptX (Android) and SBC compatibility.

Philips notes that the headphone now has an outer headband with material that is "uniquely rib-woven from toughened fibers, giving the required balance between flexibility, strength and durability." The leather ear pads feature memory foam, which you'd expect in a headphone that costs this much. Controls are integrated into the right ear pad and two microphones are built into the ear pads for hands-free calls.

I'm still checking on battery life, but it should be pretty decent (as in, over 10 hours).

I had a quick listen to the headphones, and, as I said, they sounded good, with full bass and decent clarity with decent noise isolation. I'll have a full review when I get my hands on a review sample and let you know how they stack up against Bose's on-ear Bluetooth headphones.