Philips Shp9500 Hifi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones (Black)

PHILIPS SHP9500 HiFi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones (Black)

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• 50mm neodymium drivers deliver full spectrum of sound
• 1.5m cable gives you freedom of movement for indoor use
• Comfortable double layered headband cushion, breathable ear cushion for longer wearing comfort
• Finishing of connector: gold-plated, acoustic system: open, Magnet type: neodymium

Buy Now : PHILIPS SHP9500 HiFi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones (Black)

Brand : PHILIPS
Category : Electronics,Headphones, Earbuds & Accessories,Headphones & Earbuds,Over-Ear Headphones
Rating : 4.6
ListPrice : US $79.99
Price : US $74.99
Review Count : 9619
SalesRank : 0

PHILIPS SHP9500 HiFi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones (Black)

• Introduction----------------------------- I love testing headphones, In-ear-monitors, earphones, earbuds, earwax (jkjk)...ya know all of that stuff. Recently I picked up a pair of Philips SHP9500S (Note the \"S\" refers to the new version as the original 9500 was discontinued years ago). These were originally intended as a replacement for my broken gaming headphones, but upon receiving them and testing them on music I was extremely surprised with their sonic performance (or quality of their sound). At $70 these are what I would consider to be relatively \"budget friendly\" headphones. What surprised me the most was that even at that price, they competed equally with headphones/earphones/IEMs upwards of 3x that price point. Now I understand that these are Open-Back headphones and aren\'t suitable for everyone\'s needs (more on that later) and that the sound signature/style of sound is not traditional to what people are accustomed to hearing (again...more on this later). So without further ado, let\'s dig into this shall we?Build Quality----------------------------- Not much to say other than BRAVO Philips...At $70 I couldn\'t be sure what to expect from full sized Over-Ear headphones, but I was very impressed with the quality of materials that Philips chose to use in the design/manufacturing of these headphones. The headphones are constructed with relatively sturdy plastic integrated into an almost perfectly engineered fit design. Not only does the plastic feel well constructed, but every movable joint is engineered to have some degree of resistance giving it a much more premium feel than many flimsy, loose and poorly constructed headphones. To add to that, the headphones also have a very flush design with little to no excess poke between any given part and only a 3mm offset at the most where the driver/speaker tilts forward or back to conform to the persons\' head. Last but not least, the slide adjustment points at the top-sides of the headband are made with aluminum and a plastic reinforcement plate under it (probably also to aid with sliding)Comfort----------------------------- I\'ll makes this simple, THEY ARE THE MOST COMFORTABLE HEADPHONES I\'VE EVER USED! You know when headphones claim to be \"Over the Ear\", but they\'re really just large On Ear Headphones...? Yea well these headphones literally are OVER the ears! Unless you have Dumbo sized ears, then your ears will completely fit inside the earpads with the padded ring all the way around your ears (The way Over the Ear headphones are suppose to be). Not only that the brilliant engineers at PhilipsSound also thought it would be great to make the padding at the top of the headphones detached from the headband. Not only does this prevent stretching damage to the the padding, but it also acts as suspension space between the users\' head and the headband adding to the great comfort! The headphone clamp force (elastic force used to keep the headphone \"clamped\" on to the head) is rather loose so this may or may not be good depending on your head size. While the clamp force is very pleasing and causes zero fatigue or headaches, it is important to note that they could fall off more easily when leaning forward or back on smaller heads.Sound Quality----------------------------*HIGHS*- The highs are quite fantastic in that they are very revealing in terms of detail retrieval without being harsh or sibilant (piercing). I would consider them to be warmer/smoother than most headphones in the $100-200 category with Sennheiser being the only exception. In general, the highs are consistent across all genres of music in that they\'re there to say hello and be present, but not overbearing and fatiguing like some headphones are.*MIDS*- This is where it\'s at!! The mids on these are INCREDIBLE! Because these headphones are made to have more neutral/reference style sound signature, the mids are well presented in the body of its sound. Vocals are crystal clear regardless of your genre! I listened to everything from indie alternative, tropical house, rap, r&b, rock, you name it! It honestly doesn\'t matter what you play, everything sounds super clear and in some instances it almost sounds live depending on the recording. Any instruments will be brought forward to your attention while still remaining behaved and in line with everything else at an equal intensity level (not over emphasized).*LOWS/BASS*- This is the most controversial section by FAR but hear me out...everything you understand about bass is not \"incorrect\" but rather \"shaped\" metaphorical also to the sound signatures of a large majority of headphones in the mainstream market. What I mean by this is that a large majority of headphones you\'ve used have what the industry considers to be a \"pop sound\" aka: V-Shaped (or U-Shaped) sound. This basically means that most headphones emphasize low/bass and highs. In the case of the SHP9500S, there are lows/bass, but not in the way most of you are accustomed to. The lows/bass on these are present and impactful, but also tight with very little decay time (they don\'t stick around for long). In these headphones the lows/bass are there to add to the dimension of the sound to create an overall experience rather than become the focus of the experience...if that makes sense. If you\'re dead set on hearing a rumble and prefer that experience, then these are not the headphones for you. HOWEVER! If you\'re interested in trying something new and hearing your music in a completely different way, then the SHP9500s are tuned to give you the opportunity to hear everything else that a \"pop sounding\" headphone won\'t offer you.*Sound Stage*- This might be a brand new category for some of you because a good portion of you have probably only ever used earphones or closed back headphones which have a very intimate sounding experience. Even earphones/closed back headphones that claim to have a \"large sound stage\" are COMPLETELY different than that of an Open Back headphone. To put it simply, sound stage refers to how \"open\" and how real to hearing music \"on stage\" headphones can reproduce. The bigger the sound stage, the more life like and real it typically sounds. The SHP9500S is not the largest sounding open back headphone on the market, but it is considered to be 90% close to what open back headphones in the $300 offer and 100% competitive to open back headphones in the $150-250 range. Basically they\'re REALLY good overall and EXCELLENT for their price! The sound stage is open and detailed enough to give you the experience of being in the recording room with the artists which is a super fun and exciting experience! I like to consider the sound stage to be open enough to pick out instrumental positions while still being intimate enough to sound like a private performance just for you!*Sound Leakage*- I\'m not here to hide this fact...they are VERY loud! If you\'re in a room with other people and you plan to play music at 60%+ on any device...everyone in the room will hear what you\'re listening to clearly. These are open back headphones and nothing is there to block the sound coming in or coming out...simple as that. Don\'t expect to be volume conscious with these because either way, it\'s still audible from the outside. If you have your own room and or you have a secluded space to listen using these, then these are perfect! OR you can let your roommates try these, they\'ll fall in love and then if you convince all your roommates to get one too and invest into a large aux 3.5mm splitter for everyone to connect to, then all of you can share the SUPERB experience...problem solved! Ohh...if you have annoying siblings and want to torture them with forcefully making them hear your infinitely better taste in music, you can play these at full blast and watch the expression on their face change from a smirk to anger! CAUTION...they may try to steal it if they get a chance to put them on and listen. (I am not liable for any stolen headphones)Conclusion----------------------------- at $60-70 the Philips SHP9500S is a GREAT investment! They are the perfect headphones for people looking to hear 90% of what those expensive $400+ \"audiophile\" headphones sound like at only a small fraction of the cost! I think that these headphones can also be a great alternative to buying speakers to watch movies or listen to music because you get a very similar listening experience to that of relatively decent speaker system (due to the sound stage) in a much smaller package that\'s also portable. If you\'re tired of hearing the same style of sound from every headphone and want to take a step into a completely different experience, then I HIGHLY recommend these! I promise you that if you\'re looking for a fantastic experience where you\'ll get to sit and re-listen to ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING to hear the difference, then THESE ARE FOR YOU!!
• Love these.First, I listen to many genres and for pop/rock/etc. I can put up with a range of speakers/headphones, etc. For classical, I am a lot more demanding. These headphones make the grade for that. If you are a bass-head, these might not be what you want - they have solid base but it\'s not thumpy, punchy, or overly rumbly. I find it accurate, the bass is there ... but more below.Setup matters. These are low enough impedance that they can run right off a MP3 player or phone and sound good. However, they will absolutely shine with a good headphone amp. I use separate DAC-amp setups of a CD player or PC and have a few of such {insert sheepish grin here...} ranging from solid state to tube headphone amps (not exotic - generally $80-150 range per piece, but even my ~$35 Douk class A headphone amp makes them sound great)SOUND - Summary first: exceptional for the price. Never heard a pair of headphones this inexpensive sound THIS good. Wow. If you want an exceptionally accurate and clear set of cans without costing you equivalent to a car payment, get these. That unless you have a bunch of expensive cans and will be bothered by the nagging question \"if these sound this good, why did I pay $____ for all those others?\"\"how they sound\" is REALLY subjective for headphones ... so read a lot of reviews, not just one, not just mine. Here\'s my 2 cents. Some reviews knock these for being slightly sibilant. I have not found that. They reproduce shrill notes as such - like ever had someone blow a piercing-high note on a flute RIGHT next to your ear? Crank these up and yeah, with the driver right on your ear, with low impedance, you\'ll get kind of accuracy! I find their combination of impedance-sensitivity such that I don\'t really crank these hard to get them to sound great, but I could see highs being too much on some pieces/ recordings, especially depending on your system, especially at high volume. On one of my solid state headphone amps, some highs border on shrill, but on my tube amp, the same recording sounds calmer - still bright and clear, but smoother (of course ... tubes!). Mids are detailed and textured. I find them great for vocals and instruments in the mid range. I find them to have good separation without being too forward as well. Maybe not as much separation as a some headphones I have heard costing 5-10x as much ... but frankly those cans don\'t do well either and where they fall down, these Phillips may not. For example, my AKG702\'s are a little more detailed in mid-highs with slightly better separation ... but the recessed bass results in me enjoying sitting and listening to these Phillips slightly more (!) for many pieces. If they have a drawback it\'s bass. But that\'s an IF. I find them to have adequate bass but no, it\'s not quite as forward as some reference headphones (ie Beyer DT770s). So, for instance, on a well recorded organ concerto, they do have that rumble right at the edge of auditory sensation, but it doesn\'t grab your attention. I don\'t feel like something is missing (ahem, AKG702s?) but the bass isn\'t saying \"hey! look at me, look at me!\" like my DT770s. A cello sounds \"accurate\" to me - I can hear the deep resonance of the instrument behind that of the string-bow interface, but it\'s not quite as \"hauntingly\" lush as my old moldy Sennhiesers. Rock/pop sounds fine to me but doesn\'t rattle you. If you want rattled, that\'s cool, but just be aware you may not be as happy with these as am I.Sound-stage - spacious with good separation. Slightly less depth than my AKG702s ... pretty doggone good seeing the AKGs cost me ~5x as much! Is 5x really worth it to you? Maybe, I dunno, could be, or you could think that is crazy to spend that much ... but the fact that I\'m even comparing them should speak volumes.Comfort - okay, I heard about the great sound of these before I bought them, but I figured Phillips would have to give somewhere, maybe comfort. ..... nope... Wow. These feel really good to me when I put them on. I can listen for several hours, no problem, no pain. They are as cool or cooler than other open-back models I have/have used, certainly cooler than a couple closed back I use a lot. They have enough pivot and swivel to settle make a decent seal to my head. Top band not exciting looking but okay. The pads are fabric and seem adequate.I\'m often suspect of reviews that are written within a day or two of unboxing. I\'ve been using these for 9-10 months. The love is not wearing off. If anything, I\'m liking them more and more. They are holding up fine. They are not luxurious/lavish, not bomb-proof, nor exotic feeling or looking. They are plastic and metal, but they feel solid and are wearing well, outperforming several models costing 2x or more I\'ve had in the wear-and-tear category. The cord, which some people complain is cheap, is holding up fine.A couple other things to think about ....(1) these are OPEN back headphones. If you aren\'t familiar with that term, it\'s important ... Open back will give you a much \"bigger\" sound which is great compared to closed-back, BUT everyone around you will hear your music. Also they will not block out much sound - if they aren\'t turned up loud, I can hear someone walk into the room. This is fine in a quiet room at home ... just be aware OPEN-BACK have advantages that come at the price of disadvantages. Please don\'t knock these for what they are!(2) they aren\'t really portable. Quality seems good, but I wouldn\'t want to toss them around or shove them in a gymbag or backpack frequently. They are larger than many headphones, but REALLY, are about average size for reference headphones. THey are good for leaving on your desk or living room to listen to music (or maybe game, I dunno, not my thing).In closing, I\'d say these are great budget headphones except that makes them sound like they are just \"good for the price\" ... nah, these are great headphones in general and it\'s way cool they are actually quite affordable!

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