SHP9500/00 Headphone

Very good previous review by Dale and we do need regular neutral reviewers who inform us truthfully about headphones in order to help us make an informed choice. It is hard to get demonstrations of most headphones as shops and retail outlets carry only the more well known headphone brands and even then a limited selection only. As such we need accurate reviews. Buying headphones is difficult whether we want one good pair or whether we collect them. I have over time acquired many headphones, the pick of the bunch being the PSB M4U-1, the Yamaha PRO 400, AKG K551, Yamaha HPH-200, and the AKG Y50. Stupid hobby as I can only wear one pair at a time, but that is what I did with my spare cash. Maybe I should have bought just one pair of expensive headphones. Still I have had great fun and can make true comparisons. At the present price of £52.95 these headphones represents the best value of any headphone I have ever bought. The Philips SHP-9500 is as good as any of the other pairs I have mentioned here. To be the equal of the PSB M4U-1 means the SHP-9500 is one heck of a headphone. It is my headphone of choice at the moment. The clarity and soundstage are unbeatable. Bass is well defined and realistic for an open headphone, with no wooliness or bleed whatsoever. It does lack the thump of the open Yamaha HPH-200, the closed Yamaha PRO 400 and PSB's though. Unlike the AKG K551's which have and accurate but comparatively diluted bass, the SHP-9500 has perhaps the most accurate bass I have heard in a headphone, truthful and satisfying which adds something extra that the other headphones cannot. But if you like a really thumping bass these will not be for you. Please remember that. The high end and midrange are just right though. They just sound right. As a whole the accuracy, spaciousness and musicality present the enjoyment factors in abundance. They have an astonishing sound which never sounds harsh at all. If there is one place they cannot match either the PSB's or the Yamaha PRO 400's is in pace. Both are faster than the SHP-9500 and therefore at times more exciting. The other factors make up for this though. The PSB's have 'room feel' technology. This means the bass is adapted to sound as if the headphones were a standing speaker. All recorded music is developed by being played back through speakers, so according to PSB headphones must account for that. Even accounting for that, the SHP-9500's have a profoundly musical sound, that taken overall, present the most enticing and listenable sound of all these headphones. They are also the most comfortable of all these headphones alongside the Yamaha HPH-200's. They, like the AKG K551's, are a VERY large headphone but lightweight and built really well. Most who listen these headphones will agree they are wonderful. Some say they are as good and maybe better than the Philips Fidelio series and that really is an indictment of excellence. Importantly remember these are open back headphones, very open headphones. Other people will hear very loudly what you play through them and they will not stop you hearing the sounds of the world around you, but if you love music and privately sit at home listening, then these headphones are a joy.

Yes Philips do the mediocre. They have also done some incredible stuff. Those of you who heard the Philips Motion Feedback Speakers will doubtless know what I'm talking about. Those of you who have heard the Fidelio S2 IEMs will also know what I'm talking about. The SHP9500s aren't perfect. The bass rolls off a bit but what is there is ample and good tight quality. The mids are clear and vocals are well presented. The treble doesn't extend as far as some more expensive headphones but I don't feel deprived. The balance of the sonics is just about perfect. Enough treble for good detail, a well presented mid range and a fair thump at the bottom end. Build quality is excellent at this price. The headphones are huge. They fit easily over the biggest ears. They are light and comfortable, maybe a little warm. They bleed both ways so just be aware of where you wear them. The sound stage is accurate enough for these to be the choice of many gamers for RPG. You should buy these even if you have better headphones. I have Grado SR80s and Monolith M560s but the Philips beats them on ease of use and comfort. Just fling these on your head. The sound is good enough for me not to feel anguish at the downgrade. EDIT: Encouraged by the extraordinary sound from these relatively cheap headphones, I ordered a pair of their 'audiophile' cousins the Philips Fidelio X2HRs. I'm sorry to say the Fidelios went back. Compared to the SHPs the bass on the Fidelios could become overwhelming. The Fidelios were also heavier and not as comfortable. Don't get me wrong the Fidelios are a good pair of headphones but not sufficiently better than the SHPs to warrant spending the extra cash and having both headphones on the shelf.

These are my first open back headphones and were bought after reading extensive reviews . I am not an audiophile or someone who analyses every aspect of the sound frequency in minute detail . What is important to me is clarity of sound and overall soundstage listening to everything from choral to metal . The 9500 are about as good as it gets at this price point and in my opinion better than the similarly priced Sony MDR-7506 which I have also tried . The sound is clear , bass is perfect for me ( not intrusive but perfectly audible ) and mids and highs are clear with only a touch of sibilance on a very few tracks . The soundstage is open and airy as you would expect from open back cans and this you either prefer to the more compressed sound from closed back or you don't . Consequently they leak a lot of sound and can annoy people you live with . Volume powered from my android Samsung is just about adequate for me and I would have preferred to be able to crank it up just a little more . Comfort is superb . They are quite loose on me so long sessions are pain free but bear in mind I have a head like a peanut . They can be adjusted to accommodate all sizes and the clamp is not overly tight . Overall the 9500s are not absolutely perfect in sound quality but up to 150 to 200 quid I don't think you will find better . I have no idea what I would ever upgrade to as sound preference is so subjective that I would be scared to spend a lot of money ie £200+ on someone else's perspective. For example , I was nearly at the point of buying Sony's Wh1000xm3 or 4 until I came across some absolutely damning "expert" reviews on their sound quality . So , the search for perfection continues but in the meantime these Phillips SHP9500 will do me just fine .

These are excellent headphones but consider your usage. These are big open-backed headphones. They leak sound and don't guard against outside noise much. These are for your usage at your desk/couch when playing games (no mic) or listening to music/watching tv. They are big and comfortable and do all of that really well but at that price there are cheaper headphones that also do that well. I think these have a very neutral sound profile. They handle whatever you throw at them but it isn't like bass or treble or anything will explode at you. In that sense, if what you really want are Sennheiser or Beats, then you should buy those because they sound different at a fundamental level. It isn't a "quality" thing, it's just a preference thing. That's fine! I just want to you have a sense of what you'll be getting and you should understand these headphones have a different profile from the other brands, and they sound different from Skullcandy as well. I guess my only concern with these headphones, having accepted that they are for home use, is that I'm not driving them properly. They don't get that loud compared to other headphones I have. I'm running them out of my tv monitor or laptop. I think I'm leaving a lot on the table without additional power for these things. I imagine they'd get louder and brighter, in which case they'd be truly marvelous. As it stands, they sound wonderful (distinct, but wonderful) and for the value hit above their weight class. If you've been in the $40-$50 range these are a clear improvement-- that much is clear. Probably with an amp they'd be even more. The sound is very neutral. A lot of high-end brands play up warm profiles and deep bass. I guess these could have deep bass, but the warm, bass-y sound stage you hear on headphones that cost more is a design choice. You may like that! These are designed to be clear and crisp and they are. At the same time, because they aren't getting super loud, and don't necessarily do anything to "grab" me with the listening experience like an artificial bass or a "comfy" sound stage, I find myself frequently using cheaper headphones to get that quick hit of warm bass and (overly?) engineered sound-stage. Don't get me wrong: I've used these nearly every day for years (2nd pair). I always come back to these headphones. But I can't help but think they are also designed for more than just laptop or TV monitor power. If you are fine with what you have, you may not be blown away by these headphones unless you specifically want something clear or very comfortable for a very specific use. Beyond that, these are great.

Qualidade de som excelente, boa resposta em todas as frequências, sem graves acentuados demais. Conchas grandes, envolventes e confortáveis, mesmo para quem usa aparelho auditivo RIC e tem orelhas grandes. No escritório, o som em volume normal não é perceptível para outras pessoas no mesmo ambiente. Por outro lado, sendo design aberto, não isola muito os ruídos externos. No meu caso é bom, pois percebo quando alguém me chama. Usei por várias horas ininterruptas sem incômodos. Gostei que o cabo sai do fone, ajuda no transporte. Qualidade de construção boa, passa impressão de que terá boa durabilidade. Considero que tem boa relação custo-benefício.

Just get a Tube Amp and all the negative reviews fades away. This is an awesome headphone with mid focused tuning. bass is enough for classical, jazz and country. Bass heads stay away.

J'ai acheté ce casque pour compléter ma collection des Fidelio X2 et X3. Je n'en attendais rien de particulier puisque j'avais déjà ses successeurs a priori plus aboutis... Eh bien, c'est une excellente surprise : ce casque est très léger, très agréable à porter, confortable et le revêtement des coussinets ne m'a jamais irrité (j'ai pu lire ce reproche fait par d'autres acheteurs). J'aime beaucoup le filé de son aigu et la douceur du medium. Il est vrai qu'il est (peut-être) un peu court dans le grave, mais rien de rédhibitoire, et je suppose que ça dépend du genre de musique écoutée ; pas gênant pour le classique (chambre et symphonique) ou le jazz (y compris les bands formations)... Je ne me prononcerai pas pour les autres genres musicaux. Il peut saturer à haut volume, mais il faut y aller fort ! Bref, ses possibles défauts sont amplement rachetés par une couleur musicale que je trouve très agréable. C'est en quelques sortes une version allégée du X2 que j'affectionne particulièrement. C'est, à mon avis, un très bon choix.

Ich habe diesen Artikel aufgrund der vielen guten Rezensionen bestellt und wurde nicht enttäuscht .Es wurde schnell geliefert und die sehr gute Qualität hat mich überrascht. +Tragekomfort. Dieser Artikel ist gewiss nicht der leichteste aber besonders bequem und angenehm zu tragen. Dies auch bei längeren Sitzungen. + Die Haptik und die verwendeten Materialien sind auch sehr gut . Zwar viel Plastik aber zum Preis angemessen hochwertig. Besonders gefallen mir die Hochmuscheln aus Textil, die sehr weich sind und sicherlich auch widerstandsfähig im täglichen Gebrauch. Die Verstellschiene aus Aluminium wirkt wertig und sieht sehr gut aus. + Der Klang ist ausgewogen. Die Bässe sind vorhanden und gewiss laut genug und angenehm trocken. Die Mitten und Höhen sind besonders transparent, luftig und leicht vordergründig. Insbesondere ist dies bei Klassicher Musik sehr angenehm. Insgesamt klingt dieser Kopfhörer sehr klar, detailreich und fein strukturiert . es ist einfach ein Genuss die Instrumentenbühne neu zu entdecken. Ich hatte ständig den direkten Vergleich mit dem Teufel Aureol real den ich abwechselnd zur Beurteilung eingesetzt habe. Das Klangbild des Teufel weiss auch sehr gut zu gefallen und ähnelt dem des Philips SHP 9500 sehr ,allerdings mit etwas mehr Bass und leicht höheren Lautstärkepegel als bei dem Philips. Der Unterschied ist meines Erachtens nur marginal . Ein wesentlicher Pluspunkt des Philips ist jedoch der weitaus bessere Tragekomfort. Die Anpresskraft des Teufels am Kopf ist viel höher und war mir nach kurzer Zeit unangenehm. Ferner lässt sich die Verstellschiene des Teufel schlecht Justieren und bleibt auch nicht richtig arretiert . Beim Philips sind diese Nachteile gar kein Thema . Fazit: der Philips Kopfhörer bleibt und der Teufel Aureol Real geht zurück . Ein besseres Kompliment kann man an den Philips nicht machen !!. Im übrigen sind beide Kopfhörer mit offener Architektur somit eignen sich diese überwiegend für den Hausgebrauch und nicht für außen weil die Musik von daneben sitzenden Personen tatsächlich sehr wohl deutlich wahrgenommen wird und als störend empfunden wird . Dies ist aber ein konstruktiver Merkmal aller Kopfhörer,die eine offene Bauweise haben. Sowohl der Philips wie auch der Teufel sind da ziemlich vergleichbar. Positiv ist dagegen dass die Musikalität bei einer offenen Bauweise viel transparenter und luftiger ist. Es ist auch deshalb kein Zufall, das alle hochpreisige bestens bewertete Kopfhörer fast alle eine offene Bauweise aufweisen. Als einziger Nachteil ist dass der Philips nur einen 3 m langen Kabel hat.Dieser ist aber mit einer 3,5mm Klinke bequem ein und aussteckbar und dadurch auch austauschbar.Ich kann nur dazu empfehlen,einen kürzeren Kabel von 1,5 m für mobile Geräte zusätzlich einzusetzen. dann ist die Ausstattung dieses Kopfhörer perfekt. Auch die Lautstärke am Handy oder Tablet ist mehr als aureichend. Wie denn es auch sei ist der Philips äußerst empfehlenswert und dazu auch bei Amazon sehr preiswert. Eine absolute klare Empfehlung und 5 Sterne für diese Preisleistung. Update oktober 2016 Ich bin immer noch mit diesem Kopfhörer zufrieden. Die Musikalität und Akustik sind eher noch leicht besser geworden. Etwas luftiger meine ich mit etwas besserer Instrumenten Bühne nach längerer Einspielzeit . Insbesondere gefällt mir als Brillenträger dass der Tragekomfort nach wie vor gut ist. nichts knarzt oder wurde ausgeleiert. Keine Sollbruchstelle die Probleme macht. Dies trotz regelmäßiger Benutzung 2/3 mal wöchentlich. Mittlerweile benütze diesen Kopfhörer auch viel am Handy mit Amazon Prime Musik. Eine sehr gute Konstellation mit absolut ausreichender Lautstärke dank der noch geringen Impedanz von 32 ohm. Sogar der Stoff der Ohrmuscheln ist noch im perfektem Zustand. Einziger Nachteil: bei schnellen Kopfbewegungen neigt der Kopfhörer dazu nach vorne zu kippen. Aber mit diesem Kopfhörer sollte man an sich musik im Sessel ruhig genießen. Dafür ist er gedacht und entwickelt worden. Weniger schön: der Preis hat sich mittlerweile verdoppelt aber dies trifft leider auf die gesamte Produktsparte zu. Trotzdem bleibt es immer noch aktuell auch vergleichsweise mit anderen Kopfhörern in ähnlicher oder sogar höherer Preislage eine sehr gute Empfehlung .