Philips SHP9500/00 Headphone Black

Product Information

My previous headphones include the Sennheiser Urbanite XL and the Sennheiser HD598 SE. I mainly listen to pop, EDM, and jazz.

Philips printed a little thing on the side of the box that says “Good for Home Audio,” or something like that, and they’re right. These are best for use at home, and home only! Design/Build Deluxe breathable ear-pads improve breathability and dissipate pressure and heat for longer wearing comfort. Portability: Well they're open so no, no portability to speak off. But they're very efficient, my FIIO X5 drives them well without the E12 amp I normally have to use. Even the Sansa Clip Zip drives these cans very well, can't max out the volume.Modern Warfare 2 is a great example where audio cues are crucial as those footsteps are just so loud and help with directionality. The open style and good clarity is a perfect combination for shooters like COD and having that quality mic in there is a massive bonus for online play. I am quite the novice in the headphone world, so I shall compare and contrast with only open headphones I have owned; no speculation. That’s it. The specs listed on the box have changed a little bit. But I can’t find any reports that this is a new driver. The differences between the two models are akin to those between the Sony MDR-V6 and the 7506; they’re basically cosmetic. Sound Now in a gaming environment like Read Dead 2, it gives me nice environmental expansion to make the sound is open. Effects come through well and have good definition when it comes to raindrops, mosquitoes in the forest, layering of the wind, footsteps and speech. The mid range could be slightly more forward to give you even more definition in the entire spectrum, but this thing is fantastic for competitive genres. This is the word what makes it significantly distinguished than other pairs. It offers an amazing separation. you can feel the lead guitars, vocal, bass and drums are sounding separately.

The imaging is excellent. As well as depth of soundstage. Almost to the point of seeming artificially wide on some recordings. However, on well mastered/recorded material, they are dead ringers for immersion. Convincing keeps coming to mind. The only other headphones i've tried that pull "convincing" off in the same way are some old Stax that you have to power with a loudspeaker amplifier, sound uneven and veiled, and are so uncomfortable I can only keep them on my head for 20 minutes or so.

The model I received are the shp9500s(newer revision) from the older discontinued shp9500. Prices in India are obviously twice as that of the US retail but still it was quite competitive compared to the other headphones that were offered for similar price range. The headband, Its obviously performs well with no issue. the headband is plastic and foam underneath it foam for the comfort of longer listening. Who has bigger head will have no problem as it allows to extend to 1-6 notch. I listen to a lot of music when at work. Desk space is limited, so I can't justify running an amplifier, so I liked the idea of something inexpensive with good imaging that was easy to drive. The earpads pop right off on both models, it just takes a lot of force, you won't break anything, its just a weird design. The HM5 leather or Shure 1540 Alcantara earpad wrap all the way around the headphone, and it stretches perfect, and I found that rotating the hM5 leathers 20-30 degrees so they are like elf ear shaped when they come down on your head increased soundstage a smidge. Because the takes longer to travel or something, no idea.

Comparing to HD650: I prefer the 9500. The HD650 sounds veiled compared to the 9500, and the bass is similar. Sound stage much better on the 9500. Comparing to K701: Woah they're outclassed by the 9500's, they sound thin and weak, and can't handle sound pressure very well. Nice for jazz and classical, but the 9500's can be used for anything I think. We tested the sound quality of the headphones both indoors and outdoors. While we did not experience any issues indoors, we did notice some sound leakage outdoors. Also, if you are someone who prefers high volume, the headphones can disappoint you. They have low impedance and you won’t get enough volume when using them with a PC, laptop, or smartphone. HD7's bass is less in amount but tight and ready to smash with force. thats why it shines in bass department. OTOH SHP blows it away with its majestic clarity of mid and highs. and SHP is more comfortable too. The sound, overall, is pretty impressive for the price. It’s a bit cold, a bit clinical, but airy enough to remain musical. Compared to sivga sv004, which is another pair of good budget headphones, there are major differences. The sv004 is more v shaped, and is semi open. It has worse soundstage and imaging, but better bass response. To summarise, the sv004 might actually better for listening to music, but the shp9500 is definitely better for listening to your gear, which is what the hobby is about if I'm being honest.

I am approaching my 50’s. I have owned many ear phones / head phones over the years. I studied and worked a bit in the recording biz, but these days are long gone and I mostly now just enjoy a lot listening to music, mostly during daily activities, and in some too rare moments just listening and enjoying blissfully. I have owned many HP over the years, including some pretty decent AKG for studio work that I remember fondly. I presently own the Fostex TE-05 in ear, the RHA MA-750 (recently deceased by cat, but I still have access to them as my wife has the same), some non descript Sony in ear, some cheap Philips in ear and a pair of Monster Clarity Bluetooth in ear… My stable of gear is obviously a bit sub par. I am probably quite tolerant to many sound, but certainly not all sound. I find quality enough in the above gear to keep using them in certain circonstance, but a quality can be that I can wear a given set in bed or outside without the fear of breaking them because they’re so cheep and readily available. But in any scenario a hp has to have a minimally pleasing sound to me. Their sound quality is incredible. The bass is perfectly balanced. However, it’s not something bass fans will like. The mids are natural and warm. The treble is great. The headphones are perfect for casual use. I feel I’ve written a lot but not sait much. Let me summarize : Listening to the SHP 9500 for me get’s much closer than anything I’ve heard to an experience where you can let your mind freely navigate (or just be available to) all aspects of the stimulus at hand. Mostly no part of the stimulus imposes itself to your mind’s attention (at least while you are able to ignore the physical feeling of the HP on you’re head), and the available nuances and complexities of the stimulus is quite great. Through the listening of a given piece of music through the SHP 9500, you get the feeling you have a better access to intentions, expressions, mistakes, trials, state, efforts, emotions and the synergies of all people involved in that tune. These Headphones are so amazing that they changed the way I listen to music I listen to much more classical or Jazz because of the superior recordings they really shine if the source is well recorded. If the song you listen has a bad recording you will notice that, the 9500 won't be as enjoyable almost like if they are asking you for a better recorded song. The main thing though about these is their soundstage and imaging. Their imaging is accurate, making it good for both casual and fps gaming. The soundstage is wide, but not super wide.

As for the headband, I am not very sensitive to this kind of thing, but I find this one to be fantastic with no obvious problems. I think it is fantastic honestly. The headband "pad" runs aalong the underside of the headband, but is only attached at either end, making it able to form fit to your head, but not make you look like an alien as audio-technica, AKG, Superlux, etc. The default pads create a spacious, yet shallow seating for your ears, and as such more often than not your ears touch the drivers, or rather the plastic housing inside. This does create some discomfort in my case, with a really mellow ache starting at about 3 hours into a listening session, and does change with how you put it on. Otherwise, this is usually fixed after refitting the headphone. In all cases however, I had no need to take off the headphones. The pads themselves are basically car seats for your ears, and this is as real as it is a joke, for the materials feel almost identical. It works both better and worse than expected however. On one hand the pads feel nice, sturdy and comfortable. On the other, perhaps clashing slightly with the comfort, is that rough, car seat texture. However, this hasn’t caused any discomfort for me or my friends as of yet and the pads have only gotten softer with use. Either way, these pads are actually changeable, while being quite difficult to do so (this isn’t your magnetically swappable Empyrean or Diana, so to speak.) There are a couple of mods one can do to fix the pads’ issues or change them completely. Beware that, if you want to swap the whole pad, unless you get 3D printed halos from Modhouseaudio, or anywhere else you can find, you are going to have to rip the original pads off, making the pads useless and leaving only the halo. Otherwise you can simply add some filling, without changing or ripping the pads, to get a deeper space for your ears, fixing the driver touch effect.Having mentioned all that, this is a great combination for around a hundred dollars that gives you fantastic vocal clarity and a really nice sounding headphone too that will make a killer gaming combo.