Philips SHP9500/00 Headphone Black

Product Information

There isn’t as much air around the instruments, which is something you will clearly hear and feel in relation to the breezier, cooler 9500. Right away you’ll notice that the 9600 is more compact all around, with a slightly tighter clamp force that feels quite incredible on your head. It is really is, functionally, the same thing with maybe different insides, it works well, with mediocre-to-decent sound quality. Be careful of sound leakage that can reach the mic, I even accidentally outed myself on an Among Us game once. I could notice no difference in sound compared to the original cable. Then again I've never heard SHP9600 so this is all speculation. However I did own SHP9500 and I didn't like it for music (didn't try gaming). My "bar" was Denon D2000 and I thought it was better on everything. My friend with HD800 and HD650 also didn't like SHP9500 either (we each bought a pair at the same time).

Again, the small attention to detail here from Philips is more than admirable, it’s outright amazing that they would adjust and improve the fit. the debate rages on whether this is my brain becoming acclimated to the sound, or if burn-in is a real thing. The box contains the headphones themselves and a 1.5m 2pole removable 3.5mm cable for the headphones. Nothing more on the accessories and these do not include the carry pouch that you get with the older version of the shp9500. It might be one of your favorite cans if you pay an intense listen to them for a few hours. Really its a steal while you might get it for 60ish or 80ish. I got mine for 75 ish. I still wonder why Phillips is selling this amazing can at such a lower price.

Why should you go for the Philips SHP9500S?

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. 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. I would recommend these headphones to anyone who listens to a variety of music, wants to wear headphones for hours on end, or for someone who wants extremely great value out of headphones.

Do SHP sound better? I should say in sound stage and imaging HD598 shines over SHP but SQ wise SHP shines with its clarity and reasonable bass response. They blow me away. They outperform all the other cans I have (Sennheiser PX-100s, Audio Technica M50x, AKG K7xx, Hifiman HE-350). No burn in was necessary--just plugged them into my computer and was blown away by how convincing they were. Still, I’d recommend an Amp/DAC for best results sound-wise. I listened to both with a wide array of setups:Thirdly, Low clamp force might create you a lose fit if you move your head too much unnecessarily, otherwise it will just work fine and comfortably. After being very pleased with the SHP9600 for movies, I decided to plug them into my main headphone rig to evaluate their sound with music. While I am extremely pleased with these for movies, and I highly recommend them for that capacity, the focus of this review is mainly regarding music from my main headphone rig. I make a few comments here and there about their movie performance. It sounds fuller and more impactful, while still mostly retaining all of that incredible micro-detail that the original 9500 provided in spades.

I’m glad Philips didn’t butcher the headphones with an overly accentuated low end, so don’t get me wrong. It’s still numbered like the 9500, and not only is it easier to settle on a number appropriate for your head, but it actually holds its place this time. Regarding the mic, I absolutely love the quality. My issue is that it’s too malleable. If you bump it, it’s going to get all bent out of sorts and you’re going to have to reposition it. The cable itself, the braiding is well done enough that you don’t have to worry about a kinking or anything else. But I do like the rubberized cable on the original headset a lot better. From a price performance perspective, I can’t think of anything else that comes anywhere close to it, especially in the gaming headset market that’s considerably overpriced these days. Highs are slight elevated and sometimes there is sibilance but the headphone sounds very lively and dynamic because of that. Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this Philips SHP9500 vs. 9600 comparison, and now understand the main differences between them!The same rugged plastic has returned, and the headphone cups swivel in the same way as the original 9500, ensuring that you’re able to get a good fit on your noggin. The plastic build makes the headphones feel flimsy, which we’d argue is probably the headphones’ biggest flaw, but the silver lining is that they are then ultra-lightweight and don’t feel uncomfortable for long periods of time. That being said, is this really the best audio gear I can get for Php 3,000 as a basshead? Any recommendations would be great (including IEMs). Or should I just buy a DAC or amp?

You can support Stu here. Your donations go directly into savings for future improvements to the blog and channel.But based from this review it sounds like SHP9600 might be worth to try again, also if they are on sale then it makes it even better. Hmmmm...... I'm a bit curious now lol.