Philips SHP9500/00 Headphone

I was looking for some open backed cans and heard decent things about these Philips units and decided to give them a try.Presentation and feel out of the box whilst not premium is certainly businesslike, they are light but feel strong in the hand and have an unusual but flexible arrangement for the inner headphone band and the pads are also soft to the touch. The connector at the cup side to the music device is a standard 3.5mm at both ends and mine were provided with a single cable around 1.5m in length, though no adapter from 3.5mm to jack or travel bag was supplied.The fit is amazing for comfort, they have just the right amount of clamp for my head at the smallest setting, but the allowance for larger heads is vast given the ratchet at the side (which also feels nicely weighted and engineered. The tilt and swivel travel is limited by the way the cups are affixed but it gives plenty of scope for seating the cans.Listening experience was taken over a weekend with everything from laid back jazz to classical, pop, rock and a bit of rap music (the ones I like at any rate!) They dealt with all of these genres without any real complaints, I thought the bass was well weighted, the mid-range delivered and didn't bleed too much into the treble and the treble was controlled with a little shrillness at the very high end but was never 'shouty'. The sound-stage is a mixed bag, not as wide as the HiFiMan 400's but enough to get some idea of placement of instruments. Now a warning - they are open-backed so some sound leakage is expected but with these cans leakage is VERY pronounced - certainly higher than the aforementioned HiFiMan 400's I had recently and my wife remarked she could hear the music loud and clear from the next room. I would therefore say these should not be used outside unless you want to deal with complaints from others.So to close, an excellent investment, and whilst we are penalized in the EU by a much higher price than the USA $65 was quoted, if you want them that is the price because Philips have apparently stopped making this model and are not superseding it :(Grab em whilst you can!

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.

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 .