Philips SHP9500/00 Headphone Black

Product Information

Being one of the elf-like people on the planet, the second thing i look at when buying headphones is earcup size. These are odd to me. It's a little heavy but the padding is fairly generous and soft on the ear pads and headband. Overall, it's fairly comfortable. The 9600 mostly still provides the same great experience as the 9500, but it feels a bit more like a bass-oriented sound for sure. This is the sphere where these shines. It has much emphasized and clarity. Neat and Clean those words are just nothing but perfect. in the mid range the sound graphs is kinda neutral you can engage yourself with the vocal's voice beauty and find new color of your favorite singers. You’ll get some of those same “out of your head” moments like you previously enjoyed with the 9500, but I do feel like the 9500’s Staging is a bit better overall.

These remind me a lot of the old PX100s if those were more comfortable and neutral, and less forward/fatiguing. 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.

The treble is a little more grainy and unrefined compared to both the Sennheiser HD 650 and Audeze LCD-2. Treble is more present than the LCD-2 and maybe about the same level as the HD 650. They provide sparkle when needed, but not nearly as elegantly as the HD 650 do. The treble is a little more blunt with a hint of metallic aftertaste. If I didn't have the LCD-2 or HD 650 within an arm's reach for comparison, I'd have no idea that the treble had any limitations. I wouldn't call their treble flawed. It's just a different rendering indicative of their price point. I found no hot spots or issues with sibilance. They aren't the last word in treble, but they are pretty darn good in their own regard.

Which of these headphones sounds like YOU? I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time…

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. The SHP9500 is a well-built open headphone that is mostly made up of plastic for a lightweight experience. It uses 50mm drivers and has large cup sizes with huge pads, bigger than usual for full sized headphones. The headband includes a layer of padding that snaps on and off the main frame, allowing for hand washing when needed. The earpads are, by far, the weakest aspect of the way this headphone is constructed. Though very comfortable, the cheap material that is used causes one to sweat more than usual (compared to other velour pads) during long listening sessions. Still, I much prefer them over pleather/leather earpads. If the environment is cool enough, one should not worry but please be aware of this issue when listening to these in a warm setting. There are available modding methods, if needed, for easy pad rolling and can be researched within its respective thread here on Head-Fi.