Perhaps the best headphones at...$50?

Archaea

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Phillips SHP9500S for $50 shipped at newegg.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...dphonesAccessories-_-26138190-S0H&ignorebbr=1

They just use a standard 1/8” jack and so you can get an accessory headphone mic from anywhere for like $15 if you want a great gaming headset. (something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Co...rd_wg=U8E3x&psc=1&refRID=9Q3QTJ2B7FM1XFFX85YX

These open air headphones are super comfortable, super good sound, super cheap. I have my pair at the office for music listing at work without risking my pair of $200 Sennheisers to the office goblins. (very similar sound quality to the HD595 Sennheisers I own).

Z Reviews (headphone review youtube king) was clamoring about them, saying they were better than his Sennheiser HD600.
WARNING: Bad words in this review (and RIGHT in the first 5 seconds), so NSFW, but this review is what convinced me to buy the Phillips.

(I don’t agree with Z Man on the sweat magnet thing – that hasn’t happened to me over the time I’ve used them - maybe that depends on how much your head sweats?)

For $50 bucks though – if you don’t have these already – just buy a set. I think you'll thank me later.
 
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These headphones are an outstanding value. They are a no brainer if you are looking for a good pair of gaming headphones.
 
I paid $60 for them back in November of 2016 and have been completely satisfied. I added a V-MODA BoomPro Microphone and use them as my gaming headset. Incredibly light, great sound and super comfortable. Like Archaea said, just get a set. You will definitely not regret it.
 
I could use a pair for the office...in for one. I have a pair of Philips Fidelio X1s and love them.
 
when you unbox them let them play for about a day at a reasonable volume to break in the drivers - not normally a believer in that kind of thing - but it really seemed to loosen these up. They sounded a bit tinny when I pulled them out of the box. After a day of break-in they were great.
 
I jumped on this. My old Steelseries headphones quit working 2 days ago, and I've been looking at options. This was one of the front-runners, and with them on sale I couldn't resist.
 
50$ is pretty usual price for them, though. But for the price they are really something.
 
my pair of senns just recently split apart at the headband, but a little voice in the back of my head is telling me to fix them instead of buying these. im very accustomed to the senn soundstage/coloring...
 
my pair of senns just recently split apart at the headband, but a little voice in the back of my head is telling me to fix them instead of buying these. im very accustomed to the senn soundstage/coloring...
If they aren’t at the sennheiser high 500 or 600 level, these will be better IMO. I own 595 which are pretty equivalent. I’ve owned 600, and heard 800. Lower level sennheiser aren’t that great.
 
modded 555s, so effectively 595s, yeah. they respond quite well to amplification. any loss in clarity/definition, especially in the high bass/low mids, would probably kill me. do you listen to a lot of music, bud?

id order the 650s from massdrop right now except they wont ship until fuggin july
 
modded 555s, so effectively 595s, yeah. they respond quite well to amplification. any loss in clarity/definition, especially in the high bass/low mids, would probably kill me. do you listen to a lot of music, bud?

id order the 650s from massdrop right now except they wont ship until fuggin july

Games, music, everything.

It’s not just me (one random guy) telling you these are good. Did you watch the z review? See the other posts in this thread? ;)

Sennheiser overcharges on brand recognition. These Phillips clearly prove that. For $50, you aren’t losing much to try them out yourself.

On second thought -- if you would 'probably die' if you experienced any loss in clarity/definition over your Sennheiser 555 - don't stray off the reservation. I mean death is a pretty serious consequence. :rolleyes:
 
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I also just bought the Philips, long story short, they are as good as the HD599s I tried but I still prefer my Grado SR80i. If I had never owned the Grados, the Philips would easily be my daily driver.

One thing to note, the cable included is basically crap. Go ahead and order a better one.
 
These are great. Still have my set and going strong. Wish they had some more bass, but they are in-fact great.
 
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I own 3 pairs of these. I bought them so when I game, I can hear if something happens at night, Kids crying and what not. Absolutely best headset for the value!

I have them paired with https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Profe...&qid=1518198155&sr=8-16&keywords=computer+mic

If you're listening in your house, open-air headphones are great. Ppl calling for you, ppl at the door, ppl breaking in at night. . . it's good to hear things around you sometimes. Also, I believe the open-air design is what helps the soundstage. I don't own very expensive headphones, but moving up from years of using mid-level gaming headsets, I LOVE these. Nice for gaming AND music. Also, extremely comfortable to wear for hours on end, even with glasses. I have to post every time I see these in a sales forum - I just love mine.

This is an average sale price, but consensus seems to be that they are among the very best under $100 - assuming the open-air feature isn't a problem for you.

I paired mine with an Antlion min sans volume control. I hate volume control on head/earphones - they always crackle after a short time, even when you don't touch the controls.
 
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Did you watch the z review?

yeah, but thats why im expressing apprehension - because he said theyre "better" than the 600s, which i flatly do not believe, having heard them.


On second thought -- if you would 'probably die' if you experienced any loss in clarity/definition over your Sennheiser 555 - don't stray off the reservation. I mean death is a pretty serious consequence. :rolleyes:

it is :p but really, i said that because senns 250hz-1khz reproduction is incredibly crisp & faithful to the source recording, & i listen to a lot of FLACs. if these were to sacrifice that particular clarity for excessive warmth or a booming sound signature (every manufacturer is different, & even each product line + driver)...which is very common in popular products...then its not worth it to me. so i figured id ask somebody who knew!
 
I snagged a pair of these and the Monoprice 8323 since my Panasonic HTF600's got destroyed by kiddo. Loved those 30 USD Panny's, hopefully one of these will be as good. Hard for me to drop big $$ on headphones, maybe my ears are shit.
 
Amazon screwed up and sent me wall speaker brackets instead of the 8323's...it's the SHP9500s or bust now. I hope they are good.
 
I hate visiting the hot deals thread, looks like I'm in for a pair. thanks op
 
Amazon screwed up and sent me wall speaker brackets instead of the 8323's...it's the SHP9500s or bust now. I hope they are good.

I had the 8323's for a year, then they got so stretched out they would fall off my head. They were OK, sound-wise. I was all excited to get them, but in the end, I didn't get their hype. The Philips are so much better. The 8323's were so plastic-y, they creaked constantly as plastic rubbed against plastic anytime I moved. Tried silicone grease and oil in the joints/where parts met, didn't help much.

Plus, I prefer the sound of the Philips. Nicer soundstage. They ARE NOT sound isolating though - you can hear noise around you. That's a plus in my situation. My house is quiet, and I WANT to hear any noise. Not good for subway travel though.
 
Guys, stop talking about how good these are. I don’t need another pair of headphones. :p

The hugely popular Sennheiser HD-6xx are back at Massdrop, but at $199 they are easier to resist as an impulse purchase.
 
Anybody know how these compare the the Koss Portapros? They have been my go to headphones but I see they are creeping up in price at $42.
 
I only clicked this thread to see what headset could possibly dethrone the sp9500. To my surprise it was this headset you have linked.

Carry on
 
So I ordered a pair on a whim, and they came in yesterday. Holy crap, they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn, and it's really not even close. I barely even notice anything on my head. My only complaint is they don't have quite as much bass as I'd personally like, but they sound amazing for $50.
 
Cool, thanks OP. Just ordered some. Really needed a new pair, the others were hurting my ears.
 
I paid $60 for them back in November of 2016 and have been completely satisfied. I added a V-MODA BoomPro Microphone and use them as my gaming headset. Incredibly light, great sound and super comfortable. Like Archaea said, just get a set. You will definitely not regret it.

Pretty much exactly what I did. Best gaming headset you can get for $80 ($50 cans and $30 mic) with the open back headphones reducing the amount of discomfort over long gaming periods and the excellent sound giving you good positional audio.
 
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