Philips SHP9500 Headphones (Ships) @ Amazon 59.99

Folks, the SHP9500 are some seriously great headphones. For $50'ish dollars, you can't beat them. No ... seriously, you CAN'T beat them. Both the sound quality and comfort level are top shelf. The simple logic here is this very thread. There simply wouldn't be one if these headphones weren't special, and very special they are.

Just get them.

I use mine over AKG's I have, Sennheiser's that I have and a few Hyper-X ... it's my go to for music, gaming, anything.

The micmod with the SHP9500 is the dream online gaming setup hands down.
 
I'm over here wanting to grab a set to compare with my DT880, HD600, and Focal Elex with your reviews...
 
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After a couple days use - here's my comparison between the SHP9500 and the Fidelio X2HR

I've used the SHP9500 a LOT over the last year or so as my gaming headset with a modmic and my general purpose headphones. I'm new to the X2HR. I will be switching my SHP9500 out for the X2HR, but I will not be selling my SHP9500. Instead I will likely be selling both my Sennheiser headphones, the HD595 and the HD-6XX that cost 2x's as much and don't sound any better -- are more difficult to drive -- and have those darn proprietary cords that prevent you from using a modmic. Sennheiser, you are outdone. I've already not used you much at all for the last year - and it's time to send you to pasture.

As to the difference between the SHP9500 and the X2HR:

bass is a bit better on X2HR, it's a TINY bit deeper, and a tiny bit cleaner - 15%-20% higher quality at most - and it's that's being generous.

treble is a bit more refined/recessed? -- even a tiny bit quieter on the X2HR - this is basically a wash. Both are clearly the same company and have a similar sound.

comfort is better on the X2HR - but it is NOT as if the SHP9500 is uncomfortable..

The cup size on the X2HR feels both bigger and deeper to my ear shape. I like this! I would have thought this would have negatively effected the sound. It does not. My ears touch the inside of the SHP9500 both on the lobes, and the tops - the oustside rim of my ear, but not enough to be bothersome - it's a very light touch that occurs because the SHP9500 do not have a deep well, but they have a larger diameter well. The X2HR is a big enough cup that my smallish ears don't touch anything at all.
The X2HR are free of all contact - meaning there is zero annoyance to wearing them.

Except...
The headband on the SHP9500 is actually a bit more comfortable to me than the stretch style band on the X2HR. However it's reasonably close and I suspect the X2HR may get more comfortable as that band stretches out. The X2HR band is a little tight on the bridge of my big fat head -- but most headphones are a little tight at first. (I do wonder as the X2HR band loses it's elasticity over the years if they will stay in place, say in 20 years? This wouldn't be a problem with the metal band of the SHP9500. Realistically, this is not enough of a concern to be a deal breaker at these pricepoints.). So really probably a toss up at this point as to which may end up more comfortable overall - because of the trade offs.

The X2HR leak out about half the sound that the SHP9500 do at the same drive level on a splitter -- the SHP9500 uses a 32 ohm driver and the X2HR uses a 30 ohm driver (but the sonic difference is so close I'd not argue if you told me they used the same driver and the difference was just based on the physical difference between the pads and grills. It does sound the same volume with the cans on your head - just that the SHP9500 are putting more sound into the room with their design. My daughter pointed this out to me, and I hadn't noticed. I had them both hooked up by a splitter and was demoing them back and forth, as was she. She asked me to unplug the SHP9500 because it leaked so much more sound it might throw off the comparison. When I held each of the back of the headphones' metal grills up towards my head in turn it was clear the SHP9500 put more noise into the room. I think that's a null concern for the loud drive levels we were demoing (because the leaked sound in the room is a fraction of the overall volume with the headphones on your head - but it is a point of note if you are using this as a gaming headset with a modmic and having trouble with the mic picking up your headphones sound (open air designs can pretty easily suffer from this at louder drive levels and I’ve run into this with my SHP9500). The less ambient noise of the X2HR is preferable here if using as a PC headset with a modmic — but its just probably not a deciding factor for most people - and I’ve used the SHP9500 for a year now with great results - so this to is getting pretty nit picky.

The SHP9500 feel a bit lighter and more secure on your head -- maybe that's an illusion because of the ear pads coming into light contact with my ears and remind me they are on my head. While the SHP9500 clearly look bigger in the photos, they do NOT feel bigger on my head.



BOTH EXCELLENT CANS!

You can tell they are VERY VERY similar. I think you'd be hard pressed to identify them uniquely on sonic signature outside of a quick A/B where they are both running at the same time and you can immediately swap back and forth. Even plugging them in, may be enough time to lose your audio memory on which is which aside from the comfort difference. In fact I'd say the comfort is the biggest differential, and it's a small nod towards the X2HR. I like the velor or velvet ear pad covering more than the 1990 Honda accord seat fabric of the SHP9500 (which is an accurate representation of what it feels like to your fingers, but not necessarily fair to depict how it feels on your head). The X2HR pads are removable, the SHP9500 pads are not (I learned that in the Z review videos above). For the price, scratch that --- for ANY price these are both simply phenomenal headphones. I’ve been to trade shows and heard lots of expensive headphones. These are right up there - say 90-95% of the best of them — and these cost $50 or $100 bucks — compared to cans that cost $1k range like the Sennheiser HD800.

I asked my eight year old after comparing the two with me which she liked better - she said the X2HR were more comfortable but she didn't think they sounded different enough to have much of a preference.
My 10 year old after comparison said she like the X2HR better in most every regard, but it was all slight preference. I asked her if she thought they were worth $100 vs. $55 and she hesitated. She said you're joking right? They cost 2x's as much? I said yes. She wouldn't believe me. She said they are a little better, but there's no way they are worth 2x's the money. I then asked her if she had $100 which would she buy? She said, well if you just gave me $100 I'd buy the X2HR, but if I had to buy them with my own money I'd get the SHP9500.

And that about sums it up.

I have to say I slightly disagree. I find the bass difference between the X2HR and the Ships to be much more pronounced.

I also would never trade my HD 6XXs for the X2HRs. They both have their strengths and very different use cases.
 
I also would never trade my HD 6XXs for the X2HRs. They both have their strengths and very different use cases.


More information please?


It's hard to compare them directly because the X2HR are 30 ohm and the Sennheiser are 300 ohm - so it's not a fair comparison on a passive splitter. For immediate A/B - and I've found with dedicated listening sessions - I just don't care that much which is superior because they are both so good.

I just look at it like this. I had the HD-595 for a lot of years. Before that the HD-535 for a lot of years. Both Great headphones! They have no modmic support at all with that proprietary Sennheiser cord. You can do the magnetic antlion mic, but I just don't own one. I bought the HD-6XX because I used to own a pair of HD-600 and sort of wished I didn't sell them. I was disappointed with the HD-6XX when I bought them last year as compared to the fondness of memory I had for the HD-600 I used to own 15-20 years ago. The HD-600 of that era felt like a luxury item to me. More on that here:
https://hardforum.com/threads/massd...eel-as-the-hd600-or-hd650-headphones.1965291/

Anyway regarding the HD-600's sound - I didn't think they sounded much better than my Sennheiser HD-535 and I was in college at the time and decided I would rather have the $200 back than the slight difference/increase in sound quality so I sold them. The HD-6XX I have now, do not feel like a luxury item. Frankly the Philips X2HR feel of higher build quality.

I personally didn't think the HD-6XX warranted 2x the price over the HD-595 -- and though I own both Sennheisers, and they both sit right here in the same room - I've just used the SHPS9500 almost strictly for the last year. The modmic is great for overall PC gaming use, and any slight advantage of sound quality (in my opinion of the more expensive Sennheiser) is not even worth taking the effort to unhook and hook up my Sennheiser headphones that are here, even if they are on the desk with me. Of course this is subjectively speaking. I had a buddy introduce me to the SHP9500 about a year ago. We did some listening tests between them and the HD-595 and decided neither was clearly better than the other, just different presentations. While the X2HR and the HD-6XX are a very minor step up from both of those two - the same logic applies. They are all great headphones - I just don't see it worth keeping the Sennheisers. And I say this as a HUGE Sennheiser fan of many years -- going back to my college days - 15-20 years ago.

The convenience of the a standard 3.5mm plug and the inexpensive acquisition price of the Philips makes them the clear winner to me in today's market. -- subjectively speaking.

That's just my opinion, my ears.
I'm curious what your opinion is in more depth.
 
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More information please?


It's hard to compare them directly because the X2HR are 30 ohm and the Sennheiser are 300 ohm - so it's not a fair comparison on a passive splitter. For immediate A/B - and I've found with dedicated listening sessions - I just don't care that much which is superior because they are both so good.

I just look at it like this. I had the HD-595 for a lot of years. Before that the HD-535 for a lot of years. Both Great headphones! They have no modmic support at all with that proprietary Sennheiser cord. You can do the magnetic antlion mic, but I just don't own one. I bought the HD-6XX because I used to own a pair of HD-600 and sort of wished I didn't sell them. I was disappointed with the HD-6XX when I bough them last year as compared to the fondness of memory I had for the HD-600 I used to own a decade ago. The HD-600 of that era felt like a luxury item to me. More on that here:
https://hardforum.com/threads/massd...eel-as-the-hd600-or-hd650-headphones.1965291/

Anyway regarding the HD-600's sound - I didn't think they sounded much better than my Sennheiser HD-535 and I was in college at the time and decided I would rather have the $200 back than the slight difference/increase in sound quality so I sold them. The HD-6XX I have now, do not feel like a luxury item. Frankly the Philips X2HR feel of higher build quality.

I personally didn't think the HD-6XX warranted 2x the price over the HD-595 -- and though I own both Sennheisers, and they both sit right here in the same room - I've just used the SHPS9500 almost strictly for the last year. The modmic is great for overall PC gaming use, and any slight advantage of sound quality (in my opinion of the more expensive Sennheiser) is not even worth taking the effort to unhook and hook up my Sennheiser headphones that are here, even if they are on the desk with me. Of course this is subjectively speaking. I had a buddy introduce me to the SHP9500 about a year ago. We did some listening tests between them and the HD-595 and decided neither was clearly better than the other, just different presentations. While the X2HR and the HD-600 are a very minor step up from both of those two - the same logic applies. They are all great headphones - I just don't see it worth keeping the Sennheisers. And I say this as a HUGE Sennheiser fan of many years -- going back to my college days - 15-20 years ago.

The convenience of the a standard 3.5mm plug and the inexpensive acquisition price of the Philips makes them the clear winner to me in today's market. -- subjectively speaking.

That's just my opinion, my ears.
I'm curious what your opinion is in more depth.

I think we would probably agree on most points if we were making apples to apples use case comparisons.

I use my hd 6xxs for music only. I use it exclusively with a Darkvoice 336se and a Grace Design SDAC that I spent waaay too much money rolling tubes on until I found the perfect pairing (to me). And I typically only listen to Jazz/blues or very Bluesy Rock on them.

I use the X2HRs and Ships almost exclusively with my phone (LG V30+) or my laptop. I just don't think they warrant an amp, I have a Fiio Mont Blanc portable amp and just don't really find amping the Philips necessary. I typically will go find the X2s if I want a more powerful sound (metal or like EDM style music) and use the Ships for basically everything else.

For gaming I also use the X2s for action games. I don't really play online much so no real need for mics.
 
The one thing I want people to on this tread is to ... focus. Once you start talking about other headphones then you run into a lot of other varied opinions.

I don't want to get into the 22 or 23 pairs of headphones I have, most are boxed up now but I've been around the block many many different times with high-end headphones.

These are up there and for a fraction of the price. Instead of taking your Miss or Mister Pronoun out this weekend, cook, stay in and buy these headphones for the $50 odd dollars. That way they are free and you can have them to enjoy.
 
The one thing I want people to on this tread is to ... focus. Once you start talking about other headphones then you run into a lot of other varied opinions.

I don't want to get into the 22 or 23 pairs of headphones I have, most are boxed up now but I've been around the block many many different times with high-end headphones.

These are up there and for a fraction of the price. Instead of taking your Miss or Mister Pronoun out this weekend, cook, stay in and buy these headphones for the $50 odd dollars. That way they are free and you can have them to enjoy.
Yeah, they really are great headphones for the price.... Probably one of the most comfortable set of cans I've tried as well. Main reason I use my dt770-s over them is my house can be pretty noisy with all my computers,. the heat, appliances.... closed cans work a lot better for me in this situation. Also I sold mine for a profit lol...
 
My understanding is that they are clearing out the SHP9500 & X2HR models, because their replacements are en route in Q1 2020 (hence the good prices, $60 on the SHP9500 & $120 on the X2HR, as per Amazon) --

New models (Philips Fidelio x3 and SHP9600):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/philips-fidelio-x3.913807/page-2

-----------

Also, reviews of the SHP9500 & X2HR (from DIYAH):

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/shp9500/

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/fidelio-x2hr/
 
I know I'm just piling on, but I've owned the SHP9500 for a few years now and I think they are phenomenal. I will use them until they fall into pieces. For the price you cannot beat them for comfort and function. I've had several cords go bad, but since any standard male/male cord works with it it's super easy to have a few spares laying around or use whatever mic you want. Going from these to my Sennheisers feels like putting my head in a vice.. no headclamp on the SHP's.. but they never feel like they are going to fall off your head.
 
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