Here is my review of the Philips SHP 9500S, a now discontinued but still widely available over ear open headphone.
It is my first review ever, so please bear with it’s quirks and limitations.
I am approaching my 50’s. I have owned many ear phones / head phones over the years. I studied and worked a bit in the recording biz, but these days are long gone and I mostly now just enjoy a lot listening to music, mostly during daily activities, and in some too rare moments just listening and enjoying blissfully. I have owned many HP over the years, including some pretty decent AKG for studio work that I remember fondly. I presently own the Fostex TE-05 in ear, the RHA MA-750 (recently deceased by cat, but I still have access to them as my wife has the same), some non descript Sony in ear, some cheap Philips in ear and a pair of Monster Clarity Bluetooth in ear… My stable of gear is obviously a bit sub par. I am probably quite tolerant to many sound, but certainly not all sound. I find quality enough in the above gear to keep using them in certain circonstance, but a quality can be that I can wear a given set in bed or outside without the fear of breaking them because they’re so cheep and readily available. But in any scenario a hp has to have a minimally pleasing sound to me.
I also like evaluating and comparing sound. I’ve had long sessions of tip rolling and EQ tinkering with the Fostex and MA-750. I also listen to the Clarity fairly heavily EQ’d. I listen to music and podcasts. My music playlist probably gives out my age pretty much. Lot’s of 70’s rock and progressive rock. Also some newer stuff, in the vein of Beck and Radiohead, Artic Monkey, Queen of the stone age… lot’s of jazz too, from the very acoustic to the more produced, from classical to modern, some country and bluegrass, a bit of more or less alternative pop and lot’s of instrumental, some modern and some classical, for when I have a bit of free time ahead.
So, I didn't have much budget, but I wanted to try an open HP for when working at the computer or otherwise fairly idle, or even for quiet walks through the woods (I live in a very quiet 400 souls place). I believe I’ve never owned an open HP. I was looking into many models, including the AD series from Audio Technica, some Sennheiser, Beyer…. The price for the 9500, and the overall good impressions I could find on them decided me. The thread on these at Head-fi also played a good part in my decision.
Impressions here are given from listening from an iPhone 6 and a Mac. I did try an headphone amp with these (actually, the headphone out from my 2008 Pioneer living room amp). I find the sound to be much more interesting from my iPhone and my Mac. The amp gave a distracting warmth to the sound, and it sounded much more static, less dynamic to my ear.
Treble :
I was a bit afraid I would find them too bright, reading many times they were. Well I guess my almost 50 yo ears don't mind too much. I do hear a small bit of over excited highs, but not to the point of coloring the sound too much or of being painful or annoying, except on known overly bright or compressed masters. (I'm looking at you, Genesis remastered series on albums after 1976). Basically, I find the sibilance (for instance) is indeed emphasized, as in : you hear it maybe a bit more than you should, but it is nowhere near painful levels. I own a Fostex in ear, the TE-05. These can give you quite a painful shrill sometimes. The Philips are nowhere near that level for me. The emphasis is maybe a bit higher up on the frequency range than on the TE-05. And mids and treble on the 9500 respond very well to EQ if need be. Intellectually, I can say that the highs are a bit elevated, but emotionnally I find them very pleasing and overall smooth, as in present and playfull but not painfull nor distracting, except in very far and apart tracks on my playlist. I read at times people find them grainy a bit. I’m not sure what that is. I try to find grain while listening at times. I might have heard a bit of it on Mike Oldfield’s Incantations, during long female chorus notes. Sometimes I am not sure I’m hearing grain or detail. Basically, it is something I have to look for. If I’m not, the highs are all pleasure for me. As far as extension goes, i’m really not qualified to speak of it. Let’s just say that 9500’s treble is the best I have access to and also the best I can remember hearing.
Bass:
I was also worried a bit I would find the bass too week, as this is also a common comment I could read. Here it is a bit more complicated in my view. The bass seem a bit uneven to me. Firstly, let me state I am probably not a basshead. I own Monster clarity BT in ear, witch were suppose to be a tamed version compared to some over bassed sounding Monster I heard. They are indeed satisfyingly clear, but I listen to them with fairly heavy EQ, lowering the mid bass by at least 7db, and bumping up the mids a fair bit. So, how is the bass with the SHP? Well, I concur with some on this thread that mentioned that some kick drums sound dry. Some of those not overly produced or processed kick drum in my playlist (as in 70’s rock kick drum or some natural jazz kicks) sound cardboard-ish. It can be a bit distracting. It calls your attention when you are otherwise enjoying music while doing other things( like writing this impression). Some other kicks, for instance in electronic music, are otherwise rather satisfying. Now, I know a natural kick drum can sound rather dry in real life, and most of the satisfying thump we get in recordings is due to production. Still, there seem to be some sort of threshold on this headphone where some naturally sounding kick drums come out a bit too dry, while other kick sound are fine.
My hypothesis for the bass, is that there is a fairly narrow band in the midbass where the driver on the SHP tends to distort or generally under perform. Kicks or sound that tend to have their sonic content mostly in that area will be less than satisfying. As far as I can tell, you can raise the bass a bit with EQ if need be, but not by much. At one point, it does not become louder, just messier, and I could not fix that narrow band’s problems so far. Apart from those boxy kicks, the bass is very enjoyable, musical. Bass quitar, rumbling bass, accoustic bass, low toms, artificial bass, well recorded or otherwise overproduced bass, an orchestra’s row of double bass all seem on point to me. Bass is probably rather fast, but that does not keep it from giving me satisfying rumblings and nice constrast to the rest of the spectrum. As far as extension goes, I really don't know. There does not seem to be anything actually missing if compared to what i'm familiar with, witch is not saying that much. I also find it rather detailed. I discovered some kicks I’m used to were actually subtle double kicks. I hear and distinguish finer details of the bass content better than what I have access to and also better than what I can remember.
Songs that have heavy bass content will sound it. Classic rock is a bit more of a contrast to what I’ve become used with modern ear phones. On these, I got used to have even light bass track such as some Mike Oldfield or some The police albums sounding way heavier in the bottom than what they sounded like when I was discovering those tunes in my teen’s. Listening to those tunes on modern HP/EP gave them sort of a new life because of the way the bass was filled in. The SHP 9500 sounds a lot more like the original experience I’ve had with those tunes bass wise, but with an added presence, airiness, detail and fun.
Mids :
Well, I am still figuring out in life if and how I like mids (generrally speaking). Most times, with other EP/HP, I get a real kick out of raising the EQ somewhere in the ~800-2000 hz band. But I often realize after a while i've overdone it. Basically, with all other EP/HP I've listened to long enough, I start at one point to complain that on this or that song the voice seem too far/off/thin/thick/not loud enough... So far, this has been one of the big contrast with the SHP compared to other EP/HP I've owned. Voices are way more often than usual to my satisfaction. They quite often provoque joy actually. I find thickness vs dryness of males voices almost always on point. One voice for witch the owner seem to have gotten a kick in his parts is Paolo Conte’s voice. Maybe some of his voice’s content plays in that infamous band in the midbass, or maybe something else, but one thing is for sure, his voice is less satisfying, a bit too dry, lost some of it’s sexyness now on the 9500 compared to what I’m used to. But, you see, I don’t get that problem with say, Beck’ voice. Female voices are mostly very good. Very nice presence and fullness to me. Some a bit less than other, but they are a minority. Over all, I get way more of the joy factor with voices and instruments on the SHP. It’s not perfect, but just gives me more, more often than others.
Other sound characteristics :
Balance
So I guess balance is overall really to my licking. Not perfect, but the best almost all the time. I really don't find them "bright". Try the Fostex TE-05 for that. I find the sound as full and satisfying as my little experience with quality audio let me imagine it should be (I did dabble for a while in recording and professional studios). I hear a itsy bitsy hollowness in the voice region, sometimes. I’m not sure if it is there, or it’s expectation bias. It is more or less the same hollowness I remember hearing a version of on almost all over ear HP I'v ever heard, since listening to my uncle's expensive cans when I was 11. I believe it's probably some of the least pronounced I've ever heard in this context. It might bring itself to my attention at one time or another, but I will have a hard time re-hearing it, or following it, seemingly dissolving in the whole. I did create a EQ setting on Audioforge's Equalizer app on my iPhone, loosly based on DIY Audio Heaven's measurement graph. But I am also perfectly happy to listen to SHP not EQ'ed.
Clarity.
I'm not so sure I know what it is. I read it has to do with a full and correct tonality reproduction, allowing one to distinguish otherwise close sounding instruments. Let's just say that the SHP never leaves me confused, not even for a moment, and is for sure on par or better than anything I've heard.
Detail.
Well, the Fostex in ear sure gave me an understanding of what people were talking about. But even if I like detail, I find that hearing the faint and accidentally recorded fart of the signer in his booth gets old quick if detail is too in your face. The SHP seem to do an excellent job in the detail department, in a calm, natural, nuanced, music focused, not in your face way. I hear more than I ever have, farts and all, and through a larger band of the sound spectrum, but nothing is distracting. It is just part of an overall experience.
Sound stage.
I can not for the life of me remember hearing anything close to what some describe as a "3d sphere around the head where all instruments are precisely situated in space..." , on any listening device. But for sure, these open can give the illusion of a much wider provenance of the sound. It is fun. Relaxing in a way. I find a well separated in ear can be very fun and involving to, but this open HP is a different, more relaxing in a way sort of involvment, even if I did get with the SHP a few good startle provoked by an unexpected sound in a song coming from somewhere behind me. Let me just say that it is wider and more "open" (suprise!) than anything I've heard, but I obviously had low expectation. There is a sense of space, but not necessarily of a well defined physical space. Sound can come from further away, mostly sideways, a bit from the back of my head, and also a little higher or lower than I’m used to. Not much in front of me. The feeling of the provenance of the sound never really let me forget that I'm listening to head phones, but I'm having a very good time and can still just get very easily lost in the experience. It is a very different and welcome experience from in ears. There is more contrast available in the open HP as far as a feeling of space .
Separation.
Ha. This is something I feel I did suffer at times from the lack of it on other EP/HP. So far, I tended to think of EP/HP as having an inherent song ratio success rate. For example one EP/HP would play well to very well 75% of the songs I threw at it, 15% would sound bland and unexciting but listenable and 10% would sound like a jumbled hard to decode mess. I always attributed that mainly, after eliminating tonal balance as a possible problem, be it wright or wrong, to separation. So, the SHP, so far, has a song ratio success rate of 100% very good to excellent. Identified songs that played meh on other EP/HP sound good to very good to me on the SHP. I have yet to hear a song that sound distractingly bad on these (well, there is that old vinyl rip of a Moody Blues Album that really shows it's age, the fairly bad state of the original vinyl, of the needle, and the cheap equipment used to rip)
Built quality.
Ok. Opinions are all over the place for this. I find them very solid. Stiff, thick, not too rattling, actually rather tight. Not a tank, but very honest. They don't scare me. I guess time will tell, but I am confident.
Comfort.
Another point of contention.. For me It comes down to how long can I use it before it becomes necessary to take a break. With these, it has proven to to be more than 2-3 hours so far. The hot spot for me is my ear lobe that touches the inner filter because of the pad's shallowness. They also can become a bit hot, but really not that bad. Honestly, I tend to find in ear more tolerable to wear for a longer period. Then again, in ears touch very little of you relative to those big cans, so they have a better statistical chance of being forgotten about by the wearer…
Modification.
I really do not intend to mod them now. But before I got them from the mail, I had stocked on felt and foam material. I did try to thicken the pads without destroying them, by putting a ring of foam on top of them. About 4mm thick of relatively stiff foam. The sound became dark. Very bad to my ear. I might eventually want to change the pads, if the SHP survive long enough for them to become yucky.
Overall
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.
The end.
It is my first review ever, so please bear with it’s quirks and limitations.
I am approaching my 50’s. I have owned many ear phones / head phones over the years. I studied and worked a bit in the recording biz, but these days are long gone and I mostly now just enjoy a lot listening to music, mostly during daily activities, and in some too rare moments just listening and enjoying blissfully. I have owned many HP over the years, including some pretty decent AKG for studio work that I remember fondly. I presently own the Fostex TE-05 in ear, the RHA MA-750 (recently deceased by cat, but I still have access to them as my wife has the same), some non descript Sony in ear, some cheap Philips in ear and a pair of Monster Clarity Bluetooth in ear… My stable of gear is obviously a bit sub par. I am probably quite tolerant to many sound, but certainly not all sound. I find quality enough in the above gear to keep using them in certain circonstance, but a quality can be that I can wear a given set in bed or outside without the fear of breaking them because they’re so cheep and readily available. But in any scenario a hp has to have a minimally pleasing sound to me.
I also like evaluating and comparing sound. I’ve had long sessions of tip rolling and EQ tinkering with the Fostex and MA-750. I also listen to the Clarity fairly heavily EQ’d. I listen to music and podcasts. My music playlist probably gives out my age pretty much. Lot’s of 70’s rock and progressive rock. Also some newer stuff, in the vein of Beck and Radiohead, Artic Monkey, Queen of the stone age… lot’s of jazz too, from the very acoustic to the more produced, from classical to modern, some country and bluegrass, a bit of more or less alternative pop and lot’s of instrumental, some modern and some classical, for when I have a bit of free time ahead.
So, I didn't have much budget, but I wanted to try an open HP for when working at the computer or otherwise fairly idle, or even for quiet walks through the woods (I live in a very quiet 400 souls place). I believe I’ve never owned an open HP. I was looking into many models, including the AD series from Audio Technica, some Sennheiser, Beyer…. The price for the 9500, and the overall good impressions I could find on them decided me. The thread on these at Head-fi also played a good part in my decision.
Impressions here are given from listening from an iPhone 6 and a Mac. I did try an headphone amp with these (actually, the headphone out from my 2008 Pioneer living room amp). I find the sound to be much more interesting from my iPhone and my Mac. The amp gave a distracting warmth to the sound, and it sounded much more static, less dynamic to my ear.
Treble :
I was a bit afraid I would find them too bright, reading many times they were. Well I guess my almost 50 yo ears don't mind too much. I do hear a small bit of over excited highs, but not to the point of coloring the sound too much or of being painful or annoying, except on known overly bright or compressed masters. (I'm looking at you, Genesis remastered series on albums after 1976). Basically, I find the sibilance (for instance) is indeed emphasized, as in : you hear it maybe a bit more than you should, but it is nowhere near painful levels. I own a Fostex in ear, the TE-05. These can give you quite a painful shrill sometimes. The Philips are nowhere near that level for me. The emphasis is maybe a bit higher up on the frequency range than on the TE-05. And mids and treble on the 9500 respond very well to EQ if need be. Intellectually, I can say that the highs are a bit elevated, but emotionnally I find them very pleasing and overall smooth, as in present and playfull but not painfull nor distracting, except in very far and apart tracks on my playlist. I read at times people find them grainy a bit. I’m not sure what that is. I try to find grain while listening at times. I might have heard a bit of it on Mike Oldfield’s Incantations, during long female chorus notes. Sometimes I am not sure I’m hearing grain or detail. Basically, it is something I have to look for. If I’m not, the highs are all pleasure for me. As far as extension goes, i’m really not qualified to speak of it. Let’s just say that 9500’s treble is the best I have access to and also the best I can remember hearing.
Bass:
I was also worried a bit I would find the bass too week, as this is also a common comment I could read. Here it is a bit more complicated in my view. The bass seem a bit uneven to me. Firstly, let me state I am probably not a basshead. I own Monster clarity BT in ear, witch were suppose to be a tamed version compared to some over bassed sounding Monster I heard. They are indeed satisfyingly clear, but I listen to them with fairly heavy EQ, lowering the mid bass by at least 7db, and bumping up the mids a fair bit. So, how is the bass with the SHP? Well, I concur with some on this thread that mentioned that some kick drums sound dry. Some of those not overly produced or processed kick drum in my playlist (as in 70’s rock kick drum or some natural jazz kicks) sound cardboard-ish. It can be a bit distracting. It calls your attention when you are otherwise enjoying music while doing other things( like writing this impression). Some other kicks, for instance in electronic music, are otherwise rather satisfying. Now, I know a natural kick drum can sound rather dry in real life, and most of the satisfying thump we get in recordings is due to production. Still, there seem to be some sort of threshold on this headphone where some naturally sounding kick drums come out a bit too dry, while other kick sound are fine.
My hypothesis for the bass, is that there is a fairly narrow band in the midbass where the driver on the SHP tends to distort or generally under perform. Kicks or sound that tend to have their sonic content mostly in that area will be less than satisfying. As far as I can tell, you can raise the bass a bit with EQ if need be, but not by much. At one point, it does not become louder, just messier, and I could not fix that narrow band’s problems so far. Apart from those boxy kicks, the bass is very enjoyable, musical. Bass quitar, rumbling bass, accoustic bass, low toms, artificial bass, well recorded or otherwise overproduced bass, an orchestra’s row of double bass all seem on point to me. Bass is probably rather fast, but that does not keep it from giving me satisfying rumblings and nice constrast to the rest of the spectrum. As far as extension goes, I really don't know. There does not seem to be anything actually missing if compared to what i'm familiar with, witch is not saying that much. I also find it rather detailed. I discovered some kicks I’m used to were actually subtle double kicks. I hear and distinguish finer details of the bass content better than what I have access to and also better than what I can remember.
Songs that have heavy bass content will sound it. Classic rock is a bit more of a contrast to what I’ve become used with modern ear phones. On these, I got used to have even light bass track such as some Mike Oldfield or some The police albums sounding way heavier in the bottom than what they sounded like when I was discovering those tunes in my teen’s. Listening to those tunes on modern HP/EP gave them sort of a new life because of the way the bass was filled in. The SHP 9500 sounds a lot more like the original experience I’ve had with those tunes bass wise, but with an added presence, airiness, detail and fun.
Mids :
Well, I am still figuring out in life if and how I like mids (generrally speaking). Most times, with other EP/HP, I get a real kick out of raising the EQ somewhere in the ~800-2000 hz band. But I often realize after a while i've overdone it. Basically, with all other EP/HP I've listened to long enough, I start at one point to complain that on this or that song the voice seem too far/off/thin/thick/not loud enough... So far, this has been one of the big contrast with the SHP compared to other EP/HP I've owned. Voices are way more often than usual to my satisfaction. They quite often provoque joy actually. I find thickness vs dryness of males voices almost always on point. One voice for witch the owner seem to have gotten a kick in his parts is Paolo Conte’s voice. Maybe some of his voice’s content plays in that infamous band in the midbass, or maybe something else, but one thing is for sure, his voice is less satisfying, a bit too dry, lost some of it’s sexyness now on the 9500 compared to what I’m used to. But, you see, I don’t get that problem with say, Beck’ voice. Female voices are mostly very good. Very nice presence and fullness to me. Some a bit less than other, but they are a minority. Over all, I get way more of the joy factor with voices and instruments on the SHP. It’s not perfect, but just gives me more, more often than others.
Other sound characteristics :
Balance
So I guess balance is overall really to my licking. Not perfect, but the best almost all the time. I really don't find them "bright". Try the Fostex TE-05 for that. I find the sound as full and satisfying as my little experience with quality audio let me imagine it should be (I did dabble for a while in recording and professional studios). I hear a itsy bitsy hollowness in the voice region, sometimes. I’m not sure if it is there, or it’s expectation bias. It is more or less the same hollowness I remember hearing a version of on almost all over ear HP I'v ever heard, since listening to my uncle's expensive cans when I was 11. I believe it's probably some of the least pronounced I've ever heard in this context. It might bring itself to my attention at one time or another, but I will have a hard time re-hearing it, or following it, seemingly dissolving in the whole. I did create a EQ setting on Audioforge's Equalizer app on my iPhone, loosly based on DIY Audio Heaven's measurement graph. But I am also perfectly happy to listen to SHP not EQ'ed.
Clarity.
I'm not so sure I know what it is. I read it has to do with a full and correct tonality reproduction, allowing one to distinguish otherwise close sounding instruments. Let's just say that the SHP never leaves me confused, not even for a moment, and is for sure on par or better than anything I've heard.
Detail.
Well, the Fostex in ear sure gave me an understanding of what people were talking about. But even if I like detail, I find that hearing the faint and accidentally recorded fart of the signer in his booth gets old quick if detail is too in your face. The SHP seem to do an excellent job in the detail department, in a calm, natural, nuanced, music focused, not in your face way. I hear more than I ever have, farts and all, and through a larger band of the sound spectrum, but nothing is distracting. It is just part of an overall experience.
Sound stage.
I can not for the life of me remember hearing anything close to what some describe as a "3d sphere around the head where all instruments are precisely situated in space..." , on any listening device. But for sure, these open can give the illusion of a much wider provenance of the sound. It is fun. Relaxing in a way. I find a well separated in ear can be very fun and involving to, but this open HP is a different, more relaxing in a way sort of involvment, even if I did get with the SHP a few good startle provoked by an unexpected sound in a song coming from somewhere behind me. Let me just say that it is wider and more "open" (suprise!) than anything I've heard, but I obviously had low expectation. There is a sense of space, but not necessarily of a well defined physical space. Sound can come from further away, mostly sideways, a bit from the back of my head, and also a little higher or lower than I’m used to. Not much in front of me. The feeling of the provenance of the sound never really let me forget that I'm listening to head phones, but I'm having a very good time and can still just get very easily lost in the experience. It is a very different and welcome experience from in ears. There is more contrast available in the open HP as far as a feeling of space .
Separation.
Ha. This is something I feel I did suffer at times from the lack of it on other EP/HP. So far, I tended to think of EP/HP as having an inherent song ratio success rate. For example one EP/HP would play well to very well 75% of the songs I threw at it, 15% would sound bland and unexciting but listenable and 10% would sound like a jumbled hard to decode mess. I always attributed that mainly, after eliminating tonal balance as a possible problem, be it wright or wrong, to separation. So, the SHP, so far, has a song ratio success rate of 100% very good to excellent. Identified songs that played meh on other EP/HP sound good to very good to me on the SHP. I have yet to hear a song that sound distractingly bad on these (well, there is that old vinyl rip of a Moody Blues Album that really shows it's age, the fairly bad state of the original vinyl, of the needle, and the cheap equipment used to rip)
Built quality.
Ok. Opinions are all over the place for this. I find them very solid. Stiff, thick, not too rattling, actually rather tight. Not a tank, but very honest. They don't scare me. I guess time will tell, but I am confident.
Comfort.
Another point of contention.. For me It comes down to how long can I use it before it becomes necessary to take a break. With these, it has proven to to be more than 2-3 hours so far. The hot spot for me is my ear lobe that touches the inner filter because of the pad's shallowness. They also can become a bit hot, but really not that bad. Honestly, I tend to find in ear more tolerable to wear for a longer period. Then again, in ears touch very little of you relative to those big cans, so they have a better statistical chance of being forgotten about by the wearer…
Modification.
I really do not intend to mod them now. But before I got them from the mail, I had stocked on felt and foam material. I did try to thicken the pads without destroying them, by putting a ring of foam on top of them. About 4mm thick of relatively stiff foam. The sound became dark. Very bad to my ear. I might eventually want to change the pads, if the SHP survive long enough for them to become yucky.
Overall
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.
The end.
