Philips SHE3590BK/10 In-Ear Headphones (Black)

These are just plain excellent.  I was never really a believer in IEMs, but I am now. These Philips SHE3590s are a real eye-opener.  According to the ratings here on Head-Fi, these do, in fact, out-perform some of the $400+ kit...and I am not surprised.  The main complaint regarding sound quality seems to be a slight lack of clear, natural highs/treble (kind of artificial-sounding). I agree somewhat, and I experimented with my laptop's B&O equalizer by rolling back the Philips' 4 KHz and 8 KHz regions down to -2 and -3 db respectively, and boosting the 16 KHz region to +3db. They now indeed sparkle, without sounding artificial at all. Bass is very clear, deep and punchy; does not need any EQ at all. Mids are clear and well-defined. Cable is rugged & constructed of good material, but does make a lot of noise when hanging straight down. I looped the leads over my ears - end of problem. Isolation is great.  At $16.95 at the local CVS pharmacy, these are a very good value.   5 stars * * * * *
 
- Trev

I got these in a hurry before a flight some time ago, realizing that any phone is better than no phone on a several hour flight.  I didn't expect much, but  putting them on made me stop and have a listen for a minute. These 10 Euro phones were not junk, not at all actually. Bass and treble were there, not the best I ever heard, but the presentation was clean, clear with very good separation between instruments. Initially, the high mids/low treble sounded a bit shrill, which could be fatiguing at higher volumes for long times. Once they had some hours of playing, they settled to a more mellow sound. One thing that is still missing is some energy in the low mids, I assume in the range of 200-400 Hz. This takes some drive from the sound, especially on classic rock and blues recordings, where you have a lot going on in this frequency region. Despite this, I should say that these small buds were a pleasant surprise. I was amazed, how much sound one could get for a small sum these days.

The Philips SHE3590 headphones were listed on the Head-Fi Headphone Buying Guide. They are inexpensive and widely available. Most Australian electronic retailers stock them and they cost about AUD15. I bought these (in white) to replace my lost AKG IEMs (which I have since found again!).
 
Build quality is cheap and plastic looking. Nobody will think to steal these headphones and you won't look like Dr. Dre (Mr. N.W.A., coming Straight Outta Compton, y'all better make way) when wearing them.
 
I gave the SHE3590s a quick listen this evening to a variety of classical, pop and rock music and in comparison to Superlux HD681 (full-sized, open), Xiaomi Piston 3 (IEM for Android phones), AKG K324P (IEM) and Sennheiser MX365 (ear bud) headphones. These are all budget headphones and similarly priced.
 
The SHE3590's sound was surprisingly good. Of course, the SHE3590s do not sound as nice as the full-sized, open Superlux HD681 headphones but IEMs are typically used when small size and isolation are important. Compared to my AKG K324P IEM headphones, the Philips SHE3590s have more bass and, it seems, sounds less realistic. For example, the K324P sounded better for jazz music (Louis and Ella). On the other hand, the SHE3590 sounded better for acid jazz, where they emphasised the beat. The trouble with IEMs is that they often sound different and suit different styles of music. We have to buy them first before deciding whether they are suitable or not.
 
These headphones were a little uncomfortable to wear on my ears: the medium inserts were a bit large and the small ones were leaky.
 
I do recommend these headphones because they are inexpensive, satisfactory and readily available through normal retail outlets.