[ipumuk]

hello headfi,
you are looking for a cheap IEM and are not an audiophile? read on!

my friend and I tested 3 IEMS for 30 €:

- Sennheiser CX 300 II Precision
- Philips SHE 9550
- Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170

As a source we used a sansa clip+ with different higher quality 320kbit mp3s.
We listened to the same song several times with each headphone and then discussed the soundquality.

Review:

The third place goes to Sennheiser.

The Sennheiser model was unbearable for both of us. The heights were too harsh and piercing. Songs with high frequencies must equalized or listened to on a very low volume. We do not recommend this headphone to anyone.

The second place goes to Ultimate Ears.

The MetroFi 170s soundsignature was the most balanced one out of those three. The general feeling was really good and way better than the CX 300.
Its biggest drawback is that especially single notes have an artificial ring to them. I would not call it metallic, but you get the idea. In an objektive review this model would have probably won, but...

The first place goes to Philips.

Because they sounded the most fun.
I hate to see a ****brand like Philips winning our litte competition but the Philips SHE 9550 just sounded the best to both of us. We never expected that. Their soundsignature is warm and extremely bassy. The bass is almost overwhelming but we both liked it, in particular for music you would listen to on the run.

Conclusion:

All three sound extremely different. We didnt expect that at this price range.
Get the Philips if you are not looking for a true to original playback but FUN. Get the MetroFi if you do not like an exaggerated bass or a more natural sound.
Do not touch the Sennheiser model.

After our little listening exercise my friend was pissed because he bought the sennheiser a week earlier. My girlfriend was surprised because she picked up the Philips by accident in our local electronic store. Lucky her, we would have never bought a headphone made by Philips.

I hope this helps with your choice!

 

[jwhitakr]

Interesting review. Thanks for doing the evaluation and posting your results.

Did you do burn-in for any of these models? Or test them out of the box?

 

[ipumuk]

all models were used for at least one week by different owners.

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

philips have made some good headphone through out the years no need to bash them.

 

[mark2410]

phillips are a bit like sony, make a lot of rubbish but do make some not bad stuff too just its not seen so much. the she9850 they do is pretty good stuff

 

[ljokerl]

I'm 3 for 4 for Philips in terms of price/performance winners. Definitely not too shabby - no need to bash them.

 

[skater-andy]

wow thanks a lot for the review!! i was stuck between the metro fi's and the cx300's (for the gym) but now im pretty sure im gonna get the philips!! thanks a lot !

 

[WilhelmPrice]

Hey I'm plannin to buy the koss portaPro bcoz I haerd about its awesomeness, but I alredy hav the SHE9550,
anybody can  give the two a listenin test to see if its really worth it to buy the Portapro even if I alredy hav the SHE9550?
 
OP has an SHE9550 and also a PortaPro on his sig, maybe he can tell me if its worth it

 

[ianmedium]

Ahh, I am old enough to remember Phillips being a name you could trust for good sounding equipment. I do agree though in later years they went down hill a bit, good to see them regaining some ground!

 

[a3ds]

Are there any other Philips headphones users? How do you explain "most fun", how do you measure fun, what's the unit of measurement? I want to buy a pair of portable IEMs for my Elm and I was looking at cx300ii, finding this interesting review about an underdog like Philips really put my marbles in motion. So, what do you mean by "most fun" "less fun" in a pair of IEM's? What kind of music do you listen to? I am mostly in jazz/rock, from miles davis-dire straits through Metallica/Megadeth,CCR, Rolling Stones, rarely hip hop or DNB, dubstep aka boomy music. I am a little of a Philips fanboy but comparing them to Sennheiser in headphone quality really seems a bit much...
 
 Thanks in advance.

 

[mercurysquad]

I own a pair of Philips SHE9550/97 too, and just bought the Sennheiser CX300-II yesterday. The latter hasn't probably burnt in yet (only around 10-11 hour of playback), but I almost agree with the review. The Philips are a bit laid back, the bass is not boomy and the expression "so much fun to listen to" really sums it up. I am hoping the Senn's sound improves over time. I def recommend the Philips though.  note: I own senn hd555 and hd201 and love them both.

 

[davibe]

I just got she9550. I don't agree with the review. The bass is way too much loud and and not defined. When I listen to rock music basses sound almost like a continous background noise. I tried to reduce them using itunes and iphone equalizations. It kind of works but then you get to experience the lack of detail at mid-range. Even if basses are less loud they slow and undefined this is pretty huge problem when listening to dubstep music for example.
 
I really don't like them after one day of use.