New phone on the block - Philips HP890

[Tomcat]

I have just found my way to the data sheet pdf on the www.philips.co.uk site. This Philips SBCHP 890 is obviously their top-of-the-line product and they claim 106 dB sensitivity and 32 Ohm impedance. Wouldn't this mean, that they should be clearly more efficient than the power-hungry AKG K 501? And more efficient than the Beyer DT 531 as well? Hmm.

Well, specs are always less fact than fiction, I guess.

 

[Neruda]

those are the same specs they have on the sennheiser 495, and those things need power like crazy. kinda strange though...

 

[coolvij]

actually, the senns are REALLY 91dBmw....ask eagle_driver...

 

[lini]

I did some further testing of the HP890, today (even if not too long, because it was the hottest day of the year over here, and I spent most of the day outside), because I wanted to confirm yesterday's results - so I can go a little more in depth, now:

Home use details: Well, first of all the HP890 still sounds really good to me.

One of the noticable differences between the HP890 and the DT531 is mid-bass: The DT531 will give a bass guitar more volume, but this might cover the bass drum a little. The HP890 sounds a little more flat or balanced in this area. On the other hand, the highs can sound a little more shrill or harsh on the HP890. A blend of the two would be just perfect for me on the old Marantz integrated amp. And I confirmed, that the DT531 is more efficient on higher impedance jacks (~ 11 o'clock on the pot for the DT531 seems to be the same volume as ~ 12 o'clock for the HP890 - and for the K501 it would be ~ 12:30).

Portable use details: Then I used the Panasonic SL-CT570A portable cdp: The DT531 sounds a little darker here, because of the lower impedance jack - and the HP890 a little brighter. For efficeny: At volume 10 (maximum), the HP890 will produce ~ 3 dB more volume (~ 93 dB; DT531: ~ 90 dB; K501: ~ 82 dB) - I checked that with the sound level meter using the same method & setup as last time in another thread. And again I'd like to have a blend of the two phones here.

For bus commuting - and other situations in which you'll have low frequency noise from outside - the DT531 might be preferable, because its stronger mid-bass will probably let you follow the bassline a little better. But if you prefer a brighter and a little more detailed presentation, the HP890 wins in this area. But I'd say both phones still sound quite good from a portable.

Comfort details: I still like the K501 best, because it's very lightweight and sticks on the head without much clamping force. Whereas the HP890 weighs heavier on my head and ears - and the DT531 is lightweight, but seems to have a little more clamping force.

All-in-all: I'd like the comfort of the K501 together with the HP890 bass and the DT531 highs, please!

I really don't know which one I'd chose myself, so I can't give a simple recommendation. Nevertheless, both the HP890 and the DT531 are cheaper than the K501 over here, so these two are the better buy in my opinion - and both are really good for the price. I just wish I didn't have to buy the HP890, now, but I guess I just have to. Can't resist...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[KR...]

You you guys want to see a huge ultra detailed picture of this headphone, then click on this link : http://www.ce-europe.philips.com/dow...sbchp890_h.jpg

 

[Redwoood]

Holy ****,

You should have imbedded it into your post.
It's only 2.5 MB after all....

 

[dhwilkin]

Now THAT'S a close-up! Hey Headroom, you paying attention?

 

[KR...]

LOL

I don't think that Jude would have liked that

Will this headphone be added to the US Line? Or are we screwed yet again?

 

[jerikl]

Haha maaaan, those look sooo cool. They keep popping up in my mind. Hmmm... I hope I can't find them anywhere or I might end up buying them, especially if they're cheap.

 

[Redwoood]

199 DM, that's about 90$US incl tax.

If the pice is similar here (and if they actually sell it) we're looking at a real bargain here...

Bye

Redwoood

 

[jerikl]

I think I'd probably wait until more people who have listened to more headphones than I buy them and review them before I went out and did the same.

But on the other hand... those look really freakin sweet.

And if they're only about $100? Wow...

 

[briantf27]

Quote:

Originally posted by sackley It should only take me a year to save up for the rega planet 2000.

Unfortunately, the Planet will be state of the shelf in a year.

Brian.

 

[Tomcat]

"This Philips SBCHP 890 is obviously their top-of-the-line product."

Well, Tomcat, I am not so sure about this. Obviously, you say?

There is another Philips headphone called HP 910 that looks a little bit flimsy and retails for 280 Marks at the German "Saturn" store I visited today (list price, they had it reduced to something like 150 Marks). This originally higher price and the higher model number might suggest that the SBC-HP910 is Philips' top-of-the-line. I have listened to the HP910 for a little while and compared it to headphones like the Beyer DT 531 and the Sennheiser HD 580.

Let me tell you, Tomcat, this HP 910 has treble to kill people with. Easily. Have you ever heard of "sibilance"? Look it up, there is a picture of the HP 910 next to it. And the amount of noise they relay... This sounds like tonal balance beyond repair. But the HP 910 are very dynamic and have very impactful deep bass response. They remind me a little of the Beyer DT 931s.

lini, as you have noticed, I am bit confused. The 890 looks so much better, you say it sounds very good, and it seems to have the overall better specs: 106 dB sensitivity for the 890 vs. 95 dB for the 910. Philips states a frequency range of 5 Hz - 30 kHz for the nice looking 890 and 5 Hz - 32 kHz for the 910. The 890 likes to be fed 1500 mW max, the 910 only 500 mW. Which do they claim to be their best headphone, now?

 

[eeyssjr]

You know what i think...i think this is another case of CD1700 in disguise!

Call me jumping the gun, but when i see a headphone that looks almost identical to the CD1700, same size drive units, same earpad cloth, same size enclosures, same length cord, same uni-match plug, same finish (oh and as little bit of chrome looking stuff)...i just cant help but think that somewhere there is a whole bunch of companies using the same drive units.

These big companys dont hang around developing new units if they can buy a decent one off the shelf. Mass production ethics rule. Same, i believe, with the JVC headphones, what are they DX3 is it?

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by eeyssjr You know what i think...i think this is another case of CD1700 in disguise! Call me jumping the gun, but when i see a headphone that looks almost identical to the CD1700, same size drive units, same earpad cloth, same size enclosures, same length cord, same uni-match plug, same finish (oh and as little bit of chrome looking stuff)...i just cant help but think that somewhere there is a whole bunch of companies using the same drive units. These big companys dont hang around developing new units if they can buy a decent one off the shelf. Mass production ethics rule. Same, i believe, with the JVC headphones, what are they DX3 is it?

It does look a bit familiar, no? Can someone kindly post pics of both right next to one another so we can compare? Hey, eeyssjr, maybe you could work your photo split magic like you did with your lookalike?