gaffa
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
- Posts
- 4
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Even though I've owned headphones for several years, seems I didn't know enough about them, so forgive my noobness.
After my old and trusty Philips HP1000 broke into 3 pieces, I kinda had to get new headphones. I went to the local store and ended up purchasing Sennheiser HD595, since they sounded good. At home they still sounded good, but I found out that they leaked all the sound outwards. That was because they were open headphones. At this time I didn't fully understand the difference between open and closed headphones. I didn't want closed headphones, as I want to hear sounds coming outside the headphones. I found out that the Philips were semi-open, so I decided I need these.
Then I ordered the Philips SHP9000, which supposedly was the successor to HP1000. I couldn't locate a single review for it. The specifications were exactly the same as HP1000. When I finally got the phones, I found out that yes they were still comfortable and semi-open, but the sound quality was nowhere near the HP1000. After a couple of days of trying to tweak my settings I gave up and returned them. I doubt any burn-in would help in this case, they just sounded so bad...
Then I did some research and ordered the Beyer DT880 Pro. Now I finally got them.
After some hours of testing the Beyer DT 880 Pro seem good, however with some drawbacks. Compared to Philips HP1000 they're not quite as comfortable, the stiff head band puts quite a pressure to your head, whereas the Philips has no pressure. However I hope I get used to this. Only after ordering I found out that apparently the pro models have more band pressure as the non-pro models (duh again!).
Another drawback is the cord which is coiled and only about 2 meters long, whereas the Philips has 4 meters uncoiled and detachable chord.
The price of course is about twice that of the Philips, although it's kinda hard to compare now as you can't get new Philips's. I'd say the Philips was definitely worth the money, with Beyer I'd say they're a bit overpriced.
Then perhaps the most interesting thing, the sound quality. At first it would seem that the Philips has more clear sound, but apparently they just give more volume for whatever reason, perhaps because of the low impedance? I don't have a headphone amp, I just hook em up with the computers HD audio output. Also there seem to be more treble on the Philips, and basically no bass, whereas the Beyer has less treble and distinctive bass. Anyway, after some time listening to the Beyers and then returning to the Philips, the Philips sound seems a bit "plastic", or cheaper. They bloody well should too considering the price difference.
So, in conclusion...
Philips HP1000
semi-open
+ good sound quality
+ low price
+ comfortable
+ long and detachable chord
- no longer in production
- cheaply made, all plastic, breaks quite easily
Philips SHP9000
semi-open
+ comfortable
+ long and detachable chord
- bad sound quality
basically don't waste your money on these
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro
semi-open
+ good/great sound quality
+ well made, with proper metal
- could be more comfortable
- short and non-detachable chord
- pricey
Sennheiser HD595
(after short testing)
open
+ good sound quality
+ comfortable
- leaks sound, but since it's an open headphone, I guess it's a feature not a bug...
After my old and trusty Philips HP1000 broke into 3 pieces, I kinda had to get new headphones. I went to the local store and ended up purchasing Sennheiser HD595, since they sounded good. At home they still sounded good, but I found out that they leaked all the sound outwards. That was because they were open headphones. At this time I didn't fully understand the difference between open and closed headphones. I didn't want closed headphones, as I want to hear sounds coming outside the headphones. I found out that the Philips were semi-open, so I decided I need these.
Then I ordered the Philips SHP9000, which supposedly was the successor to HP1000. I couldn't locate a single review for it. The specifications were exactly the same as HP1000. When I finally got the phones, I found out that yes they were still comfortable and semi-open, but the sound quality was nowhere near the HP1000. After a couple of days of trying to tweak my settings I gave up and returned them. I doubt any burn-in would help in this case, they just sounded so bad...
Then I did some research and ordered the Beyer DT880 Pro. Now I finally got them.
After some hours of testing the Beyer DT 880 Pro seem good, however with some drawbacks. Compared to Philips HP1000 they're not quite as comfortable, the stiff head band puts quite a pressure to your head, whereas the Philips has no pressure. However I hope I get used to this. Only after ordering I found out that apparently the pro models have more band pressure as the non-pro models (duh again!).
Another drawback is the cord which is coiled and only about 2 meters long, whereas the Philips has 4 meters uncoiled and detachable chord.
The price of course is about twice that of the Philips, although it's kinda hard to compare now as you can't get new Philips's. I'd say the Philips was definitely worth the money, with Beyer I'd say they're a bit overpriced.
Then perhaps the most interesting thing, the sound quality. At first it would seem that the Philips has more clear sound, but apparently they just give more volume for whatever reason, perhaps because of the low impedance? I don't have a headphone amp, I just hook em up with the computers HD audio output. Also there seem to be more treble on the Philips, and basically no bass, whereas the Beyer has less treble and distinctive bass. Anyway, after some time listening to the Beyers and then returning to the Philips, the Philips sound seems a bit "plastic", or cheaper. They bloody well should too considering the price difference.
So, in conclusion...
Philips HP1000
semi-open
+ good sound quality
+ low price
+ comfortable
+ long and detachable chord
- no longer in production
- cheaply made, all plastic, breaks quite easily
Philips SHP9000
semi-open
+ comfortable
+ long and detachable chord
- bad sound quality
basically don't waste your money on these
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro
semi-open
+ good/great sound quality
+ well made, with proper metal
- could be more comfortable
- short and non-detachable chord
- pricey
Sennheiser HD595
(after short testing)
open
+ good sound quality
+ comfortable
- leaks sound, but since it's an open headphone, I guess it's a feature not a bug...
