Just in case anyone still has an opportunity to try these headphones they do come up second hand or new old stock clearance sales and if you get the opportunity it is worth having a try for something different
As the trend for bass heavy headphones continues some of the more neutral headphones are a welcome relief.
As a collector of headphones with over 80 currently in possession I would recommend these as a much cheaper alternative to the HD558 or even the HD598 by sennheiser for relaxing listening to wide variety of genres.
These are very large (similar in size to the AD700 audio technica) and not the most attractive in my opinion but they are very comfortable and in some long listening sessions felt they were more comfortable than the HD598
In comparison to the recently released philips SHP9500 these are much warmer sounding and while the SHP9500 are very good looking and comfortable they are a brighter sounding headphone which can sound a bit harsh on some genres
I have read some comparisons to the old SBC HP890 - these in my view are no where close to the HP1000 and while retro in looks and comfort are not to be compared.
In some ways the most similar sounding philips model is the very impressive X1 - I actually wondered if they used the HP1000 as a template for this sound refining the bass and giving a decent build and looks.
We have so many options now for great sounding headphones and while philips is not well thought of in the audiophile community they have made some very good headphones and I think this is one of them and when going back in time and then comparing them side by side with the many headphones I have I would rate them in the top 10 of the 80+ I currently own along with the Sennheiser Momentum, Kef M500, Sennheiser amperior, Ultrasone HFi 690, Beyerdynamic DT990, Ultrasone pro 2500, Senheiser HD598, philips x1 and one set i use more than any of the above - the little known or reviewed yamaha HPH 200 which I think is a great sounding open on ear that can be found very cheap.
