[DJ The Rocket]

Has anyone tried the SHB5850? It looks like a Bluetooth version of the 3900/3905. It costs around 80$ in Best Buy Canada but it's often on sale for 40$ (around 31$ US).

I've had the 5850s for awhile, and got the 3905s this week. Yes, I am reasonably certain they are the same thing, the former bluetooth, the latter wired. I can't be ABSOLUTELY certain because the 5850s don't have a wired option for comparison, but they are identical in size/shape, and very similar in sound signature. The DAC on the 5850 seems to give them a rather large bass boost, but I still like them quite a bit, as a cheap wireless option that sounds pretty good.

The wired 3905 is soo much more detailed, but both have great separation and relatively nice soundstages. Really, the 5850 does a fine job with the signal it receives. The 3905 just has access to much better signals. I am looking forward to receiving my Etymotic HF5s later this week to compare =)

 

[FYLegend]

Thanks for the impressions.
 
I also saw the SHE3850 at Best Buy recently. There doesn't seem to be much about this and some people have mislabelled the 3580 as the 3850 in the past. Although the numbers don't mean everything they are probably a level down from the 3900. The housing is "metalized" and looks a bit like the SHE8100 but without the air vent at the side.
 
Not sure if I would buy it soon. I prefer the transparent highs of the 8100, but its midrange is lacking and sub-bass can be overpowering. The 3900 is a bit more controlled in the bass but its highs are fatiguing. Although the 3590 is still quite V-shaped with recessed mids I would consider it the warmest-sounding of the three. I also read some disappointing reviews about the SHE9000 series on kakaku. I would think Philips tunes most of their budget IEMs with a V shape that can deliver detailed highs (like in the 8100) but really struggles in the midrange.
 
Also curious about the Panasonic Drops 360 HJX5 and HJX10. London Drugs has the HJX5 for 60$ but the were on sale for 30$.

 

[bunkey]

Bought it today to replace my broken earpod, surprised how good it sound! I remember my last pair from Philips was SHE9XXX from 4 years ago, hated the sound, so I'm kinda skeptical when I buy this, well, it's cheap, just for my bed time use, so I don't expect too much, but it turn out really nice, suits pop / rock / punk / metal really well. The only thing I dislike about this is the look, they look cheap and ugly.
 
Anyways, now I love the sound of this IEM, I think I could even take this outside, for traveling use, what alternative tips I can get for these? I'm looking for something that isolates better.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

Thanks for the impressions.
the 3590 is still quite V-shaped with recessed mids

This isn't my impression at all, at least after splicing them onto a balanced cable (haven't listened to one on a regular SE connection in some time, they just never earned a place in that rotation). I hear them as mid-forward with good treble extention, but a distinct lack of bass power. The low end exists, it just low and gets easily lost behind everything else. This means they aren't the best for listening to EDM, which makes up the majority of my music. They're certainly not BAD for EDM, I just have a half dozen better choices there.

But they do extremely well balanced, the mids stand out prominently and are in fact the smoothest and most plesant midrange I have ever heard! The only adjectives I can think of are food-related: delicious mids, yummy mids, etc. I think the SHE3905's balanced mids can compete with any earphone in the world--this is on my Geek Out V2+, the effect is somewhat lessened on the A&K XB10, but even there they are a staple in my on-the-go rotation.

For traveling use, what alternative tips I can get for these? I'm looking for something that isolates better.

Glad you're enjoying them!

Comply foam tips are a good standard to use for isolation, the 3905 falls right inbetween their 400 and 500 sizes, though both sizes work fine. Personally I like the 500's slightly more. For silicone tips, I like using an Ostry bass enhancing pair. You can emulate the effect they have on the sound by using any tip with a good seal and a very small hole on the "business" end.

I would point out that the SHE3905 nozzle is a rather sharp oval instead of a circle. I've found them to stretch out any 3rd party tips so that they don't ever revert to circles after a time. This just means that once you choose a pair of tips, those tips are married to the Philips.

 

[bunkey]

This isn't my impression at all, at least after splicing them onto a balanced cable (haven't listened to one on a regular SE connection in some time, they just never earned a place in that rotation). I hear them as mid-forward with good treble extention, but a distinct lack of bass power. The low end exists, it just low and gets easily lost behind everything else. This means they aren't the best for listening to EDM, which makes up the majority of my music. They're certainly not BAD for EDM, I just have a half dozen better choices there.

But they do extremely well balanced, the mids stand out prominently and are in fact the smoothest and most plesant midrange I have ever heard! The only adjectives I can think of are food-related: delicious mids, yummy mids, etc. I think the SHE3905's balanced mids can compete with any earphone in the world--this is on my Geek Out V2+, the effect is somewhat lessened on the A&K XB10, but even there they are a staple in my on-the-go rotation.
Glad you're enjoying them!

Comply foam tips are a good standard to use for isolation, the 3905 falls right inbetween their 400 and 500 sizes, though both sizes work fine. Personally I like the 500's slightly more. For silicone tips, I like using an Ostry bass enhancing pair. You can emulate the effect they have on the sound by using any tip with a good seal and a very small hole on the "business" end.

I would point out that the SHE3905 nozzle is a rather sharp oval instead of a circle. I've found them to stretch out any 3rd party tips so that they don't ever revert to circles after a time. This just means that once you choose a pair of tips, those tips are married to the Philips.

Thanks for the suggestions, Ostry tip looks interesting, however I can only find OS100/200/300 turning tips, where did you get the bass enhancing from?
 
When you say "a very small hole on the business end", do I need to poke a hole on the tip?

 

[DJ The Rocket]

When you say "a very small hole on the business end", do I need to poke a hole on the tip?

that's not at all what au meant lol. here's a picture of my Hifiman RE-00 with the Ostry tips I mean, next to a JBL e10 that has hugely boosted bass to begin with, so I have the opposite kind of tips on there:



Does that make a little more sense?

 

[bunkey]

that's not at all what au meant lol. here's a picture of my Hifiman RE-00 with the Ostry tips I mean, next to a JBL e10 that has hugely boosted bass to begin with, so I have the opposite kind of tips on there:



Does that make a little more sense?

got it, thank you!

 

[The Apostle]

I also just picked up a pair of SHE3905. I mainly did to use at work. For the past 3 years I have been using the Klipsch S4A. They were great for music at work and phone calls. But they finally just started falling apart. Obviously the Phillips are close to 1/10 the price but so far, after 1 day I'm certainly happy for a whopping $10.

 

[Aida25]

Well just got them today, i'm not an expert but i don't like them at all
- Sounds Metallic
- Clear Highs but with noticeable sibilance
- The Highs are too much relative to the rest, so it's either kill your ears or hearing at low volume.
- Tinny sound, i don't know how to explain this but the music doesn't sound with that magic that makes you feel like this, it's the metallic vibe i guess

- Bass is fine
- I try to reduce treble with an EQ but nope, they still sound bad, but the EQ is mandatory to listen at medium++ vol without killing my ears.