[tolis626]

I know you have been wanting to get a set, and to be honest, it's not like I would need the money that I could get out of them, so they aren't really 'worth' selling....but if it meant someone could get a set and really appreciate them, as opposed to them hanging on my wall and me pulling them down once in a while just make sure I still love them...I'd rather they go to a good home, if that makes sense.

That does make sense. Nice of you to think this way mate! People like you make this place awesome!

So, you just decide what you want to do with them and then I'll see if I'm able to give it a shot. I'm definitely interested though!

 

[Philimon]

Dude. Youre getting so hyped on these shp9500 that youll be dissapointed. Check the rtings measurements. Distortion plot is not great.

Earlier you said you could afford much more expensive headphones. Why not just jump up to HD650? HD650, the most universally praised headphone ever? Atleast then youll have a great reference point when researching further upgrades.

 

[jimmers]

...Earlier you said you could afford much more expensive headphones. Why not just jump up to HD650? HD650, the most universally praised headphone ever? Atleast then youll have a great reference point when researching further upgrades.

Massdrop have HD6XX in stock to ship in 2-3 days - if they ship to Greece - I bought a pair as back-up to my HD650.
I haven't listened to my 9500 for a while as they still have the HM5 angled pleathers on, they were mainly work cans and I've too lazy to change them back to stock pads now they are at home.

 

[tolis626]

Dude. Youre getting so hyped on these shp9500 that youll be dissapointed. Check the rtings measurements. Distortion plot is not great.

Earlier you said you could afford much more expensive headphones. Why not just jump up to HD650? HD650, the most universally praised headphone ever? Atleast then youll have a great reference point when researching further upgrades.

You're making a very valid point there. Let me say first off, it's not hype. I know full well what I'm looking at. I just like that this little money can get me a nice pair of cans for using at home. I've spent as much money on 2 sets of pads for my MSR7, can't go wrong with the SHP at their normal price.

As for being able to afford better stuff... No, I am not right now. I will be able in the not so distant future, but now all my money went to much needed vacation. I will be buying better stuff, much better hopefully (would love to get a pair of Audeze cans or maybe even a pair of M1060 if they ever fix the headband), but that will have to wait. I just want something to have fun with until then. I probably shouldn't buy one, really, but logic is not how this all works, is it?

Massdrop have HD6XX in stock to ship in 2-3 days - if they ship to Greece - I bought a pair as back-up to my HD650.
I haven't listened to my 9500 for a while as they still have the HM5 angled pleathers on, they were mainly work cans and I've too lazy to change them back to stock pads now they are at home.

Aha, there's the rub. A good 6 months ago, I found myself having either a pair HD6xx or Hifiman HE-4xx in my Massdrop cart in different occasions. Greek import fees stopped me right there. Sometimes they don't even care about imposing them on you, other times they can ask you for such ridiculous amounts of money that it's not even funny. Friend of mine ordered 60$ worth of stuff on ebay from the US and customs asked him for about 110$ in fees. He tried going the legal route from what I remember, but no dice. At some point I may pull the trigger on one of those, but I'm reluctant to say the least. At least until Massdrop offers a "pay import fees up front" type of shipping that would present no surprises, I'm gonna refrain from buying costly things from them, sadly.

 

[rendyG]

Does everyone have 2/8 of the driver covered by plastic? I think I have the S version, bought it from ebay.
Treble seems definitely calmer than I remember. (I had 1 pair 2 years ago, bur sold it coz I needed a closed back hp)
Also, this pair has terribly loose left side of a headband..

 

[billbishere]

I wish i understood what people see in these... I have had mine for about a year, and I like the Audio Technica's better for my taste. Which is desktop, movie and gaming mostly.

Maybe that is why but, even with music I wasn't impressed. and yes, they distort EASY. I didn't have much luck trying to EQ them at all.

 

[Philimon]

I wish i understood what people see in these... I have had mine for about a year, and I like the Audio Technica's better for my taste. Which is desktop, movie and gaming mostly.

Maybe that is why but, even with music I wasn't impressed. and yes, they distort EASY. I didn't have much luck trying to EQ them at all.

Which full-sized open back headphone do you like better at $50?

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@rendyG Yes, mine is the same (s-version).

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I've put HM5 hybrids on mine. You get teh bass, and so slightly v-shaped. Is alright and I'm sure most would prefer. I've got HM5 velours as well, which I bet will sound better but I'm using them on my T50RP which I prefer overall so I've not bothered trying those pads on the SHP9500. FYI Senitek velour pads still suuuck.

----------------------

BTW I kind of ruined my stock pads by removing them from the little earpad adapter disc thingies. They still reapply but not so pretty anymore. Anyone willing to sell me theirs?

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I wish i understood what people see in these... I have had mine for about a year, and I like the Audio Technica's better for my taste. Which is desktop, movie and gaming mostly.

Maybe that is why but, even with music I wasn't impressed. and yes, they distort EASY. I didn't have much luck trying to EQ them at all.

Kind of depends on the mods...I liked them OK in stock form, nothing spectacular, but not bad. for comparison, before mods I found my Fidelio L2 better in every regard.
After doing: bass mod to the back of the driver, stacking more powerful magnets, swapping the pads to hybrids and running it through the Schiit Magni 3 it's a toss up now. For music, straight out of my phone, the Fidelio is better..... but the 9500s is now as good, or better than the L2 in many ways. For movies it's no contest the 9500s is better....for any genre of music that benefits from a more open sound the 9500s is preferrable. I don't mean classical or opera or anything...I mean a live recording of the Black Keys sounds better on the 9500s. The Fidelio L2 is a fantastic sounding headphone, but with some simple mods the 9500s can be brought up to it's level of sound in many ways.

 

[billbishere]

Which full-sized open back headphone do you like better at $50?

-----------------------

@rendyG Yes, mine is the same (s-version).

-----------------------

I've put HM5 hybrids on mine. You get teh bass, and so slightly v-shaped. Is alright and I'm sure most would prefer. I've got HM5 velours as well, which I bet will sound better but I'm using them on my T50RP which I prefer overall so I've not bothered trying those pads on the SHP9500. FYI Senitek velour pads still suuuck.

----------------------

BTW I kind of ruined my stock pads by removing them from the little earpad adapter disc thingies. They still reapply but not so pretty anymore. Anyone willing to sell me theirs?

never seen them ay 50. I paid 80 when I got mine. and between 80 - 100 there are many to my liking.

 

[trellus]

never seen them ay 50. I paid 80 when I got mine. and between 80 - 100 there are many to my liking.

I paid $49.99 for them, brand new, last year (07/30/2017 to be exact) from NewEgg. I recall seeing them regularly somewhere between $50 and $57 last year on NewEgg, but I think because they have been discontinued, stock is lower and so prices are up. My guess is that that effect was already underway by the time you got yours, or you didn't catch a sale.

 

[Slater]

I paid $49.99 for them, brand new, last year (07/30/2017 to be exact) from NewEgg. I recall seeing them regularly somewhere between $50 and $57 last year on NewEgg, but I think because they have been discontinued, stock is lower and so prices are up. My guess is that that effect was already underway by the time you got yours, or you didn't catch a sale.

They were even cheaper a few years ago. I remember people buying them like crazy for like $20 or $30 new. That’s one of the things that kinda put the SHP9500 on the audiophile map.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I paid $49.99 for them, brand new, last year (07/30/2017 to be exact) from NewEgg. I recall seeing them regularly somewhere between $50 and $57 last year on NewEgg, but I think because they have been discontinued, stock is lower and so prices are up. My guess is that that effect was already underway by the time you got yours, or you didn't catch a sale.

I just checked, I paid $57 back in May of 2017....in retrospect a great deal.

 

[Slater]

I just checked, I paid $57 back in May of 2017....in retrospect a great deal.

Totally. I paid $50 myself. Anything under $65 is worth it IMO.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Totally. I paid $50 myself. Anything under $65 is worth it IMO.

I was just thinking about it...I paid $57 for the 9500s, I picked up my Fidelio L2 for $100.....Akai 50x for $18, Superlux HD681 for $12 ETC...plus various deals on KZ (I have an ES3, ZS5 and a ZST ...less than $50 for all three, plus a grip of foam tips for $8) all that plus a Schiit Magni 3....heck, I have a set of T20RP getting the Modhouse treatment...my total cost for headphones, pads, comfort strap, Vmoda cable and Argon mods will be around $150....for a headphone some people consider to be the best version of a modded Fostex.
I haven't added up all my little headfi induced purchases, but it comes to less than $400...I know people like to say "welcome to headfi...sorry for your wallet"
but if you are patient, read a lot, ask a lot of questions, you can really do well for yourself in terms of great gear to listen to music on, and not go broke doing it.
I used to be into racing Miatas...the absolute best dollar to fun ratio you can have in racing,...it's the ChiFi of cars? and I STILL spent exponentially more on that than I have on headphones. I mean, I spent more than that for a set of polyurethane bump stops one time (shout out FatCat Motorsports!)
I have saved myself the heartache of spending too much money on audio gear that I am not totally happy with. I might not have spent as much as I have...but probably close to it...and I have yet to buy anything and feel sick about it later because it sucked.
What value can you assign to the ratio of how much you spent versus how happy you are with what you got. What is the value of looking at all your headphones and not having a single one that makes you mad to look at it because it's such a waste, such a let down? Use head fi properly and you are scoring high on that scale.

 

[trellus]

I was just thinking about it...I paid $57 for the 9500s, I picked up my Fidelio L2 for $100.....Akai 50x for $18, Superlux HD681 for $12 ETC...plus various deals on KZ (I have an ES3, ZS5 and a ZST ...less than $50 for all three, plus a grip of foam tips for $8) all that plus a Schiit Magni 3....heck, I have a set of T20RP getting the Modhouse treatment...my total cost for headphones, pads, comfort strap, Vmoda cable and Argon mods will be around $150....for a headphone some people consider to be the best version of a modded Fostex.
I haven't added up all my little headfi induced purchases, but it comes to less than $400...I know people like to say "welcome to headfi...sorry for your wallet"
but if you are patient, read a lot, ask a lot of questions, you can really do well for yourself in terms of great gear to listen to music on, and not go broke doing it.
I used to be into racing Miatas...the absolute best dollar to fun ratio you can have in racing,...it's the ChiFi of cars? and I STILL spent exponentially more on that than I have on headphones. I mean, I spent more than that for a set of polyurethane bump stops one time (shout out FatCat Motorsports!)
I have saved myself the heartache of spending too much money on audio gear that I am not totally happy with. I might not have spent as much as I have...but probably close to it...and I have yet to buy anything and feel sick about it later because it sucked.
What value can you assign to the ratio of how much you spent versus how happy you are with what you got. What is the value of looking at all your headphones and not having a single one that makes you mad to look at it because it's such a waste, such a let down? Use head fi properly and you are scoring high on that scale.

Man, you got to some great deals for sure. I think I paid $25 for the Akai 50X (which is still good IMO), I still don't have the Superlux HD681 (do have the HD 681 EVO), but the lowest I recall seeing the HD681 is around $23, $12 is stellar!

Yeah, if people really are diligent and research and ask questions like you said, you can generally find something you really like and not spend a lot.