[rudyae86]

  Im waiting till blackfriday, if the price drops, if not anyway i will buy them.
Post your initial impressions, and dont forget to burn them in =)

Well, Im sure they might have a similar deal to what that website had them for, as an above poster mentioned. I dont think they will go lower. I actually paid for them 10 more dollars above the price shown above, which honestly, i dont think was a bad buy and saving 10 dollars for them to ship out a headphone that may take sometimes up to a week to mail out as opposed to getting them in a couple of days. 
 
And I will post impressions later on, especially after burning them in. Im mainly going to use them for gaming with my Recon3D USB with console and PC. Since some people have said it has a similar sound to the Q701 headphone, I would expect a very good soundstage and good positional audio as well....for cheap that is. Looks like my PC or PS3 will be on for a good few days for the headphones to burn in lol

 

[rudyae86]

So I just got my Phillips SHP9500 and they sound pretty good out of the box and for 87 bucks, not bad either. But I do have one concern and im not sure if its just mine or alot of them are like this but....
 
the left side, where you adjust the lenght of the headband, is loose. The right side is good and firm, not hard to pull down but just normal i suppose, it doesnt drop by any sudden movement etc.
 
But the left side does indeed do the opposite. I have it at 3 on both sides. When i wear them, they dont slide down or anything, but if i were to take them off and hold them by the handband and made a sudden movement like upwards...the left side drops to like 4 or 4.5.
 
So tested it out again and yes, its more loose than the right side.
 
I would assume its a defect correct? Should I return them?
 
I do like them and im sure they will sound better after 100 hours but the left side concerns me, especially down the road when I have them over a year, if later on they just become more lose.
 
They arent the best quality made headphone, well in terms of build of course. All plastic.
 
The other small thing i dont like much is the pads. Not alot of cushion, compared to the X1 i had. Is there anything out there I could add more cushion?
 
And for the same reason, it feels like the headphone might fall of because the grip around my ears, is really non existent....they dont move when im using them and in a still position or slight movements, so I guess it doesnt matter much. But more grip would be better just to feel secure.
 
I was using some sennheiser pc350 SE for gaming and they sounded ok. But compared to the 9500, the 9500 sound waay better. The PC350 is a closed can, so soundstage was reduced. Low range sounds slightly better on the pc350 SE but 9500 has way more clarity in the mmidrange and better highs for me.
 
The good thing about the 9500 is that it requires no amping. I amped it with a fiio e11 and it sounded slightly better, well sounded a bit more clean but I didnt hear any changes that would affect the sound. 
 
Right now im letting them sit here playing music for the next couple of hours and see how they sound later today.

 

[oopeteroo]

sub

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  the left side, where you adjust the lenght of the headband, is loose. The right side is good and firm, not hard to pull down but just normal i suppose, it doesnt drop by any sudden movement etc. But the left side does indeed do the opposite. I have it at 3 on both sides. When i wear them, they dont slide down or anything, but if i were to take them off and hold them by the handband and made a sudden movement like upwards...the left side drops to like 4 or 4.5.
 
They arent the best quality made headphone, well in terms of build of course. All plastic.
 
The other small thing i dont like much is the pads. Not alot of cushion, compared to the X1 i had. Is there anything out there I could add more cushion?

Mine does the same as well on the same side, mine was sealed in the box so this could very well be a design problem? Although yours sounds more loose than mine as far as the headband adjustments goes. What I notice is the right side clicks into steps while the left almost slides (still can feel the steps though).

As for the clamp force, I have to check later if when I get back home, but I think you can make them tighter by squeezing the headband more together. If you have yours handy I think you can check and feel if the headband has metal underneath the padding. If it does you can usually get more clamp force by squeezing them together (not drastic but like you're bending the bill of a hat).

 

[Marco Angel]

  Mine does the same as well on the same side, mine was sealed in the box so this could very well be a design problem? Although yours sounds more loose than mine as far as the headband adjustments goes. What I notice is the right side clicks into steps while the left almost slides (still can feel the steps though).

As for the clamp force, I have to check later if when I get back home, but I think you can make them tighter by squeezing the headband more together. If you have yours handy I think you can check and feel if the headband has metal underneath the padding. If it does you can usually get more clamp force by squeezing them together (not drastic but like you're bending the bill of a hat).

Mine are on its way to here, is there any chance you could post some images? maybe there is some screws that could be tightened?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Mine are on its way to here, is there any chance you could post some images? maybe there is some screws that could be tightened?

I don't think there are, although you can see the portion where the excess band slides out of/into just behind the suspension pad:

 
Nothing on the outside of the band for sure. It's not really a problem for me but what Rudy says seems more loose and could be a problem in the future. Although I suppose if that does happen you could rig where you view adjustment number with something to hold the band in place. Tape or something to jam in there.

 

[rudyae86]

  I don't think there are, although you can see the portion where the excess band slides out of/into just behind the suspension pad:

 
Nothing on the outside of the band for sure. It's not really a problem for me but what Rudy says seems more loose and could be a problem in the future. Although I suppose if that does happen you could rig where you view adjustment number with something to hold the band in place. Tape or something to jam in there.

WEll its not too loose because once i put them on, they  dont feel loose anymore, well it seems like it tightens....so i guess its okay. As long as they dont slide down and lose clamping force, i should be good.

 

[Marco Angel]

  WEll its not too loose because once i put them on, they  dont feel loose anymore, well it seems like it tightens....so i guess its okay. As long as they dont slide down and lose clamping force, i should be good.

maybe a little "film" of something like plastic or wood could leve it in position.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I think you're onto something, it's probably only lose when the band isn't stretched.

WEll its not too loose because once i put them on, they  dont feel loose anymore, well it seems like it tightens....so i guess its okay. As long as they dont slide down and lose clamping force, i should be good.

 

[rudyae86]

I think you're onto something, it's probably only lose when the band isn't stretched.

Yeah, I was trying them on and slightly pulling on them and the left side wouldnt slide down. So I guess once its being stretched, it wont slide down...only when it loosens will it slide down easily.
 
I dont think its much of a concern but I just wonder how its build inside the  headband

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Mine is close to about 160hrs and it's a much more refined sound now, night and day to out of the box. Keep em cooking!

 

[rudyae86]

So in terms of sound quality....how closely do they match other higher end models....well more midrange so to speak....like the q701, MA900, HD600, DT880 etc.
 
Thats what I have heard so far that they are closely related and the only one i do have is the MA900 but I have not used it for so long, its pretty much new. So I might have to go back to it and see how it fares.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

In terms of sound I think its right up there with its own flavor. Only thing is it really doesn't do something special except for price, whereas those other phones have a specialty. Example, the ma900 sounds good with just about anything you plug them in and their imaging/soundstage is phenominal (not hd800 phenominal but excellent). The dt880 is a great all arounder with one of the best comforts I can remember on headphones. The q701 had a nice decay, super wide soundstage and great treble clarity. The Philips just does everything good while leaning to the dry side and where the price reflects is the build quality, non replaceable pads, and packaging. There's really the trade off IMO but to me it's still a great deal.

I've only been listening to it with music I prefer so I've yet to try things like electronic, acoustic (as in guitar-related), pop, hip hop, and a few others. I've listened to rock, jazz, classical, and manage to finish the new Call Of Duty with them and they worked great on those.

 

[FightBrothers]

Just got mine today. First listen. WOW... such value.
 
Update:
 
After couples hours of use, i really found myself enjoying the sound of these.
The sound of these are definitely something that's very likable. it's definitely balanced with a nice warm touch to it. I really found myself enjoying every type of genre i can throw at it. although sometimes i found the subbass slightly less compare to the q701s, the bass also seem to lack the q701's tightness and attack. the treble was polite and it will never sound shrill or sibilance. I think most people would really enjoy the treble on SHP9500 compare to something with more treble energy like the m50s or the q701s. the mids were full and thick in comparison to the q701. vocals sounds pleasant and soothing and blends with the instruments quite well. but i personally wish the vocals to be slightly more distinctive in a busy passage of music. as for soundstaging and imaging goes. i played some counter strike to test that out. as an open headphone, i was slightly disappointed on the size and imaging compare to the q701s. the sound stage only sounded about 70 percent of what i experienced on the q701. imaging also lacked behind the q701, which can be detrimental to in game performance.

Overall, i really really enjoyed this headphone's musical ability. Also take into consideration of the price that people could get this for, i would easily recommend this headphone to anyone whose looking for a first open headphone experience.

 

[PeterParker]

Coming from mostly experiences with closed cans (excepting KSC75 and Portapro), I'm finding it difficult to evaluate the SHP9500.

My impressions are similar those already noted. Soundstage is not as wide as I was expecting. Slightly accentuated treble, not annoyingly so by also lacking sparkle. Midrange is smooth and clear. Build quality leaves a lot to be desired, considering full retail price.

My biggest problem though is the rolled off bass. Admittedly, coming from the PP, and now the Philips SHL3300 as my main headphones, I am biased to detail in the lower end. But the dynamic range of the SHP9500 is glaringly narrow beside the SHL3300.

Perhaps open air headphones aren't for me. These were definitely not the revelatory experience I was hoping for.