jasonnaos
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2016
- Posts
- 42
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- 10
The only thing I find with the stock cable is that it's to short
Oh where did you get them? The shure pads I mean I looked on eBay and amazon they were like 100+ cad.
I guess it just depends on what you expect for the 60-80 dollar price-tag.
Personally, I think the detachable cable is a plus and the lack of (easily) detachable pads is a minus. I find them exceptionally comfortable, unless I'm moving, then there are definite fit issues. They are handsome or at least it is hard to argue that they are ugly (at least in a way that a permanent marker can't fix). All the materials seem exactly in line with what I would expect out of 60-ish dollar cans. To me, all that seems like a wash. Some things are better than I expect for the price, some are worse.
What really tips the scale for me is the excellent sound for the price. Makes me more forgiving about the few real shortcomings.
Actually the funny thing is the housing for the pads are crazy easily detachable. The problem seems to stem from the fact that when you remove the housing that the pads are attached to you cannot remove the actual pads from it but you can remove it by ripping it off and just wrapping the brainwavz pads onto the housing and problem solved.
I know the shp pads are easier to replace than sennheiser assuming you are willing to rip out the original pads and foam. I hate the pad material in the phillips and how stupidly shallow the 9500 pads are my god who would build trash like this? the funny thing is the headband is Metal which is superior to the plastic HD 555/598 that always cracks yet somehow the sennheiser headband still feels so much better.
One major issue the 9500 has is that it is too comfortable and that is a real concern, yes it feels like you have clouds on your head but that is the very issue as humans we need feedback we need to feel that we are in control of something we are using. The sennheiser delivers this the clamping force is just right the phillips stupid clamping force and for some weird reason the metal head bands literally stretches out and remains opened wide for quite a while.
With that aside, my god is this headphone beautiful? this is the most beautiful looking headphone I have owned since a Denon Fostex D2000. AND it sounds just as good as the Denons a little better infact since the phillips are open back and everyone knows no closed back can ever compare to open backs.
Sound quality from these phillips are crazy good I am still baffled as to how on earth Phillips managed to accomplish this for the price.
IS it a case of Audio quality over build quality? I will assume so. I have had many headphones over my lifetime and I always sold them and went back to my HD 598 because I never found a sound signature that can touch Sennheiser. But the phillips 9500 and the Fostex D2000 were the only headphones I ever came across that satisfied me and I am a super picky annoying OCD person when it comes to these things.
These 9500s are a keeper they are perfect once you are willing to MOD them.
My next step is replacing ear pads with quality ones and finding a way to solve the 0 clamp force problem. Perhaps I may replace the headband or wrap it with leather or something to prevent it from slipping on my head?
I don't mind the pads, so I am hesitant to take a step to replace them that I can't untake. It's good to know about the options though. I assume at some point these pads will crap out and then I will be up for modding them.
The point about the 9500 is well taken. These are comfortable like a t-shirt that you forget you're wearing. Oppo PM-3's, for example, are like a big comfy sweater that you can't stop cozying up to. I've always preferred that latter kind of comfort. But, now even more so. I occasionally forget the 9500's are on head (while pausing the the music to have a conversation or something), then I look down too suddenly and down they go.
If you find a way to improve the clamp, PLEASE post it. I've flirted with bending the headband in a few spots, but it made me nervous (since what I was bending was plastic) and I gave up. Slight improvement from it. They don't fall off of my head; now they just slide around.
I think the issue is the clamp of the pads and the weight of the outer band. I was thinking thicker pads might help, but it sounds like you've tried that (?).
I bought the 9500 based on Z reviews dumb ass stupid review of him claiming its the best thing ever most comfortable and with these you don't need the X1 or the HD 600 bla bla bla. That guy talks out of his arse if you ask me. The materials used to make these are very cheap and you get what you pay for. They sacrificed a lot of build quality for the sound which most people consider the correct thing to do. But I would still get the X1 over these if I had to do it all over again.
So I have a question these SHP 9500 are angled drivers right? if I am buying the brainwavz pads to mod this should I get the angled brainwavz mh5 pads or the regular ones?