[Philliphobia]

This is an old thread, but since it's a fairly undocumented headphone/mod I figured I should post here. I was able to test an SHL 3300 at my local maplin, and decided recently to order the headphones and some used DT770 pads. 2 additional modifications I did were removing the plastic grid where my ear sits, and using some tape under the holes in the 770 pads to reduce sound leakage.

 


 
I'm quite surprised by the sound signature and quality with the 770 pads, everything is very clear and balanced with mids and highs sounding quite forward. I was expecting muddy bass but I guess the pad change got rid of that. The bass is still nicely controlled and punchy, just doesn't have as much presence as my other headphones, 681 EVOs. The sound signature of these now reminds me a lot of the takstar HI2050, just obviously not quite as much clarity and soundstage. The portability of these is great, they'll function as my stuff-in-bag train/plane/car journey headphones.
 
One comfort issue I found with these - other than the plastic grid which I already cut away, is that the headband is pretty poorly padded, resulting in quite a bit of pain on the top of my head after an hour or so of wearing. Most people could probably deal with that but I'm a comfort whore so I bought this headband pad, which stuck on nicely and makes it SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. I do have to extend the cup arms further now though. I take a picture of the headphones with the headpad stuck on if anyone wants.
 
here's a full album of photos of it

 

[ksio89]

Thanks for your insight. Yeah, everybody agrees that the comfort is not the greatest characteristic of this pair of cans. The pads are on-the-ear and press hard against your ears and the headband is also tight, exactly as you described, which causes some discomfort after about an hour using it.
 
I'm looking for some replacement pads which fit these headphones. Do you know any trusted sellers in eBay or AliExpress? I love the sound of these headphones, they have outstanding price/performance ratio and beat any other phone in its price range, but Philips seriously need to improve the comfort because you can't use them for long before feeling pain due to excessive pressure.

 

[gibtg]

I've got a pair of these coming tomorrow, I can't wait to make comparisons as well however I CAN'T imagine I will prefer them to the Sennheiser Momentum. That opinion seems very unbiased.

 

[ksio89]

Well, it's not unbearable, it's just that you can't use it for too long before feeling discomfort because of the on-the-ear pads (not over as I wrote in my previous post, I rectified it). If the pads were circumaural/over-the-ear, the comfort would be much greater. The sound is incredible for its price, it sounds flat and well balanced to me, and are easily driven by my smartphone (LG Optimus G) and crappy motherboard Realtek onboard audio output.
 
I didn't return them because even if I spend more cash in replacement pads, where I live it will be still cheaper than any other pair of cans with similar audio and construction quality.

 

[flarkflarkflark]

These cans are amazing considering their price! But the comfort really could benefit from some other, softer pads.
I've bought these http://www.ebay.com/itm/400695049496?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
They fit snugly, are supersoft and make the headphones over-ear instead of on-ear: this also improves the soundstage.
Very pleased with them.

 

[ksio89]

^ I bought a similar pair of pads from eBay, identical to the one in the link you posted, but bit cheaper ($6.23), also for D770. Has around 100 mm of diametre, and my ears, despite being big, still fit completely inside it, so it's a circumnaural headphone now. I was surprised at how easy it was to put them in the earcups, they fit perfectly and are tight, with no chance of falling.
 
The soundstage, conformt and sound isolation greatly improved, but bass punch has somewhat decreased. For example, in rock/heavy metal tracks, the bass drum kicks don't sound that great now I wonder if cutting that plastic grid as Philliphobia did will improve the bass response, but I don't want risk voiding warranty just because of that. The headphone got a bit heavier now, and I realized that the headband is really tight and probably deserves a replacement if possible, but my ears don't hurt anymore even after a long period of time. Watching movies is much beter now due to improved soundstage.
 
I'll post some photos I took later, but it looks much more "professional" now. This cans are really a steal for their price, and even with the earpads replacement cost added, it's still much superior than most of the headphones of its price range. If you see one for a good price where you live, grab it and then just buy aftermarket pads.

 

[Philliphobia]

the headband really is a stupid design choice by philips. Thick block of rubber with a thin strip of foam which doesn't actually affect comfort due to the shape of the band... Anyone opened theirs up? I'm considering opening the headband up at some point and seeing if I can slice away some of the rubber and stick a load of actual foam in there instead, hopefully without completely ruining it

 

[ksio89]

Nobody must read this thread anymore, but I was wrong when I stated that the bass response decreased. I forgot I had messed with Poweramp app equalizer so low frequencies volume sliders were on the bottom. Now I wonder if cutting the grills might improve sound quality or comfort.

 

[skyesthelimiter]

Just wanted to chime in with my experience on these headphones after about a years use bearing in mind I'm not an audio expert.
 
On initial purchase my prerequisites were good audio quality, good build quality and decent comfort. After testing most of the headphones on display at a few different electronics stores I couldn't really fall in love with anything including the more expensive name brand headphones until I chanced upon these bad boys.  
 
I know a lot of people don't find these all that comfortable but I personally quite like them and I find that because they are on ear I am still able to wear my sunglasses without affecting comfort or sound quality.
 
Audio quality has been covered plenty by others so I wont say much on that other than I love the sound.
 
Build quality has been for the most part great. I wear these daily on a daily basis while I commute to work and I can honestly say that I don't give these any special treatment as they are thrown around in my bag and get exposed to all kinds of stresses which surprises me to say that they have absolutely no damage on the headphones themselves. No rips or tears on the ear pads or head band and the plastic has not been scratched or stressed.
 
One problem I have recently encountered though is with the 3.5mm jack where I have managed to bend it and stress the interior of the plug causing audio to drop out if I press up against it however I feel this is a fault on my part from having my phone in my jean pockets which are too tight. I did manage to replace the plug with a cheapie though so I will see how long this one lasts with a little more care.
 
In all for the price I would definitely recommend these and I will certainly be buying another set as a spare for when I inevitably lose or break these ones.

 

[ksio89]

The build quality is superb indeed. I frequently sleep over them and even stepped on them after waking up once, and thanks to the swiveling cups, they survived without complaining. Philips makes quality phones. I have a Philips SHE2100 earbuds pair and the construction quality is really great as well, and they're not expensive even in my country, unlike a certain Japanese brand *cough* *cough*.
 
About the comfort, I suggest purchasing replacement pads such as the ones for Beyerdynamic DT770 or the cheap ones in eBay/Ali, and a new headband as well. They're cheap and really worth the upgrade, so it won't hurt your ears anymore even after long.

 

[Philliphobia]

So last night I wanted to do something about the headband. Originally I planned on slicing it open, taking out the foam, cutting away some of the rubber and sticking a softer piece of padding inside, but realised half-way that slicing through all of that rubber would be far too difficult/take hours. Accidentally, I discovered you can actually just slide the entire rubber headband off once you cut away and pull off the sleeve part. This reveals a thinner piece of what I assume is some sort of coated metal acting as the headband, with the wire on the underside. The entire rubber part isn't necessary, it's just there for looks/build/weight. Using some double sided tape, I just attached the new headband pad (a third party replacement headband cushion for the sennheiser 558) to the metal headband, and then stuck the sleeve back on for the sakes of aesthetics, cutting away the loose parts. The results are a lighter, much more comfortable headphone, and now the headband is far more low profile and can't really been seen since it sits so flat against my head and behind my hair.
 

 

 

 

 

[portaear]

On sale for $17 shipped... worth it?

 

[thed0ct0r]

On sale for $17 shipped... worth it?

Yes, you're in for a surprise.

 

[Dregur]

I miss them, I'm buying another pair myself.

 

[ahunatu]

Just got these with the deal. They sound great. Decent clarity. I was not expecting this wonderful bass. They're going to be very good for movies. 
 
I think sound quality-wise they're up there close to some 50+ dollar headphones but maybe the longer I listen I'll notice some weaknesses but currently I'm starting to think Philips is hugely underrated in the headphone world in this lower price range
. 
I think they have great drivers that were put in a weird design. The coiled part of the cord is up closer to the headphones rather than down by the plugin (very unusual design so far not a problem). Earpads are huge. They look like they house 50mm drivers instead of 40mm. I think putting different earpads on these could easily take them to another level almost like they were designed to be around ear but at the last minute they went with on-ear pads.