Sound Isn't the Most Important Aspect of Headphones

[Mik James]

So I recently bought a pair of Hd600s as an "upgrade" from the Philips shp9500 for gaming. The Hd600's are clearer (slightly), have cleaner bass extension, more even midbass, they are really just a better sounding headphone. If I had to put a value on it, I'd say the Hd 600's are worth about 50% more in $ than the Philips shp9500, so the Philips are evidently a far better value.
 
Unfortunately though I have to sell the Hd600's, and it has nothing to do with the cost of them. I was fully prepared to step out of the value range and add that last 15-20% of quality sound that is missing from the Philips, but the Hd600's seem to be dead set on collapsing my head into itself with an incredibly uncomfortable vice grip. Perhaps they aren't the least comfortable hp I've ever worn but they are mediocre at best.
 
So to anyone thinking of buying any headphone ever for gaming, don't forget about comfort, it is the singular most important aspect of headphones particularly for long gaming sessions (and really is there any such thing as a short gaming session?).
I won't debate that the Sennheiser hd600's are 15-20% better, clearer and less distorted sound leading to better positional accuracy for sure, but the Philips shp9500's are easily 100% more comfortable, especially with hm5 pads.

 

[Mik James]

...

 

[Denon2010]

WOW thank  you very much for this thread I always wondered what the heck the HD 600 sounded like compared to the SHP 9500 in terms of % better sound.
 
As for the SHP 9500 I have them 2 weeks now I made a thread about it. I will say these are horrible where clamping force are, they are good looking I will give them that but man are they horribly uncomfortable.
 
And by uncomfortable I mean they are too slack, headband is too weak to keep the clamping force. The earpads are complete and utter trash, slidey stupid 89' car seat material like a Honda, not even 90's material. Waaaay too shallow and big, so your ears touch the inside. The lack of any clamping force means the slightest tilt it comes off.
 
So looks they are 100% top notch lookers pretty stuff.
 
Comfort? too comfortable to the point where they are horrible. I even had to rip the earpads from the inner glue and stuff my HD 555 sponge pad underneat in order to significantly raise the thickness of the 9500 pads so it can actually be usable. I wanna replace the earpads with brainwavz hm5 one day but I am disappointed the pleather only lasts 1 year and deteriorates.
 
As for SOUND? these SHP 9500 are on par with Denon Fostex D5000 headphones that cost like $500 US. Phillips did a real number on the sound I have no clue how they pulled it off but bravo to Phillips. This is a company known for sh!t products from the 80's and 90's except light bulbs which were good so this was a surprise in headphone arena.
 
I found the HD 555 and 598 clamping force to be the best in the world, Phillips sacrificed a lot of build quality and comfort to get the sound for this price. I have a hard time believing the HD 600 have hard clamping force, if you want to know hard clamping force check out the ATH M50 its hideous and crazy warm to the point where its flat, boring and repulsive to your ear drums I will never buy another closed headphones. Unless its maybe a Fostex but I am not paying Fostex $500 for a pair of headphones that cost them $50 to make, they can seriously forget it. 

 

[techboy]

New Sennheisers are like that.
 
Use the headphone box to stretch them for a few hours. It will become too lose after that, trust me, I guarantee.

 

[ubs28]

I had the same problem with the HD 650. What you do is extend the headphones as far as possible down. Then you bend the extended part as many time as possible untill the clamp has reduced to a level to your liking. Problem solved.
 
But I agree. If a headphone isn't comfortable, I'm never buying it.

 

[techboy]

HD 600/650 should become very comfortable once you spread them across the headphone box for a few hours.

 

[SHAMuuu]

So comfy... with velours
 
but I think i would sacrifice some comfort for sound.
 
ur40 + $300 drivers

 

[Mik James]

Hd 600's were bought used, maybe the clamp can be reduced but I'm not stretching a 400$ (canadian) set of headphones. I'm reselling them asap. 

 

[pieman3141]

I bought my dad the SHP9500s and use them occasionally whenever I go over to visit. They're way too slack, and don't stay in position at all. I also tried the HD650s a few weeks ago, and found that, yeah, they clamp hard. The earcup shape doesn't quite fit my ears either, which makes the clamp even worse. I'm glad I skipped the 600/650s and went straight to the 800s.

 

[nvfan]

The 600/650 Sennheisers have the clamp of death. It's well known.
 
As far as sound quality, it's all about chasing the last 1%.
 
$10,000 speakers don't sound 200x better than $500 speakers. They sound maybe 30-40% better.
 
Same goes with headphones. The Focal Utopia ($4000) and Stax SR009 ($3825) don't exactly sound 15x better than the HD600. Again, it's more like 25-30% better.
 
Perhaps more pertinent to compare headphones is marginal manufacturing cost, not the retail cost or end user cost, which is a little more indicative of true cost. You'd be surpised. A $100 pair of headphones generally costs around $4-8 to manufacture. A $1000 pair of headphones probably costs round $35-40 to manufacture. These more closely match the level of actual physical improvement to the product.

 

[Mik James]

The hd600's are noticeably better, not just 1% (who the hell can hear/quantify 1% difference). They are better by design, the drivers are smaller but appear to have higher excursion capabilities with lower distortion. The hd600's have a more open design than the Philips, likely leading to less internal reflection and better overall clarity.
 
The Hd600's do sound more natural, particularly in the midbass-midrange, I have since eq'd the Philips to be more in line with the Hd600's in this regard, slightly cutting the midbass for a more even response. I personally find the hd600's slightly heavy in the upper midrange, but the majority of people find them to be accurate. This is where subjectivity comes in, my ears might be shaped a little outside of the average range.
 
This 1% difference kicks in with a comparison like the Hd600's vs the Hd800's. Objectively the Hd600's measure flatter for the majority of people, but people want what they want. Even if it's all in their head and measurements don't back it up, it doesn't make it any less valid that they perceive a positive difference in sound, and it is worth the extra dollars to them. There is plenty of evidence that more $ equals better perception, but why not let them enjoy it, it's futile to turn the believers into skeptics    

 

[Mik James]

As far as comfort goes, I guess that really is subjective as well. Some people evidently can't stand the way that some headphones like the Philips shp9500 or Pioneer Se-a1000 float on your ears, while others like myself can't stand a vicegrip. There was probably something in the reviews about the clamp force, I just got caught up in chasing quality of sound and forgot about comfort. After wearing the Philips for so long I had forgotten just how uncomfortable the majority of headphones are to me.
 
The hm5 pads definetly create a tighter more secure fit due to the thickness (about twice as thick as stock). The real magic to the hm5's is their incredible softness compared to stock, the memory foam really does the trick  

 

[ubs28]

I bought my dad the SHP9500s and use them occasionally whenever I go over to visit. They're way too slack, and don't stay in position at all. I also tried the HD650s a few weeks ago, and found that, yeah, they clamp hard. The earcup shape doesn't quite fit my ears either, which makes the clamp even worse. I'm glad I skipped the 600/650s and went straight to the 800s.

If you do what I said a few post back, the HD 650 has excellent comfort. Out of the box the clamp sucks but it's easy to fix. 

 

[liamosull]

Spread them

 

[Mambosenior]

I'm bewildered by the title of this thread. Really, sound is NOT the most important aspect of a HP? Maybe "not the only consideration" in purchasing one?