Are you searching for an affordable, high-quality pair of headphones? You’ve come to the right place. The Philips SHP9500 are excellent headphones with an open-back design that offers an exquisite soundstage.
What’s more is that they are highly comfortable, allowing you to wear them for extended hours without feeling any pressure on your head or ears. Gamers will find lots of information that they will love about this set of headphones, too.
However, if you’re searching for headphones to wear on the commute or during your workouts, you might want to search elsewhere.
Are you intrigued already? Please continue reading for a detailed Philips SHP9500 review and a list of its pros and cons.
At a Glance
The Philips SHP9500 are excellent headphones for people who want to enjoy listening to music in their home comfort. They are incredibly comfortable to wear and produce high-quality sounds. However, they are not portable and therefore are not recommended for frequent travellers.
Pros:
- Excellent sound quality
- Amazing treble
- Full sound spectrum
- Comfortable
- Affordable
- Suitable for gamers
- Padded and flexible headband
- Over-ear headphones under $200
Cons:
- No noise isolation
- Not very stable
- Bulky and not portable
- No included pouch or carry bag
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Philips SHP9500 Review – Detailed Review
Here’s an in-depth review of this pair of open-back headphones where you’ll find all the essential details you want to know before pulling the trigger.
Comfort and Design
If you’re looking for a pair of headphones that you can wear comfortably for long sessions, the Philips SHP9500 is what you’re looking for since it comes with many comfortable features.
This pair of headphones has a flexible and adjustable headband that fits all head sizes without exerting any pressure. The headband is exceptionally padded and therefore, very soft. You can wear the Philips SHP9500 for very long periods without getting a headache.
What’s more, the headband is durable and robust, so you needn’t worry about it getting damaged any time soon – or at all.
Not only that but also the earpads are large, sparing you the painful experience of wearing a too-small pair of headphones. They are also well padded and therefore so soft, which is another reason proving that you can wear them for long sessions without any pain. Moreover, they are breathable, so your ears won’t sweat in hot weather.
Sadly, the earpads are not removable or exchangeable, so if they suffer any damage, you’ll need to buy a new set of headphones instead of just buying a new pair of earpads.
Sound Quality
The Philips SHP9500 headphones come with 50mm neodymium drivers. These drivers, coupled with the open-back design, help the headphones deliver full sound spectrum and decrease the air pressure that would build upon the driver’s back. Therefore, they provide the diaphragm with extra room for movement, resulting in incredible sound production and high frequencies.
The transferred sound is crisp, clear, and dynamic. The mids are mild and warm while the bass is not too powerful or too dull. Plus, the highs are very well-placed. All of this results in producing an excellent soundstage with excellent balance.
This pair of headphones is suitable for listening to music for fun or analysis purposes. Plus, they are great with pianos, guitars, and various musical instruments. However, they are not the best for bass-heads. There are other better headphones for bass lovers on the market.
Noise Isolation
Philips SHP9500 headphones are more suitable for using indoors because they don’t block ambient noises.
Due to their open-back design, these headphones are not well-suited for use on the commute or in any noisy area outside your home. The model doesn’t filter out the noise of car horns and people passing by so your outdoor listening experience won’t be the best.
Stability
This set of headphones is not really stable, meaning that you can’t use them during your workouts, or any physical activity. Otherwise, it will slip and fall off your head and might get damaged.
This doesn’t mean it’s not good; it is, but for casual usage. Luckily, it comes with a detachable cable, which means that if it gets hooked on anything while you’re moving around, it will disconnect instead of getting cut.
Having a detachable cable is also a nice feature because if the cable suffers any damage, you will just have to buy a new one instead of buying a whole new set.
Usage
Not only are the Philips SHP9500 headphones great for listening to music and watching movies, but they’re also an incredible gaming set as well. They are pretty comfortable to wear for extended hours, and they offer a full sound spectrum, which helps gamers feel so engaged in the virtual world inside the game.
Moreover, the earpad’s breathability ensures that gamers won’t suffer from sweaty and hot ears even if they spend all day gaming with the set on their heads.
They are not suitable for studio use, though, since they don’t have noise isolation. Plus, the microphone can pick up leaking sounds, which is also why they are not suitable for studio recordings.
It’s worth mentioning that they are not the best for people who love listening to music at very high volume levels due to their low (32 ohms) impedance. This impedance means that they won’t produce high volume if you connect them to your PC, laptop or mobile phone. Yet, if you don’t care much about this point, you’ll love the sound quality.
Connectivity and Portability
Philips SHP9500 comes with a 3.5 mm jack, which means that you can connect them to any compatible device. The wire is very durable and probably won’t suffer any damage for a long time.
Sadly, they are not portable, which is also another reason they are better for indoor use. The headphones are bulky and not foldable, so you can’t just fold them and fit them in your bag. Also, the earcups don’t stay flat, which takes a lot of space.
Further, they don’t come with a carry bag or a pouch, which increases the chance of them getting damaged if you put them in your bag.
Users’ Reviews on Amazon
Most of the users’ reviews on Amazon are positive, with an overall rating of 4.7 stars. The majority of Philips SHP9500 users state that they are comfortable that they sometimes forget they are wearing anything on their heads in the first place.
Others say they sound incredible and have an astounding frequency response. Also, almost all reviewers noted that this pair of headphones is very affordable.
On the other hand, very few gamers complained about it, saying that its 32-ohm impedance is very low as it’s hard for the controller to drive the headphones when the volume is set to the maximum point.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve got an idea about all the features in the Philips SHP9500, we hope that you’ve found what you’re looking for. In case you’re still on the fence, allow us to guide you a little more.
The Philips SHP9500 is excellent for those who need an affordable pair of headphones for casual use. Thanks to their superior sound quality and their comfortable design, they are excellent for gamers. They are also ideal for listening to music and watching movies indoors. Yet, they are not good for outdoor use since they have minimal noise isolation.