Wonderful headphones, own two pairs myself. Not as good as the AD700X when it comes to imaging and sound stage BUT way more comfortable given their design.
Now the bad, these used to go for A LOT less. I paid $49.99 for my first pair. There were issues with the manufacturing ending a few years ago which drove the price up to the $70-$80 range… those issues have since been resolved.
No idea why these are still going for $70 especially on Woot as a clearance item. They used to be the best bang for your buck for open back headphones for gaming. Now at $70 you may as well pay $15-$30 more and get the AD700X when they go on sale. I paid $86 for mine and if your patient the price drops below $100 often throughout a year.
Also worth noting these are listed as SHP9500 but it’s probably going to end up being the SHP9500s. I am sure a Mod could let us know. The 9500s has a larger frequency range than the 9500. The 9500s were marketed in the US only were the 9500 version would have been a more international item.
If you’re trying to decide between the 9500s and the 9600, go with the 9500s. The 9600 have sub optimal sound in comparison across the board including imaging and sound stage.
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/kb5649/headphones_philips_shp9500_openback_headphones/ ← Oh look, 3 days later and Amazon is selling the same headphones for $63.99… Gotta love Woot and Amazon having different sales and Amazon typically winning.
$69.99 isn’t bad compared to $63.99 but clearly shows there is wiggle room not being shared with the buyers here.
Yep, I paid $49.99 for my SPH9500s headphones a couple of years ago. I value comfort above sound quality because what good are they if they sound awesome but kill your ears after an hour of use?
These sound really good and are the most comfortable headphones I’ve found anywhere, by far. I use these for playing shooter games on my Xbox for 4 - 6 hour long sessions and they never get hot due to their open back design that lets your ears breath and you can still hear whatever’s going on in the house around you.
Yes, they’re only “stereo” but I’ve never had an issue pinpointing where shots are coming from. These punch way above their weight class and are still the best bang for the buck cans around.
Couldn’t agree more. My wife still uses my old shp9500s everyday and I still rock my AD700Xs but the comfort on the SHP’s are unmatched. You could wear them for 15 hours straight easy. The AD700X are good but after a few hours you’ll get fatigued by them.