The sonic character of the SHP9500 is midrange-centric, I would say, but extends quite well to bass and treble ranges. Treble is somewhat uneven and accentuated. If you are a classical music lover, you will be most likely pleased. If you are a bass head, this is not for you. If I am asked to compare the SHP9500 to more expensive, sonically better designed headphones such as Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650, or Sony MDR-MA900 (the Sony is also my favorite due to its outstanding comfort), I would rate the SHP9500 a notch below them in terms of pure sonic balance. However, unless you are an extremely discerning listener of classical music (which I am, unfortunately), I would not like to recommend those higher priced products, whose prices, I think, are somewhat above a common-sense range for most people (except enthusiasts). So, here I am sharing my experience as an enthusiast who does not have common sense Still, I’d recommend an Amp/DAC for best results sound-wise. I listened to both with a wide array of setups: The reason why this thing sounds so good is because we don’t have any noise compression characteristics and no noise cancellation built into the microphone capsule and for me that is a positive but let me know what you think in the comments. Thirdly, Low clamp force might create you a lose fit if you move your head too much unnecessarily, otherwise it will just work fine and comfortably.

I feel I’ve written a lot but not sait much. Let me summarize : Listening to the SHP 9500 for me get’s much closer than anything I’ve heard to an experience where you can let your mind freely navigate (or just be available to) all aspects of the stimulus at hand. Mostly no part of the stimulus imposes itself to your mind’s attention (at least while you are able to ignore the physical feeling of the HP on you’re head), and the available nuances and complexities of the stimulus is quite great. Through the listening of a given piece of music through the SHP 9500, you get the feeling you have a better access to intentions, expressions, mistakes, trials, state, efforts, emotions and the synergies of all people involved in that tune.It’s more subdued and less obnoxious, like your bratty teenage son who’s finally stopped smoking weed and eating Cheetos for breakfast. Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this Philips SHP9500 vs. 9600 comparison, and now understand the main differences between them! For competitive gaming, as long as you have the HM5 Leathers and K1 or Fulla 1 over Type C, this baby is better than the famed soundstage of the K7xx or X2 Fidelio (imo). Modern Warfare 2 is a great example where audio cues are crucial as those footsteps are just so loud and help with directionality. The open style and good clarity is a perfect combination for shooters like COD and having that quality mic in there is a massive bonus for online play.

For sound quality. These have all the sound stage in the world. All of it. I mean IMPOSSIBLE levels of sound stage. Listening to these ruined some of my old favorite cans the moment these went on my head. Imaging is insane, which is yet another reason I use them for movie watching, and best of all they're SUPER easy to drive. The only dig I have is I kinda wish they had more bass, but it's really not a big deal. Vocal clarity is awesome, mids are super clear, and not even a hint of sibilance. With the 9500, there’s more air and clarity, but at the expense of a somewhat more fatiguing high-end and not as much meat on the bass. Ripping and changing the pads completely or adding padding to the originals, a Youtube tutorial: (The adding extra padding is at the start of the video) Again, the small attention to detail here from Philips is more than admirable, it’s outright amazing that they would adjust and improve the fit. Being that I bought the 9500 a while ago, I can’t actually remember if the clamp was as tight as the 9600’s straight out of the box.Being one of the elf-like people on the planet, the second thing i look at when buying headphones is earcup size. These are odd to me. Vocals and instruments still stand out, sounding very lively, intimate, and engaging, but in my opinion, these mids aren’t as good as the 9500. I notice parts of the song that I haven't noticed before though granted, I came from my phone's integrated speakers since my 2 previous headphones broke. Aside from new details, existing elements of the song that I already know also takes up a new nature with more rhythm and detail. You will notice the grille on the 9600 is a tad smaller, perhaps reducing a bit of air that was present in the 9500, making it a bit less of a “fully open” headphone. More on that in a bit. Responds relatively well to EQ, but may be received as bloat if you don’t necessarily like amount over fidelity. However if you like bass, and are uninitiated to higher-end bass, I think you will still be blown away, as my friend was during our listening. Otherwise, the Fidelio X2/HRs are most definitely a better budget choice for you, for bass-heads should be most careful with these headphones, as you will see in the treble section.