Am I crazy or are the SHP9500 just ok?

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
1

I just got today my pair of SHP9500, and honestly I’m way less impressed than you’d think considering the high praise they get.
They are a nice pair od headphones, but I would be mad if they’ve cost more than they did, with the rather “straight” representation of the music and slightly above average details.
I’m fairly new to audiophilia, I have my gaming headphones(hyperx 2) I got long ago and just recently Grado SR60, which I really like.
And comparing the SHP to the Grados, I kinda feel they are just nice, especially with the G pads for the Grados that also arrived in the shipment with the SHPs.

And it makes me wonder, an I crazy? My gf also listened to them and felt the same.
Perhaps they just aren’t the same without an amp or maybe I didn’t listen to the right music to make them really sing.

I’d love to hear more opinions on them.

2

I don’t think in 2021 a ton of people are hyping the outlandish musicality of 9500’s. They don’t cost much, fit very comfy for some folks. Easy to push, brightish sound signature. There’s not a ton of competition in its little subcat. I feel like your expectations may have been a bit too high.

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3

they are absolutely just ok, but they’re really really ok for the price and how good they are to mod. does that help? they’re tuned well and are capable of being really really comfy but you’re never going to get incredible detail out of them. its just not why they’re amazingly ok.

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4

Nope, they are just extremely good for the price, which lowest I seen was $45. You can mod them, $10 pad adapter, and through use of pads change their signature of which they respond very well. In gaming they are compatible with v moda boom pro mic. They can be made low latency wireless. Topped off with… they don’t sound bad at all

It’s that general versatility and low price while sounding quite nice that makes them spoken highly about

5

Are you coming from the speaker world? Coming from speakers I had to spend a lot more money to appreciate headphones. It’s probably why I can’t appreciate the hd6xx either.

6

Just keep in mind you are comparing an open-back to a closed-back and an on-ear…the SHP’s sound is far more out there compared to what you are used to.

8

Ok, interesting, and what would you change in the EQ for the SHP?

9

Thanks you all, now I understand the situation better.
I’m still kinda glad I got them cause they are comfortable and are fun on certain songs.
I should really try and game on them too.
But I guess I’ll be doing more research from now on before buying.

10

I don’t even think they’re that comfortable without a pad swap. The clamp force is light but that’s really all they have going for them without mods. I guess they’re light too. There’s no need to buy a pad adapter if you just destroy your stock pads and use the adapter that they’re glued to and anything you swap to is just going to be better, honestly. They respond pretty well to Dolby for gaming and imaging can get pretty decent. Don’t expect miracles but they really can be a solid all around decent headphone for cheap.