Hello I saw on Z Reviews that the Philips SHP9500 are very good headphones. However they are not available in my country (germany) and now I wonder if they are worth the 75$ plus 25$ shipping from America. Can anyone give me advice?
Thanks in advance
They are good, but it depends on what sound you are looking for. That isn’t that outrageous of a price, but there are other options that you could consider depending on what type of sound you want
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depends on the sound you are looking for.you live in Germany you could probably find a killer deal on headphones over there that aremore expensive in NA. considerng Beyerdynamic, sennheiser are based their and AKG has their roots nearby.
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Hey, Im a total noob and dont really know what kind of sound im going for I just want a good bang for the buck. I would mainly use them for gaming if that matters
Are you aiming for a mostly competitive advantage or for more casual gaming? Also do you prefer more more bass or more treble or a balanced sound?
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Im more of a competitive player and when it comes to music i think i would like a more bass heavy sound
Hmm. How much can a beyerdynamic dt880 250 ohm be had for where you live? Also would you be using an amp or just the motherboard audio
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For 160 Euros. I also need an amp for 250 ohm right?
Yeah, you would so that might make it too expensive.
If you wanted a headphone focused on a competitive advantage that you could use without an amp, the ad700x might be something to look into, but it is bass light and not really what you described you wanted for music, but great for gaming
The shps would do fine for gaming without and amp, and would be good for music as well (kind of a mix)
The dt880 is a step up from the shp’s, but need an amp
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Thanks for your help. I will loot into them
I did order a pair of Philips SHP9500 from US to EU. For casual gaming use and the total was 120e after the taxes and import fees.
I actually do like them more in gaming than HD6XX, they more for music. X2’s had way to much bass and started to get really annoying… after long usage.
The actual comfort with long usage hours is really good. Wide and deep sound stage has been very useful. Plus i had V-Moda Boom Pro so they work nicely.
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Thanks for your answer. I also decided to order the SHP9500 which I had to pay 118$ for in the end and I will combine them with my modmic 5. Hopefully they will please me as much as they please you 
That’s a solid set up, and I hope you like them 
I haven’t listened to my shp9500 in a while, nor do I want to. I loved them at first being my first open back, but later on I realized they weren’t that good. My opinion is their quite overated. The sivga 007 is a much better headphone.
IMO
Small and quick comparison over SHP9500 + V-mode vs. Game One.
Sound stage on the 9500 is wayyyy wider.
If you hear foot steps, like at 25m / 80ft, on the GO’s it’s more like to 19m / 62ft.
You could easy turn around and wait for the guy to show from origin of sound.
On the GO’s the guy was literally right next to… panic!!
There was a waterfall on the horizon.
On the 9500 when you can just hear the water making sound, nice splash splash and whooose.
GO you had to get closer like good length or jump.
Imaging.
Both are pretty decent and with nice accuracy. You can easily follow the sound from left to right and with accuracy but since the 9500 is wiiiiiide. I kinda like it more.
So point’s for the 9500 on hearing steps from much longer and wider distance and on FPS.
Comfort is very good on GO’s. The pads very soft like but would like them being more like HD6XX pads with bigger holes. They kinda have this tiny grooves, maybe a touch softer? and GO is just solid like pad.
Only1,5 knuckle sized. Takes a moment to adjust them good. Probably aimed for kids more.
9500 can feel bit “harder” but since they have like fist size holes, they wont touch normal sized ears. Plus you can pop them on, they good to go.
Sound tone or audible characteristics.
Game one’s are the clear winner. Breaking glass and jumps, hitting the ground. Gun fire. Everything just sound much cleaner, sharper or accurate or more “real”.
9500 are kinda… not that. I mean you hear the glass breaking but it’s like… not that clean. Like there is something blocking the sound for not being that clear.
Sound Frequencies.
While the highs and midrange is pretty nice with GO’s ones… there is no bass. Extension… not even that. All big explosion… there more like bursting a balloon and there is some boom’ness clearly. Bass ain’t clean.
9500 have way nicer and cleaner bass and low end. Nicer booms and explosion while still being not that sharp. Even when they are not good… at least it’s something.
Have gotten used to them and the boom’ness aint there. Fidelios where soooo too much bass.
MIc.
While using the V-Mode with 9500 the GO mic is way more sensitive and better sounding. Sounds more like me than on the V-mode, needed to lower the mic input like 25% for not peaking.
Cables.
GO Janky long, tight soft “cloth”. Maybe bit smaller also?
V-moda is not janky (at least any more) and softer cloth.
Probably will keep using the 9500 on FPS type games for that superb wide sound stage even when sounds are not that clean.
GO’s will probably be more in used with car and adventure etc type games. When the effect sounds are more nicely there. Blings and coins sound nicer.
Finally. Just typed something that popped in mind from game type of use.
In the range of 100-130$ both have nice things.
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So sad that people still take these headphones into consideration.
Also bought them on praise, but they are so bad, so muddy, so boomy, so boring, so grainy with very bad imaging and even bad soundstage, there are missing gaps in the imaging. Grainy from top to bottom, even the bass in grainy, nothing is natural in them. Only the vocals are inteligible, but the sound is so boring that I can’t use them even for youtube dialogue.
They worth $10 and i’m serious about this.
You sure it’s not the rest of your audio setup?
I have used my SHPS for over 3 years and none of the issues you mentioned have happened.
If anything they lack bass and can be a bit too bright at times, but other than that they’re an excellent pick for the price
Would tend to agree. While SHPs are certainly not end game, they represent great sound quality to price value. If the pair you got has that many faults, they are likely just that…faulty.
I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon but I just got a pair of the SHP9500 about a week ago and for the price I really can’t complain about the sound either. They’re definitely not boomy or muddy to my ears and while they do emphasize the treble a little bit, I don’t find them lacking in bass. I also find them really comfortable for long gaming/listening sessions as well which is a huge plus in my book.
Odd you found them boomy and muddy as they are such a bass light headphone.