![]() ![]() For the most part, this design feels very stable and well put together, with my only complaint being that the cups do have a slight rattle to them. Aside from those aesthetic changes, the build and structural design remain largely unchanged from that of the SHP9500.Īs is to be expected from a headphone in this price bracket, the build is composed almost entirely out of plastic, but with a steel-reinforced headband. The somewhat-tacky Left/Right white text indicators on the cup grills are gone and they have been replaced with an all-black design that features a very thin, bronze ring around the grill’s perimeter. The SHP9600 sports a new, slicker look than its predecessor. Whether I listened to the SHP9600 directly plugged into my PC’s motherboard’s on-board audio or powered them with a discrete headphone amplifier like the JDS Labs Element II, I thought they sounded great and never felt like they showcased any of the issues I would find when underpowering a headphone which makes them a great option for those don’t currently own a headphone amplifier. At an impedance of 32ohms and a sensitivity of level 101dB/mw, I found myself being able to drive these with virtually everything I powered them with. ![]() The SHP9600, like its predecessor, is extremely efficient. It was very clear to me when unboxing the SHP9600 that the bulk of what you pay here goes to the headphone, but hey, I think that’s a good thing and you get everything you really need to get going. ![]() Inside the box you’ll find the SHP9600, some paperwork, and a fairly long, single-sided, 3.5mm to 3.5mm 3m cable with a ¼” adapter–that’s it. I played tracks from my own FLAC library as well as from Qobuz streaming service played via Roon (exclusive mode). For the listening tests I used music from a wide variety of genres including Rock, Jazz, Classical, Acoustic, Hip-Hop, and latin. The Amplifier/DACs used in this review were the SPL Phonitor XE (with built-in DAC), Grace Design SDAC + Topping A90, and the JDS Labs Element II connected via USB to my desktop computer. So, with an MSRP of $129.99–a price tag that nearly doubles that of the SHP9500–does the SHP9600 deliver any notable improvements? And can it present the same level of value as its predecessor? Sources and Music Used in Listening Tests The Philips SHP9600 is an open-back, dynamic driver headphone, and it was introduced just over a month ago as the successor to the wildly popular SHP9500 a headphone which from audiophile listening to gaming, garnered a lot of praise for the level of performance it offered at the very reasonable price of around $80(varied depending where you looked). ![]()
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