Philips SHP-8900 headphones.

This is my short review of the Philps flagship Shp-8900 headphones, I got these headphones a week back from a philips dealer i knew. I've been playing a lot of house and techno on these since i got them and have fully burned them in. These are a significant step-up from my not so old shp-2700's terms of sound Q and comfort. As some of you may be wondering why buy philips and not sennheiser phones at this price point ? Well, The underrated shp-805 was a killer budget offering at the < Rs 1500 price point and after the impressive shp-2700's I decided to give these a shot (Phlips fanboi :p ) . There's also a lack of reviews on the philips cans as compared to sennheiser and koss'es on the web because high end philips phones aren't widely sold in america and u.k so i thought i could do my bit and review them.

Technical specifications:
Acoustic system - Open
Magnet type -Neodymium
Frequency response -5 - 30 000 Hz
Impedance -32 Ohm
Maximum power input -1500 mW
Sensitivity -106 dB
Speaker diameter -50 mm Compared to the Shp-805 & 2700's 40mm
Connectivity

Cable Connection -One-sided
Cable length -4 m
Detachable cable -Yes
Finishing of connector -24k Gold-plated
SOUND:

Before Burn in- At first these sound overly bright and only emphasize the higher frequencies .The highs seems annoying and fatiguing at this point.
Some EQ settings need to be tweaked for them to sound flat. There's also a noticeable lack of upper bass and mids ,
these cans don't seem very good for hard rock and metal.

After burn in
: Their bass response improved and is tight, deep, and can be very powerful if you boost the eq
and even then it isn't noticeably distorted (Slight distortion creeps up in some house tracks) In some hip hop tracks it seemed that there's a sub near me. The overly bright sound has settled and listening to them is far less fatiguing now. These do leak sound at higher volumes but provide fair isolation from ambient sounds
All in all these cans really improved my enjoyment of music, at least in comparison to the previously owned shp-2700's ( Which for their price are outstanding) and Mdr-xd100 which were total crap , No offenses to the owners maybe I'm just a freak. :rolleyes:

Tested using a borrowed Creative SB Live! 24bit
Alternate headphones for comparison : Phillips shp-2700.


COMFORT:

These look great with the chrome trim around the wire mesh grills.The ear pads use a soft fabric being more breathable as compared to leatherite used on most headphones(Sony). The net weight is given as 0.38 kg so the cans aren't the lightest ever but somehow don't feel heavy on the head . A carrying bag is also included. another neat touch is the detachable cable that can be locked and unlocked in the earcup by twisting the plug.
Photos:

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CONCLUSION:
I paid a paltry sum of Rs 2500 (The MRP on the box says Rs 3600) for these killer phones as i knew the dealer well. All those on the lookout for midrange headphones give these a listen. Sound is very subjective, and everyone has their own tastes and preferences so in short i found these simply awesome :eek:hyeah: .
 
nice review bro but isn't Rs. 2500 too much for it. How does it compare to Sennheiser HD485 which can be purchased for around the same price (although the price will be higher in india)?
 
I haven't used the hd485s , but here's a quote from a member who has both the 805 and the Sennheiser hd485.

Lord Nemesis said:
I have both a Phillips HP 805 and a Sennheiser HD 485 and though the Sennheisers cost me more than twice the cost of the Phillips, the performance of both is similar and in addition HP 805 is more confortable for long usage.
If the 805's sound are said to sound similar , the headphones i've reviewed will be equivalent or better than the hd485's. The Rs 2500 I paid for them is a bargain...The regular price being Rs 3600.

Some specs:

Shp-8900 - Frequency response - 5 - 30 000 Hz

Sennheiser hd 485 Frequency response - 18 - 21500 Hz
 
calvin07 said:
this headfone lacks bass. add +2k go for sehh HD 212 pro dj . its awesome....

no bass no music.

enzoi!

Do you own these headphones ? If not please don't comment like that.:no: These phones give out a very deep and tight bass response. Sennheiser 212's are Dj headphones and are full of boom boom bloated bass.
Whats with the Pro-sennheiser groupthink ? even when they aren't available everywhere . Brand image i guess....^o
 
Hi Guys,

I am new member here.

I had the opportunity to buy and test 3 Philips HP over the past 6 months or so.

I bought SHP 2700, 8900 and 5400 (new model) in that order. .

I burned in each to almost 50 hours before critically listening in. My music tastes are mainly Jazz, classical and hindi film songs. They are directly attached to headphone amp in my Marantz CD player CD5001.

A detailed review of each HP would follow soon but let me briefly share some of my thoughts.

I Paid Rs.1500 for SHP2700. At this price, it is excellent. It has a very tubish kind of sound, laid back and smooth. You can listen to it for hours without feeling ear fatigue. However, they are less transparent than 5400 and 8900.

They are bulkier than 5400 but lighter than 8900.

I paid Rs.1800 for 5400. This is truly a high-end HP. I never expected that it would sound so good and transparent. Right out of box, it sounded a little bright but after burn in it became smooth. Highly transparent sound with excellent lows, mids and highs. At this price, no one can beat this model. After listening to it, you won't feel need to buy another HP in the next few years. It sounded better than my Senn 650 when I did the comparision. So I sold off 650 last month. Very light weight (160 grams or so) and easy to wear. You can use them inside and outside. A great value for money. Thank you Philips for creating this product. Unfortunately, many audiophiles won't touch it because it is not manufactured by a so-called 'high-end audiophile company" but let them believe what they want to believe. I am not here to change their mindset. For me, this product is a gem.

I paid Rs.3600 for 8900. This HP is very much like 5400 in terms of sound quality. Though it uses a slightly bigger driver. The sound is clean, tranparent and somewhat upfront. The difference between 5400 and 8900 are smaller in terms of sound quality. But they are much heavier than 5400, more than double the weight. Even though you won't feel the weight when you wear them. They are meant for inside use given their big size.

 
great review kaval. some pics would be greatly appreciated, especially of the 5400. How is the build quality? better than the 2700?
 
Sure I would get some pictures of 5400.

Build quality of 5400 is very excellent with good mix of plastic and metal. They look very compact, sleak, simple, cool and expensive too. They are very similar to Senn 202 in appearance but have an additional touch of class...

The first thing which attracts to 5400 is their appearance. They are the best looking Philips currently available in India. And it is a rare combination that you get both good looks and extremely good sound quality and that too at a highly affordable price. This reveals how many so-called high-end audiophile companies are charging (looting?) customers for mediocre HPs. I have yet to hear a HP (upto the range of US$400) which can provide the wider soundstage and completly unmuddy and clear bass of 5400. I would stick with 5400 and would let go 8900 and 2700.

In terms of comparing it with 2700, I would say that both have good build quality and both would survive occasional dropping. To put it other way: If I thrash 2700 several times on the walls, it would survive while I can't say about 5400. But the fndamental question is: HPs are meant for listening, not for thrashing. Right?

2700 comes with 3 metre thick wire while 5400 comes with 2 metre wire.

best
 
Yes, true in case of flexibility of headband...Also looks are not sleek but then there is a huge price difference between 2700 and 8900.
 
If my planned trip abroad goes through, then I would soon be picking up SHP9000. And if time permits, I would post a detailed review here...
 
Kaval said:
Yes, true in case of flexibility of headband...Also looks are not sleek but then there is a huge price difference between 2700 and 8900.

I'm lucky I bought 2 HP 805's when they were still available :cool2:
 
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