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 :ohyeah: .
 
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Nice brief review kaval...
I've had the 8900's for over 2 months now and the bass depth and impact is just astounding on these. One gripe however is that these don't feel secure on my head and feel as if they're falling off.
 
Thanks.

I read you excellent review at this forum which prompted me to contribute as well. Kudos to Philips for bringing out such products at a very good price.

Both 5400 and 8900 have clean bass.

My experience has been that I found my previously owned Grado and Senn HPs more uncomfortable and unstable to wear than any of these Philips models.
 
nice reviews out there guys ..

does anyone know if the 5400's are still available in the market(mumbai) and how much do they cost ?

i am in love with the looks of the 5400 and you say that they even sound awesome ...

any idea how would they sound with the PC for 50 % music listening (vocal and progressive trance\electronic music) 30 % movies and 10 % gaming.
 
Thanks Greenhorn for informing me about your reviews.

In Mumbai, you could contact Jay International about the availability. Ibought them in Delhi.

I have not tested them on gaming. So no idea about that. But for music playback from PC and Marantz CD Player CD5001 they sound awesome! The bass is taut and tight and vocals being upfront...

enjoy!
 
Good review but are they really comparable to the Steelseries 3H which KMD has for 2.5 landed at your house.
 
One particular feature missing in 5400 and 2700 is the lack of detachable cable.

I am not very sure how much difference in sound quality a cable could make, but 8900 gives an opportunity to experiment with. Though I am not willing to spend much money in replacement cables but won't mind spending Rs.500 for experiment purposes. I am told Belden cables are very good and inexpensive. So I might try them on 8900.

Has anyone replaced cables on 8900? Any improvements?

best
 
Nice review, but Philips products are damm hard to find !!! I was about to buy some other headphone for my dad when I just happened to glance at a pair at a roadside shop of all places. Still no complaints and I found the HP-805 to be more comfortable and having better SQ than the competing Sony XD-200.

@Kaval - You sold your HD650 ??? My dad has one and it is simply mindblowing. It replaced his old Philips HP 805 and the difference in sound is huge even directly connected to the sound card.

If you connect the HD 650 to a dedicated amp however, then well all I can say is that I wish stealing from parents was not a crime as it is just so damm good.

I see people still equate music = bass. I mean comparing those rubbish 5.1 ch headphones with this ?

I also have tested 'budget' Sennheiser headphones like the HD 415, HD457, HD465 etc and of these only the HD 465 were really good. The others were sad to say not really worth the money and the HP 805 were almost as good at a fraction of the cost.

I have another unknown brand headphone called Pro 2 PH-1000 headphones where are just great - fantastic midrange and tight fast bass which goes a quite deep (not as deep as circum aural earphones though). They cost me 2200 bucks and for that money they beat every other Sennheiser headphone at that price in SQ.

So yes in some cases Sennheiser is an over hyped brand. Though to be fair, the prices in India are much higher than in the rest of the world.
 
^ Amen to that... ,The prices at which entry level sennheisers are available in india doesn't make sense when alternatives like philips are available. I'm particularly impressed by my 8900's and feel they could give some of the mid-range sennheisers a run for their money if fed by a decent source. The only worthy sennheiser budget can selling in india is the px100 which is just unbeatable in the portable headphone category IMO.

Here's a link to a shp-8900 thread on head-fi forums

Philips SHP8900 - A New Model??? - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio
 
Have you people tried Philips new model: 5400? Great sounding with a price which put many hi-end audiophile companies to shame.

Try this model and Senns sound so poor in comparision (directly to sound card as well as via amp).

warmly

K
 
I'm not creating a full fledged GO for philips headphones. But interested members who can't seem to find the model they need locally may PM me and i will ask my dealer for a quote and get back to you guys.

PS: He also has a few HP-805's with him if someone's interested in the old-school budget champ.
 
I think Renegade should be paid by Philips for doing the marketing for them ! I haven't seen Philips spend even a paisa for advertising its headphones.

But from what I have heard, the Philips has a slightly boomy bass which is a big no no for me. The bass on the Sennheiser was sooo tight that it was incredible ! Of course with the Senn, the amp plays a huge role in its sound, so that can make a difference.
 
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