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Philips SHE9850 In-Ear Headphones with Advanced Acoustics
See it at Amazon.com for $96.03Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Ear Buds Uncomfortable
(3 out of 5) by Carl on Sep 3, 2008 (Wilmington, DE)Souns OK and a nice case with multiple earbuds to choose from. Problem was, none were very comfortable for me. I would have expected better quality buds for this price.
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Very average - far too expensive for the quality of sound
(2 out of 5) by Tom Johnson on Jul 7, 2008 (Always here, sometimes there)The Philips SHE9850 make a good first impression, that's for sure - opening the box reveals the headphones, some extra different-sized tips, and a hard-shell carrying case that slides open to reveal a space where the 'phones themselves latch on, then the cord winds around. Very thoughtful. If only the earphones themselves impressed like the presentation.
To give them credit, they block out sound very well, as most in-ear 'phones do, and they are simply decent low-end headphones, but for this kind of price is "simply decent" good enough? If you are not a picky listener, they are certainly a step up from your run of the mill cheap junk that can be bought at any big-box store, and are leaps and bounds ahead of the Apple earbuds included with Ipods.
The problem that I find with the Philips 'phones is that the sound is very "plastic" - by that I mean that there is an obvious tweaking to all frequencies to make everything bigger and sweeter than it really is. The bass is overzealous and feels as if a bass-boost button has been left on - it is not at all natural sounding. Yet, strangely, the highs are muted and undetailed - listening to what is normally a beautifully crisp ECM recording (Marcin Wasilewski's "Trio") resulted in sounds that I honestly had a hard time discerning until I plugged in better headphones. The sound was a sizzle of cymbals that, through the Philips, simply sounded like dull static. I point this out to say that, for the same price, you can get this kind of detail with the Etymotic ER6i, which, admittedly, won't provide you the thumping bass the Philips do, unrealistic as it is, so it depends on what you are looking for. The overall resulting sound of the Philips is a flat, boxed-in soundstage that is unrewarding for the challenging listener.
The Philips are not going to satisfy anyone with an ear for detail - audiophiles look elsewhere, even for a low-end earphone. I'm also not convinced that it's worth spending the extra money to get these over the Sony Fontopia that seem so similar. My suggestion: either save your money and go cheap or spend wisely on better 'phones (even low end Shure or Etymotic are vastly superior.)
To give them credit, they block out sound very well, as most in-ear 'phones do, and they are simply decent low-end headphones, but for this kind of price is "simply decent" good enough? If you are not a picky listener, they are certainly a step up from your run of the mill cheap junk that can be bought at any big-box store, and are leaps and bounds ahead of the Apple earbuds included with Ipods.
The problem that I find with the Philips 'phones is that the sound is very "plastic" - by that I mean that there is an obvious tweaking to all frequencies to make everything bigger and sweeter than it really is. The bass is overzealous and feels as if a bass-boost button has been left on - it is not at all natural sounding. Yet, strangely, the highs are muted and undetailed - listening to what is normally a beautifully crisp ECM recording (Marcin Wasilewski's "Trio") resulted in sounds that I honestly had a hard time discerning until I plugged in better headphones. The sound was a sizzle of cymbals that, through the Philips, simply sounded like dull static. I point this out to say that, for the same price, you can get this kind of detail with the Etymotic ER6i, which, admittedly, won't provide you the thumping bass the Philips do, unrealistic as it is, so it depends on what you are looking for. The overall resulting sound of the Philips is a flat, boxed-in soundstage that is unrewarding for the challenging listener.
The Philips are not going to satisfy anyone with an ear for detail - audiophiles look elsewhere, even for a low-end earphone. I'm also not convinced that it's worth spending the extra money to get these over the Sony Fontopia that seem so similar. My suggestion: either save your money and go cheap or spend wisely on better 'phones (even low end Shure or Etymotic are vastly superior.)