The open-back over-ear Philips SHP9500 and their cousin the SHP9500S generated so much interest and hype, that when I found them on sale ($49 with free shipping by NewEgg on eBay, purchased with mine own money), I had to get them to compare and contrast and see what everyone is raving (and ranting) about. This post is a practical text and pictures unboxing.
The accompanying “review diary” will begin shortly after (I will add the link here). Various physical measurements and such will be included in the “review diary”. I only began listening to them _after_ I completed the unboxing post, so how they sound does not color (no pun intended) the unboxing part (the most objective part of any review ~ ironically).
Opening the BOX
To open the box, simply slice the seal at the top of the box. Make sure it is sealed, otherwise it’s obviously not brand new. And then gently pull on the tab to pull out the black cardboard box, or turn it upside down and push gently. It comes out fully. Impatient you may be to try them, but no need to ruin their packaging 🙂
What’s included with the PHILIPS SHP9500S
The headphones are in a clear plastic bag with a silica bag roaming inside the plastic bag. The cable is in a little resealable clear bag of its own, and twisty-tied.
This is what’s included, and nothing more:
- the headphones
- the cable (two rings (three poles) on each end, no mic/remote)
- nothing else – no user guide, no paperwork, no pouch/case, no adapters, no other accessories
The HEADPHONE
The next two are flash pictures, that’s why the lighting is different. The headphone stand is NOT included.
EARCUPS
Giant L and R on the outside of the earcup make sure you (and everyone within a mile) knows which side is Left and Right. Another way to tell Left from Right is that the cable goes is on the Left side. You can use this to troll people by wearing them the wrong way and see how many notice and how many try to correct you 🙂
And now let’s get a little bit closer to the grills (the white thing in the middle is not a trick of the light, it is the giant L up close):
The measurements will be in the “review diary”, but here’s a ruler shot to give some scale of the earpad size:
A close look at the earpadding and the earcup mechanism. This is the left side, the 3.5mm input connector is at the bottom left with the “mouse writing”:
Here is the 3.5mm input:
OTHER BODY PARTS
This is a close-up of the headband, more specifically the part that sits on top of your head. You cannot see it clearly in the picture, but the padding is not glued to the inner side of the headband. There is a little bit of space in-between them. The padding is attached to the headband further down, at the round silver number area (see below).
Here is the cable, as it is twisty-tied out of the box. It has two rings (three poles). No mic/remote functionality. But it’s a detachable cable, so you can use any other compatible cable you own (more on that in the upcoming review diary)
HEADBAND ADJUSTMENT NUMBERS
One cool and unusual thing on this headphone is that the headband slider adjustment has an actual numbered stepped scale, and the current position is shown in the metallic circle hole in the headband. It goes from 0 to 6. This is the point on the inside where the headband padding is attached to the inner side of the headband.
Reminds me of the sleep number mattress ads 🙂
PHILIPS SHP9500S SPECS
These are the official “specifications” as printed on the box by Philips…
The bottom of the box reveals the importers for USA and Mexico, and that they are Made In China. And that they contain polyurethane foam.
