Active in ear headphones shn2500

by Philips

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 1.5 x 9.1 inches ; 1.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• ASIN: B000FTWT0A
• Item model number: SHN2500/00
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Product Description

Active noise cancelling in ear headphones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for HoH, May 19, 2010

By 

K. P. Keber (America's Heartland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Active in ear headphones shn2500 (Electronics)

This review is for people with hearing loss in higher frequency ranges. The Philips SHN2500 headphones are outstanding at improving sound. The phones emphasize sibilant sounds, and the emphasis is easily sufficient to differentiate between consonant sounds at fairly low volume settings.

My listening environments: small car at various speeds with windows open and closed, riding lawn mower, noisy kitchen, call center office, and bicycle riding.

At first-- besides increasing the volume-- the Philips' noise cancellation function seemed NOT to work at all. The sound from the earphones was tinny and small. The clipless battery box with its on-off switch and electric circuitry was heavy.

But the SHN2500s are designed so the battery box hangs around your neck, relieving stress on earpieces and cords. Some might find it uncomfortable wearing headphones like a string necktie. Running the "necklace" under a shirt helps: reducing the case's swing when exercising, making it less conspicuous, and protecting it from accidental harm.

The the soft rubber earpieces MUST seal the ear canals as much as possible to block out external sound. That is the real trick to making the SHN2500s shine.

When properly fitted, these headphones are really nothing short of amazing. The sound is bright and rich. The noise cancellation works with or without an external player attached. Running a vacuum cleaner and want to reduce the whine? Just insert the SHN2500s, turn on the switch and marvel at the difference. The lawn mower, the microwave, the blender, the bathroom fan; ALL of them are pleasantly muted. Neighborhood dog-barking nuisance? No more worries. Simply incredible.

Other reviewers have commented that Philips' noise canceling circuitry produces a hiss or hum. I hear a very faint hiss with noise canceling on. This is pretty common among all the noise canceling headphones I have tried. I found the sound completely unobtrusive. In fact, I forgot it was there almost immediately after noticing it.

A single AAA alkaline battery lasts about 2 weeks with fairly constant use. Thanks to its admittedly weird necklace configuration, the SHN2500s have lasted much longer than my other headphones. They survived for 13 months before the lower cord (player to battery box) got yanked hard enough to break them.

I have tried 2 other brands of noise-canceling headphones:

the Panasonic RP-HC55-S Noise-Cancelling Earbud Headphones (Silver) which cost about 3.5 times as much as the Philips. I thought they would beat the SHN2500, but the Panasonics fell far short. I returned the RP-HC55-S the day after receiving them.

I also own the Kensington Noise Cancelling Headphones ( 33084s ), bought for about twice as much as the Philips. The Kensingtons cancel noise better than the Panasonics, but not as well as the Philips (perhaps because they are outside the ear and I could not achieve a good seal no matter what I did). Even with decent noise canceling, the Kensington headphones' playback sounds terrible with the noise function off and worse with it on.

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 10, 2011

By 

David Oakley "okomoto" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Active in ear headphones shn2500 (Electronics)

These ear buds do not effectively cancel out low frequency rumble, the main issue with audio in an airplane cabin. I have compared them directly with Bose and Sony noise canceling headsets, which both work perfectly. However, the ear buds do a very good job of canceling out other extraneous noise. This is because the seal around the ear orifice is very good. For the price, the SHN2500 is OK but for say $25, Phillips could produce a first rate unit that is compact and light-weight, my main gripe with Sony and Bose headsets.