Customer Reviews

Philips SHE9501/37 Premium Adjustable In-Ear Headphone (White)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've been wanting to write a positive review for these since I bought them about 10 days ago, but I kept postponing it. I finally decided to sit down and write it, only to find lots of negative reviews for this particular model of in-ear headphones. It almost seems as if all the reviews were for a different product, that dissimilar is the majority of reports to my experience.

These bad reviews also conflict with the reviews the same buds are getting when they are painted in black Philips SHE9500 Ultra Sound In Ear Headphones. Since they are THE SAME IN-EAR HEADPHONES, with THE SAME FEATURES, only a different color. Over there, 38 reviewers (50%) gave them 4-5 stars, while only 26 reviewers (34%) gave them 1-2 stars., that means that only about 1 of every 3 buyers think they made a bad buy. I really don't know if the people that buys white earbuds (myself included) are somewhat more inclined to "go with the flow" and less of a connoisseur on audio matters (after all, we bought buds, not over the ear headphones, and we may be more inclined to main stream choices since the white is associated with the now fading "coolness" of the iPod). Any how, I'm just digressing, now, to the point in hand, my review.

I bought these as a desperate replacement for the panasonics I got (at about 50 USD) to replace the original ipod buds (the only working pair of buds I got at that moment). I was dissapointed for the bass quality on those panasonic, coming from several pairs of cheaper Griffin "ear thumps" Griffin EarThump Earphones (Black), that IMHO, are one of the best in-ear buds out there that you can get for less than 100 bucks, if only they lasted more than a couple of months; and I know this, since I've gone trough 4 pairs in a little over 12 months, and I kept buying them because of it's incredible sound. Finally, after the 4th. pair broke after just 2 months of use, I decided to spend more on another brand, looking for some quality earbuds, hence, my disappointment with the panasonic Panasonic Stereo Ear Bud - Black, 11.5mm Drivers - Model RP-HJE200K Wired Headphones earbuds; but I'm digressing again.

When I bought these phillips SHE9501, I was not expecting much more than what I got with the panasonics, since I bought theme in a sale, and only chose them over the griffins because their cost was less than half of the earthumps (that go for about 30 USD where I live at), and I figured why bother to be buying again in a couple months after the griffins break once more. The package inscription "turbo bass" gave me at least a little hope that this would be at least not worse than the panasonics.

Well, I was baffled when, in the way home, I hit play on my nano: Wow!, the sound was loud and clear, the bass was pounding and the highs were excelent. I even had to decrease the volume on the iPod. I can understand that some people argument that it can help to save battery, for it needs lower volume. About the sound isolation: its more than good, but not great. After all, remember it is ISOLATION, not cancelation, and it depends on how good it fits on your ear. But no matter what size of buds I choose, there is definitively a muffling of the ambient sound, even with the music turned off; if I had to quantify it, I would say it's about 60% quieter with the earbuds on.

Now, the people that complains that the asymmetric wire bothers them don't understand that the longer wire is designed to go BEHIND the neck, where the rubber of the wire will somehow hold against the neck or the shirt, avoiding the pulling of the somewhat heavy extension; If they don't wear it this way, no doubt the short one will be pulling uncomfortably on the bud, popping it out of place. Now, the cord has two parts, a short one (the one with the earbuds) and a relatively longer extension. The short part of the cord is perfect for when running or biking, having the iPod in an armband. For every other situation, it is too short for anything but for the shirt front pocket. The extension certainly adds to the weight, but it's nothing unbearable (YMMV).

The only feature that I can not describe right now, is durability. But that's a matter of time.

I got these to supplement a set of Bang & Olfsen phones (good sound, poor
plug design.) These sound almost as good but the uneven cord lengths, a heavy cord weight, when the extension is used, made this hard for me to use. It means that the ear buds were always popping out when i walked.
I gave them to my son after a few weeks. These are better for using with a computer than an ipod.

I got these to replace my iPod earbuds and I liked them. Good for the money. They weren't perfect by any means and some of what other reviewers say is true, like they're a bit too long with the extender and too short without. But that didn't bother me too much. What did bother me was that about 2 months later, out of nowhere, one of the earbuds broke and the buzzing made it completely useless. I spent $30 on these things, I expect them to last more than two months especially when I take care of them the way I did. I even used the little pouch thing that comes with them to store them away when I was using them. Needless to say, now I'm looking for new earphones.

the earphones have pretty good sound (compared to the ones that come with ipods) they can handle the bass that the ipod earphones can't

but they do not stay in my ear at all! i have to KEEP ON adjusting them in order to prevent them from falling out. if i didn't do this, they would fall out so easily! the cord is too short and yes, i do know they go around the back of the neck but there really is no slack on the cord. even though there is an extension cord, the cord is too long! there is no medium! also the plug in for the extension cord weighs down the earphones, so i can't walk too fast or else the plug will start swinging around and eventually make my earphones fall out.

I mainly bought these for the '3 caps sizes' to fit my ears. (I use the smallest caps) these ear-buds fit my ears comfortably.

I listen to hemi-sync, binaural audio, bi-neural audio and other music with bells and crystal singing bowls in them...
So a Frequency response of 16Hz-23.5 kHz is a must for me.

I'm use to ear-buds having no Bass... the natural bass they have is sufficient for me considering their size.

I currently cool my room with a fan that's noisy, when I'm -playing music- with these I don't notice it.

This is a rip off of Sony's Fontopia but I think it is aesthically better and a tad cheaper. (They still make me look like Frankenstein with the odd length cord and how it sticks out.) I gave it 3 stars out of 5 because the isolation wasn't good (do not buy if you want decent isolation, think more open air but fits snuggly), bass was very weak weak (definitely a preference thing), and I had hoped it would generate a louder sound than my $2 earbuds at the same volume (wishful thinking perhaps) but it was about the same "loudness".

Good things: It fits well, don't use these to run so I dunno. It comes in three sizes. Great sound reproduction, great midrange, lots of treble. So if you're not into deep bass, you would like these.

update: Have these for about a month, the headphones that came with my Sandisk Sansa m200 sounded better to me. Less Airy and required less juice to drive them. If you like your iPod headphones but want isolation don't turn to these. There's no way these are 5 out of 5 stars, don't believe the hype.

Despite never having much luck with in-ear headphones, I still bought the Philips SHE9501's the other day to give them a try. Drowning out my coworkers is a science I'm trying to perfect.

I can't understand why people are saying these don't provide enough bass, because if they had any more, my brain would rattle around in my skull. I found the bass to be deep, clear and distinct for this price. I DO have an issue with the top end. I still had to EQ the heck out of the high side to get crisp sounds out of these (iPod & iTunes). Once I did, they were satisfactory.

The fit is snug, but not totally air-tight. The plugs come with 2 extra ear pad sizes, neither of which worked for me better than the middle-size already mounted. IMPORTANT: Because the ear pads are of a very thin rubber type, and not compressible foam, I feel that these won't provide the total sound isolation some might be wishing for.

These use the "love-em or hate-em" asymmetrical cord people talk about. I can see the point. With the cord behind your neck, it keeps the thin wire from dangling right under your chin, which tends to be annoying while walking or sitting at a desk.

Overall, I'm happy with the fit and the good bass response, but disappointed with the high end clarity. Next time I'm going to try Sony, or just bite the bullet and spend a bunch more on some expensive Shure in-ear plugs.

bought this before 6+ months, and today it just stopped working or to be fair, the right head stopped suddenly while in the middle of my sport session that even made me mad as hell. do not buy this garbage, look for anything else at least with quality.

I REGRET purchasing these headphones. The sound quality is decent. But everything else important about these headphones SUCKS. If I wasn't so lazy I would have shipped them back!

i have been using philips earphone since 5 years ago, after tried all other brands of earphones. If you are a heavy bass lover, it is your choice. Great product with low price carried by this seller. Recommend!