Philips SHP9600 Review, Measurements, Mods

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Philimon, Jun 27, 2021.

  1. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    $80 on sale. Quite pleasant. Prefer to 400se I heard this week... Better highs, bass about even, and some needed warmth. SHP9600 is about on level of Koss Porta Pro aka GOAT headphone :) except this is full-sized with a bigger sound stage. Less efficient than Porta, or THX00, or Grado. Comfortable, fabric mesh pads, ears don't touch driver/baffle, and semi-open front baffle like a Sennheiser.

    SHP9600.jpg

    Above frequency response plot displays two different graphs.:
    1. Stock
    2. Grills removed, and driver cover removed. The driver cover you can see in photos below. It hides the wires and says SHP9600 on it. Unfortunately obscures a bit of the back of the driver. Graph above shows pretty much no difference. Can't tell difference subjectively either from short time with each, however it's an easy mod.

    The measurements were done while air conditioner was running so maybe could be a bit different. It's record heat this week in Portland.

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    ^ Pads are attached to an adapter. Pretty sure they are glued on.

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    ^ Silk baffle vents. I think I roughed up driver front filter paper when I was trying to figure out how to take the rest apart.

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    ^ Angled drivers.

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    ^ Grill removed. Dumb driver cover.

    [​IMG]
    ^ Driver cover removed, was to hide wires and possibly glue for driver.

    [​IMG]

    I'm leaving grills off for now in case I want to try some mods. I'd like to add some damplifier pro to baffle like a 6XX KISS. Brainwavz sells some angled lambskins that'll fit but they are $40 and I'm not sure if it'd be an improvement anyway.

    For @Lyander :
    SHP9600 no smoothing.jpg
    ^ Maybe extra squiggly because air conditioning.
     
  2. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    The driver can be amazing.

    Is the headphone made out of cheap plastics again? I mean for a PortaPro that is fine, for a full-size mid-fi-ish headphone that can rival Sennheisers and AKG it depends.

    If the earpads are easily replaceable and the cable is of good quality you are good.

    I used to have soft spot for Philips. Sometimes they get it very right.
     
  3. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Cheap-ish plastic construction. Does not creak.

    I also has soft spot for Philips. Dunno why. :)

    I pretty much agree with this much more detailed review. Vocals a smide back but acceptable. Extra treble energies 5-6kHz can be good or bad depending on music. I see peaks in that area as sometimes bringing extra joyous energy to electric guitar, but may be a bit much in some electronic music.

    I had the 9500 some years ago and did not like as much. 9600 tuned for the better. Same drivers? Rtings has measurements of both including their weighted THD that I dont understand.
     
  4. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    I prefer to Senn or AKG. I also prefer to use Porta Pro to Senn so understand Im crazy. Ive never heard a Senn from a great amp though. Been a long time since I heard an AKG so shouldnt say. Philips treble/mids resolution nowhere near Senn and may sound a bit grainy in comparison.
     
  5. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Wish these were a little darker. Those lambskins pads I bet would help. Sealing front baffle is hit n miss (see attachment).

    Driver mod?:
    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 28, 2021
  6. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Taped mod from above post. Would redo with damplifier pro if next time.
    [​IMG]

    Will update with new drivers later. After the heat wave.
     
  7. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Prying out glued driver is not working, worried I may destroy plastic baffle. Popping out from front side would mean destroying driver. Maybe warming in oven to liquify glue some will work.
     
  8. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    350degrees for 5min is too much. Driver pryed out easy, but plastic baffle warped some. Too hasty.

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Much easier to pop out from front. Ruined old driver though.

    Ill ask Philips about replacement baffle or just order another headphone.

    [​IMG]

    edit: Its possible to not destroy driver using this method. There a lip on edge of drivers which I couldve used to push on…
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2021
  10. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Amazon has some used for $57shipped. About a week delivery. In meantime Ill work on my soldering technique.
     
  11. Jay

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    I bought these for cheap several months ago mainly for movie watching. Their imaging is excellent. I was watching "Raised by Wolves" on HBO as my first test of them and I swore noises were coming from outside my viewing room. I had to take the headphones off the check, and they were definitely coming from inside the headphones. After discovering their imaging ability, I started listening to orchestral music in my main headfi system, and I fired up the 1812 Overture. I could clearly hear the exact position of all the instruments. I was shocked. These image orchestral music better than the Sennheiser HD 650 because they don't have the gaps in the three-headed blob that the HD 650 do. These headphones are undervalued in the market if you ask me.

    For some rock and roll pieces, they can sound a bit metallic, so they are nice complements to the HD 650.
     
  12. Philimon

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    Peerless driver on right. Accidentally brushed my finger against and lightly dented. Wonder how much effect that has on sound. No worries, newb mistake / learning, cheap to replace.

    I probably couldve not destroyed the thin fibrous filter in front of driver. Tea bag filter paper (thanks dB) is pretty thin and was thinking that might be a fine replacement. However, replacement not necessary. The grill is tight enough to prevent finger pokes, and the pads have a cloth grill built-in.
     
  13. Roderick

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    I would not worry about those dents much. I've had similar small dents on peerless drivers and to my ears those are indistinguishable from not damaged drivers. Have you tried fixing the dents? Just put some tape over the damaged area and pull.
     
  14. Philimon

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    I just noticed I accidentally had y-axis limits set to 3 and 130 instead of 30 and 130.

    SHP9600 vs 400se.jpg

    [​IMG]
    Thanks to @Biodegraded

    Notice the strong porta pro resemblance in midbass and 5kHz peak. Both headphones are a bit weak on bass impact/speed but the warmth and energetic guitar is enjoyable. Agree with @Jay a little metallic and huge soundstage.
     
  15. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try later. Just ordered a few more pairs for backup. And should I be testing for good matched pairs? How would I test? With a multimeter? How?
     
  16. Philimon

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    Works. My first soldering was not good, I watched videos and read articles but was still difficult. Does not help that I have epilepsy (shaky hands). Sealed in place with damplifier pro (thx @E_Schaaf ). Second Skin audio sells hobbyist sized packa, they are or were on discount too.

    My first solder lesson was supposed to be on diy amp (thx @dBel84 ) but I forgot to order some tools. PCB is stuffed. Hopefully not as difficult. Why do wires not stick like glue? They just move thru solder like water. Too hot temp? Im using 420degrees. 350degrees felt like solder was taking way too long to melt.
     
  17. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    What's that PCB you got back there...
     
  18. Philimon

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    edit: diya Pass ACA

    Such difficulty. No signal. Where might Ive gone wrong on this left side? Its one sided cable.

    [​IMG]

    Before:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2021
  19. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Looks like that cable is enameled. You have to remove the enamel coating before soldering.

    This is easier said than done. My method is to use a sharp blade and scrape it over the wire. Other options are to use a gas flame (one of those high heat lighters work) the last method I have used is to make a small puddle of molten solder and stick the tip of the wire in that until it holds the solder.
     
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  20. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Moar bass! More impact and clearer. Clearer mids too. Worth it, $20. Don't get a sense of grain like with SHP9600, higher-fi.

    SHP9600 - Peerless.jpg
    *no smoothing, shifting pads around for better avg, air conditioner running
     
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    Last edited: Jul 3, 2021

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