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Our research indicates that this deal is $81.99 less (17.18% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting at $476.99 at the time of this posting.
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The Philips sph9500 are a great value for budget headphones. I totally understand not wanting to invest in luxury goods during this economy.
The SPH9500 plays music, and that's the 85% of the thing, but so do AirPods and Bose. The SPH9500 also have a sound signature that is pretty balanced in emphasis between lows, mids, and highs, so it's more comparable to the HD 600. The Philips is a good choice for budget headphones.
The rest of this comment is for anyone who is curious what nicer Mid-Fi headphones have to offer.
I'd rank the Philips as a bit more glaring and fatiguing than the Sennheiser HD 560S, and then the HD 600 is even smoother and refined than that while still sounding pretty faithful to the "studio reference" sound signature. Kind of like the difference between cheap off-brand whiskey and aged, name brand stuff.
The HD 660S2 is tuned more "home HiFi" than "Studio Monitor," with a bit more emphasis on the lows and a more engaging, musical emphasis. This is less about a magnifying glass on recording flaws like the HD 600. The highs are a bit softer, but still very clear, so you get detail in a nice, unforced kind of way. The bass also extends lower into the sub-bass range deeper than the HD 600; sub bass isn't exaggerated, but some notes that might be too soft or quiet to make much impact with the Philips or HD 600 will be more apparent here. The HD 600 series including the HD 660S2 are also physically more open than the Philips: almost acoustically transparent, there's less "cup" resonance on the HD 660S2 and therefore it seems less like you're listening to headphones.
I also feel the HD 600 series is my favorite for comfort. The clamp pressure is firm and I don't forget I'm wearing something, but the pads aren't too small (my ears touch nothing!) nor too big (they don't pinch my jaw muscles), the headband has a gap to relieve pressure right where most headbands would make a sore spot first, and at only 260g they're also much more lightweight than their size belies (light without feeling fragile). For big heads, these expand super long. And that extreme open design also means it doesn't build up heat much. I have more expensive headphones, but the HD 600 series are the only ones I seem to be able to wear indefinitely without developing a sore spot.I also like that Sennheiser sells many parts to repair these headphones; you usually don't even need tools if you follow the instructions to replace cables, earpads, headband pads, grille, even the driver and whole yolk assembly can be replaced (ship of Theseus?!). I've had an HD 660S2 since it came out, and an HD 6XX for a decade, all have been great durable investments and I usually wear some pair of headphones every night.
it is, but the material and labor costs for this in china went up over 20% in 2 years? Nope. Materials cost has gone down due to manufacturing at scale. These should be $300 at this point. Tech gets cheaper as time goes on and these used to retail for $600, not $680, so that's a nonsense number, too.
Would this be a good upgrade over my 6XX/650? Or should I just step up to the 800S
The 800S.
That said, I own the 800S but the 6XX is still my daily driver. Their sound signatures are quite different. I'd audition the 800S and read up on the comparison to see if they are for you.
Last edited by slickd888 May 26, 2026 at 11:36 PM.
Even the HD800s is tame. Look at the Sennhesier HE-1.
These are my daily drivers. I have owned pretty much every 6 series headphone and these are the most balanced to me. I know they are expensive, but good audio does not really age so they should last a while. A lot of people still swear by the HD600 which came out in the mid 90's.
I just replaced the ear pads on my Sennheiser HD-650 headphones that I've had since ~2004 or so. Still killer headphones.
Boycott these companies trying to gouge consumers.
Sennheiser has been setting headphones with this price point since the 90s. The main difference today? They have more then one or two competent competitors.
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I almost bit on this deal but reviews and peeps who own both the HD6XX and these seem to agree the value prop and sound is more of a side grade. Not sure if 400 buckaroos is worth a side grade. May just hold out since I don't actually have any desire for better sound atm. Am curious about people who own both though on here, anyone have thoughts?
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The SPH9500 plays music, and that's the 85% of the thing, but so do AirPods and Bose. The SPH9500 also have a sound signature that is pretty balanced in emphasis between lows, mids, and highs, so it's more comparable to the HD 600. The Philips is a good choice for budget headphones.
The rest of this comment is for anyone who is curious what nicer Mid-Fi headphones have to offer.
I'd rank the Philips as a bit more glaring and fatiguing than the Sennheiser HD 560S, and then the HD 600 is even smoother and refined than that while still sounding pretty faithful to the "studio reference" sound signature. Kind of like the difference between cheap off-brand whiskey and aged, name brand stuff.
The HD 660S2 is tuned more "home HiFi" than "Studio Monitor," with a bit more emphasis on the lows and a more engaging, musical emphasis. This is less about a magnifying glass on recording flaws like the HD 600. The highs are a bit softer, but still very clear, so you get detail in a nice, unforced kind of way. The bass also extends lower into the sub-bass range deeper than the HD 600; sub bass isn't exaggerated, but some notes that might be too soft or quiet to make much impact with the Philips or HD 600 will be more apparent here. The HD 600 series including the HD 660S2 are also physically more open than the Philips: almost acoustically transparent, there's less "cup" resonance on the HD 660S2 and therefore it seems less like you're listening to headphones.
I also feel the HD 600 series is my favorite for comfort. The clamp pressure is firm and I don't forget I'm wearing something, but the pads aren't too small (my ears touch nothing!) nor too big (they don't pinch my jaw muscles), the headband has a gap to relieve pressure right where most headbands would make a sore spot first, and at only 260g they're also much more lightweight than their size belies (light without feeling fragile). For big heads, these expand super long. And that extreme open design also means it doesn't build up heat much. I have more expensive headphones, but the HD 600 series are the only ones I seem to be able to wear indefinitely without developing a sore spot.I also like that Sennheiser sells many parts to repair these headphones; you usually don't even need tools if you follow the instructions to replace cables, earpads, headband pads, grille, even the driver and whole yolk assembly can be replaced (ship of Theseus?!). I've had an HD 660S2 since it came out, and an HD 6XX for a decade, all have been great durable investments and I usually wear some pair of headphones every night.
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That said, I own the 800S but the 6XX is still my daily driver. Their sound signatures are quite different. I'd audition the 800S and read up on the comparison to see if they are for you.
These are my daily drivers. I have owned pretty much every 6 series headphone and these are the most balanced to me. I know they are expensive, but good audio does not really age so they should last a while. A lot of people still swear by the HD600 which came out in the mid 90's.
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