These Headphones Are Too Good — Part 2

The cheap open back option from electronics giant Philips

Photo taken by the author.

I used to discuss dozens of different headphones on my blog here on Medium, but lately I’ve drifted away from this sort of content and towards the gaming world. It’s not for lack of interest in the audio “hobby,” but rather because I feel like the market caught up to my personal needs and has more than met them.

With nothing left to chase after, why chase at all?

This is part two in a nebulously-long series looking at headphones (and also later on gaming headsets) that ruined headphones for me.

Today’s highlight is the Philips SHP9600 (official product site here), a budget open headphone that started its life with a slightly greedy price tag but now sits in that magical money/performance sweet spot. It’s not as oft-recommended as some other popular pairs, but fear not, I shall explain my break from the rest of the tech world within the text below.

I wasn’t asked by or compensated by any of the featured companies herein to write this, and none of these links are affiliate links.

Last time out, I covered the Sennheiser HD 560S, a $200 wonder that provides just about everything I could ever want in an open back headphone.