The 9600 will fare a bit better for bass-happier music: Hip-Hop, R&B, EDM, and Indie Pop all sound phenomenal with these. At the end of the day, it’s just personal preference. My comfort ranking for my collection (and my Dad’s) is: It feels like Philips tried to make a product that would appeal to both audiophiles and consumers alike, and I think they did a pretty good job though I still prefer the 9500 at the end of the day. There are probably minor differences with earpads, but the headband design is a bit different, to my eyes at least. The 560S’s band looks closer to the ones on the 559 and adjacent gaming headsets (Game One, PC37/38X), with some sort of divot in the middle. The others don’t protrude as much, and are made out of some type of pleather.

Shp9600 vs fidelio x2hr - Casual - HifiGuides Forums Shp9600 vs fidelio x2hr - Casual - HifiGuides Forums

Both headphones are incredibly comfy, but I feel more secure with a 9600 on my head if that makes sense. Is the SHP9600 an upgrade over the 9500? Is the increase in price worth the investment? Did Philips actually improve on the shortcomings of the original? Investing in one could end up being a complete waste of time and money, and we want to avoid that… at all costs. The plastic build makes the headphones feel flimsy, which we’d argue is probably the headphones’ biggest flaw, but the silver lining is that they are then ultra-lightweight and don’t feel uncomfortable for long periods of time. These headphones have no glaring issues or flaws. They do many things well, and I suspect people on a budget would have no complaints with these as their daily drivers. I'm quite impressed with them regardless of how much I paid for them, and I only appreciate them more because of their price.

The 9500 will also do well with the K3, but I actually like it more with a simple E10K. And even despite that, In other words, you don’t really feel them because they clamp just right and don’t press into the sides of your head all that much. The padding is a cloth material with memory foam on the inside, and while they can wear down over time, I feel like it happens much more gradually than with something like velour. Sound

SHP9600 : r/HeadphoneAdvice - Reddit [PA]-X2HR vs SHP9600 : r/HeadphoneAdvice - Reddit

The treble sizzle and brightness that many snobs complained about have been fixed for the most part, as it no longer sounds overly essy or bitey in most instances. Still, you may opt for something like a FiiO K3, DragonFly Red, BTR3K, or Sabaj DA2 to get your feet wet as all pair very well with either headphone and can improve the sound to an extent.

This may just be a matter of them not being as broken in as my 9500, but I feel as though they don’t slide around nearly as much. I’m glad Philips didn’t butcher the headphones with an overly accentuated low end, so don’t get me wrong. The separation to me is really decent for the price of these and probably the aspect that jumps out at me the most about these. It’s an intense but meaty sound that matches quite well with that particular cross-section of entertainment.

Philips Over Ear Headphones/Wired Headphones ideal for Laptop

Note: The 9600 actually weighs a bit more than the 9500 (I included this in the about section on the graphic in the video), but was surprised. I'm reviewing these in comparison to my other headphones, no matter what the price difference may be. Also, I've never heard the Philips SHP9500 so I cannot comment at all about those. For example, it's said these have more clamping force than the SHP9500. These are quite loose and comfortable, so I have no idea how the SHP9500 stays on anyone's head. Not at all. But if I hadn’t bought one for the purpose of comparing it to the 9500, I would feel like I wasted my time and money. Why? BECAUSE I SAID SO!!! With the 9500, there’s more air and clarity, but at the expense of a somewhat more fatiguing high-end and not as much meat on the bass.This is where things get really interesting, as the 9600 does present a stark contrast to the flatter, more neutral, airier 9500.