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SHP9500
Company ProductName Specs




HD 400S
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

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The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

For an immersive listening experience with a wide soundstage, the Philips SHP9500 is excellent, particularly for at-home use, as their open-back design doesn't isolate noise well. If you're on a budget and you need a more portable option with better noise isolation, suitable for commuting or office work, the Sennheiser HD 400S is a more practical choice. The Sennheiser also has an in-line microphone for calls, which the Philips lacks. However, if the price difference is significant and you don't require the noise isolation or portable design, the Philips may offer superior sound quality for at-home listening. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Philips SHP9500
  • Excellent for music
  • Excellent for TV and video
  • Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Sennheiser HD 400S
  • Very good for phone calls
  • Very good for gaming
  • Good for air travel

Key differences

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Music

9.2
SHP9500
HD 400S
7.1
The Philips SHP9500 is excellent for music, while the Sennheiser HD 400S is good.

Gaming

7.2
SHP9500
HD 400S
8.6
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for gaming, while the Philips SHP9500 is good.

Phone Calls

4.9
SHP9500
HD 400S
8.2
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for phone calls, while the Philips SHP9500 is poor.

TV and Video

9.0
SHP9500
HD 400S
7.6
The Philips SHP9500 is excellent for TV and video, while the Sennheiser HD 400S is good.

Noise Reduction

2.5
SHP9500
HD 400S
5.3
The Sennheiser HD 400S and Philips SHP9500 are both poor for noise reduction, though the Sennheiser HD 400S is somewhat better.
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Key similarities

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Podcasts and Audiobooks

8.0
SHP9500
HD 400S
7.6
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Philips SHP9500 to be very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Sennheiser HD 400S is good.

Cost

$48
SHP9500
HD 400S
$50
Product imageProduct image

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

The Philips SHP9500 has a price of $48 and the Sennheiser HD 400S costs $50.

Build Quality

8.5
SHP9500
HD 400S
8.5
The Philips SHP9500 and Sennheiser HD 400S both have very good build quality.

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How the Philips SHP9500 and the Sennheiser HD 400S compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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Philips SHP9500Sennheiser HD 400S
Philips SHP9500Sennheiser HD 400S

GENERAL

Price
$48
$50
Brand
PhilipsSennheiser
Release Date
August 1, 2013January 1, 2019
Form Factor
HeadphonesHeadphones
Connectivity
WiredWired

SOUND

Music Score
9.3/107.2/10
Phone Calls Score
5/108.2/10
Gaming Score
7.3/108.7/10
TV and Video Score
9.1/107.7/10
Exercise Score
4.4/104.2/10

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
NoNo
Noise Reduction Score
2.5/105.3/10
Virtual Surround
N/ANo
Mic Quality
N/A8.5/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
8.5/108.5/10
Comfort score
10/108.4/10
Weight (headset or single earbud)
294.8 Grams213 Grams
Microphone style
N/AIntegrated
Waterproof Rating
00

Shopping

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Philips SHP9500

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Dig into reviews and images

Headphones Lab

Brian Stone | April 2020
"You can’t go wrong with the Philips SHP9500 for their price. Their audio quality is superb, and the fact that you can use them for just about anything you can think of makes them well worth your money"

Sennheiser HD 400S

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Headphone Dungeon

Jim | August 2022
"Sennheiser has done it again. The HD 400S performs well beyond its price range and is one of the better budget model headphones I’ve tried. It has very few bells and whistles and offers a simple means of listening that still delivers amazing clarity and quality. If you need a good first pair of headphones or need something that you can take out of the house, then the HD 400S is definitely for you."

Get a great deal on the Philips SHP9500 or the Sennheiser HD 400S

About Philips

Philips is a Dutch conglomerate and electronics manufacturer with over 130 years of history. Philips makes the Fidelio audio line which includes several models of full-sized wired and wireless headphones, true wireless earbuds. soundbars and wireless speakers.

About Sennheiser

A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.

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Why trust us

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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.

By the numbers

108
Earbuds and headphones evaluated
11,340
Earbuds and headphones stats compiled
15
Proprietary Earbuds and headphones ratings developed
113,600
Recommendations made
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Consumer hours saved

About the Earbuds or Headphones team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Luis Torres

Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.

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