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Updated January 10, 2024·
If you are seeking great sound quality for music at a more budget-friendly price, go for the Philips SHP9500 which also offers outstanding comfort and a wide soundstage, suitable for long listening sessions at home or at the office. Keep in mind these are open-back headphones that don't isolate noise, so they're not ideal for noisy environments or recording situations where a microphone would pick up sound from the headphones. On the other hand, if you prioritize sound isolation, portability, and have more flexibility in your budget, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II earbuds are a high-end option that provide excellent overall sound quality with the added benefit of being more suited to use while traveling or in noisier settings, and they come with a variety of fits to secure them during use. Both lack a built-in microphone, so neither are the best for calls or online meetings and neither are suitable for high-movement activities like exercising. 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
Good for gaming
Excellent for TV and video
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
Best in class for music
Key differences
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
6.0/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair for noise reduction, while the Philips SHP9500 is poor.
Cost
$48
$999
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The Philips SHP9500 has a price of $48 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II costs $999.
Build Quality
8.5/10
9.0/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II has excellent build quality, while the Philips SHP9500 has very good build quality.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Thieaudio Monarch Mk II to be best in class for music, while the Philips SHP9500 is excellent.
Gaming
7.2/10
6.7/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Philips SHP9500 to be good for gaming, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair.
Phone Calls
4.9/10
5.1/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II and Philips SHP9500 are both poor for phone calls.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.0/10
7.9/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Philips SHP9500 to be very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is good.
TV and Video
9.0/10
8.8/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Philips SHP9500 to be excellent for TV and video, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is very good.
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How the Philips SHP9500 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II compare to other earbuds and headphones
"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"
"No other earphone I have listened to in the past 12 months has given me as much joy as the Thieaduio Monarch MKII. One of those IEMs will make you question where we can go from here. The sound is jaw-dropping, leaving you wanting more and more. It makes you want to run through your entire music library and reevaluate. It makes you not feel bad about paying full price for them, especially in a hobby where buyers' remorse is genuine. For me, it's top tier, rivaled by a few but not surpassed."
Get a great deal on the Philips SHP9500 or the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
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 Thieaudio
Thieaudio is the in-house brand of Linsoul Audio, a Chinese earbud and headphone retailer specializing in what the community lovingly calls Chi-fi, that is high fidelity brands out of China. Thieaudio was established in 2019 as the creative engineering branch of Linsoul. As of today, they market three different lines of earbuds, Voyager, Legacy and the extremely well-received Monarch.
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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.
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