Philips SHE9850

Philips doesn't exactly enjoy an excellent reputation in the world of audio products, but even though the manufacturer has only recently tried to reverse the trend, it's actually more than capable of making decent products, just like these SHE9850 headphones.

Design: almost all there

The bundle of accessories that comes with the SHE9850s is almost complete.  Here's what you get: a hard case, a cleaning tool, three sizes of silicon ear buds and one in foam.  That's a pretty decent selection for a product that's been on the market for a while now.  If you want more, then you need to look towards manufacturers like Jays or Klipsch, and be prepared to spend extra to do so. 

The SHE9850s have a very simple shape and slide easily into the ear canal, and we didn't have any discomfort even after several hours, once we'd realised you had to swap the left and right earphones (see inset).  They feel solid and the finish is excellent.  We careful with the cable though, as it doesn't sit well with beards: any friction runs right through it.

Audio quality: where's the bass?

If you're after big, loud bass, then try some other headphones, because the 9850s aren't going to blow your head off.  That doesn't mean that Philips has abandoned one end of the spectrum, though, and after a few minutes of getting used to it, you can hear them very clear.  That said, a few adjustments to the equalizer on your MP3 player, if that's an option, wouldn't be a bad idea.

Moving up through the frequencies, the mid-range gives way a little, but the treble is a bit better.  Despite this tendency for higher sounds, the 9850s can't be described as analytic headphones, because the sound lacks the clarity found in the specialists in the area.

We can't make any complaints about how clear the sound is, with an accurate reproduction of stereo and depth of field, though we did notice a little bit of saturation in particularly lively tracks with lots of sounds.  That's pretty normal with sensitive headphones, because their low impedance allows even quieter elements to come through.

The SHE9850s might have been around for a while but they were a pretty nice surprise.  Philips has managed to put together a well-rounded pair of headphones that are comfortable to wear and with more than acceptable audio quality.  It's just a shame they mixed up left and right ...