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Philips SBC HL140
by Craig86
I bought these headphones fairly recently as a cheap second pair and wasn't expecting an awful lot from them.
The design is nice, I like the grey and they are quite comfortable when on and fit well, very lightweight also which I prefer. Only problem with the overall design is the headband, it feels quite flimsy and I am quite ... reluctant to put them at the bottom of a bag for fear it would snap, however as of now it has been sturdier than that it appears.
The sound from them have been great and is perfect for my needs on the occasional commute to work, the sound is crisp and at higher volumes it holds the quality. I have used them on my mobile phone, laptop and desktop computer, the performance is sufficient for my needs and I have no complaints over the quality of output thus far. They did seem to perform slightly better on my mobile and laptop though than the higher volumes of my desktop computer, but as I didn't primarily buy them for use on that particular device I am more than happy with them.
I have had no problems with the headphones and I would recommend them for casual use around the house or when out, someone wanting a pair for professional use would maybe find them not quite to their needs but then I doubt these are being marketed for that. In terms of quality output for the price, then these have for me anyway, been just right.
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Philips SHP1800
by Nar2
Recently I have been doing a round of cheap shopping for music instruments that I can either leave at home or use for up and coming Christmas gigs. The instant problem with taking your cherished instrument with you is that it is always privy to being damaged and even with a keyboard cover that has been much better than the default one it ... was made for does a better job, I needed a quick buy pair of headphones to help me out in between the actual gig and in the rehearsals. With a new television at home I also decided to get headphones for specific use so not to bother my flat mate with excess noise. So, a pair of headphones with a large amount of cable was definitely required to fill both requirements and normally I have my rather excellent DJ Sony over-the-ear headphones with me, but not on this occasion.
On a recent visit to Comet, the only "cheap" pair of what looked like a promising product is a pair of lightweight "flight" headphones called "Philips SHP 1800 TV headphones." The name itself is a curious attractant. The design itself harks back to the standard "luxury flight," headphones that used to be equipped with higher priced Sony branded Walkman CD and tape players and for a brief moment, the design took me back to many a good time armed with these kinds of lightweight headphones before the more modern push to bring large sized cups back to the market from the music studio and into the shops. As I recall though, in years gone by, my original Sony flight headphones had to be thrown out because the thin black foam pads had rotted away and no replacements were available, thus providing a bit of a waste of a product when no pads are available - and sadly with this product, Philips do not include similar replacement pads if the original ones wear off in use or put in storage.
Nar2's Quick Skip Product Spec
* Model: Philips SHP 1800-00 Indoor Corded TV Headphones.
* Comes with large jack adaptor/3.2 with 3.5 fitted as standard.
* In-line volume control and 6 metre cord length.
* Lightweight feel with non-replaceable pads.
* Claimed "bass beat vents" per ear pad.
* My price (2012) £9-00 from Comet, £12 to £15 elsewhere online (Amazon UK £13-00).
General Design & Quality
Similar to what I have had before my Sony, the Philips SHP 1800 are extremely lightweight and mirror the kind of small, metal banded and likewise round foam fitted headphones you'd find with many a personal tape or CD player given away as a free accessory for use from products in the 1980's to the 1990's. Even now, as future buyers will now find cheap in-ear earphones with budget priced players, at least there is a market that Philips have re-opened here with the alternative design if you don't like an entire material or rubber based cup clamped over your ear and snugly lying across your head.
Made of thin black plastic with a black thick plastic band to replace the old metal type, a ratchet style height adjustable band and then a likewise thin black wire and in-line volume control via a small ribbed disc wheel with round "dot" decals shown on the volume increase and decrease, these headphones don't seem to be made to a budget just by the details on the in-line volume control alone. Certainly, if the in-line volume control wasn't fitted and the oval, curvy ear pads didn't have the silver branded names on the exterior, I probably wouldn't have bought these headphones at the time of purchase.
General Performance & Sound Quality
Although lightweight to the touch and lacking a foldable mechanism by the now more accepted "DJ" style by definition, the Philips SHP 1800 give me a good fit on my head. In use, they don't slip off my head and they fit me quite well, helped by the height adjustment. Their small nature and lack of folding mechanism make them suitable for use at home only, even if I have taken them with me to practice privately before a gig.
If you think that you are bypassing other headphones by price alone in the hope that you'll get bass thumping sounds from the Philips SHP 1800, you may well be disappointed. When I was using these to rehearse on my electronic digital piano, I found the SHP 1800s perfectly acceptable for general private practice, even if I realised early on that the sound leaks if the volume is generally set from medium to high, producing a very bright high tone sound quality. Not tinny alone though because there is some treble and bass present in the mix, which is a welcomed surprise.
Unlike other headphones on the market though, the Philips SHP 1800 does possess a warm bass sound, but add too much volume and the ear pads will start to crack and distort the sound, proof enough that although there is some warmth added when it comes to hearing the sound - it may readily spill the sound out of each pad dependent on the power of your amplifier at the time of use. Though they aren't up to the job of being able to relay loud music, they provide a suitable standby for private listening at home with volume set at an average level, with the only impending downside remaining that the sound becomes tinnier the higher you go with the volume.
When it comes to using for listening to radio or as its name suggests, TV watching, the Philips SHP 1800 come into their own with a much better result, only helped along by the infinite control of the in-line volume roller wheel and its ribbed nature, though can be sore on the fingers if you push too hard! The long 6-metre cord is of ample length though, but it may infer you to sit closer to your television if the headphone jack is located on the rear of the TV as opposed to the front. Voices are crystal clear and the clarity that the sound quality gives off here seems to work better with spoken voices as opposed to power-packed music.
Downsides
Generally the only aspect I don't like about the Philips SHP 1800 TV headphones is that they get quite sore after 30 minutes use. Comfort above the pads seems to be better, only because the plastic parts are better made but still feel flimsy at the end of the day. If these were really intended for use for watching television, I can only imagine that Philips would do more on the comfort side of things when it comes to designing a thicker foam pad to ensure longer "watching time" on TV. Generally although the pads don't get too hot or leave my ears sweaty as I would do from other styles with bigger ear cups, the Philips SHP 1800 begin to make my ears ache from the thin black foam pad, making them less of a product to depend on as a necessity and rather instead, headphones that can only be depended on for occasional use.
Other downsides consist of the 6-metre cord. Whilst it is long and ample enough for use for connecting to many devices including televisions, the cord can tangle a lot, making it a bit of a trial and patience process to unravel it all, before its length can be used. Philips should fit a holder on these headphones or on the cord itself where excess cable can be wound up when not in use. If Sennheiser can do it with their just as pricey middle of the range in-ear earphones, Philips should at least be able to offer a likewise clip on an oval holder at the very least!
Final Thoughts
On the one hand, the whole concept of Philips' justification of producing a lightweight alternative to over-the-ear large cup headphones for TV watching could so easily be a great idea.
However, the actual design of the earphones aren't very comfortable, you don't get replacement pads and for a company who pride themselves on being eco-friendly, I'd have thought Philips could have included a pair of replacement pads at the very least. Add in a tangle-induced long cord with no storage and a sound quality that is neither too bass rich or too tinny and you have a compromised pair of ear phones here, not enticing enough for buyers who prefer these alternatively designed lighter cup styles. Although handy for its long cord and in-line volume control, the Philips SHP 1800 headphones are compromising and if you sacrifice comfort for general longer term usability, these headphones should serve you well. Sadly though, when it comes to continuous use above half an hour, my ears just can't take the thinness of the pads! Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2012.
www.philips.com
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Philips SHG5000
by StampedingTurtes
I take my iPod everywhere with me, but I just got fed up with the rubbish Apple earphones that fell out of my ears if I moved at all and generally sounded a bit tinny. I have had a couple of sets of Philips earbuds now. These are the ones I have at the moment and they've been going strong for 2 years.
~~~ Product Description ... ~~~
These earbuds come in a sealed white and clear plastic box which is sort of oblong/oval in shape - kind of looks like a giant pill. The neat, clean packaging was something which attracted me to them in the first place... along with the price. They were on offer at £7.99.
Inside the box you get the earbuds which are connected by a long and very, very thin cable; 3 sets of rubber ear-bud thingys in 3 sizes and a little rectangular carrying case.
The earphone bits themselves are black with little silver bits on the outside. The cables are black too and the main length is about 1 metre long which is huge! When I say they are thin, I really mean it. They are about 3mm thick. It feels like they could just snap in your hands. The good thing about them being so fine is that when you have the buds in your ears there is very little weight from the wires.
~~~ Using the earphones ~~~
The earphones connect to your Mp3 player/iPod/laptop etc using a 3.5mm mini stereo jack. This means that they will fit into any device which has a headphone connections.
On opening the packet I stupidly selected the larges ear buds - my logic was that the bigger they are, the better I can JAM them into my ears so that they don't fall out. Mistake. They were far too big to sit comfortably in my ears. They fell out easily. I changed over to the middle sized ones and these were much better, although I have since used the small ones too and these are great.
The largest ear buds are just over 1cm in diameter (for the Dumbo and Big Ears amongst you), the middle sized ones are about 7mm (for the average Joe) and the small ones (for dainty little Thumbelina types) are about 5mm approximately.
To put the bud on to the earphone you simply push it on. The bud is a little rubber cup shape which adheres to the moulded and ridged earphone very easily. To take a bud off and change it you simply pull it off. Easy!
When you've chosen your preferred size of bud, you just push it on to the earphone, plug the jack into your musical device and you're ready to rock and roll! (cliché I know, I couldn't resist)
To make sure that you are getting the correct stereo surround effect, Philips have very helpfully put little ridged dots on the phone that goes in your left ear. This means that you can tell which is which without even looking!
~~~ My experience ~~~
I'm no sound expert and there are people who are qualified to judge these things, however, I feel I should discuss the sound quality from my own novice and uninformed perspective. For a start, because the bud goes into your ear, it manages to block out almost all other noise pollution, thus making these a great choice for commuters travelling on busy busses and trains. I myself used them on the horribly busy morning train to uni and I could hear my music perfectly while being completely unaware of the din going on around me!
The quality of sound you get with these earphones is so much better than the Apple earphones I got with my iPod. Now, these guys are small...tiny infact which means less reverb/quicker vibration, so I didn't expect the bass to be particularly powerful. However, it IS powerful. No it's probably not the absolute best bass sound you can get but for the size of these earphones, it's pretty good.
The bass sounds rich enough to really pull you into the music - think smooth dark chocolate. The mid-range of these earphones is very good too and they do well in representing the tones and pitches in the music. The treble sounds towards the high end of the spectrum are very good as, I suppose, you can expect from a small earphone. These earphones do well in giving a clear, crackle free sound. The sounds blend really well and at no time has anything sounded tinny or of poor quality. I would say that these earphones really excel in representing the range of sounds realistically. All of my music sounds just as good through these as it does through my (very high quality) speakers. To be honest I don't think you could ask for more in a set of earphones.
One thing which these earphones lack which some may find off-putting is a volume control. However, it is no real loss because you can simply control the volume using your Mp3 player anyway.
~~~ Technical Specifications ~~~
Although I am not an expert, some real experts might find the technical specs useful.
From http:// reviews.cnet.com/headphones/ philips-shg5000-headphones/ 1707-7877_7-32340307.html (remove spaces)
Type Headphones: Binaural
Headphones Technology: Dynamic
Connectivity Technology: Wired
Sound Output Mode: Stereo
Frequency Response: -23494.0 Hz
Sensitivity: 102.0 dB
Impedance: 16.0 Ohm
Diaphragm Mylar - 0.4 in
Magnet Material: Neodymium
~~~ Conclusion ~~~
These are the perfect earphones for people on the go, travelling in busy situations etc. The earbuds stay in well when you select the correct size and the earphones produce excellent sound which have greatly exceeded my expectations for these tiny earbuds.
These are certainly a good purchase and will last a long time as long as you look after the very thin cable!
Mine cost me £7.99 on offer and they are available online for £14.99.
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