Fairly comfortable in-ear virtual surround headphones that don't hurt the wallet or your ears.
Philips is a company whose headphones do not jump off the
page and scream, “Buy me”. The manufacturer is best known for its video
technology and the development of digital television systems and the compact
disc. Its core business in the United
States is in lifestyle related products,
including health care technology. It may be the third largest consumer
electronics company in the world, but headphones have never been its focus.
That being said, Philips has been quite busy during the iPod-era and has
expanded its headphone line-up to over 40 models, including the SHE591. They
do face some rather stiff competition from Sony, JVC, Grado, Bose, and others,
but Philips products seem to be selling rather well. Philips has a number of
good (although not spectacular sounding) models such as the SHE591 that serve their
purpose quite well; Easy to wear for extended periods of time, well-made, value
priced, and easy to travel with.
Sonically, the SHE591 are a mixed bag. They were not very
neutral across the entire frequency range. I would like to know what happened
to the meat in the mid bass and the extreme bottom end. The drivers seem more
than capable of pumping out the jams, but they seem reticent when asked to take
the floor with demanding material. Do not be afraid, do your thing! Most
frustrating when they were so easy to listen to for that long of a listening
session. One thing that did stick out and not in a good way was an upper
midrange that added too much emphasis to vocals. Robbie Williams is high
enough, folks. He did not need any more emphasis. 50 Red Bulls a day. Yikes.
The result is that the presentation is somewhat more forward sounding than some
people might care for. If you like your music from row ‘a’, the Philips SHE591
might be your ticket to happiness.
My longest listening session with the SHE591 was more than
seventy-five minutes at medium volume levels before I turned them off. The
comfort level is above average, which makes them good for working out or
commuting. The problem is the asymmetric cable design that makes no sense at
all. Not to me, or anyone else in the office. Numerous Philips models seem to
have this asymmetric cable design and we really do not care for it. We read the
Philips packaging and while the explanation makes sense, the reality is that
the left headphone pops out when your turn your head. Granted, a bald looking
woman resembling Britney Spears walked past us when that happened and we all
did a double take.
The SHE591 is my favorite model from Philips, primarily
because it has a pulse and breathes some fire into the music I like. If it had
some additional weight in the bass and lower midrange, it would be a great
little headphone for a very affordable price. Not bad, but not quite there.
