Friday, June 10, 2016

Philips SHE3905, finally the ideal headphones

Philips read my mind: the SHE3905 and SHE3900 (without mic & remote) fixed all the issues of SHE3590.


  • Like the SHE3590, oval tip seats for comfortable fit.
  • Improved tips - more comfortable and better fit.
  • Mic and remote button (SHE3905).
  • Right-angle plug for stupid Android phones that have the jack on the top.
Sound wise my initial impression is: warmer, more refined, and firmer voice than SHE3590 with Dollartree tips. Incredible noise isolation, I almost no longer want active noise cancellation, even in a noisy car on highway. I'll try the Dollartree tips later to see if they'll also do the same magic to sound quality. If you like bass, then these new tips are already perfect and totally comfortable, no need to replace them. For SHE3590, however, I had to replace their tips, because they are too thick to be comfortable and to sound good.


As you can see in above photo, there are even some more very welcome thoughts been put into these earbuds:
  • Now you can easily see the very large and bold "L" and "R" before you insert them into the correct ears.
  • A tiny slider to tighten up the wires around your cheeks for less cable movement/noise while you move.
  • The cord is more stiff - less prone to tangle.
  • Strain reliefs off the earbuds, should be much more durable than before.
  • The buds now look and feel more high-end, thanking to the new shinning finishing, the strain reliefs and gold plated plug.
Overall, these are totally comfortable, secure (running or in bed) and audiophile-level sounding headphones that happen to be the cheapest.  About $10 - $15 from Target and Amazon. If you buy from Target, either order online and pick up in stores or let the store match its online price.

[update] After several days of listening, I have got a firm feel about the sound. I then tried the Dollartree tips on this SHE3905 and I much prefer these tips - less bass and more transparent.


[update] I noticed that the stock tips go quite deep, which result into better isolation and more bass, but not comfortable and transparent. The Dollar Tree tips correct this.