Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Boosted bass, muted highs, pushed back mids, and twice as expensive as the price the 9500 regularly dips to? What was Philips thinking? The SHP9500s were a bit grainy, so for the 9600s they got rid of this by tuning out the highs. The SHP9500s were a bit bass lacking, so they boosted the bass so hard it bleeds into the mids, then they tuned down the mids to mitigate this(?) The build quality, materials, and clamp are all more or less the same. They're slightly different but in practice I got used to both equally. The only thing I really noticed was the 9600s being a bit rougher, but nothing serious. I'm not really a massive fan of the 9500s, but you don't have many well built options for open backs under $100, so they're still one of the best options. The 9600s aren't even close, even if they were the same price as the 9500s.