NEWS: Philips 'phones for fine feel and fidelity

These are the new SHE9850 in-ear headphones from Philips, said to have been designed with precise acoustic tuning and with close attention to user comfort.

Selling for £90 when they go on sale in June, the new 'phones come complete with three sizes of interchangeable silicon ear-caps, as well as foam sleeves designed for use in noisy environments.

The headphones' arnarture, magnets, drive rod and diapgragm have been chosen after extensive acoustic tuning by Philips' iLab team.

The result is that the design claims "greater sound output at low levels, better linearity and a crisp, accurate and transparent audio output".

The metal housings feature Philips' Angled Acoustic Design, which is based on the anatomy of the ear, and claims to deliver sound more directly, as well as giving a better seal to exclude ambient noise.

Used in place of the standard ear-caps, the foam sleeves, which are made from a slow-recovery material, give an even better seal for use in environments where there's a lot of ambient noise. The foam is compressed before insertion, then expands in the ear to give a tighter fit.

The headphones come with a metal carrying case with integral cable winding.

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Andrew has written about audio and video products for the past 20+ years, and been a consumer journalist for more than 30 years, starting his career on camera magazines. Andrew has contributed to titles including What Hi-Fi?, GramophoneJazzwise and Hi-Fi CriticHi-Fi News & Record Review and Hi-Fi Choice. I’ve also written for a number of non-specialist and overseas magazines.