Philips PH805 Review - Stuff

Performance: A Fairly Quiet Life

As we said, Bluetooth 5.0 equals hi-res audio. So it’s with a due sense of anticipation that we stick a Tidal Masters file of Janelle Monae’s Make Me Feel into the 805s via a Sony Xperia 5.

First things first: these headphones are capable of deep, detailed and really well-controlled bass frequencies. They don’t drone, they don’t crowd the midrange information above them, they just hit with power, depth and speed.

Up in the nicely spacious midrange, there’s similar detail and, subsequently, character to the vocal. The singer’s about as close to the mic as is possible for this recording, and the Philips’ have no problem revealing the nuances of her technique and delivery. All the midrange sounds, in fact, have proper expression, which makes the overall presentation sound fully alive.

The highest frequencies are rounded off just a little (which is a pity, because the PH805s don’t really go out-and-out loud enough for treble response to be an issue), but there is still a decent amount of presence at the top end. Some other, more expensive, alternatives have more bite and extension, but the Philips’ are far from a dull listen.

The overall presentation is well defined, too, with a properly organised soundstage and decent three-dimensionality to music. The whole frequency range is balanced nicely, with no part of it getting over-excited or overwhelmed. There could certainly be more dynamism to the PH805s’ sound, mind you – some rivals might extract more mileage from the ‘quiet/LOUD/quiet’ arrangement of Nirvana’s In Bloom than these can muster.

It’s true that some competitors feature more overt noise-cancelling than the PH805s, too. Undoubtedly things are quieter with ANC switched on, but not all that much quieter – you’ll never find yourself completely isolated from the outside world. At least ‘ambient sound’ does exactly what it’s meant to, though, so you can have a conversation, or safely cross the road, without removing your headphones.