Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Notice: We're proud to introduce Test Bench 2.0, which overhauls our audio measurements, with new tests and usages. There's even a brand new multi-target graphing tool! You can read all about this in our changelog, featuring commentary from our Test Designer, Pierre. We'll also be holding an AMA on our Discord Channel on May 1.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Philips SHP9500 vs Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Philips SHP9500
Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Apr 07, 2025 08:08 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Feb 13, 2024 06:35 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicNo
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- SHP9500 (Black)
- A40 TR + MixAmp (PS4, MixAmp)
- A40 TR + MixAmp (Xbox One, MixAmp)
Our Verdict
Philips SHP9500
Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017
The Philips SHP9500 and the Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 are two over-ear headphones with different uses. The Philips are more designed for critical listeners as they have consistent sound delivery with an open-back design to help immerse you in your audio. The Astro, however, are designed for wired gaming, particularly if you prefer gaming with a built-in mic. They offer controls allowing you to tweak your sound experience on the fly, have an excellent boom microphone, and receive full audio and microphone support on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, whether using an analog or wired USB connection.
Check Price
Black
SHP9500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPS4, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
SHP9500
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comXbox One, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
SHP9500
SEARCH
B&HBlack
SHP9500
SEARCH
BestBuy.comMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.9
7.6
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.1
7.2
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.6
8.7
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.9
6.9
Peaks/Dips
7.7
6.9
Frequency Response Consistency
7.9
5.8
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Open-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.65 lbs
0.83 lbs
Clamping Force
0.7 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
0.0
6.2
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
No Controls
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
No Controls
Good
Feedback
No Controls
Good
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
No
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
No
Yes
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
No
Presets + Surround Sound
Breathability
7.8
6.7
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
2.5 °C
5.1 °C
Portability
5.2
5.3
Portability Picture
L
8.8" (22.4 cm)
7.2" (18.3 cm)
W
7.1" (18.0 cm)
7.5" (19.1 cm)
H
4.0" (10.2 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)
Volume
250.00 in³ (4,096.75 cm³)
216.00 in³ (3,539.59 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
7.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.0
6.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
850 Hz
Bass Amount
-5.6 dB
2 dB
Treble Amount
0.1 dB
-4.29 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.9
5.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.42 dB
1.03 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.1
7.2
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
7.9 dB
4.43 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
51.54 Hz
10 Hz
Low Bass
-11.25 dB
1.7 dB
Mid Bass
-2.44 dB
5.01 dB
High Bass
0.08 dB
5.99 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.6
8.7
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
0.67 dB
1.74 dB
Low Mid
-0.35 dB
2.05 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.4 dB
0.13 dB
High Mid
-0.09 dB
0.58 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.9
6.9
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.58 dB
4.63 dB
Low Treble
-0.58 dB
-4.52 dB
Mid Treble
1.1 dB
-0.17 dB
High Treble
-5.2 dB
-11.58 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.7
6.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.34 dB
2.12 dB
Dips
1.56 dB
1.35 dB
Imaging
8.6
8.7
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.2
0.17
Weighted Phase Mismatch
6.67
5.69
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.44
0.16
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.85
2.25
Passive Soundstage
7.9
7.6
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.9 dB
1.39 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
3.61 dB
3.76 dB
PRTF Distance
10.85 dB
9.37 dB
Openness
9.4
9.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
9.2
7.4
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No App
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.0
7.1
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.098
0.388
WHD @ 100
0.196
0.296
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
Unknown
Power
Passive
On
Connection
Wired
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
No EQ
Default
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
No Microphone
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
1.5
1.8
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-3.30 dB
-5.36 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
-0.01 dB
-0.2 dB
Mid
0.86 dB
-0.61 dB
Treble
-11.91 dB
-15.08 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.7
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-3.04 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-3.07 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.32 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
Leakage
0.8
3.6
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
66.76 dB
55.68 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
Yes
Mic
No
Yes
Recording Quality
0.0
8.1
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
2.46 dB
HFE
N/A
4,627.75 Hz
Weighted THD
N/A
0.29
Gain
N/A
21.13 dB
Noise Handling
0.0
8.3
SpNR
N/A
58.27 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
N/A
8.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
N/A
8.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Active Features
Battery
0.0
0.0
Battery Type
No Battery
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
0.0
6.0
App Picture
App Name
No App
Astro Command Center
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
No
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.9
9.5
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB Type A
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
9.84 ft (3.00 m)
6.80 ft (2.07 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
20 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - SBC
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
No
Audio Only
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
7.8
Type
No Base/Dock
Wired USB dock
USB Input
No
Yes
Line In
No
Yes
Line Out
No
Yes
Optical Input
No
Yes
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
USB
Check Price
Black
SHP9500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPS4, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
SHP9500
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comXbox One, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
SHP9500
SEARCH
B&HBlack
SHP9500
SEARCH
BestBuy.com
Philips SHP9500
Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017
Comments
Philips SHP9500 vs Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.