We all know active noise canceling from the high-end headphones from Sony, Bose and now Apple, but they all cost more than 200 euros. The lower suggested retail price makes the Philips PH805 more accessible, but is it just as good?
Philips PH805
Price: 149 eurosBattery life: 30 hours
Frequency range: 7Hz – 40kHz
Impedance: 16 Ohm
Sensitivity (SPL): 90dB
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm, micro USB
Battery life: 30 hours
Included: Protective Case, 3.5mm Cable, Airplane Adapter, Micro USB Cable
6 Score 60
- Pros
- Handy pouch included
- sharp price
- Build quality
- Battery life
- Negatives
- Small delay in sound
- Too much emphasis on bass
First of all, we have to correct a misconception: Philips no longer makes headphones. Although this model bears the well-known Philips brand name, it is fully designed by the company that also develops the Philips televisions: TP Vision. However, that's not exactly bad news for these headphones, because TP Vision has a lot of experience with audio-visual products.
Design and comfort
TP Vision took a good look at the Sony WH-1000XM3 for the design of the Philips PH805. The exterior looks very much like the Sony model, but that has been a good choice in this case. The largely matte black headphones are stylish and functional at the same time. At the bottom of the right earcup is a slide that also functions as a button for controlling the headphones. In addition, there is touch control on the ear cup to control the volume and your media.
The overall build quality is good, but the click with which the earcups fold in and out doesn't give the impression that it will last. The headset won't change in functionality without that click, so if it wears away it's not a problem. To adjust the size, it has a traditional retractable headband that holds its position well and doesn't need to be adjusted all day.
The moment you put the PH805 on your head, the comfort is a bit disappointing. The ear pads are quite hard and the headband presses them against your head with reasonable force. Because the pillows are so hard, they also do not take the shape of your head well, so that it does not seal well from the environment. However, after a few minutes, the pillows warm up and slowly begin to mold to your head. The ultimate wearing comfort is fine, but due to the great force with which the headphones are clamped around your head, it is occasionally necessary to take them off.
The PH805 is suitable for sports because of the tight headband. Compared to other over-ear headphones, this Philips stays in place excellently, even when you go for a run. Wireless in-ear options still beat the PH805 in this area, but they are often less pleasant for normal use. It is also recommended to turn off the noise canceling when you exercise on the public road, but more about that later.
Sound quality
In general, the sound reproduction is quite good, but the emphasis is too much on the bass. These are so present that they sometimes drown out the mids and highs. So if your device or program supports it, it's a good idea to play around with the equalizer a bit. In addition, the drivers, even at low tones, seem to be limited by the SBC audio codec used, while many other Bluetooth headphones already support LDAC, aptX HD or aptX Adaptive. Of course, this depends on your source file, because sound from, for example, YouTube or free Spotify will not suffer.
Due to the lack of aptX (and therefore aptX LL) support, there is also a small delay when watching videos. If you don't pay attention, it won't bother you, although it can become clear with images of, for example, gunshots or drums.
The Active Noise Canceling (ANC) attenuates the noise-like sound of keyboards and public transport well, but is less effective in office environments with a lot of voices. The advantage of this is of course that you know when a colleague is talking to you, but sometimes you don't want to hear them anymore. Outside in the wind or on the bike, it is better to turn off the ANC. The wind noise is amplified by the microphones instead of filtered out, but almost all over-ear ANC headphones suffer from this.
Because the headphones do well with noise-like sounds, it is also wise to switch them off on a public road. Most traffic noises are neatly filtered out, but that also means that you can easily be surprised by a car or cyclist that you didn't hear coming.
Battery life
According to the specifications, the headphones with ANC enabled will last about 25 hours on the battery. In practice we get about 23 hours of listening time from the battery, so the figures given by TP Vision are very reasonable. In addition, just 15 minutes of charging is enough for 6 hours of listening pleasure, it's just a shame that micro-USB is used instead of USB-C.
Conclusion
The Philips PH805, made by TP Vision, is an alternative for those who find the competition's ANC headphones too expensive. The noise reduction and sound reproduction are fine, but the comfort is very poor, especially at the beginning. In any case, the headphones can take a beating and come with a neat package of accessories.
