UPDATE 9/30/06 – I at first thought very positively about these headphones. They had decent sound and good comfort and seemed durable at the beginning. Now, the sound is bad, the cord is a pain at the ears, and they are getting beaten up very quickly. I really think someone should think twice before buying these, they are good at first but that’s the best they will ever be.

Also know that instead of a review, this review will sound closer to a pair of notes because it’s more like two reviews smashing together.

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Once again, I look out for a new set of headphones under $20. I got interested in the HS500 from reading other reviews, and many have stated the HS520 is the same but has a different look. So when I saw a pair of these at Target, I rushed to go buy them.

Behind-The-Neck headphones are the most portable lightweight type of headphones you can buy (unless you get a folding version, I would avoid them as they are never durable for me). The only difference from the lightweight models is that the headband goes behind your neck...get it?...behind-the-neck headphones. Another difference is that a hook is on both of the headphone speakers, similar to the clip design only they seem to be held a lot closer to your ear. I've heard most people complain about lightweight styles because the sound isn't in your ear and on the outside, but with most models I don’t see a terribly good amount of sound lost.

Sound Quality
Well...before I bought these I was honestly not expecting anything amazing...comparable to $50 headphones like the MDREX51LP...yeah in your dreams. But I bought them just to see if it was all hype or if these were really a dirty little secret. Well I will say that I was at first impressed with their sound quality when I first bought them in February. Now it is October and they sound like a truck ran over them.

Bass: Overall, the bass of the headphones are fair for a pair of headphones at this pricepoint. The bass did drop them more I used them, at first the bass boost button was too much and now it seems like I have to use it everytime I use these headphones. The lower bass sounds like a true “boom”, but it is obviously recessed.

Mids: One of the higher points of the headphones when I bought them. At first they sounded really good, without overpowering. Now, however, the mids are way overpowered, especially higher-mids. It sucks because if it weren’t for that, I’d probably still like these headphones, but now it’s way too overbearing.

Highs: The highs were pretty good when I bought them, probably one of the lowest points of the headphones but weren’t lacking. Now they sound almost absent, mainly because of the amount of mids that kill it. Now it’s almost impossible to listen to these without a graphic equalizer.

Design & Comfort
The headband is made of plastic and this random cloth on the top of the headband, Philips says this is so it is able to be seen in the dark night...I beg to differ, I wasn't able to, they would have to put in lights to do that. The cord is one-sided, and on the top of the left headphone there is a bungee cord of some type; when I pulled the cord it kept it from pulling the portion of the cord near the speaker. I didn’t really see a ton of use with it, actually it killed the comfort over time because it seperated the cord and it feel over the speaker all the time. The cord is made out of yarn, it feels similar to hard shoe strings. This took me a while to get used to since I'm used to plastic cords. Again, this will become durable in the long run but it will suck if someone wants to use these at the gym since obviously, this material and sweat match like oil and water. The foam pads go into the speaker, which means it is impossible to pull them off, which is good so you won't lose them and they will last longer than those on the outside that get torn from usual wear-and-tear.

Price
I paid $15 for these at Target. I'm guessing these are also available for $10 since Target is very expensive. However, I’d have to disagree if someone had said these were worth it. The sound and comfort is decent when you purchase them, but the sound quality distorts after time and there is no comfort to speak of with these headphones.

Warranty
As far as I know, Philips has a one-year warranty for all of their headphones, covering defects in workmanship. If you think they are defective, send them to Philips within the one-year warranty, include the product nad the reciept and send it to Philips. Philips has a very good customer service, but I would send it to the store first so you don't have to pay shipping. Otherwise, your pretty safe with Philips, I rank them #2 in electronics customer service (Panasonic being #1...I had two dead Panasonic products and one was replaced immediately and the other I haven't sent out yet.)

The Bottom Line
I’m not really sure about these headphones. I’m panned on a star-rating decision, but I wouldn't recommend them. Yes, they were ice cream at first, but, well, ice cream expires too. The sound was good but now they sound very cheap. The comfort was also good at first until the wire started breaking up into the speaker. And the overall durability is pretty band, the headband gets unpainted easily just by rubbing it against something. Overall, there are better headphones at $20.


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Recommended: No