Philips SHP2500 TV Headset

It's just the kind of thing you need during nights, especially on weekends when the racket's died down and there's pin-drop silence. This is when you get a kick of Prozac in your system and want to watch that late-night movie, or surf the rubbish shown on TV. The Philips SHP2500 is your answer. Although it's sold as a specialized headset for TV viewing, you can also use it with your computer.

For this purpose, the headset comes with a 6m long cable. Wow! Trust me, that's way too long, and leads to a lot of mess in your living room. One thing is for sure, you CANNOT carry these around with your MP3 player, for you would not only look stupid but find it more than a handful to manage.

The headset design is totally circumaural, and is really light for its size. Having said this, it still gets downright uncomfortable to wear for a really long time. It stifles and hurts the ear after prolonged usage, but what wouldn't if you wear it for long hours?

The cable comes with a volume dial for good measure. It's a real boon, for in our country at least the TV channels don't have a uniform sound level. Instead of reaching out for your remote every time you get inconvenienced by a sudden rise in the volume, or while surfing, you can simply cut the volume on the dial.

The package comes with a 3.5mm to 6.3mm converter, so you can plug into your guitar amplifier (as I did while jamming one night) when listening to music out of your system. But do keep a rubber band at hand to cope with the unnecessary length!

The sound reproduction is really good. Although the punch of the bass isn't something to die for, the booming sound effects in movies comes out well. The highs are well-managed, and there's nothing you can't control if you want more. The mids are really flat, just as I like it.

While the SHP2500 isn't really a solution for music, you would still find solace in the output. Still, I would have liked to see a cable winder, for six meters is a LOT. The device costs Rs 750 and comes with a 1 year warranty, so it's totally VFM. But while buying it make sure you check it with a TV set and not with an MP3 player.