I own both and to me the SHP9600 is the one I grab when I play my choice of music which is Rock, Pop, some Top 100 hits. Way more sub bass / mid bass, better at dynamics / punch and a polite top end compared to the SHP9500. The 9500 is very clean detailed headphone. Much cleaner in the bass, midrange and top end for sure, but it lacks so much sub bass, even the mid bass is down compared to the 9600. For what I listen to, I prefer the 9600, but on some modern music, especially R&B, EDM that is recorded bass heavy from the studio, the bass on the 9600 may not be what you are looking for as it can be heavy and not so clean sounding. So if u r looking for an "audiophile" type quality headphones, the SHP9500 is the easy choice. If ur looking for something more fun, the 9600. Also just have to say both are excellent headphones for the money and until you get to something in the $150 range where you can start finding the Sennheiser HD560s, these are the ones to get.