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Member Reviews: Shure SRH840

bcasey25raptor

Requires getting used to, but good nonetheless

Posted
By bcasey25raptor

Pros: clear sound, comfort, perfect bass, good midrange, good highs, around the ear design

Cons: durability, very revealing, sibilance, strident upper mids/lower highs can be a little annoying

Disregard my earlier hate for these have come to appreciate these for what they are.   COMFORT To start off my review i would like to say my opinions on comfort with these. Lots of people complain about them being uncomfortable or heavy, the truth of the matter is they feel rather light to me. Are people here really weak or something? i find these really comfortable, but just like all pairs of headphones i have tried they become irritating on my right ear after a while. This is due to my ears lately being really sensitive to touch, and is not the fault of the headphones.    DURABILITY Lets go to the next thing on the list, Durability. the common belief is that...
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stratowhammy

Fantastic Cans

Posted
By stratowhammy

Pros: Rich full sound, nice sound stage, very easy to modify

Cons: stock cable and 2.5mm proprietary input deisgn

These headphones boast a number of positive attributes.  They have a clean sound, with a tight bass response and a good sound stage.  They sound very natural and drums sound phenomenal in them.  The one draw back is the cable that is included - its not that the cable is poor, but these headphones have a proprietary 2.5mm cable connection in the left ear cup that only allows you to use the shure proprietary cable unless you're willing to get your hands a little dirty.  I have modded these headphones several times now, so I can only review from the stand point of where I have these headphones right now.   SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T CARE WHAT I DID TO THESE...
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rgord01

Revealing and Enjoyable

Posted
By rgord01

Pros: Consistent across the spectrum; Great bass; Extremely revealing; Very efficient (can drive easily with an iPod); Relatively modest price

Cons: May not be the best for full orchestra classical (which I don't listen to much)

I bought these about a six weeks ago for $180 at Guitar Center (They retail for $250, and I have since seen them for $160) after reading a number of stellar reviews and trying them out in the store using my iPod. The Shures replaced a 10 year old pair of AKG K501, and are a very different type of headphone.   I bought the AKGs because of their incredibly open and natural sound, even though they were designed for classical music and I listen mostly to jazz, R&B, house/electronica, rock (some), and movies. What the AKGs lacked in bass slam they more than made up for in other areas. Plus the bass improved significantly when I replaced the stock ear pads a couple of years ago with...
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morethansense

Worth their (significant) weight in gold.

Posted
By morethansense

Pros: Weighty, firm clamp, massive earcups. Shure sound, replaceable one-sided cable, great build quality. So cheap.

Cons: Weighty, small fit, little design niggles.

After burn-in and listening to them for a hundred hours or so, plus live mix time this is my perspective on their audio. Coming from Sennheiser HD280 Pros and Shure SE215s, these seem to be amazingly balanced.  They have the incredible Shure warmth and vocal clarity, but still extend their highs extensively. I have always found problem frequencies in all the other headphones I use, like the HD280 Pros have the weird 200Hz lump which is a constant annoying humming espesh during live sessions, biggest turn-off for me. But the SRH840s seem to be perfectly matched to the system I work with. Boominess when there is, sibilance when there is. Simply great monitoring cans for a...
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Kramerftw

Very Good sound quality, Very Good Isolation with very low sound leaks,Bass is very acurate but not powerful (imo), Comfortable earpads, but too heavy

Posted
By Kramerftw

Pros: Very Good sound quality, Very good isolation with little to no leaks, Accurate bass,comfortable earpads, removeable/coiled cable. amp not needed.

Cons: Very heavy headphones, bass is not powerful enough for bassheads like myself, poor aesthetics.

These are very good headphones. If you don't need "basshead bass", just accurate , crisp bass , then these are for you. Although they are comfortable around the ears, they are very heavy, not too big of a deal imo, the quality of sound and overall design of the headphones makes it alright. Amp is not really required due to the low ohms on these too.   I opted to return them tho, as the bass was not powerful enough and they were too heavy. if they had basshead bass and werent so heavy, they would be perfect.
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ST1G

Exceptional sound for the price.

Posted
By ST1G

Pros: Highly detailed and very well balanced sound, good isolation, decent soundstage for closed cans.

Cons: Bulky and loose headband, not comfortable for big ears.

Bought them for 200$ couple of years ago. In terms of sound - nothing comes close for the price. Bass is gentle and rather lean, but very accurate and when equalized can get very deep. The mids are warm and delightful while high are crisp and clear but nor overdone. As the title says the sound is extremely balanced, although personally I prefer a darker, deeper color overall. Sound leakage is quite minimal but they are too bulky and do not sit tight enough on the head for day to day commuting. 
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Mattjh90

Great headphones for value

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By Mattjh90

Pros: Smooth, amazing mids, tight bass, very neutral, detachable cable

Cons: can be uncomfortable, pretty big

Ive had these headphones for about 2 weeks now and they are starting to break in quite nicely. I do use a nice DAC and Amp to help power these cans. They are only 44ohm headphones so they dont require much to power but a dedicated source can really improve the sound of the headphones i've found rather then playing them straight off the device.        Highs - Sound very nice, the treble is sweet and has a very nice and neutral sound to it. They can be a tad bright but that can be a good thing for some people.    Mids - Is where these cans shine, the vocals are amazing. I have a pair of beyerdynamic dt 770 pro 80ohm and i love those for...
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saxophone

Best Pair I have Listened With

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By saxophone

Pros: Detachable cable; Neutral sound; Great isolation; Beautiful range

Cons: Had headaches at first but headband adjusted to my head; Coiled cable slightly too long; Cable on left side

This pair is perfect for listening, especially after broken in. The first few days were hell, but after that, it was blissful. I cannot go a week without picking these up and listening to something.   My set up is a Fiio E6 and I also have a L3 line-in for my iPod Classic (6th Gen). While I would love to upgrade from these headphones, I don't know how much better I can get while being able to detect the difference (luckily for me, I suppose )   Anyway, there is a reason these are so highly rated throughout the community. Don't just take my word for it.
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billyhightech

Good bang for you $$$

Posted
By billyhightech

Pros: Great all around performer

Cons: Not the most "open" soundstage

I really,really like these cans. Using an Android based smartphone as my source unit (FLAC,OGG and MP3s via neutron MP) these cans really sound solid. The highs are very detailed without being overly bright. Bass is not overwhelming,but solid. If its on the track its there,if its not its not. Simple as that. The mids are very open and clean,but lack that little warmth (think Grado house sound). Where thats a good or bad thing is up to you. I personally like many cans that other people claim have a dry sound (like Etymotics). I got a really good deal on these (B-stock from headroom) and couldnt pass them up. For $200 there may be other options you might want to consider,however.
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zardak

Use the force Shure, because you need it badly.

Posted
By zardak

Pros: liquid silky sound

Cons: generally unbalanced sound presentation

These are way overhyped, the bass is lacking, the midrange is slightly off, and the treble range is downright pathetic like a drunken sailor, simple as that. I couldn't believe how bad they are after all the hype, in terms of overall presentation they are unbalanced, and well, really quite inaccurate; i must admit that i even amped them with a FiiO E12, but i can't see how that would improve things anyway, since the 840 characteristics are already shonky; there's no way these would be any good for monitoring with, and even for portable use the only good thing about them is the looks, since the bass is severely lacking, the midrange is not authentic, and the treble range sounds quirky,...
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Where to Buy It

EarphoneSolutionsShure SRH840 at EarphoneSolutions$199.00See It »
Amazon.comShure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Earphones (Black) at Amazon.comToo low to displaySee It »
HeadroomShure SRH840 at Headroom$199.99See It »
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