SRH-840 (just got them few questions) Please look!

I have the Shure SRH540 and use them mostly with a Little Dot MK11 tube amp and a dedicted Marantz DV6001. They have tight controlled deep bass with my setup. I also have used them on my IPOD Touch 2G with similiar results. I dont use them on my pC. The phones are well balanced. I suggest you may be having some issues regarding you soundcard. The Little Dot tube amps are available for 150,00 plus shipping from Ebay seller David ZHEZHE. The also have both solid state and cheaper hybrids. You may need to upgrade either your soundcard or get a dedicated amp to achieve the results you are looking for. The 840 do have great bass and I believe you may want to stick with them Let us know how you make out.

Maybe they need more burn-in 12hours wouldn't be sufficient, about the amp I thought these we're fairly easily driven.

They are easy to drive. The bass will tighten up after about 100 hrs. I think you mar be looking for bass heavy these are not speaker thumping bass they are accurate very controlled deep bass.

That's the problem. Most built-in soundcards are notoriously bad sounding. Case in point: going from the built-in card on my laptop to the DM+Millet (using the SRH840s) is a huge difference (no static-y sound, a lot fuller sounding bass, defined highs). A new soundcard or external DAC will almost certainly help them sound a lot better.

That would actually be not a bad choice. A friend has one of those, and it's pretty decent sounding. A lot better than a built-in soundcard, at least.

A DAC is basically something that converts the digital files on your computer to an analog signal. All soundcards have DACs in them, but the implementation of the built-in ones are usually very poor. I'm a fan of external DACs myself, but especially if you need support for EAX, there are a bunch of good internal soundcards that will work. If you get a DAC-only device (no amplification), then you'll need an amplifier too. The E-MU has a amplified headphone out, so if you do choose to get one of those, no worries there.

It's hard to get used to the type of bass that 840's have after being exposed to the Triports. You're definitely used to that lower thumping lowbass which is a bit loose, which some people do prefer. From my own experience 840's have a very tight hitting midbass and may seem somewhat lacking in lowbass to some unless they're amped by a tube amp (my WA6 actually gets them to the point where it almost gets muddy! Whereas something like my former hybrid EF1 didn't add much lowbass at all). You can either stick around with the 840's for a while and try to get used to their sound signature, or invest in a DAC and a cheap transformer-coupled tube amp to add that bottom end that you are looking for. I'd say it'd be more practical to return them for a different headphone though... it seems like you'd be more comfortable with a Denon type sound signature, which is definitely guaranteed to bring you the type of bass that you are looking for.

These really are not hard at all to drive. Most of my listening from mine come on the road straight out of an iPod. I didn't notice any difference from burn in, but I also liked the signature almost right out of the box. I only hear a slight difference with these amped in regards to their sound stage (which is still impressive for a closed can unamped) and bass.

I own the 440s, and if they are any indication of how well the 840s will perform, you just need some power behind them. I thought they sounded quite thin until I put some muscle behind them, now they are about my favorite 'phone for more critical listening. I love them. They feel nice, and certainly don't look/feel cheap.

The 0404 has a bit more power than the 0202. I used the 0202 for a bunch of stuff, but it can't hold up to the pro headphones like Shure, AKG, and anything like that. It just makes it with the AKG 240HDs. It works really well with Sennheiser HD555/595s.

The 0404, I do think, has an external PSU, and should be able to handle loads like the Shures. Once I got a real amp behind my 440s, I dialed down the trebel two notches (analog domain, on the amp section itself), and the level down so I could get the most out of the pre section, now they sound better than I could have ever imagined. I know the 840s would probably blow my mind. I like the Shures more than the AKGs, though, the AKGs are smooth as butter, the Shures have a range that cannot be matched. The HD555s try, but have that "viel", and Denons do a good job overall, but still can't match the power and precise sound coming from the Shures.

On the 0202, the Sony XB700s win hands down, as they are easy to drive and very comfortable. I practically made the Senns something I will probably use very little of in my current headphone system. They will probably go back to gaming with my main system when I don't want to wake the neighbors as I know they mate fine with the headphone outs on my NAD stuff.

Give the 840s as much juice as you can. I think you will find the missing bottom end, and also hear a controlled detail that is very hard to match.

EDIT: After your last post, forget the Denons, those are a lot like the Shures, just less demanding, you want to seriously look into the Sony XB700s. I can't sing enough praise for how well these sound on small systems like the 0202, or just a headphone out on a stereo/computer. They are bass MONSTERS, but in all that rumble is a sense of control, as well, as a sound that has almost no fatigue. They can run almost as well off a little Sansa mp3 player as they can my E-MU 0202. They are not a gimmik like Dr. Dre beats, or some skullcandy crap that you have to put extra batteries in. These are the budget basshead's dream come true. They use the driver from the v700s to full effect here, and somehow they tune it to go flat down into the sub-bass range. The MDR-V700s can't do that, even though they share the same driver. I know it is because one is for DJing and one is for listening, but it is quite amazing. I doubt you will dislike the XB700s.

The bass changes considerably as you put more hours on them. To my ears the bass went from big and boomy at first (which bassheads might like), then got a little recessed, then came back a bit with good tightness and definition. Overall, however, these have a pretty flat response. Bass is decent but not particularly powerful uinamped. I'm hoping a dac/amp will pick it up a bit and add some energy.

For just over $200 you can also find the Denon D2000, which gets a lot of love around here.