Amp For Shure SRH840?

For desktop amps, the HiFiMan EF2 works well with them at $169 (and a good pair of tubes like Mullard CV4010 for $20 improves it a ton), and the Nuforce uDAC is supposed to be excellent bang for the buck at $99.

A DAC isn't necessary for using an amp if you use your computer's onboard sound, but it will help sound quality tremendously because onboard is rubbish.

yes, amping these 'phones definatley imroves there bass. I wouldn't recomend a tube amp. Go with solid-state and you will need a DAC.

Yes

Yes, it will improve.

Tubes vs Solid State is all individual preference. My friend's SRH840 sound very good with the EF2 and my TU-882.

I find my 840s are picky about which amp I use, although I don't have that many "proper" amps to play with and am still burning them in, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. They sound great going through some sources, and utterly boring going through others.

The SRH840's sound amazingly fun with my WA6, so it can definitely sound good with a good tube amp. If anything solid state amps will sound colder, which could make 840's even more analytical than it already is... I don't think I'd personally enjoy that, but it comes down to preference I suppose.

Let me put it in very simple terms: If you get better headphones, you'll need an amp anyway.

If you want bass you can feel, look into Ultrasone's HFI and PRO lines.

If you want to EQ without distortion, set the highest equalization frequency at 0dB, and the rest in the negative range. If you are doing something like +3dB at 100hZ this will result in distortion because you're adding volume information that wasn't there before.

Well my 840s have got the exact bass, but much more refined than as I used to have with Ultrasone 780s. I still don't understand.

From my limited understanding, nay. An amplifier would help bring the Shures to their full potential, and if you read a couple of articles on amplification and the importance of it here or on Headwize, you'll see that an amp is required pretty much for any headphones.

The posters here are simply saying that you should consider purchasing an amplifier for the SRH840s. If you have time, read the SRH840 Impressions thread (84 pages I think?) and you'll see the pros and cons of the SRH840. Since headphones within the $200 range are not fully superior over others, you should make a decision on what you are looking for in headphones.

I do plan on buying the SRH840s eventually, but I'm willing to say that from what I read, they are a perfectly fine (awesome in my opinion) set of cans.

I would suggest burning in the SRH840 first and see if your opinion changes. It takes about a week to burn in (around 200 hours).

I've also found the SRH840 to benefit from an amp (though it doesn't really need one), so if you'd rather not buy an amp (plus DAC), then maybe you might want to consider an alternate headphone. The Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 is one example of a headphone that would be easier to use without an amp, as it's a less demanding headphone.