Shure SRH440 Vs SRH840

The Shure SRH-440 is a huge step down from the 840. I was thinking that the 840 would only be slightly better, but that's definitely not the case.

The SRH-440 to me is a lot brighter and the sound can be a bit fatiguing for those that are not used to that. They also have less bass, a lot less, but they are not bass light (to me). Bass light to me is the Ad700, RE0 IEM or a few others I can't seem to remember. The 440 is a good headphone and if I need a decent unamped headphone for under $75 with good isolation I might just pick that. It's not all that detailed and it never impressed me with anything, but it's still good. The comfort is a lot better with the 440 because of how the headband is much smaller.

The SRH-840 is better in every way. The highs are more rolled off though it seems and they do have a lot more bass. Mids are even a bit more forward it seems like. They seem to be very good for female vocals. The 840 has more detail to me, but not as much as some less neutral amped headphones.

Comfort is just "OK". My 2nd pair seems to fit just fine. I can wear them for 2-3 hours without any pain, but they were heavy. They're just big and awkward to have on your head.

SRH-840 is one of my absolute favorite unamped headphones. I do have another that sounds better that's half the price, but it needs an amp and it's probably not as neutral, so maybe not as good for studio use.

Another one to try to demo is the KRK KNS-8400. It may be better for studio monitoring than the SRH-840 and the comfort on them is impressive. Don't buy them unless you can return them if you don't like them. They're quite bright though and have even less bass than the 440.

I wouldn't buy the 840 for $200. To me they're only worth $160 max. If they had better comfort I'd probably be willing to pay more. I got mine for $150 new and they're even hard to find for that price NEW outside of Ebay.

I don't think the SRH-840 are completely neutral, but I don't think many really are. I guess they would be as long as if it wasn't for the bass. The upper mids may be very slightly forward, or at least it seems that way. It doesn't make them sound any less natural to me. I still find it's signature to still be quite neutral. It doesn't feel as if it's trying to change my music in any way or make it sound better than it really is. Maybe a little with female vocals, but not really.

Another option between the 440 and 840 is the AKG k240. It is a semi-open headphone, needs an amp, but sounds much better than the SRH-440. It's also only $100! It's probably more neutral than the SRH-840, so you may want to go that route. For me, even if I was in a studio, I'd probably still pick the Shure SRH-840. The k240's biggest advantage is that it's extremely comfortable and has no clamping force. It's really light. It's also easy to find them for under $80. The MKII version just costs more because it has more extras.

k240 Studio is one good headphone that many people seem to overlook. It may be because they do need an amp to sound their best and are semi-open. They sound very similar to my ears to the Shure SRH-840.

Sony MDR-V6 or 7506 seem to be another cheap option that people like for studio use. For regular music listening I didn't care for them much. They're quite comfortable and cheap. For some reason my V6 was too bass heavy, which didn't make sense at all.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkinson 

The RE0 are currently most used pair of phones for music.

I really like them and at least for me, the lack of bass is really tiny (using Cowons's S9 Player as a source ) though I easily fix with EQ.

 

Now, im really new to this business so ill be happy if you could explain something to me, aren’t forwarded frequencies making a pair of headphones less natural?

From what your are writing I understand that the 840's lows and mids are pretty driven up…how is it going with neutrality?

 

BTW, Im really gonna use the headphones with an amp, at least for the moment so it’s a point you should consider.

 

There is any model which stands between the 440's and the 840's price and performance?

 

 

 

Agreed the SRH840 is alot smoother than the SRH440, having both and using both with a Benchmark DAC1 and Grace M902 I seldom use my SRH440 as it gets slightly fatiguing due to the bright presentation so many like.

Even read quite a few people who prefer the 440! To me the more laid back non fatiguing signature winns the day each time. The SRH840 are a definite improvement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkinson 

How does the 7506 stand against the 440 and the 840 ? they seem really cheap compared to them...

Do they perform well without an amp ?

I can't speak for the 840, but having auditioned the 7506 against the 440 a while ago, I preferred the latter by a considerable margin. In fact, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on one as a portable, knock-around closed can. The 7506 seemed overall really grainy and strident in the upper mids; the 440 was a lot smoother and more coherent. The 7506 has more bass extension, though IIRC the 440 wasn't really lacking here despite what the HeadRoom chart might indicate. Neither one showed much of a soundstage, though the setting might not have been ideal for me to pick up on it. Of course I'm basing this off of about half an hour on each, but I think it was enough to conclude that the 440 is indeed better. I ended up walking out with the M50 instead, but to me the 440 was pretty close--less bass extension and a smaller soundstage.

If I may interject, I recently purchased the same SRH440s you're considering and I like you I'm using it unamped out of the Cowon S9, let me just say that the SRH440s sound fantastic!  The overall clarity and dynamics are amazing, these headphones will definitely show most if not all the intricate details of your music.  They are a bit light on bass but, like you the S9's audio options fixes that.  They are a bit on the bright side of neutral but by no means are they fatiguing(at least not to me anyway), they really are one the best headphones you can get for less than a 100 bucks.  So go ahead pick up the 440s, once you pair them up with your S9 be prepared for sonic brilliance!  One caveat though, they do need bit of burn-in, I suggest about 40-50 of hours of leis urely burn-in should round things out nicely.

Your description of the 7506/v6 is exactly what I'm hearing as well. Some music can be pretty harsh sounding with them. I'm thinking of switching to the 440 for a portable.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argyris 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkinson 

How does the 7506 stand against the 440 and the 840 ? they seem really cheap compared to them...

Do they perform well without an amp ?

I can't speak for the 840, but having auditioned the 7506 against the 440 a while ago, I preferred the latter by a considerable margin. In fact, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on one as a portable, knock-around closed can. The 7506 seemed overall really grainy and strident in the upper mids; the 440 was a lot smoother and more coherent. The 7506 has more bass extension, though IIRC the 440 wasn't really lacking here despite what the HeadRoom chart might indicate. Neither one showed much of a soundstage, though the setting might not have been ideal for me to pick up on it. Of course I'm basing this off of about half an hour on each, but I think it was enough to conclude that the 440 is indeed better. I ended up walking out with the M50 instead, but to me the 440 was pretty close--less bass extension and a smaller soundstage.

FWIW, I auditioned both the SRH840 and the SRH440 and preferred the much more neutral / flattish SRH440.  The SRH840 sounded great, but like headroom graphs show, it's a warmer listen due to the boosted bass/lower midrange.  The comfort on the SRH840 was better due to the memory foam earpads, but the weight was a tad greater too. 

It's a personal decision, but when you adore flat headphones like the DT880, the SRH440 sounds like a decent closed version of the DT880 tonality wise (minus FQ extension on the extreme ends of the FQ band).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkinson 

i really confused.
is it really worth more than doubling the budget (from 45$ for the 7506 to about 100$ for the 440 + comfertable earpads)?
from what i found in the forum about the 7506 i found they are pretty nice and fits studio needs...so what would you suggest ?

Hi Parkinson.

I auditioned the 7506 as well and I chose the SRH440 due to the build quality differences. Not that the 7506 is built poorly (quite the opposite really), I just liked the physical looks of the SRH440 as it felt more substantial and meatier than the 7506.  Also, despite the fact that I own the MDR-SA5000, I hate Sony with a passion, and I try to avoid them whenever possible. 

FWIW though, the 7506 did sound really good to my ears and it measures fairly well in terms of flatness.  If I was on the prowl for a closed full-size budget headphone, the 7506 / v6 would be on my hit-list for sure.